The Hill - Carla’s Story (Book Two): A Paranormal Murder Mystery Thriller. (Book Two)

by Andrew M Stafford

  Quietly, he tiptoed downstairs and into the kitchen where he picked up a six inch kitchen knife, ran it under the tap and then dried it in a tea towel. He wrapped the blade in a few sheets of kitchen roll and slipped it into the inside pocket of his two thousand pound suit jacket.

  He walked to the hallway and then to the front door, he turned around and glanced at the staircase and up towards the bedroom where Anne was still sleeping. He picked up duplicates of the files he’d given to Don Hodges the night before, put on dark glasses and left the house.

  The Boxter looked immaculate as it shone in the early summer sun. There wasn’t a blemish on it. Mason climbed in, buckled his seatbelt and entered Campbell Broderick’s postcode into the satnav.

  He started the engine which roared into life and pulled out of his driveway and headed towards Keynsham on the other side of the city.

  He tapped along on the steering as he listened to The Four Seasons by Vivaldi blasting from the sound system.

  Twenty two minutes later he pulled into Campbell Broderick’s road and slowly crawled the street looking for number twenty seven.

  He spotted the terraced house and parked directly opposite. He pulled the kitchen knife from his pocket and removed the kitchen roll. It was so shiny, he could see the reflection of his dark glasses in the metal blade.

  He replaced the knife in his pocket, shut off the engine and got out. Adjusting his cufflinks he slowly walked toward the house were Campbell Broderick, Maria Jameson and her son Christopher called home.

  Chapter one hundred and eighteen

  Maria and Campbell’s flat

  10.57am

  Saturday 2nd June

  Maria was cutting stems from a bouquet of beautiful flowers and was lovingly placing each flower into a heavy glass vase.

  Today was not a day to which either she or her mother were looking forward to. It was the fourth anniversary of her father, Christopher Jameson’s death.

  Claire had been due at eleven o’clock and the two of them were to visit his grave, place some flowers, say some words and probably shed quite a few tears. Following the visit to his grave, they had planned on meeting with Campbell who would bring Christopher, Samreen and a few of Claire’s friends to raise a toast and remember Christopher senior at the Talbot Inn.

  Claire had called to say she was running late, but would be there by eleven fifteen.

  Things had become a little more relaxed over the past week or so. Although he still banged his head at night, Christopher had stopped chanting and other than the occasional grunts and moans he made no noise whenever his Rhythmic Movement Disorder happened. Cleary Ben Walker had been true to his word and had stopped calling out to be heard.

  Maria’s hands were unsteady as she arranged the flowers. The very thought that Ben Walker was somewhere within the flesh and blood of her son scared her. It had frightened her to the degree that she felt distant from him. When she picked him up to cuddle him she felt she was cuddling two people, both Christopher and Ben.

  She was desperate for Markland Garraway to find Ben’s killer as she was holding on to the hope that if and when the murderer was convicted, then Ben would pass over to the place in which he rightfully belonged and sever his ties with the world of the living.

  It had been arranged that Christopher would be hypnotised the next day, this time in the presence of Markland Garraway. Everyone was hoping that Garraway could garner some useful information to help convict whoever had killed Ben.

  Maria had been praying that Garraway would only need Christopher to be hypnotised one final time in order to put an end to all of the troubles which had been ongoing for the past few years.

  She was brought out of her thoughts by the throaty sound of a high performance car turning into her road. She turned and looked out of the window and saw a gold coloured car slowly making its way along the road. She was surprised to see it park opposite her flat.

  She watched as the driver sat for a few minutes with the engine running, an engine so loud that even when idling it made the windows of her lounge shake.

  The engine stopped and the driver got out of. He was wearing a grey suit and dark glasses and had closely cut hair.

  She was surprised when he crossed the road, walked up to her door and rang the bell. Christopher was playing on his own in his bedroom, whilst Campbell was in the kitchen, clearing away the breakfast dishes.

  Maria put down the scissors she’d been using to cut the stems and nervously walked to the door. She opened it wide enough for her and the stranger to see each other’s faces.

  “Can I help you?” asked Maria.

  “Yes, please may I speak with Campbell Broderick?”

  “May I ask who you are?”

  “My name’s Terry, Terry Mason……don’t worry, he knows who I am.”

  Maria asked him to wait outside while she went to get Campbell. Maria recognised the name. She knew that Terry Mason was the managing director of TM.IT.

  Maria pushed open the kitchen door as Campbell was putting away the dishes.

  “I heard the door, is it your mother?” asked Campbell.

  “No, it isn’t,” replied Maria, and then in a whisper she added, “It’s Terry Mason.”

  “Terry Mason?” mouthed Campbell,

  Maria nodded.

  “What does he want?”

  Maria shrugged her shoulders.

  Campbell put down the plate and walked along the hallway and opened the front door.

  “Hello Terry, this is unexpected, what can I do for you?”

  “May I come in? We need to talk.”

  Campbell invited him in and showed him to the lounge where Maria was arranging the flowers.

  He was surprised by the visit from his boss, so much so that he’d forgotten to shut the door of the flat which swung closed, but remained slightly ajar.

  “Can I get you something, a coffee perhaps?” asked Campbell nervously.

  “No thank you. I need to ask you something and I’ll come straight to the point.”

  He took off his dark glasses and placed them on the table alongside the cut flower stems.

  “What is it you want with my daughter?” demanded Mason in an intimidating tone.

  Maria looked up and dropped the flower she was about to place in the vase.

  “I don’t understand…..I …don’t want anything…..” Campbell paused to compose himself, he wasn’t going to be threatened by anyone.

  “Mr Mason, what’s all this about and why do you think I want anything to do with your daughter?”

  “Don’t fucking lie to me, I’ve seen the video, I watched it last night.”

  Campbell was confused, to which video was he referring? Surely not the one of Tom Judd and Christopher.

  “Which video?”

  “The one in the hypnotist’s room, the one you gave to Naomi King.”

  Campbell was lost for words. His mind was in a muddle. How on earth could Terry Mason have got a copy of the video? As far as he knew it had only been handled by Naomi, Tom Judd, Markland Garraway and himself.

  Mason took a step closer until his face was inches away from Campbell’s. They were similar in height and build. Maria froze with fear as she watched the menacing man stand face to face with her fiancé.

  “I said, don’t lie to me Broderick, I need to know what it is you want with my daughter…. and I am deadly serious.”

  “There’s nothing I want with your daughter, and I’m also deadly serious. Now back away from me or I will remove you from my house….I don’t care who you are, I will not allow you to come to my home and intimidate me in front of my family.”

  Mason but his hand in his jacket pocket and quickly pulled out the knife and pressed it against Campbell’s Adam’s apple.

  “This is the last time I’m going to ask you, what is it you want with my daughter?”

  Campbell was about to open his mouth when Christopher came running into the lounge and saw the stranger holding a knife to the man he con
sidered to be his father.

  “Daddy!” shouted Christopher.

  Mason was fleetingly distracted by Christopher and instantly recognised him as the boy in the video.

  Campbell took advantage of Mason’s brief distraction and swung his right leg forward. With one swift move, he swept his leg catching the back of Mason’s knee joint with his foot, causing Mason to lose his balance and fall to the floor. As he dropped to the floor, the knife sliced into Campbell’s bicep, cutting his skin. Campbell instinctively put his hand over the wound as Mason struggled to get back to his feet.

  Maria picked up the heavy glass vase and quickly stepped forward and brought the vase crashing down upon Mason’s head rendering him unconscious.

  Christopher screamed as he watched his mother smash the glass over the stranger’s head and he screamed again when he saw blood running from his father’s arm.

  Campbell got down on the floor and checked whether Mason was alive.

  “He’s still breathing,” announced Campbell, relieved that Maria hadn’t killed him

  “Grab me those tie backs,” shouted Campbell as he pointed to the curtains.

  Maria quickly pulled the two heavy rope curtain tie backs and threw them to Campbell.

  Whilst bearing the pain from the cut, he turned Mason over, yanked his arms behind his back and tied his hands together. With Mason lying on his front with his hands tied behind him, Campbell pulled his boss’s legs so his feet were against his buttocks and with the other tie back he secured his feet tightly together.

  Campbell pulled the belt from his trousers and used it to secure Mason’s feet to his hands.

  He had secured Terry Mason and had made the situation safe within a minute of the man hitting the ground.

  Christopher was beside himself and was crying his eyes out just as Claire walked into the lounge. The front door had been left open and she could hear the disturbance so let herself in.

  She stood with her mouth open trying to make sense of the carnage. She saw the blood seeping from Campbell’s arm, the unconscious man on the floor lying amongst a scattered bouquet of flowers, an upside down vase and a kitchen knife which was under the lounge table.

  And then there was Christopher. She instinctively picked up and hugged the scared little boy.

  Campbell grabbed a shirt which was hanging from the back of one of the chairs and made a tourniquet to reduce the flow of blood from the cut to his arm.

  “Call the police,” shouted Maria.

  “No, no don’t,” said Campbell.

  “When he comes around, he won’t be going anywhere in a hurry and I need to talk to him and find out what the hell’s going on.”

  Claire took Christopher to his bedroom and Maria followed behind.

  “What’s just happened?” asked Claire.

  “I’m not entirely sure…….that man is Campbell’s boss. He came here to confront Campbell and attacked him with a knife……..something to do with his daughter.”

  “His daughter?”

  “That’s what he said, he’s got a copy of the video, you know, the one from Tom Judd’s place.”

  Claire rocked and hugged the scared little boy whilst she sat with him on the edge of his bed.

  “Listen mum, I think the plan to visit dad’s grave today will have to be cancelled.”

  Claire nodded.

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea to have ‘you know who’ present when Terry Mason comes around,” said Maria pointing to Christopher.

  “Is there any chance you could take him somewhere for a couple of hours?”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll find somewhere nice to take him…….make sure you’re careful, I’m worried about you and Campbell.”

  “Don’t worry about us, the way Campbell has trussed the man up, he won’t be going anywhere in a hurry.”

  Claire left the house holding Christopher’s hand. Christopher was holding on tightly to his little grey toy cat.

  Maria and Campbell waited in their lounge for Mason to wake up. After three quarters of an hour he began to moan.

  “Get him a couple of pain killers, I think he’s going to need them,” said Maria.

  Mason wriggled on the floor but was unable to get up.

  “Get me up,” demanded Mason in a weary voice.

  “I don’t think so……..you have some explaining to do,” said Campbell.

  “Here have two of these.”

  Campbell forced a couple of paracetamol tablets into Mason’s mouth.

  “Don’t worry, they’re pain killers, for your own good.”

  Mason struggled to swallow the tablets, he tried to muster up some saliva, but his mouth was so dry he coughed and the half dissolved tablets dropped from his mouth and on to the carpet.

  “I’ll make sure you won’t be working for TM.IT after today.”

  “That’s your privilege Mr Mason, but to be honest that’s the least of my worries. And I think you should be more concerned about what the police will have to say when they arrive.”

  “You’ve called the police?”

  “We’re just about to, but before we do, why don’t you tell me what the hell’s going on?”

  Mason struggled to free himself from the ropes.

  “I’ve got all the time in the world, and the more you struggle, the tighter I’ll tie those knots.”

  Mason slumped forward. His wrists ached from the rope and he had cramp in his legs.

  “I’ll tell you what Terry, I’ll make Maria and myself a nice cup of coffee and you lie there and think about things.”

  While Campbell went to the kitchen Maria stood over Mason with the knife in her hand.

  “I think you really should tell us what all this is about,” said Maria as she inspected the sharp knife which had traces of Campbell’s blood on it.

  Mason went to open his mouth.

  “Don’t bother now, wait for Campbell to come back,” said Maria.

  Campbell returned from the kitchen with coffee for Maria and himself. Maria was impressed by how calm her fiancé was, but noticed how much his hands were shaking as he handed over her coffee.

  Terry Mason considered his options, and he figured he didn’t have very many. He lay on his front and wondered why he was so sure that Campbell Broderick was a threat to his daughter. He had no rational reason why he should suspect him, but he had a strong instinct that the man was harmful. He knew his instinct had been right, the video clip had proved it.

  Mason thought hard about how he could put into words the gut feeling, that little voice in his head that was telling him something wasn’t right, and that something had a lot to do with Campbell Broderick. How stupid was he going to sound when he told him all of this when he didn’t have a scrap of evidence to prove Campbell was really a threat to Liz? But there was the video, surely that meant something. It linked Campbell Broderick with the murder of Ben Walker, and the attack on his daughter.

  “OK, if you untie the ropes and let me sit down I’ll tell you,” said Mason.

  “How do I know you’re not going to attack me again?”

  “I guess you don’t, you’re just going to have to take my word.”

  “I’ll tell you what, I’ll untie you and you can sit down, but I’m tying you back up as soon as you’re on that chair. Don’t forget, we’ve got your knife and we have that very heavy glass vase. Maria merely knocked you unconscious with it, but me, well I promise I can do a lot more damage.”

  Campbell undid the leather belt that tied his feet to his hands. Mason let out a sigh of relief as he was able to straighten his legs. His feet and hands were still tightly bound with the rope so Campbell had to help him up, and onto the wooden chair.

  Maria stood over Mason with the vase raised in readiness should he try anything stupid. Mason had already made his mind up that he had no intention of escaping.

  Mason sat on the chair, his hands still tied behind his back. Campbell positioned his arms so they were behind the back of the chair. With the leat
her belt he secured Mason’s feet to the legs of the chair.

  Once Campbell was sure Mason was secure he stood back and wiped his brow. Adrenalin had made him briefly forget about the pain in his arm, but know he was beginning to relax he could feel the wound throb beneath the tourniquet.

  “I could do with those pain killers now please.”

  Maria went to the kitchen and returned with a glass of water and two more paracetamol. Campbell put the tablets in Mason’s mouth and held the glass to his lips.

  “What can I say Broderick, other than I know you’re trouble and I know you have something on my daughter, something worth killing for. The video proves you’re involved with the killing of that poor boy Ben Walker, and now you’re out to get my daughter, for whatever reason.”

  “Is that it, is that why you came here and attacked me because you’ve seen the video of Christopher under hypnosis?”

  Mason said nothing.

  “What led you to believe that I had anything to do with your daughter, which may I add, I don’t?”

  “Something told me, it came to me that I shouldn’t trust you.”

  “What do you mean, something told you? What something?”

  Mason sat on the chair and lowered his head as if in shame. He didn’t have the vocabulary to explain how he knew, but he just did.

  “I think I know what he’s talking about,” said Maria.

  Both Mason and Campbell looked at her.

  “It’s the hill, it’s been reaching out to him, in the same way it reached out to Markland Garraway in his dreams.”

  “What hill?” asked Mason.

  “The hill in Badock’s Wood, it seems to have a tendency to drive people crazy. It’s already had me in its grip, but thanks to Campbell I’ve escaped lightly.”

  She was referring to the night when Campbell had resorted to calling Dr Sullivan.

  “Maria’s talking about the hill in the Woods where Ben and Liz were found,” added Campbell.

  Terry Mason remembered the hill clearly. He could see it in his mind’s eye festooned with flowers which had been left by well-wishers.

  “For some reason the hill is trying to tell you something…….something about your daughter. It’s clearly trying to forewarn you of something and it’s linking your daughter with Campbell, but I assure you…….I promise you……. that no one intends to cause any harm to your daughter.”