by M A Comley
“No, thank goodness,” Tony groaned light-heartedly.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
After a restless night of anticipating what the new day would have in store for them, Lorne showered, dressed then grabbed a quick coffee and a piece of toast. She rushed out of the house at eight twenty. The first car to join the convoy was Carol’s reliable mini. They drove to the scene and met up with Katy, who was waiting for them inside her car with her heater on full blast and her music blaring.
Lorne banged on the windscreen to get her partner’s attention.
Katy clutched her chest in fright. “Jesus, you scared the crap out of me.”
“I thought detectives remained alert at all times.” Lorne grinned broadly.
Katy hopped out of the car and shook hands with Carol. “Good to see you again, Carol. I hope this experience doesn’t freak me out too much. Forgive me if my attention wavers now and again and I stick to the traditional route of investigating, won’t you?”
“You do whatever you feel comfortable with, Katy. It might take me a while to summon up Noelle’s spirit anyway.”
“Oh,” Katy said, sounding surprised. “Noelle didn’t hitch a ride with you in the car then?”
“No, Katy. You really haven’t grasped how the spirit world works. You carry on. I’ll lag behind and do what I usually do to call on the spirits for their guidance.”
“All right then, let’s get this show on the road. Shall we set off in this direction?”
Lorne stopped at the edge of the wood to read the instructions of where the trail might lead them. “Okay, this is interesting. Apparently, this area was used by the druids for all kinds of ceremonies years ago.”
“Well, that snippet of information might mean that we’re confronted with other spirits once we’re inside the forest. I hope not. And I’ll do my best to keep the spirits from interfering with our quest, but if they are resident here, that might prove to be an impossible task,” Carol explained.
“Wow, really? The spirits claim certain areas as their own? I never imagined them doing that,” Katy admitted.
The two detectives started to wind their way along the path, through the canopied area, which was littered with autumn leaves in every shade of rust imaginable. Now and then, they halted to watch Carol trying to summon Noelle, only to fail. They continued on the same route, scanning their surroundings for any of the clues that had designated this stretch of the county as a place of interest.
Stopping, her feet buried in damp leaves, Lorne pointed through the haze the chilly morning had mustered, indicating a collection of stones alongside the path. “Is that what we’re looking for?”
Katy took a few steps closer and called back over her shoulder. “If I’m not mistaken, it’s a bridge of sorts. Not sure it leads anywhere, though.”
The three of them moved closer to the stones. “You’re right. It used to be a bridge at one time. Looks like it’s been dismantled.” Lorne kicked the twigs and leaves away from the base of the stones.
“Can you tell us anything about this, Carol?”
“Not much. Yes, it was a bridge.” She shuddered.
Lorne and Katy glanced at each other and frowned.
“Everything all right, Carol?” Katy asked. She stepped forward and rubbed the psychic’s upper arm.
“There are so many here.”
“Spirits?” Katy looked more frightened than Lorne had ever seen her before, which surprised Lorne, given the way Katy had reacted the previous day at a similar location.
“Yes.” Carol went into a kind of trance.
Lorne moved behind her friend in case she lost her balance. Contacting the spirits often drained Carol’s energy.
“Many people have been killed here.”
“No!” Katy cried out, horrified. She leapt closer to Lorne and clung to her arm.
“Don’t worry. They won’t harm you,” Carol reassured the detectives. “Once this is over, I need to return to free these poor people from their state of limbo. Maybe there will be a few more cold cases for you to solve in this vicinity. Noelle, are you with us, dear?”
Lorne stifled a snigger when she felt Katy’s grip tighten on her arm. Katy’s head swivelled like a deranged bird’s as she searched their surroundings.
“Chill. If she appears, you’ll be fine. Take deep breaths. Carol won’t let anything happen to us.”
Carol turned to face Katy, placed a hand on her forehead, and mumbled a few words.
“What’s she doing?” Katy mouthed.
“I’m protecting you. Just breathe deeply, and you’ll be fine.”
Lorne couldn’t help but be impressed by the immediate transformation in Katy’s demeanour once Carol had removed her hand.
“Do you feel different?” Lorne asked.
“Actually, I do. It’s hard to describe how I feel. I suppose calmer would be a good word.”
“Come, ladies. We need to travel deeper into the depths of the wood.” Carol took the lead.
Lorne and Katy linked arms and constantly surveyed the area behind her as they followed. Carol’s black cloak separated the eerie mist floating inches above the forest floor. Lorne got the impression that if Carol hadn’t performed the protection ceremony on Katy, she would have taken flight and locked herself in her car. As for Lorne, she was feeling pretty chilled, in more ways than one.
Twigs snapped at regular intervals beneath their feet, and the mixture of dry and moist leaves rustled, adding to their spooky surroundings as they ventured deeper into the wood. Carol stopped abruptly in front of them. Katy and Lorne continued a few steps and came to a halt beside her. They shuffled into a new position, standing with their backs against each other, in a circle, just listening.
“There.” Lorne pointed a few feet away at a flickering faint light.
“That’s it. Noelle, be with us. Show us the way, dear.” Carol held her arms up to beckon the spirit.
Katy’s eyes widened, and her gaze slipped between watching the spirit and Lorne. She seemed to be in shock, if only temporarily.
Lorne leaned over and whispered, “She’s arrived. Stay calm. Everything will be fine.”
Katy could only nod in response.
“Noelle, can you lead the way now? We’ll follow wherever you want to take us.”
“Okay. It’s quite a distance from here, I think,” the spirit replied, her faint image emerging.
Katy gasped. Noelle’s distinctive shape, which Lorne hadn’t been privy to previously, led the way.
Carol smiled at Lorne and Katy and punched the air. “Here we go, ladies. We should have this case sewn up by lunchtime if all goes well.”
“Let’s hope so,” Katy mumbled, linking her arm through Lorne’s.
Noelle’s spirit chose a bush and circled it. “The beautiful tree I mentioned. I have no idea of the name.”
Lorne nodded. “It’s a rhododendron. It might not look much now. But back in May, when the incident occurred, it would have possibly been in full bloom. Was it, Noelle?”
“Yes. Beautiful, it has pale-pink flowers. Is it fair for such beauty to witness such a vile act of pure evil?” Noelle stated, ending her question with a sob.
“It’s all right, Noelle. With your help, we’ll see this person gets the punishment he rightly deserves. Keep strong and lead on, if you will, sweetie,” Lorne assured the spirit. As they walked, she kept a mental note of the clues they had uncovered so far: the bridge and the beautiful ‘tree’. Noelle had also mentioned gravestones.
Lorne wondered if Noelle had felt the presence of all the other spirits who had found this place as their final resting place. Perhaps the gravestones had not been exactly literal. Or were they about to stumble across an actual cemetery? Lorne tried to recall the map. However, the unfamiliar surroundings in conjunction with the cold morning air jumbled her head.
The three women continued to follow the spirit, who stopped now and again to take in her surroundings as if questioning the route she was taking, especially when a new path app
eared. Once she took a specific route, Noelle seemed confident and never once turned back. Still, Katy clung to Lorne’s arm, and Lorne suspected her boss was worried about what might happen to her if she let go.
At a large clearing, about ten minutes into their journey, Noelle stopped. She spun around, her arms out to the side as though she were in some kind of vortex, stirring up the leaves beneath her. “Here! This is where it happened.”
“That’s wonderful, Noelle.” Carol applauded.
“Wow, really? Do you think that’s right, Lorne?” Katy asked, unlinking her arm from Lorne’s.
“Why should we doubt it, Katy, given the clues that she has verified on this outing so far? My heart’s pounding with excitement. Isn’t yours?”
“I’m not sure I’m as excited as you are about this, but my heart is certainly going ten to the dozen. So, what’s next?”
“Let’s see how things progress for a few more minutes. After that, I suppose we should call in forensics and the cadaver dogs, yes?” Lorne replied.
“Okay, you’re right.” Katy lowered her voice and said, “I hope Noelle decides to disappear again before anyone else arrives at the scene. I don’t fancy explaining her presence to anyone else, and if word ever got back to either the chief or the super—let’s just say if I’d been blessed with bollocks, they’d be extracted from between my legs and shoved down my throat.”
Lorne sniggered and shook her head. “I think that’s a slight exaggeration, but I do understand what you’re getting at.”
For the next few minutes, they watched and listened to Noelle, spinning on the spot and sobbing her heart out until exhaustion finally subdued her.
“Is she all right, Carol?” Lorne asked, watching Noelle fall in a heap on the damp forest floor.
“She’ll be fine. It’s relief, Lorne. She’s done her job leading us here. Now it’s down to you and Katy to find her body.”
“We’ll do our best. Katy and I are going to head back to the car. The reception for our phones is crap here. We’ll contact the relevant departments to come out here. Do you want to head off home? Will Noelle disappear now, too?”
“Are you worried what the others might think if they turn up and see a psychic with the spirit of your missing victim in tow?”
Lorne hugged her friend. “You’ve got me bang to rights, love. Not that we don’t appreciate your help.”
“I understand completely. Can you wait a little while longer? I need to make sure Noelle is all right first before I send her away.”
“Of course. It’ll take us a good few minutes to get back to the car anyway. Will that be enough time?”
Carol glanced in the direction of the crumpled outline of the spirit and shrugged. “I think so. Who knows with these things? Let me check how she is.”
Katy nudged Lorne’s arm. “I hope they’re not going to be too long. My feet are getting colder by the minute.”
“Patience was never your strongest attribute, was it? They’ll be as long as they need to be.”
Before Lorne’s eyes, the spirit evaporated. Carol rejoined Lorne and Katy, and together, they marched swiftly back through the wood to their vehicles.
Katy clapped her hands together. “Let’s get this party started.”
“Er… I think I would have said that a little differently under the circumstances, boss.”
“I agree with Lorne. A little less enthusiasm and far more compassion for the victim should be the order of the day, Inspector.”
“Oops, okay. You guys are right. I apologise wholeheartedly. You both must feel as elated as I’m feeling right now, though, right?”
“Maybe. Let’s see what a search of the area shows up first before we begin our celebrations, eh?” Lorne said.
Carol nodded her agreement as Katy placed the calls.
Turning her back on Katy, Lorne asked her dear friend, “Will Noelle be released now? You know, be able to continue on her onward journey to the other side?”
“Not yet. Her body has to be discovered before that can occur. Let’s hope the spot she pointed out is the correct area. I’ve never seen her react in such a distraught way during any of her visits. From that, I think we can presume that place has to have some significance.”
“Hopefully, depending how soon the teams can get here, we’ll have some answers by the end of the day.”
“What if her body isn’t here? What will happen then, Lorne?” Carol asked, her brow wrinkled.
“We’ll cross that bridge when, or if, we come to it. Why don’t you go home, get some rest in front of that warm wood-burning stove of yours?”
“I might just do that. You will ring me the minute you hear any news?”
“Of course I will. Thanks for all your help, Carol. It’s been an amazing experience. Opened a few sceptics’ eyes, too, I believe.” Lorne nodded in Katy’s direction, where she was in her element, issuing orders and giving the directions to their location.
“I’m glad we’ve achieved something today. I have a niggling feeling in the pit of my stomach causing me concerns.”
“About the case? Whether or not we’re going to find Noelle’s remains here?”
“I can’t tell you any more than that, Lorne. You know how these things work. We just have to go with the information these spirits bestow upon us. Fingers crossed. I’m out of here, Onyx missed her walk this morning.”
“Give her a kiss from me. Drive carefully, and thanks again, Carol. I’ll call you this evening if I hear anything.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
When the forensics team arrived, Lorne felt as if they had taken an eternity to get to the scene, though they were the first to arrive.
“Geeze, guys, what kept you? It’s been bloody hours since I placed the call,” Katy complained as the two men in their thirties stood at the rear of their car, donning white suits.
“We got held up on another call. It’s not like this is an emergency or anything, is it?” The sarcastic comment had come from the cutest of the men and was adjoined by the broadest of smiles.
“Less of the cheek and more urgency is needed, if you don’t mind, Samuels. Have you seen how cold it is out here today?”
“Sorry, yep. I didn’t take that into consideration. I forgot what wimps you detectives are.”
Katy glanced at Lorne and raised an eyebrow. “Let’s hope you’re feeling this chirpy after you spend the next four hours out here.”
“Touché, Inspector. Are you sticking around?”
“If you had been here a few hours ago, maybe. I think you can handle it from here while I thaw out. Will you ring me straight away if you find anything?” Katy handed him one of her business cards, which he tucked in the side of the bag he was holding.
“That’s an affirmative. Now, if you’ll excuse us, ladies, we have a crime scene to investigate.”
“You can’t get rid of us that quickly. We need to show you the way. Lorne, will you stay here and wait for the other team while I take these gentlemen in?”
“Sure. We wouldn’t want the men to get lost, knowing what lies in this forest.”
“Sounds ominous. Care to share what you’re referring to by that?” Samuels frowned.
“It doesn’t matter. Let’s get a move on before the light starts to fade.” The other forensic guy pulled Samuels by the arm and headed through the forest’s entrance.
Katy grinned broadly and tapped her nose at the two men. “If you’d like to walk this way, gents.”
Lorne jumped back in the car and switched the engine on to circulate the heat in the confined space. Some days, she really regretted returning to the Met—this was definitely one of those days. She would much rather have been scooping up poop at the kennels than having every inch of her skin prickling with cold.
A car pulled into the car park. Lorne got out of the vehicle to welcome the police cadaver dog team, only to find it wasn’t them. The man behind the steering wheel stared at her, his eyes wide with fear. Well, he looks suspicious. Wonder wha
t he’s up to?
She walked towards his car, and the engine roared to life. Lorne upped her speed. His wheels spun, churning up the car park’s gravel. Some of it hurtled Lorne’s way. She cried out as a huge piece clipped her shin.
“Stop! Police!”
The man put his foot down and exited the area like a Formula One racing driver.
“Stop!” Lorne repeated to no avail.
“Who was that?” Katy trotted up behind her.
“I’m not sure. Maybe he was about to dump something illegal. He saw me and got spooked. Excuse the turn of phrase.”
“Did you get the number plate?”
Lorne took out her notebook and scribbled down the number. “I certainly did. I’ll run it through the system when we get back to base, see what comes up.”
“No sign of the dog team yet, I take it?” Katy asked, rubbing her hands together.
“Nope. Oh, hang on. Here they are now.” Lorne pointed at the white van pulling into the end of the road.
“Good. I’m freezing my tits off out here. Let’s get back to the station and run that plate. I hope this buoyant mood I’m in doesn’t disappear into the ether like Noelle’s spirit.”
Upon arrival at the station, the first thing they did was to grab a hot coffee and a sausage roll to make up for the lunch they had missed. Lorne asked Karen to run the strange car’s plate number through the system. Lorne was at the whiteboard, filling in details they had discovered that morning, when Karen excitedly called over to her.
“Lorne, the car is registered to… you’re never going to believe this…”
“Go on, surprise me. It’s the bloody boyfriend, yes?”
“Yep,” Karen agreed with a grimace.
Lorne kicked out at the nearest table leg. “Shit! I should have known it was him just by the way he reacted.”
Katy came out of her office when she heard the commotion. “Something wrong?”
“I had him in the palm of my hand and let him go—that’s what’s wrong.”
“Who? Lorne, you’re not making any sense.”
“Smalling. Noelle’s boyfriend. That was him earlier.”