The Palindrome Cult: A gripping, page-turning, crime suspense thriller, its fast pace takes you from London to New York, via Dubai and the Virgin Islands. (Hedge & Cole Book 1)

by Kevin Bradley

  Isaac moved his head a fraction and looked up at him. Cole and Fuller had also stepped into the kitchen and stood quietly watching the scene.

  Isaac spoke softly and was clearly in a lot of pain. ‘I’m not sure really. This guy jumped me as I answered a knock at the front door. He dragged me back into the kitchen and punched me hard in the stomach before pushing me to the floor. The impact of his fist was agony, and it felt like something had ripped inside me. Then he covered my head with a black cotton bag, or it might have been a pillowcase, or something similar. I couldn’t see a thing after that. Someone else was in the room by now, turns out it was a woman. She grabbed hold of my hand and placed some kind of tool over the knuckle of my little finger. It felt cold, hard, and metallic. She hadn’t said anything to me at that point. Then, without warning, the tool closed in on my finger and literally crushed my knuckle joint. It must have been the sort of thing that is used to crack nuts with. The pain was excruciating and I screamed like hell. It felt like the bone in my finger had smashed to bits inside the skin. The worst thing was the noise, almost like when you crack a raw egg. I was still howling when the guy punched me again. I couldn’t believe the agony I was in - it seemed like too much to bear. I shouted out asking what they wanted from me, but they still didn’t say anything. The implement was moved across to my next finger, and again it was closed hard so that it crunched the knuckle. The pain had now doubled, and my whole body was shaking with the torment. I was shocked and confused as I still wasn’t sure why this was being done to me. When I eventually stopped screaming, the woman spoke at last.’

  Isaac stopped talking for a minute. He was shaking and still looked very pale. Fuller had found a plastic cup in the sink and filled it with cold tap water. He stepped forward and passed it to Isaac.

  ‘Drink this,’ he commanded.

  Isaac took the cup and swallowed a mouthful of water, before he carried on with the story. He told them how the woman had asked him if his cousin known as Hedge lived here, and where he was at that moment. She seemed very angry about something.

  Isaac explained that he didn’t know where his cousin was, and that he hadn’t seen him since breakfast that morning. The woman had asked several more questions and she must have believed his answers as no more of his knuckles had been pulverised. Finally she had told him to pass on a message to Hedge.

  ‘Tell him that we are not very happy about what happened to Monica. She was my friend. You can let him know that if he talks to anyone about me, or comes anywhere near me in future, then we will smash all of his fingers to pulp, and worse. You may wish to explain to him just how painful that is.’

  ‘Did you get a look at her at all,’ Cole asked.

  ‘No, the hood was covering my head all the time she was here. She sounded dangerous to me though, a ruthless bitch. I think you need to take her warning seriously. Do you know who she is?’

  ‘We possibly have a clue as to who she might be,’ Cole replied.

  They bandaged his hand as best they could, and Hedge grabbed himself a bag of clothes from his room. They then locked the house and left, bringing Isaac with them. He was still in considerable pain, as he sat quietly in the back of the taxi. The driver had been asked to get them to the nearest hospital with an accident and emergency department.

  They arrived a few minutes later and Hedge escorted his cousin into the hospital waiting area, before calling his uncle Larry to explain what had happened. Larry was immediately concerned, but hung up as soon as he found out where they were. He said he would be there in thirty minutes.

  Hedge felt guilty, but Cole had said that he had five minutes only. They needed to get going. So he told Isaac that his dad was on the way and that he would explain everything when he had more time. He gave Isaac a hug and told him to keep away from the house until he was advised it was safe to return. He should go and stay at his family home for a while, Hedge suggested. With that, he said a final goodbye, and left him sitting in the waiting room. He wanted to look back as he went through the door that led back to the street outside, but he didn’t.

  The taxi was still waiting, so he hopped in the back next to Fuller. Cole sat up front, and he leaned over and told the driver to head for Heathrow airport.

  Fuller asked if Isaac seemed ok.

  ‘I guess so, but he’s pretty shook up. I just hope they can fix his hands. What sort of sick person is she?’ Hedge replied.

  ‘She wants to frighten you off.’ Cole had turned his head round to answer. ‘I don’t know how she found out about Monica so soon, but she seems to be aware that her friend is no longer with us. She knows someone is onto her now.’

  ‘Well she certainly has me scared. Perhaps you should just drop me off at a local hotel and then you guys can get on with what you need to do. It’s not really anything to do with me, after all. I have no experience of this kind of thing, and frankly, it’s bloody frightening,’ Hedge said.

  Cole laughed, but then became more serious. ‘If only it were that easy. The PM has given us orders now, so it’s too late to opt out. Believe me, if we could get you out of this we would, but it’s not possible. Don’t worry, we will try and look after you. You seem to be doing ok so far.’

  Hedge appreciated the praise. He had the feeling that compliments from someone like Cole were not given easily.

  ‘What’s this?’ he said. Fuller had passed him a small, paper wallet.

  ‘Your flight tickets,’ Fuller replied with a smirk.

  Hedge examined the wallet. Inside was a flight confirmation on British Airways from Heathrow to Dubai.

  ‘First class,’ said Fuller.

  Hedge looked across and shot him a nervous smile. ‘Well if I do end up dead, at least my last cup of tea will have been a decent one.’

  He tried to sound upbeat, but in reality he was extremely worried. He felt a strange mix of emotions - excited about the prospect of the flight to Dubai, but anxious about what they might be doing when they got there. He was also seriously concerned for his cousin who had got caught up in this so horribly, and there was something else. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Yes, he was angry. He wanted revenge for what had happened to him in the last twelve hours. He was also tired, and desperate to sleep. He promised himself he would do so as soon as the plane took off. Hopefully he would wake up and all of this would be just some horrible nightmare.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Hedge woke almost three hours later when the stewardess touched his arm and asked him if he wanted his meal. He nodded politely and took the tray he was offered. He was famished and it didn’t take long to devour the food. There was a small green salad to start, which was fresh and tasty, but not filling. This was followed by a hot beef pie, with mashed potato and peas. The finale was a small slice of cheesecake, a little too sweet for his liking, but still welcome. He washed this down with a cup of hot tea and a bottle of still water. Cole, who was sitting in the seat next to him, had also finished his meal.

  He leaned over towards Hedge. ‘So tell me about yourself then. I have already read some of your background as MI5 provided me a file they had prepared on you. I’m sorry to hear about what happened to your parents. That must have been tough?’

  Hedge told him about the accident, and about going to live with his uncle, and he talked about life at boarding school, and at Cambridge University.

  ‘What was boarding school like,’ said Cole. ‘You hear some funny stories about bullying and abuse.’

  ‘Certainly lots of bullying,’ replied Hedge. ‘Mostly trivial stuff, but it did tend to get out of hand occasionally. On the whole though, it was a fairly enjoyable period in my life.’

  Cole leaned back in his chair. ‘Well, I got plenty of time, so tell me more about it. Don’t forget to mention the girls too, as I’m sure there must have been loads of them?’

  Hedge sat back in his seat also. He closed his eyes lightly, as if trying to remember the details. Then he started talking. Cole listened quietly as the aircraft
sped on through the sky.

  Hedge had spent seven years of his life at boarding school. It wasn't one of the top, ultra-expensive schools that had become fashionably popular with children of overseas royalty and businessmen. It was a small school with a long tradition of excellent education, top level sport and strong discipline. It was set in several acres of pleasant countryside just outside Reigate in Surrey. Overall, he had fond memories of Upperdale College.

  He found that the studying didn't come easily to him. It was mainly as a result of some very patient teaching staff, and his resolve to please his uncle, that he managed to just about pass all his examinations.

  Although not a top sportsman, he had enjoyed playing rugby during his time at the school, and had even played full back on a couple of occasions for the college 2nd team.

  There had been some girls, of course, but none that he especially remembered. Well there was one, but he didn’t elaborate on that.

  It was the discipline that gave him the least pleasant memories. It wasn't that the members of staff at the college were a problem, as actually they were quite fair on the whole. It was the senior boys at the school who tended to apply the harshest punishment. There was the usual bullying of course, and quite often the junior boys would be sent on errands for the seniors, but that was to be expected. He recalled occasionally being ordered to go into the local village to buy sweets for a group of sixth formers. It was a walk of over three miles each way, but they would often go with a mate, so it wasn't especially unpleasant. Worse was being given washing to do by senior boys. Hedge remembered that he once received a dozen pairs of Peter O'Shea's dirty underpants to wash by hand. He had to use his own soap powder of course, but the worst part about it was scrubbing by hand at the brown stains in order to return the items to their owner in a satisfactory condition.

  There were a few occasions that Hedge remembered when the bullying ended up being particularly nasty. In his first year at the school, there was one incident when some of the senior boys found out that Hedge had lost his parents in a car crash. Initially he wasn’t too concerned about them finding out this information, as he suspected that he would be given a certain level of sympathy as a result. But he was wrong. After all, this was boarding school, and normal rules of behaviour didn’t always apply. He was returning from the school library early one evening, when a group of seniors grabbed hold of him and bundled him into the boys changing rooms. All of his captors were wearing handkerchiefs tied around their faces, presumably so they couldn’t be recognised. It made them all look very sinister though, and Hedge was frightened. He was held down and then tied to a wooden chair. A cotton pillowcase was pulled over his head. After this he couldn’t see what was happening, but he heard one of the showers being turned on. The chair was lifted into the shower area so that he was directly under the cold water.

  ‘We don’t like bastards at our school, you little shit,’ screamed one of the boys. ‘And if you don’t have any parents, then you are a bastard.’

  Hedge didn’t think this was technically correct. He thought the proper terminology for his situation was being an orphan, not a bastard. The latter being actually someone born out of wedlock. However, he thought it best not to mention this at that time.

  The senior boys continued to scream abuse at him as he sat shivering under the cold shower, with the pillowcase covering his head.

  ‘I bet your parents planned the accident to kill themselves as they couldn’t put up with you anymore,’ one exceptionally nasty boy shouted at him.

  Hedge just sat and took it all in. He didn’t talk back, or react in any way. What his tormentors wouldn’t realise was that he had suffered enormous pain and sadness in the months after his parents had died. He had gone through the agony of their funeral. He’d read newspaper cuttings about the accident, and even spoken to eyewitnesses and doctors. He had endured enormous suffering, and come through it. Anything these boys could do to him was pathetic in comparison to what he had endured. So he just remained quiet and took the abuse.

  As he sat under the freezing shower, he remembered how a doctor had told him that his father had died immediately in the crash, but his mother had certain ‘complications’ that needed attention. She had been flown back to the United States to receive specialist treatment, but unfortunately she had died from her injuries four days later. Hedge was saddened by the memories. He came back to the present as he realised the shouting from the senior boys had died down. They had obviously become bored with what they were doing.

  Some of the boys had left and had gone off to find some other form of amusement. Only four of the seniors were still with him. They lifted the chair out of the shower and laid it on the floor so that he was looking up at the ceiling, still tied to the back of the chair. They pulled the wet pillowcase off his head. He could now see the group of bullies gathered around him, although he was not sure of their identities as they still wore the handkerchiefs around their faces.

  ‘You must be thirsty, so open your mouth,’ said one of the boys.

  Hedge hesitated as he didn’t like the sound of that.

  ‘Open your mouth, you little shit,’ said another of the boys, and he kicked him hard in the side of the face as encouragement.

  The impact to his cheekbone was very painful, and so he slowly opened his mouth and stared up at the ceiling.

  The boy standing nearest to him had unzipped his trousers and had started pissing down onto Hedge. The flow of urine hit the floor near to his ear, but the boy quickly adjusted his aim and the yellow liquid splashed into Hedges open mouth.

  The urine tasted disgusting, and he immediately spat it out, coughing as he did so.

  ‘Keep your mouth open and swallow it down,’ he was ordered. He received another kick in the side of his face as encouragement.

  Hedge was scared. The piss in his mouth made him choke and he felt like he was drowning. He swallowed some of it, but it was so salty it made him gag. He spat some more of it out, but moving his head just meant the urine splashed across his face and stung his eyes. The boys were laughing loudly now, they were clearly enjoying themselves. Finally the flow ceased and Hedge spat out the last of the vile liquid and closed his mouth.

  The senior boys ran out of the changing rooms, leaving Hedge tied to the chair on the floor. He struggled for a while but eventually managed to free himself. Then he rinsed his mouth from the cold tap above one of the nearby sinks, and washed the urine off his face and body as best he could. He wiped himself down with some paper towels from the dispenser, and then made his way quickly back to his dormitory to get himself cleaned up properly.

  Hedge looked across to see if Cole was still listening to his story. Cole noticed the movement and turned his head slightly.

  ‘Yes, I’m still paying attention. It sounds a bit like my time in the army. Keep talking, I’m still waiting for the nasty part,’ said Cole as he chuckled to himself.

  Hedge grabbed hold of a passing stewardess and ordered himself a glass of still water, without ice. He waited until the drink arrived, took a few sips and then continued his oratory. He shivered as he thought about the next event he was going to relay to his new friend. It was typical of boarding school at the time, but still quite unpleasant to talk about.

  Chapter Twenty

  Hedge began to recap another incident that occurred just after he and his friends had returned to school following the Easter holiday. He would have been around twelve years old at the time. It was just after ‘lights out’ one evening, and Jeremy Jenkins, a rough and vulgar senior, had burst into the junior boy’s dormitory. He woke the boys and exclaimed that he wished to demonstrate a highly effective punishment that his dad had taught him during the college holidays.

  Hedge was randomly selected by Jenkins as the person who was going to try out the experiment. Jenkins pulled Hedge out of his sheets, told him stand at the bottom of his bed, then bent him over and pulled down his pyjama bottoms.

  Hedge was quite worried by this dev
elopment, and also a little confused as he had just woken up from a deep sleep. He stood feeling cold, and he started to tremble a little.

  Jenkins pulled a strong steel coat hanger from behind his back. It was a simple design, made from a single strip of thick wire, bent in the shape of a triangle. At the top of the triangle was the hook for hanging on a cupboard rail. The other boys in the dormitory were watching with a little interest, and a lot of trepidation.

  Jenkins explained that the coat hanger should be held with your hand on one of its ends. It is then flicked down hard so that the bottom wire of the coat hanger clips the backside of the intended victim. It was essential to get the right amount of contact to achieve maximum pain.

  ‘Here we go then. Bend forward a bit more please Hedge, and push your arse out a little further. We want to get this right don’t we,’ said Jenkins excitedly.

  Hedge wasn't sure he did want to get it right. It sounded painful. Nevertheless he did as he was commanded. He felt a little vulnerable and embarrassed standing with his pyjama trousers down with his dormitory mates watching him.

  Jenkins raised the coat hanger and bought it down hard and fast. It hit Hedge’s backside, but it was too high up the buttocks, so there wasn’t a lot of pain as the force of the downward stroke was neutralised by hitting too much flesh.

  Jenkins grunted, and raised the coat hanger again. This time when he brought it down it hardly touched any skin at all, so again it caused very little discomfort.

  Hedge was getting more nervous as time went on. It was the anticipation of serious pain that he was feeling anxious about.

  The third time that Jenkins bought the hanger down, the impact was perfect. It clipped Hedges backside neatly, with just enough contact. Hedge felt the metal wire slice down his backside and he howled with the soreness of it.

  Jenkins was ecstatic and squealed with delight.