The Creator

by Aj Estelliam

  ‘Jess, surely we go home for the night now? There is nothing more we can do right now. Come on-we’ll go home and sleep and tomorrow we can look at everything again with fresh eyes.’

  She met my eyes with her gorgeous green depths. The flecks of brown were shimmering in the light like gold. ‘I guess so.’

  ‘Come on. We can go and see how Dan and Fee are settling in. It’ll provide a good distraction.’

  ‘No, it won’t!’ she laughed. ‘He’ll want to talk about the case!’

  ‘Maybe,’ I chuckled, ‘but we’ll steer him off it.’

  ‘That’s a plan. Okay then, let’s get going.’

  Jess and I left the station and collected her car. We drove back to the house and saw another car parked outside; Fee’s car.

  We headed inside and found Dan and Fee sat on the sofa chatting. They smiled at us warmly as we walked in.

  ‘Hello!’ Fee smiled.

  ‘Hey!’ I replied, heading over. I kissed her cheek and then looked at Dan. ‘How are you feeling, Dan?’

  ‘Not so bad,’ he smiled and then shifted his attention to Jess. ‘Hey JJ, how’s it all going?’

  ‘Don’t ask, Dan! Don’t ask!’ she laughed.

  ‘That good then, hey?’

  ‘Let’s just say, I’ll be over the moon when you return back to work, sir.’

  ‘Oh really? Well I don’t plan on it being long! I’m going to go stir crazy sat around here doing nothing.’

  ‘Oh, don’t worry, Dan. We’ll find you things to do!’ Fee laughed.

  ‘I’m going to start some dinner,’ I announced, turning to head to the kitchen. ‘Fee, do you fancy helping me?’ I asked, hoping to give the Captain and Jess some time to talk things over. I knew she would appreciate his guidance and the advice would be invaluable.

  ‘Yes, of course. Let me help you.’

  As Fee and I worked together in the kitchen and chatted about this and that, the Captain and Jess put their heads together and began trying to work out the case. I smiled to myself as I cooked. The two of them worked well together. It wouldn’t be long before the Captain was back; I was sure of that. With him living with us at home, he would be able to help too. Everything was falling into place nicely.

  As I poured the red, tomato sauce into the spaghetti Bolognese mix, I experienced a flash of red, hot anger rush through me. Images flashed and my vision blurred. I grasped the counter as the image assaulted my senses.

  Chapter 10

  Angry. So angry! The pain and the disgust rushed through me like a sword. I lashed out, slashing and cutting, losing control and shattering my careful work. I worked haphazardly, assembling the pieces with shaking hands. Messy, I thought as I stood back and looked at my work. Messy art was not a creation. I frowned at it and let out a feral moan of frustration. I lashed out and swiped at the flesh with my knife. When I was done, I collapsed, feeling spent. Moments of quiet contemplation followed while I regained my control.

  When I felt able, I lifted my tools once more. I would correct my mistakes. I would not leave a messy creation. I went about recreating my masterpiece. When at last I was done, I stood back feeling a sense of achievement rush through me. There. Once more, I was the creator.

  I came out of the vision with a shock to the system and promptly collapsed to the floor. My ears filled with a whooshing noise and black spots appeared in front of my eyes. I could hear voices all around me, talking to me and asking if I was okay. They sounded hollow and echoed in my head though; a strange cacophony of sound.

  Strong arms lifted me and I found myself cradled against a familiar body. Her scent brought me round, and I began to blink myself back to reality.

  ‘Alex?’

  I stared at her dumbly.

  ‘Alex?’

  I blinked rapidly. ‘Jess?’

  ‘Alex-what did you see?’ she asked, her frown deepening into the lines of her face.

  ‘I…I…’ I stuttered, unable to get the words out.

  ‘Alex-breathe. You need to calm yourself down.’

  I stared into her wide eyes but found it difficult to calm myself. My stomach was twisting painfully as I remembered what I had seen and as I swallowed against the pain in my throat, I felt bile rise.

  ‘I’m going to be sick,’ I murmured.

  Fee rushed in with an empty saucepan just in time. I heaved and threw up wetly into the pan. I was then helped to the bathroom by Jess who helped me to shower and clean up.

  When I was clean and dry, she pulled my pyjamas on for me as if I was a child and then led me back to the lounge. Fee was finishing off dinner in the kitchen and Dan was reading the paper. They both stopped what they were doing when we came back in.

  ‘Are you alright?’ Fee asked as I sat down on the sofa.

  I nodded, rubbing my sore temples. My head was pounding and I felt weak and shaky. ‘Yeah…I just…sometimes this happens.’

  ‘What? You get sick?’ she asked.

  Jess spoke for me. ‘The visions can be that intense that they either make Alex physically sick or give her terrible headaches. We’ve noticed that since this case has begun, Alex has been sick a lot.’

  ‘That’s because he’s a sick, evil fuck,’ I said angrily.

  ‘Are you ready to tell us what you saw?’ Jess asked then, kneeling before me.

  I looked up from my clasped hands and met her eyes. To my surprise I felt tears fill my eyes and sadness filled me. ‘He’s done something so terrible, Jess…he was so, so angry…’

  ‘Angry about what? Gareth being found and freed?’

  I nodded mutely.

  ‘So, what’s he done? Chopped up more body parts?’ she questioned.

  ‘That and more,’ I nodded. ‘He considers himself ‘a creator.’ That’s what he calls himself in his mind. I watched him chop up parts in such a rage…then he assembled them,’ I told her slowly.

  ‘Assembled them? What do you mean-like put them back together?’ she asked.

  I shook my head, feeling shaken. ‘No…unfortunately he assembled them in all the wrong places…sewing parts on to other parts…creating his piece of work. A masterpiece of body parts,’ I finally managed.

  Jess’s face registered disgust and she looked to Dan for guidance.

  ‘Where did this take place?’ Dan asked, his face looking pinched and his role as Captain returning very swiftly.

  ‘I don’t know…. I didn’t see.’

  ‘And where is the ‘masterpiece?’ he asked, frowning.

  ‘I don’t really know. I think it’s just where he made it right now. I may be wrong but I believe he plans to put it on show at some point…maybe tonight,’ I said, trying to think about what he might do.’

  Captain Withers sighed. ‘So, there’s nothing we can do until he puts the body parts somewhere to find?’

  ‘No. I don’t think so. I mean, I don’t know where he is or who he is so what else can we do?’

  ‘Nothing,’ he replied. ‘It’s more important in my eyes that you rest now so that tomorrow you can help again.’

  I looked at him with wide eyes.

  ‘I’m guessing he’ll move the body tonight, right?’

  I nodded slowly. ‘If it were me, and I was that angry, I’d want to make the statement as soon as possible.’

  ‘And when he does it, I think you’ll see it in a vision, right?’

  I frowned. ‘Probably.’

  ‘So, rest. Eat dinner and then sleep. We’ll need you at your best tomorrow morning.’

  I swallowed hard. ‘I don’t know if I can eat.’

  ‘Yes, you can,’ he told me. ‘What you experienced was a physical reaction to seeing the vile things a killer is capable of. You’re not ill-however you will be if you don’t eat. Eat your dinner and then go to bed. That’s an order, Hope,’ he told me.

  I smiled at him warmly. ‘The Captain’s back,’ I grinned.

  ‘You’re damn right he is,’ he said under his breath. ‘A broken hip won’t keep me out of action for
long!’

  ‘Come on, Alex-Dan is right. Let’s eat and all get some sleep. It’s been one hell of a long day.’

  We sat together at the table and ate a delicious meal of spaghetti Bolognese, pasta and garlic bread. When we were done, Jess and Fee tidied up while I went to have a soak in the bath. I lay there for a long while before washing my hair and cleaning my body thoroughly. I felt disgusted by what I had seen in my head and then the need to feel ‘clean’ was very clear.

  When I was done, I dried myself and pulled on fresh pyjamas. Then, in bed, I lay down with the lamp beside me and tried to distract myself by reading.

  ‘You’re not asleep yet?’ Jess said as she came in and shut the door.

  ‘No…not yet.’

  ‘Dan and Fee have gone to bed. I think they were tired and ready for sleep tonight.’

  I met her eyes. ‘I don’t know if I want to sleep,’ I murmured as she changed and then climbed into bed beside me.

  ‘You have to, Alex! You’ll make yourself ill.’

  I looked downwards and swallowed hard. ‘I just…I don’t want to see that again…’

  ‘It’s that bad?’

  ‘Worse,’ I nodded.

  ‘Oh honey…I wish I could take this away from you.’

  I met her soulful eyes and knew she loved me so very much that she would take all the pain and suffering from me if she could. I could hear it in her thoughts. ‘I’ll be okay,’ I told her. ‘I just…I’m not ready to sleep yet.’

  ‘Well don’t then. You want a cuddle?’ she asked, smiling at me gently.

  ‘I was hoping for more of a distraction than that,’ I said softly.

  ‘Oh yeah? With the Captain in the house?’

  ‘They’re downstairs,’ I murmured, ‘and besides, it’s not like they don’t do it themselves!’

  ‘True....but you’ll need to be quieter than normal.’

  ‘What? I’m not noisy in bed!’ I objected.

  ‘You wanna bet?’ she laughed, her voice low and husky.

  I moved closer to her and leant in towards her to kiss her soft lips. ‘Let’s stop talking now, eh?’

  I closed my eyes and succumbed to her gentle lips moving over mine. I felt my body slowly relax as her lips trailed over mine. It was wonderful to feel rather than think and within moments I lost myself in her arms.

  We kissed and moved closer and as her hands trailed down my body, I found my sense of calm.

  After making love for what felt like hours, I finally slept. Blissfully, I slept soundly and it wasn’t until the alarm blared at six thirty in the morning that I finally woke.

  Jess reached over and turned it off with a muffled groan.

  ‘I’m so tired,’ she complained.

  I rolled over into her arms and cuddled close. ‘I feel great!’

  She squinted at me, through bleary eyes. ‘Huh?’

  ‘I slept, Jess!’

  ‘Well, yeah…that’s what we do at night.’

  ‘No, I mean I really slept well! Good, unbroken sleep. It was just what I needed,’ I smiled.

  ‘Well, it’s nice to see you so perky,’ she said, running her hands down my back and over my curves.

  I felt my body respond instantly to her touch and I reached for her too. ‘I don’t suppose we have ten minutes to spare before getting up?’

  ‘I was just wondering the same,’ she smiled.

  ‘No-one will notice if we’re a few minutes late…’

  ‘No, I don’t think they will.’

  I smiled at her and then moved close to kiss her passionately. My body already felt hot and ready for her touch having been aroused after lying so closely with her in bed.

  Jess’s hand trailed down my breasts and played with my nipples as she kissed me long and slow. Her hand then dipped into my pyjamas to touch me intimately. I moaned as she rubbed my soft folds, slowly eliciting moans of pleasure as I felt my orgasm rising. I circled my hips against her hand and she increased the pressure until I was writhing in pleasure. My mouth tore from hers as I came, blissfully spiralling into the heavens as pleasure burst through me.

  Once recovered, I quickly returned the favour, rubbing her clitoris with my fingers as she moaned and writhed beneath me. When she came I felt a sense of satisfaction rush through me which was unrivalled. I sank back against the pillows feeling replete.

  ‘I have to get up,’ Jess said with a groan in her voice.

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because we have a meeting at seven thirty at the station.’

  ‘Oh,’ I murmured, feeling disheartened. I had forgotten it all for one night and it had been blissful. Returning to it felt like a huge burden was weighing me down once more.

  ‘You don’t have to come, Alex.’

  ‘I do.’

  ‘No, you don’t. You can stay here and relax. If it’s too much, you just take a step back. You’ve already helped by finding the body parts and then Gareth. You don’t have to do it all.’

  ‘I want to,’ I said quietly.

  She gave me a suspicious expression. ‘Do you?’

  I nodded. ‘Yes. I feel like I’m meant to help…’

  ‘Well get up then.’

  I did as she suggested. ‘I think I’m needed today too,’ I revealed.

  ‘Oh yeah? Why’s that?’ she asked, pulling on her smart clothes for work.

  ‘I…I just feel like I am.’

  ‘Okay; well when you know more-let me know. Whatever you do though, you don’t do it without me. Got it?’

  ‘Got it, sergeant major sir!’ I said, saluting her playfully.

  ‘Don’t mock me, Alex. You could have got yourself killed.’

  ‘Clearly not, Jess! Don’t you think I would have known if the killer had been there?’

  ‘Maybe, maybe not! Sometimes you haven’t ‘felt’ the killer that clearly like normal people. You must be more careful in situations like this.’

  ‘Okay…well, I promise not to do anything rash.’

  ‘Anything without me,’ she reminded me.

  ‘Okay, okay! Anything without you.’

  ‘Good,’ she said, looking satisfied, ‘now let’s go. We’re late!’

  I hurried out of bed and quickly pulled on my clothes.

  Chapter 11

  We made it to the station on time. People were assembling in the meeting room and we were ready and set up by the time everyone arrived. I watched and listened as Jess ran through the information with her staff, thinking to myself that she was doing very well in her role as Captain-even though she didn’t feel that herself.

  When she was done, we separated off with tasks assigned to different people. I went to the office in order to find some quiet. It wasn’t until I was in there alone that I felt that I could think. When silence descended, I began to ‘see’ more clearly. I began to let my mind relax and let the vision come in. I hadn’t wanted to see the evil he had created overnight but now, I was beginning to realise that the answer was there clearly in my head already.

  I closed my eyes as I sat down on the sofa.

  I saw the little, white feather as it made its way down a snowy road. It danced gently along the road, making its way down snow-laden trees. I watched its path and followed the direction it took. Then, I opened my eyes and watched as the masterpiece was placed in position. It was upon a broken tree; a cracked, lightning-struck tree was the location. Once finished, The Creator looked upon it with admiration for a long while; then disappeared into the forest beyond.

  I blinked rapidly, coming out of the vision I had seen.

  ‘What is it?’ Jess asked.

  I started, surprised. ‘I didn’t even hear you come in!’

  ‘You looked well out of it.’

  ‘I was…’ I said with a moan.

  ‘What’s going on? Have you seen something?’

  I nodded, swallowing back the nausea which had come back rapidly.

  ‘What then? Tell me!’

  ‘It’s ‘The Creator’…’


  Her eyes widened.

  ‘He’s left his…he’s left the…it’s out there now, Jess.’

  ‘What’s out there?’

  ‘The…body,’ I managed brokenly. ‘The…assembled parts anyway.’

  She stared at me, wide eyed.

  ‘I can take you to it, I think.’

  She paused for a split second before nodding. ‘I’ll get a team ready.’

  Ten minutes later we were leaving the building. With Jess and I in one car, we began to drive. In front of my eyes floated the little, white feather. I had asked Jess outright and she was clear with me that she hadn’t seen it.

  ‘Turn left,’ I told her, and Jess followed my instructions. As we got closer to the sight, I felt my stomach tensing wildly and my tensions rising. The last thing I wanted to do was see this ‘creation’ of his. With no-one else to find it, I had little choice.

  I led the teams to the end of a tiny, dirt track road. The snow lay piled on the sides of the road and the track looked mostly unused. When the road ended, we got out. The rest of our journey would be on foot.

  ‘This way,’ I told Jess and Billy, who led the front of the police who were in attendance.

  ‘How far?’ Jess wanted to know.

  ‘It’s…perhaps half a mile I think?’

  ‘Oh really? How did he get it that far?’ she questioned.

  ‘I don’t know,’ I said, shaking my head. ‘I think he’s very strong.

  She gave me a long look and then began to tramp through the snow with heavy footsteps. ‘Come on then. Let’s get this over with.’

  I began walking, my progress slow in the snow. It reminded me of the first time we had been in search of a victim-but that one had been alive. This one was most definitely gone…and in parts, which disturbed me greatly.

  As I walked, I pondered the evil that people could do to others. I didn’t understand how one human being felt that they could take life, and then destroy it even further by defiling it bodily. It moved me to think that some people could go about their lives as normal, whilst such evil lurked in the shadows of their minds.