The Escape (Detective Jane Sparrow Book 2)

by Claire Merrington

  “Jane? Are you ready to get out? Were at the hotel.”

  “Oh right yeah have we got to stop at the reception to check in or anything? I must look a mess. I don’t think I can face talking to other human beings right now.”

  “Don’t worry I will deal with us checking in you just find yourself somewhere to sit down still ok. The police unit that is going to be inside with us is probably going to need to notify the reception as well.”

  “Ok I’ll let them know.”

  The unit that had been with Jane all day let her know that they were going to do a lap round the hotel car park and grounds and then check out for the night. Jane thanked them and went off to speak to the other three awaiting police units. The two officers that were going to be placed outside Jane’s hotel room for the night’s guard duty followed herself and Perry through to the hotel lobby. Jane went and took a seat on the armchair that Perry pointed out while himself and the officers went to deal with the receptionist. The ever so helpful receptionist only took a few moments to organise everything. She checked them in and decided it would be better to move them room from the one that had been assigned to them earlier. She gave them a room at the end of the hall closest to an emergency escape exit just in case and moved them to a quieter floor. There were only two other rooms occupied on the floor of the hotel that they had been placed on. Perry came over and collected their belongings and helped Jane from the armchair that she was comfortably waiting in. He managed to collect all their bags in one hand and wrapped the other arm around Jane’s back to be able to steer her in her half stupor to their room. As they made their way into the room the two police officers that were on guard duty settled in for the night, the hotel had been kind enough to provide them with chairs to sit on. They took their places on either side of the door. Jane on the other hand couldn’t believe their hotel room for the night, or rather hotel suite. The room that she had walked into looked like something out of a magazine for famous people, it was absolutely gorgeous, it was nicer than her apartment. Which on that thought made Jane realise that she wanted to sell her home, it no longer had the same appeal after it had had a dead body delivered to her doorstep. The other thought that Jane couldn’t shake is how did Thaddeus know where she lived. Jane didn’t believe that Thaddeus had ever been privy to that information. Even when he had posed as a case consultant psychologist and linguistic expert he still hadn’t been told it. As Jane stood in the safety confines of the hotel room looking around at the bewildering sight of the room she was in she could feel the heat pouring of Perry standing behind her watching her.

  “Come baby let me run you a bath. It will help you relax.”

  Jane followed Perry through into the bathroom, which was expansive in size and had the most glorious bathtub that Jane had ever seen. In the centre of the room stood a gorgeous roll top bath sat with brass fixings and expensive ornate looking bottles of bubble bath and smellies that sat on the side. Perry placed the stopper in the bottom and turned the hot tap on full blast and added an exquisite smelling fragranced bubble bath and started to pull of his clothing. All Jane could do was stand there and stare.

  “Come baby bathe with me.”

  Jane complied and removed her clothing and stepped into the warm bathtub with Perry. As she laid back and let the water cascade over her body and rested her head against Perry’s chest the emotions of the day were still running high and she couldn’t help but let the tears start flowing again.

  “Sshh baby let it out it’s ok, it’s all ok your safe everything is going to be ok. Your safe your ok and I know you none of this is your fault so no blaming yourself. You’re not the one that killed Jack. Thaddeus did and we will make him pay. Just remember that. Sshh baby.”

  Jane lay there without saying a word letting the comfort of Perry and the heat of the bath soothe her. Letting her mind drift off and relax into a bliss that Jane didn’t think was possible after a day like the one that she had had. Before Jane had even realised Perry had to wake her to get her out the bathtub.

  “Come sweetie let’s get out the bath and go to bed you’re exhausted.”

  Jane and Perry stepped out of the bath and dried. Perry wrapped Jane in the most cashmere soft dressing gown as her skin had began to prickle in the coldness of the room after soaking in the warm bath. He guided her over to the edge of the bed and they slipped in. Perry was nestled in behind Jane and Jane cozied herself down into the safe embrace and enclosure of his arms. And Jane drifted of to sleep.

  Chapter 8

  Jane awoke in a cold sweat and looked over to her bedside stand where the digital clock the hotel had provided was standing. On it said that it was only three in the morning. The cold sweat that Jane had broken out in had been caused by another nightmare; different from any she had had before. Instead of being about memories from when Thaddeus had kidnapped and tortured her, it was now him standing over the dead body of Jack laughing at her because all she could do was stand there and cry. And the lady that Thaddeus had hung from a tree was swinging in the background shouting abuse at Jane for being an incompetent police officer. And a horrible human being for letting other people die for her. The whole nightmare was taunting Jane and getting into her head to throw her off her game, which was exactly what Thaddeus liked to do. It was only as Jane began to wake more and calm from her nightmare that she was able to take in the details of her hotel room and realise the fact that she was now alone in the bed. Where had Perry gone?

  “Perry, Perry where are you?”

  Jane lay there expecting him to walk out the bathroom and tease her for panicking when he had only gone to the toilet but to Jane’s surprise he walked back in from the hallway.

  “Is everything ok? Why were you outside the room?”

  “It’s ok I hope I didn’t wake you. I’ve dealt with it all now everything is fine. Your guard officers outside were having a bit of a disagreement with a man trying to get access to our floor. But your more than safe it wasn’t Thaddeus. The hotel security and staff came and dealt with it everything is fine.”

  “Oh ok. I woke up anyway from a dream and then found you gone. So I panicked my fault for being silly.”

  “No, not your fault, nothing is your fault. I saw you were still asleep and I didn’t want to wake you for no reason. It’s fine let’s go back to bed if you’re ready? Or you can tell me about your dream if you need to.”

  “No it was nothing let’s just go back to sleep.”

  Jane and Perry both drifted off to sleep and remained that way for an uneventful four hours. They both awoke to the sound of the alarm clock. Jane felt unwell and would have rather rolled over and gone back to sleep but Jane knew she couldn’t do that today. Her eyes felt like she had grains of sand in them and her head felt like she had an elephant sitting on it. Compliments of crying too much, having a bad dream and not enough sleep. Jane wasn’t looking forward to going to work today. Jane wanted to see the rest of her team and check that they were safe. But she knew it was only going to make her sadder to see the fact that Jack was missing. And Jane knew she needed to focus. That was more important, now more than ever. Thaddeus was loose and like a mad canon with no aim to shoot his crazy at. Jane knew the first port of call for the day was going to be to collect the initial post mortem results from the coroner Dave Berry. He should have the initial examination report for both Helen Moore and PC Jack Collins. She also knew that someone was going to have to go talk to Helen Moore’s family and she couldn’t expect her Superintendent to do it after having to talk to Jack’s family yesterday. They must have been distraught Jane knew they were a close-knit family. Jane pulled herself from her thoughts and from the position she was in bed and started to ready herself for work. Perry was flapping around her whilst she was getting ready constantly checking if she was ok. But what was there to say. Thaddeus had escaped and was coming after her; she had one dead woman and had lost Jack. But all of it as scared as she was it was all just making her more determined to catch Thaddeus. Thaddeus
was underestimating how angry and fired up this was going to make Jane. He was just hoping to get in her mind and didn’t think it would cause any consequences to himself.

  Perry had rang down to the front desk and asked for some toast and coffee to be brought up. Jane couldn’t much stomach the thought of toast but the coffee was much appreciated. When Perry had finished coaxing a slice of toast into Jane to go with the pot of coffee that she had drank they were both ready to leave. Perry went over to check where the guard police officers were to be able to notify them for their ready for departure. Perry had already informed the reception that they would be checking out but that he would come back to deal with all of that once Jane had been escorted to work safely. Which meant that Jane again didn’t have to worry about any of her belongings. When the guarding police officers were ready they escorted Jane and Perry out of the hotel and were making their way back to the car park. There were several people in the lobby at this point who were eyeing Jane as an unusual suspect with escorting officers. There was a look of bemusement and curiosity that was spread across the mixture of faces. Each person wanting to know whether the escorting officers were arresting Jane or whether she really was an important enough person to need bodyguards. Jane could feel the heat of embarrassment pricking at her cheeks as the people in the lobby continued to stare. Thank the gods the situation didn’t last long as they were moving through the lobby at an expediential rate. When they made it outside to the safety of their car their two extra escorting police units were waiting outside ready to take Jane to the station. The escorting officers made note to Perry that they weren’t allowed to take the most direct route to the station so their journey might be longer than necessary. They were to go in a more round about way to the station to make sure that no one was following them. They set off and for a few minutes the car was filled with nothing but an awkward silence. Both of them filled with tension and apprehension for the day ahead.

  “Perry what do you think to me selling my flat?”

  “Sure baby I get that you don’t want it anymore but there is no need to rush into something like that. What you thinking about buying another place then?”

  “Yeah I know there is no rush. My home it just no longer has the same appeal after having a dead body sitting on my doorstep. As well as losing Jack in the car park there. Plus I have been thinking I would like a house.”

  “You know we could get somewhere bigger if we bought together.”

  “That sounds like a plan.”

  “Not a problem then we will find one that’s perfect.”

  Jane felt more comfortable after that knowing that she wasn’t going to have to continue living in her flat. The thought of that sent shivers down her spine. Where the hope of selling and getting a fresh start just elated Jane’s mood, it was what she needed after everything.

  They arrived at the station half an hour later. When the car ride that they were taking should have only taken them fifteen minutes at max with traffic. But her escorting officers had decided to air on the side of over caution rather than risking a bollocking from the Superintendent if anything happened. Jane thanked them and herself and Perry headed into the station. The rest of Jane’s team were already there gathered and waiting. To Jane’s surprise the Superintendent was no where to be seen but to Jane’s relief everyone was there looking safe and well. The thought of anything happening to them throughout the night had been plaguing Jane’s thoughts. Jane approached her team with trepidation. At the scene of Jack’s murder none of them had gone to the point of anger at Jane but they were all in shock. This morning could be a completely different story. After last night feelings of anger and resentment could of built at the fact that Jack was dead and Thaddeus wanted her. Jane knew though it was best not to mention any of those thoughts out loud around Perry. Otherwise it would cause him to give her another lecture on how none of it was her fault and that she was just projecting her own manifestations of guilt onto other people’s feelings. Jane was relieved to find that when she made it to her desk none of her team seemed angry, they all seemed relieved to see Jane. Amy came over and pulled Jane into a hug and Eric and Ian acted their usual selves by just giving Jane a nod of respect.

  “Hey Boss how you feeling?”

  “Had better days. I’m still in shock to be fair. I can’t believe this is happening. I’m sad and dejected at the loss of Jack but it has just made me more angry and determined. So today I am going to be asking the biggest job of all of you that I have ever had to. And that is to focus. Push aside your emotions we need all our heads in the game people and we will catch him.”

  “I’m with you on that one mam.”

  “I’m glad to hear that Eric. How are you feeling? How did Jack’s family bare up last night?”

  “They were worse than I could of ever imagined. I’m holding up like yourself still in shock but determined to do Jack and his family some justice.”

  “Good lets get to work. Amy you are with me we are going to take a trip down to the coroner’s office and get his initial examination reports. The notification to Helen Moore’s family still needs to be done so we will do that after as well if you’re ok?”

  “Not a problem Boss. I’m with you all the way. What ever you need.”

  “Good thanks Amy. Ian I need you to work on the list of names the chief warden gave you and the prison record files. Find me a bomb expert that could have helped Thaddeus.”

  “Sure not a problem. I’ll get on it.”

  “Thanks Ian. Eric I need you to continue going through the CCTV footage from the train stations see if we can track Thaddeus movements. Also collate any of that information for where he is with any known associates. Let’s see if we can narrow down his field of play. Perry can you help Eric with that bit from your end?”

  “Yeah I’m on it I’ll call you Eric with what I get I’ll go have a nose around with some old informants.”

  “Thanks Perry that’s a great help. And does anyone know where the Superintendent is?”

  “He is upstairs in his office. He said he has a lot of paperwork and political stuff to catch up with. Especially after losing Jack in the field, and then the press conference and everything. I’ll get started on that information we need.”

  “Ok were leave him to it and just update him with any major leads ok. Amy are you ready?”

  “Yes Boss I’m good to go.”

  “Ok Perry you can leave you got your bits to do and keep in touch with Eric. I’m fine I’ll have my escort everywhere I go. I’ll check in with you regular you’re on speed dial if I need any thing. Ok?”

  “Good don’t forget to text or call otherwise you know I will worry. I will pick our stuff up from the hotel and sort us out a different reservation for tonight. Be careful.”

  “I will be and that’s great I’ll talk to you soon.”

  With that they all headed off in different directions the station becoming abuzz with a new enthusiasm fuelling the activity. The newfound sense of determination was pushing all members of the station to work harder than ever before. Thaddeus may have thought killing Jack would give him the edge and get him on the inside track into their minds but he underestimated the firepower it gave them all to get the little rat back in his cage. As Jane and Amy headed down to the coroner’s office Jane couldn’t help but be reminded of the first time her and Amy went to his office together. The smell of decomposing flesh and a strong cleaning detergent was still the same. And the dimly lit office and the man sat hunched over his desk were still the same as if time never moved down there. Apart from the fact that Dave looked like he had aged about twenty years in the last few months.

  “Hi Dave I’d say good to see you but it’s not really under these circumstances. You remember my colleague PC Amy Wilkes. I take it you have finished your preliminary reports after yesterday. What can you tell us about the both of them?”

  “Yeah I remember Amy, How are you both doing its such a terrible situation?”

  “Bearing up
just trying to focus on work and catching Thaddeus.”

  “Well let’s see how I can help you with that. We will start with the female victim. I confirmed identity. It is Helen Moore as Thaddeus claimed thirty eight year old wife and mum to two. Reported missing just over twenty-four hours ago abducted from the supermarket car park. You will need to look into retrieving those security tapes. Toxicology results haven’t come back for her as of yet so I’ll let you know as soon as they do. And I’m still waiting for the analysis on her stomach contents as well. She has deep gashes to her abdomen spelling out Jane, as you know. Ligature marks to her wrists and surprisingly ankles. She must have been bound when put in transport from the supermarket. Ligature marks to her neck, which broke when the restraints around her arms were cut. The extra shift in body weight as the restraints were cut caused the burden of the weight to be resting completely on her neck. It snapped the minute he cut the second rope around her wrist. She would have died instantly giving our cause of death to be broken neck rather than strangulation.”

  “Ok well that’s something the family will appreciate that she died quickly in the end.”

  “What about the eyelids though Dave?”