Embellished Deception: A Psychological Suspense Novel (The Crime Files)

by Netta Newbound

  I was shaking so much that my head was nodding up and down. I glanced at my watch—4.15pm. It would be dark soon. The last place I wanted to be was on a dodgy bend, on a country lane, in the dark with a nutcase.

  But that was the least of my worries. I was becoming increasingly concerned about the terrible stomach pains I was experiencing.

  I tried to distract myself by picking up the stuff off the road that Vinny had dumped out earlier. I refolded a screwed up local map and a gaudy pink towel covered in stains. There was an empty Tissot watch box, a black tie, a box of slug pellets, a bottle of disinfectant and, finally, a pair of boots.

  I placed them all one after the other back into the car, but something was niggling at me. I turned back to the car, picked up one of the boots and turned it over.

  My breath hitched and I leaned heavily on the car for support.

  The word CAT was emblazoned in the centre of the distinctive sole markings. But the thing that set off the siren screaming inside my head was the small words just visible—size 11.

  I knew Vinny was size 9. I remembered James telling me that.

  The rapist wore size 11.

  My thoughts were hammering in my brain—it couldn't possibly be ...

  Vinny appeared at my side with a snarl on his face.

  "You shouldn't have done that, Geraldine," he said quietly. He shook his head, the crazed look still in his eyes.

  Chapter 40

  I couldn't speak.

  Taking a step backwards and still holding on to the boot, I considered screaming, but knew it would be pointless. We were in the middle of nowhere with nothing but woodland on either side of the road for miles in both directions. It would be fully dark in the next few minutes, and the icy cold was already biting at my fingers.

  "You had to meddle, didn't you?" Vinny said, wiping his hands on a rag before dropping it to the ground.

  "I ... I don't know what you mean."

  "You're a crap liar, Geraldine. And to think I was willing to change for you."

  “You’re a rapist—a fucking monster, in fact. You can’t just change that!” I was still backing up, but Vinny was gaining on me, a menacing sneer still on his face.

  “I locked that snivelling creep Carl up. Charged him so I could put an end to that chapter in my life. Now look what you’re forcing me to do.”

  “It’s nothing to do with me, Vinny. If you really want to stop, you still can.” I was quickly approaching the drain at the side of the road. It was deep, approximately six foot deep, and two foot wide, and I panicked—I had nowhere else to go.

  “No chance—have you any idea what they do to cops in the clink? And besides, I’m quite enjoying myself right now.”

  I lifted the boot above my head and threw it at him with all my might, but Vinny only laughed and batted it away.

  I needed to escape him.

  I began to run, but knew if I stayed on the road he'd be upon me in a matter of seconds. I made the split decision to jump over the drain.

  Running wildly I reached the trees.

  I could hear Vinny still laughing, close behind me.

  The griping pain felt terrible, but I had no choice. I had to push on. Branches and twigs tore at the skin on my arms and legs. Visibility was low, but I was still able to make out most things, for now at least.

  I didn't look back, and I could no longer hear him, but I knew he wasn't far behind. I was the fox, Vinny the hound and I knew he was giving me a head start to make the chase that bit more exciting.

  My heart pounded and I could hear the steady thump, thump, thump in my ears. On top of all that, a burning sensation in my lungs was almost crippling me.

  But still I ran.

  Before long the darkness had descended over the entire area, and I had no choice but to slow down.

  The pain still wrenched in my lower stomach, and by now I was certain of the worst.

  I was losing the baby.

  Something flew out of the tree above my head and I stifled a scream. As I jumped sidewards, I caught my foot under a tree root which sent me sprawling to the ground.

  Pitiful whimpers escaped me, but I couldn't control them, even though I knew they would lead Vinny straight to me.

  Pushing myself up, another movement to my side made me topple sideways. It was only a hedgehog snuffling by.

  From my position on the ground, I could make out a space at the base of a huge tree. The main trunk had shot upright, but an offshoot was growing out of the ground beside it and had twisted sideways. The branches created a natural hiding place.

  I scurried underneath the overhanging branches and collapsed to my knees, then turned to push my back firmly against the trunk, hugging my knees in front of me.

  The wind howled through the tops of the trees, but I was sheltered in my hiding place. I tried to calm my noisy, rasping breaths.

  There was still no sign of Vinny—maybe I had managed to shake him off after all.

  I patted my trouser pocket looking for my mobile and remembered I'd left it in my handbag—in the footwell of Vinny's car.

  As I sat there, I began to cool down. I realised that if I didn't get out of there sharpish, I'd most probably freeze to death before too long. I wasn't exactly dressed for cross country pursuits in the thick of winter, wearing a pair of lightweight trousers and a blouse under a short black jacket.

  The sounds of the woodland were totally different at night, and all my senses were wired. I jumped at every sound. A tawny owl hooted overhead and some unidentified animal made a strange crek-crek sound.

  A twig snapped loudly close by and I gasped and shuffled further into the greenery, holding my breath until I thought I might pass out. After a few minutes there was no other sound and I relaxed again slightly.

  Momentarily doubled over as the sharp pain ripped through me again, I straightened my legs out in front of me and braced myself while the pain subsided.

  Suddenly, a steely grip closed about my left ankle and yanked me forward and out onto the forest floor.

  The glint in Vinny's eyes was unmistakable. He was crazy.

  "That was fun, Geraldine. I'd have let it go on longer, but it was becoming quite boring for me."

  "Vinny, please ... I'm sorry," I cried.

  His smile was visible in the moonlight.

  "Come on, you've had your fun—let's go back and change the tyre," I said, praying for him to take me up on a truce.

  Vinny chuckled. "Gone too far for that. And besides, I've been longing to re-enact that wonderful night we spent together. The only thing that was missing was some well-timed screams from you, but I'm sure we can do better this time."

  "Please, Vinny—the baby." I was still lying on my back on a pile of rotten leaves.

  "I don't give a flying fuck about your bastard baby," he hissed as he straddled me.

  Horrified, I screamed at him to get off but it was pointless. He was so much stronger than me.

  He yanked at my waistband and then tore my trousers down my legs.

  "Vinny!" I sobbed. "I beg of you."

  "Yeah, that's more like it. You beg like a good girl."

  I watched as he pushed himself back on his haunches and unfastened the button fly of his black jeans.

  I began scrambling backwards, my hands scouring the forest floor.

  My fingers came across something smooth and heavy. Squeezing another ounce of strength from God knows where, I managed to flip myself over and lift it.

  Vinny pulled me to him again and roughly twisted my legs so I lay on my back once again.

  As he turned me over, I raised the rock and smashed it into the side of his face.

  He howled and fell sideways.

  "You bitch!" he yelled.

  My trousers, now around my ankles, were stopping me from getting to my feet, so I kicked them off completely.

  Suddenly, Vinny's hand closed around my throat, and although hurt, he was still too strong.

  With the rock still in my hand, I hit out on
e last time with all the strength I could muster.

  A loud, "Harrumph" left Vinny as he released his grip on me.

  I got to my feet and began to run. Only this time I was barefoot as my slip-on shoes had been yanked off with my trousers. I didn't care. I had to get away.

  I tried to get my bearings, to look for some sign of which direction the car was in. I needed my phone if there would be any chance of getting out of here alive. But it was hopeless. I was totally disoriented.

  I'd never been wonderful at directions at the best of times, but now I had a raving lunatic on my tail. I had no chance.

  The pain in my stomach was now a constant and intense gnawing, and because my legs were bare I could tell my underwear was wet. I dreaded looking, knowing it was blood, and that I'd definitely lost my baby.

  I eventually stopped next to a large hazel tree and tried to look about me. My eyes were now accustomed to the dark, but things were no clearer than they had been earlier.

  I was lost.

  And by the looks of things, I was going deeper and deeper into the forest.

  I tried to listen for any sound of civilisation, the rumble of a car or truck. But the country lane we'd been on was a back road and rarely used, especially at night.

  I didn't want to continue the way I was heading, certain it was leading me away from the road. I definitely didn't want to head back the way I'd come—Vinny was back there. So I had to make a choice.

  Turn left or turn right.

  It was purely a coin toss moment.

  I turned to the left.

  My rasping breath escaped my mouth in surreal plumes of white, and my wet thighs rubbed together and felt sore and chapped. Thankfully the ground was covered in rotten brown leaves that were relatively easy on my feet.

  There was no sign of Vinny. That final blow must have knocked him out at least or killed the fucking psycho prick at best. That didn't make my situation any less terrifying.

  It felt as though I'd walked for miles. Just as I decided to turn back and head the other way, I saw a gap in the trees and knew I was back at the road.

  Staggering out from the forest, I cried as I saw the stretch of road before me. Although there was no car, and I couldn’t see a bend in the road, I realised I was on the right road, just further down.

  Because of my bare feet and legs, I stuck to the bank as I began half running towards where we'd left the car.

  It was freezing, and I could no longer feel my feet at all. Hugging my arms about myself, all I could hear was the incessant chatter of my teeth in the stillness of the night.

  Eventually, I could make out the shape of the car at the side of the road and propelled myself forward as fast as I could. The car was as we'd left it—all the doors wide open and the interior lights were blaring out in the darkness. As I got closer, I could hear a high pitched bonging sound, probably caused by the driver’s door being left open.

  I couldn't remember if Vinny had left his door open before we ran off, however, I had lots of other stuff running through my mind at the time, so I couldn't be certain.

  As I reached the car, I almost collapsed. It took all of my energy to keep myself upright. Looking inside the passenger door, I cried out in relief. My handbag was still in the foot well where I'd left it.

  I grabbed the black leather satchel and rummaged around in the side pocket.

  My phone wasn't there.

  Opening the central zip, I shook out the contents onto the passenger seat. My purse, two lipsticks, throat lozenges, Polo mints and several receipts fell out—but no phone.

  Could this night get any worse? I rummaged around in the empty pouch of the bag—knowing it wasn't there, but I still had to check for my own sanity.

  "Looking for this?"

  I froze.

  My breathing stopped, and I felt as though my eyes were about to pop from my head as I slowly turned towards the voice.

  Vinny was now almost unrecognisable. His face was covered with blood and his eyes were wild.

  He held my phone up between his finger and thumb and wiggled it about, an evil grin on his face.

  "Vinny, please, I ..." My voice barely a whisper.

  "Shut the fuck up!" he roared.

  I felt exhausted and my body shook from head to toe. I couldn’t tell if it was due to extreme cold or fear or both.

  I tried to move from my position next to the passenger seat, but Vinny had blocked the way. Without thinking, I threw myself into the car and scrambled over the seat heading for the driver’s door.

  Vinny's delighted laughter filled the night air, causing my flesh to crawl.

  I was astounded as I felt Vinny grab my hair and yank me out, face first, and I landed on the ground at his feet.

  All the air left my lungs and I couldn’t breathe for what seemed like ages. Eventually, I managed to get on my hands and knees and tried to crawl away.

  It was futile.

  Vinny still had hold of my hair, and he yanked me backwards as though I were a dog on a leash.

  Petrified, I scanned my immediate area and couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the tyre iron sitting on the ground just under the car. But it was out of my reach.

  Vinny, still laughing, looked like a crazed lunatic with blood oozing down his face.

  Once again, I dropped to my stomach and stretched. No way could I reach it and I really didn't want Vinny to cotton on to my intentions before I had a chance to grab the weapon.

  "Get up!" Vinny snarled.

  "Vinny, please—my baby," I cried and placed my hand between my legs and held up my blood-soaked fingers for his inspection.

  "And?"

  "I need to get to the hospital, Vinny. Please help me."

  "Why should I help you? You didn't care how I felt earlier when you laughed at me. I cared about that baby then—wanted it to be mine, and you laughed at me. Just like you used to do at school—laughed at the disgusting fat kid."

  "I never laughed at you, Vinny. I always tried to be your friend."

  He blew out his lips noisily. "Like fuck, you did!" he spat.

  "I did! Don't you remember the night of the school play? I helped you wash graffiti off the school canteen wall."

  His eyes narrowed slightly. "Yeah, but I bet you helped write all that nasty stuff in the first place."

  "Vinny, you know that's not true. I liked you. Think about it."

  I could tell I was getting through to him as his grip loosened slightly which enabled me to sit on my bottom, still on the ground at his feet—but closer to the car.

  "And when I came back," I continued, "I told you how handsome you were—do you remember?"

  He smiled. "Yeah, you said I was the most handsome man you've ever seen."

  "And I meant it, too. I bet all those kids from school would give anything to look the way you do now."

  He'd fully let go of my hair now, and I inched backwards towards the car, hands splayed out feeling the ground behind me like two crabs.

  He oddly preened at his reflection in the car window with a sick grin on his face. He was clearly oblivious of the state he was in as the image smiling back looked more like a crazed monster.

  "Do you think so?" he said, acting bashful.

  I knew he'd completely lost his marbles, and I needed to play the next few minutes very carefully indeed.

  While his eyes were still firmly fixed on his reflection, I reached for the tyre iron, and when my fingers rested on the metal, I almost cried out loud. Instead, I slowly pulled it towards me, hiding it behind my back.

  "Course I do," I said. "That's why everyone's out to get you."

  He quickly looked at me, a stern expression on his face, and my heart almost stopped. Had he sussed what I was doing?

  He suddenly pounded the heel of his hand onto his forehead. "Of course—you're so right. All these years, they've been jealous of me."

  I continued nodding, relieved that he was so far gone he wasn't able to see how I was really feeling. I could barely breat
he and was shivering with cold.

  I knew I couldn't get hold of the tyre iron and swing it towards him now, from the position I was in. It would do nothing more than alert Vinny that I was indeed lying. No, I needed to bide my time.

  "Even my own family have been horrible to me. They stopped me from seeing my nephews, you know?"

  "That's terrible," I said, my teeth chattering. "Vinny, it's so cold. Do you think we could get in the car while we talk?"

  Wrong.

  The expression on his face told me he hadn't softened at all. He stepped forward and kicked at my outstretched leg. "Get up," he said gruffly.

  "But, Vinny ..."

  "Get up, bitch!"

  I slowly turned on all fours, lifting the tyre iron as I did so, and got to my feet. I managed to place the iron flat to my body, hoping Vinny didn't notice.

  He didn't.

  "Now walk." He nodded in the direction of the trees.

  "Oh no, Vinny. Please no!"

  "Move!" He jabbed me in the shoulder with his closed hand, and I remembered he was still holding my phone.

  I walked forward until we had cleared the car.

  "That way," he said, with another shove in the direction of the trees.

  As I reached the edge of the road, I remembered the deep drain that I'd leapt over earlier.

  I turned, going wide and managing to position myself so that Vinny stood between me and the drain.

  "What do you think you're doing?" Vinny snapped.

  "Vinny, I ... please we can talk about this. It's okay—I'm your friend."

  "You're not my friend. I was nice to you, and all you did was rub my nose in it when you got back with that good-for-nothing husband of yours.

  "I didn't mean to, honestly. I liked you—I still like you. We can sort something out."

  "Liar. Do you think I can't tell when someone is lying to me? I'm a cop for fuck's sake."

  "But I'm not lying. I promise you, Vinny."

  Vinny had turned his head slightly, and I took my chance. Pulling the tyre iron out from behind my back, I launched myself at him.

  I felt the iron connect as well as hearing the sickening crunch as the metal bar smashed Vinny's skull.