by Matt Hilton
Saving Janet and Bethany, I could lay to rest the bitter feelings of failure that had haunted me since that wintry night in the watermill. The ghosts of Karen and my unborn child could sleep easy now. Holding onto Janet’s hand, I was no longer afraid. The past was behind me, the future felt good.
Shelly McCusker was being hailed a hero for her part in bringing down the murderer, but - even though I suspected that she’d yearned for the acceptance of her colleagues - she wasn’t the kind to make a big thing of the accolade. She was only happy sitting by Bob Harris’ bedside, cajoling him toward a rapid recovery.
It turned out that Jonathon Connery had possibly been suffering an undiagnosed form of bi-polar schizophrenia, a condition that had been exacerbated when Janet had shown him to be a misogynistic pig. When Pete Johnston had shown his wife the least bit of notice, he’d acted out his jealous rage by not only murdering the man, but also torturing his current girlfriend, Toni. Jonathon had concealed the bodies at Trowhaem, and that was when he’d truly gone mad. Clutching at the fears of the islanders - the hogboy curse associated with Trowhaem - in his delusional mind it was the ideal platform from which he could cover up his crime. And there was the added bonus: he’d found an ideal form of revenge, aimed at the wife who’d first denied him a child, then spited him when he’d tried to impregnate another. It wasn’t enough to hurt Janet physically; he wanted to hurt her career, her reputation, the way he perceived she’d hurt his. What better way than closing down the dig, and with it the associated funding? His insane plan ensured that the Skeklar had been given birth. Murdering little Jimmy, snatching Bethany, had been crimes of opportunity, but they had struck terror into the hearts and minds of the islanders. Everything else following had been conducted with the malicious intent of the monster Jonathon truly believed he’d become. He had fully planned to carry out nine murders to strengthen the hogboy myth, and had most likely planned to keep Bethany for last. Even if she’d survived his planned murder spree, Janet’s career would be at an end. She’d never work in the field she loved again. If not for the timely intervention of Sergeant McCusker, Connery would have succeeded. To cover up my, and Broom’s, part in his killing, Shelly said she had taken the illegal sidearm from Connery, shooting him with his own weapon. If anyone suspected she was lying to save us, they didn’t say.
The theory concerning Connery’s actions was all conjecture.
For my part there were still some things requiring answers.
So that’s why Broom again parked opposite the utility shed where I’d held my vigil with the crows, and later experienced that unreal episode with the thin grey man.
Leaving Janet in the car with Broom, I stepped out onto the road. The sun was high in the sky, but it was weak at this northern latitude. There was enough light to make out the lone crow sitting on the roof of the building. It rolled a beady eye at me, then struck out for the heavens cawing its evil little laugh.
In my hand was a pair of wire cutters with rubber handles. Using them I rattled the wire. If the fence was electrified the least I could expect was a tingling of current through the rubber but I felt nothing. I set to snipping away enough of the fence for me to pass through.
The door of the hut stood slightly ajar.
Stepping into the darkness, I paused while my vision adjusted. The hut was larger than its outer dimensions would suggest. Metal steps led down towards a sub-cellar. The floor was beaten earth, and I saw an old rusty bucket, water bottles and empty Wotsit packets strewn on the floor. Feeling a pang, I realised I’d been wrong, that this was where Jonathon had first held Bethany. This was where she’d been when I’d searched out her essence. She had been there all that time while I’d sat on my arse at the side of the road. Maybe I should have listened closer to Broom, to the portents, and then Bethany and Janet wouldn’t have had to suffer the terror the Skeklar had ultimately put them through.
One questioned was answered.
But I still had another.
“Where are you?”
There was a shuffle as though small animals moved through the shadows.
Then he was standing before me.
The thin grey man.
His translucent skin was the colour of parched earth.
His eyes were deep pools of ancient wisdom.
“I just wanted to thank you,” I said. “Without your help I’d never have found them. Two more innocents would have died. Those other murders, they were never demanded of you.”
The thin grey man said nothing. His lips peeled back from sharp teeth, but there was nothing frightening in the gesture. He was smiling.
From my coat pocket I pulled out a small plastic carton and a tin. I popped their seals.
Milk and beer I poured onto the floor.
Giving them back to the earth.
Traditional sacrifices - the only sacrifices - demanded by the haugbonde.
Acknowledgements and Thanks:
My grateful acknowledgment goes to Lynne McTaggart whose book The Field; The quest for the secret force of the universe, allowed me to explain (if only in part) Paul Broom’s personal notions concerning Carter Bailey’s ability to detect evil as a source of negative energy. I hope nothing I have culled from her thought provoking treatise on The Zero Point Field has been used out of context.
Thanks to the people of the Shetland Islands for allowing me the lassitude to wholly invent an island that doesn’t actually exist in their lands. Any mistakes regarding the traditions or history of the islands should be taken wholly as my fault, and merely hiccups in the process of writing this novel. My apologies to any similarities in any family names, companies etc.: all those named in the book are figments of my imagination and bear no intentional resemblance to any person or business in the real world.
About the Author:
Matt Hilton quit his career as a police officer with Cumbria Constabulary to pursue his love of writing tight, cinematic American-style thrillers. He is the author of the high-octane Joe Hunter thriller series, including his most recent novel ‘The Lawless Kind’ – Joe Hunter 9 - published in January 2014 by Hodder and Stoughton. His first book, ‘Dead Men’s Dust’, was shortlisted for the International Thriller Writers’ Debut Book of 2009 Award, and was a Sunday Times bestseller, also being named as a ‘thriller of the year 2009’ by The Daily Telegraph. Dead Men’s Dust was also a top ten Kindle bestseller in 2013. The Joe Hunter series is widely published by Hodder and Stoughton in UK territories, and by William Morrow and Company in the USA, and have been translated into German, Italian, Romanian and Bulgarian.
As well as the Joe Hunter series, Matt has been published in a number of anthologies and collections, and has published three previous novels in the horror genre, namely ‘Dominion’, ‘Darkest Hour’ and a young adult novel called ‘Mark Darrow and the Stealer of Souls’. Matt also collected and edited both ‘ACTION: Pulse Pounding Tales Volumes 1 and 2’.
Matt is a high-ranking martial artist and has been a detective and private security specialist, all of which lend an authenticity to the action scenes in his books. He is also very interested in the paranormal and has accompanied Ghost-North-east and Near Dark Paranormal Investigations on a number of their investigations.
Matt is currently working on the next Joe Hunter novel, as well as a stand-alone supernatural novel.
www.matthiltonbooks.com
Other Books by Matt Hilton
Joe Hunter series (available in hardback, paperback and E-book):
Dead Men’s Dust
Judgement and Wrath
Slash and Burn
Cut and Run
Blood and Ashes
Dead Men’s Harvest
No Going Back
Rules of Honour
The Lawless Kind
Joe Hunter E-books:
Joe Hunter: Six of the Best
Joe Hunter: Dead Fall
Joe Hunter: Red Stripes
Joe Hunter: Instant Justice (and other action-packed tales)
Horr
or:
Dominion (paperback, E-book)
Darkest Hour (paperback, E-book)
Mark Darrow and the Stealer of Souls (paperback, E-book)
One Twisted Voice – traversing genres (E-book)
Booze and Ooze – a Roman Dalton tale (E-book)
Preternatural (E-book)