The Principle of Evil: A Fast-Paced Serial Killer Thriller (DCI Claire Winters, Book 2)

by T. M. E. Walsh

  As Fallon sank to the ground, her eyes rose and met Lucas’s as he lowered the shotgun. He grinned and began to walk towards them.

  Claire moved Fallon’s hand away to check the wound. Her jeans had a small hole where the pellet had entered, and the fabric was stained black. Blood trickled onto the snow.

  ‘Oh shit,’ she whimpered at the sight of it.

  Claire didn’t have time to think ahead. She grabbed Fallon under her arms, pulled her up and staggered towards the ditch and helped Fallon down into it.

  She ripped the sleeve of Fallon’s jacket and tied it hard around the girl’s leg. Her hands were shaking as she tied the tourniquet.

  ‘What’re we going to do?’ Fallon said.

  Claire stopped and looked into her eyes, which were like liquid, brimming with tears.

  Claire stood up. What can I do?

  ‘Please don’t leave me.’

  Claire flinched at Fallon’s words. Don’t make this harder than it has to be. Please.

  ‘I’m scared.’

  ‘He didn’t follow you before. It’s me he’s after. I’ll make sure he follows me. I’ll get help, just keep pressure on the wound.’

  ‘But what if you don’t come back?’

  Claire had to move. Now. ‘I will come back for you.’

  Fallon wasn’t sure she believed her, but the pain in her leg was too great for her to argue. She would die out here if they didn’t get help. Her only hope was that Claire could outrun and outsmart him. She had to believe this or else she may as well die right here and now and not prolong the agony.

  She nodded and Claire got to her feet, keeping her body low. She ran further before pulling herself up, out of the ditch.

  As soon as she was on her feet she ran as fast as she could. She risked a look back. Lucas was coming after her. He’d taken the bait. She prayed Fallon could hold on that bit longer. She didn’t know where she was going. She saw the trees begin to thin out a hundred yards or so ahead and ran towards them.

  *

  It hadn’t been a difficult decision for Lucas.

  He guessed Fallon was passed out in the ditch. If she wasn’t, she soon would be. He could come back for her, and if he found her still alive, that’d be a bonus.

  It was Claire he wanted.

  He raised the shotgun when he saw where she was heading.

  He knew there was another clearing that way, which led to the vast lake. He knew this forest like the back of his hand. Whilst he knew nobody came here any more he knew all she had to do was follow around the lake and it would lead to a trail, which would soon lead onto farmland and to a main road.

  His heart sank. He took aim and fired.

  *

  The pellets zipped past Claire’s shoulder. She swore, risking a glance behind her. She saw Lucas run. She sucked in a deep breath and pushed herself to go faster.

  She was nearly at the line of trees ahead when she caught sight of something large and white beyond them. She soon realised it was a frozen lake.

  She found a new surge of energy, bolting forward. As she broke out from the trees, she stopped at the frozen edge. She couldn’t be sure how thick it was.

  Would it take her weight?

  Her eyes scanned the trails that ran either side of the frozen water. It would take her longer to go around but if she risked it on the lake, Lucas would have a clear shot at her. That’s if she didn’t fall through the ice first.

  As she agonised over the cruel twist of fate that lay in front of her, she heard another shot. The spray hit the ground by her feet, and instead of running she turned to face him.

  He stepped out from the trees and a cruel smile spread across his lips.

  CHAPTER 97

  ‘You can’t run forever, Claire. You’ve come as far as you can. You mustn’t be upset,’ he said, edging closer. ‘You had a good run.’

  She edged back towards the lake, and he paused, staring at her cautiously. ‘I don’t want to shoot you in the back,’ he said, taking a step forward, hand raised towards her. ‘But I will if you go out onto the ice.’

  ‘You scared to take a chance out there?’ She gestured to the lake behind her. ‘I’ll go down fighting. I won’t make this easy for you.’

  ‘I doubt that. It’s been pretty easy so far.’

  ‘You had William before. You’ve never known what it’s like to take someone’s life.’ She sneered at him. ‘I doubt you’ve got it in you. It’s been too easy to manipulate William, bending him to your will. When it comes down to it, you’re nothing. A nobody.’

  The slight change in Lucas’s demeanour was small but Claire noticed it. He was having doubts and she had every intention of using that to her advantage. ‘You chose badly when you picked me and Fallon.’

  ‘Don’t worry yourself about Fallon. I’ll take good care of her after I’ve dealt with you.’

  She laughed at him. ‘You think I won’t take a chance on the ice?’

  ‘I know you’re scared but you’re not stupid.’

  ‘Maybe you’re the scared one. Maybe you don’t know me at all.’

  Before he had a chance to answer, she turned and tore across the ice as fast as she could. Her bare feet felt like they were burning on the dry ice but she didn’t stop. Not even when she heard the creaking under the strain of her weight, when she started zigzagging across the ice.

  Lucas stood dumbfounded at first, then aimed the gun. He couldn’t get a clear shot, as she ran from left to right, straight ahead then left to right again. He could hit a moving target generally, but a target that moved all over the place? Near impossible.

  He lowered the gun and fired at the ice.

  Claire swung around at the sound of the shot. She was nearly out into the middle now. Her eyes widened when she realised what he’d done. The shot had hit the ice wide from where she stood and when she heard the cracking sound, she realised she hadn’t been the target this time.

  Her eyes looked back towards him.

  His face grew hard, and he took a few tentative steps onto the ice, then broke out into a sprint after her. His feet slid a few times, throwing him off balance, and Claire turned on her heels and ran. He fired another shot, this time at her leg. He missed but the pellets hit the ice to the side of her.

  The ice was beginning to thin out the closer she got to the middle and her mind flashed back to Bonfire Night at Haverbridge Lake. She remembered Harry falling through the ice into the freezing water. He’d only just survived.

  She prayed it held. There would be no one to pull her out.

  She could hardly keep up the pace. The lake was a lot wider than she’d previously thought and her legs began to grow heavier with each step. She willed herself to run faster, but she was slowing down. She hit halfway and it was then she heard him close behind her.

  She knew she should have trusted her instincts and looked back. If she had, she could have prevented what happened next.

  CHAPTER 98

  His hands slammed into her back, propelling her with force across the frozen water. When her body hit the ice, it groaned under the strain as she skidded across the surface.

  When she pulled herself up, he reached for her.

  She kicked out, striking him in the thigh where she’d wounded him earlier. He buckled, landing hard on his knees, crippled with pain. The shotgun, hanging on its strap, fell off his shoulder and skidded across the ice.

  ‘You bitch!’

  He lurched forward, grasping her legs. She frantically twisted and turned, her arms reaching out trying to gain leverage on the ice. He grabbed her by the waist, pulling her towards him. Her body shot back, sliding down between his legs. She saw the knife secured to his waist and reached for it.

  She pulled it from its sheath but he caught her wrist and squeezed.

  The ice beneath them began to groan.

  A few cracks began to appear beneath Claire’s head, radiating out. Her eyes were wide with fear, but he was grinning.

  ‘We need to get off th
e ice!’

  He tried to prise the knife from her hand. Claire held on tight, and the cracks in the ice spread out fast.

  She prised her wrist from his grasp and swung the knife across his cheek, cutting deep into the side of his face. He cried out, grasping his cheek, blood leaking through his fingers. She raised her knees up towards her chest, then out, shoving him back, her feet kicking him in the ribs. He crashed back against the ice so hard it cracked underneath him.

  Claire scrambled back as the cracks in the ice began to splinter out towards her. Her hands slipped over the cold surface, then she felt freezing water rise up and slide over the ice. With her last ounce of strength, she rolled over onto her stomach, pushing herself up and forward just as the ice gave way underneath Lucas.

  He plummeted down into the water, leaving nothing but broken slabs of ice floating on the surface. Claire carefully edged away, distributing her weight across the weakened ice. She waited, eyes transfixed on the spot where Lucas had been mere seconds ago.

  Thin cracks still radiated out from the hole and she backed up further towards the other side of the lake. Then she heard a rush as Lucas propelled himself up, his arms flailing at the slippery ice. He screamed out, and his eyes bore into hers.

  ‘Claire!’

  His voice was strained and she knew his pain would be unimaginable as his body began shutting down against the cold. ‘Help me!’ His screams pierced her ears, and she shut her eyes tight, trying to drown them out.

  She shook her head violently.

  I can’t. I just can’t.

  She heard him splutter and risked a glance, almost afraid to watch. His head kept disappearing under the water, then he’d surface for a few moments, spluttering for air.

  He managed one final push for the ice surrounding him.

  ‘Claire, please!’

  There was a small part of her that told her to slide across the ice, grab his hand and pull him out, despite what he’d done. Despite the fact that Fallon was still in danger.

  She knew she risked falling through herself, but that was not what pulled at her conscience.

  It was the faces of the other women who had died because of him. She thought of Fallon lying in the ditch, shot, freezing and likely to die if she didn’t get help.

  She saw the dead face of Felicity Davenport, and her mother’s cries of anguish rang through her ears.

  She saw Gregg Thornton’s face when confronted with Sara’s lifeless body.

  She thought of the unborn baby in Nola Grant’s womb.

  She looked back at Lucas. His eyes were pleading. For a moment she thought they looked kind.

  Then she remembered the evil and the sheer hatred.

  Don’t let your eyes betray you.

  His certainly had.

  She watched as the strength left him. He let out one final scream, before sliding back down under the dark water.

  CHAPTER 99

  The silence was eerie. The cold felt like an evil entity, its fingers tearing away at her flesh. She drew breath and it hurt like hell. Her legs were completely numb. She tried climbing to her feet, but came crashing down, her chin hitting the ice. She couldn’t risk it breaking. She tried to slide herself towards the other side of the lake, but her body was now fighting against her. Against sleep.

  She found herself rolling over, falling back, resting on the ice, looking up at the sky. Her eyelids were heavy.

  She let them close.

  *

  The noise from the rotor jolted her awake.

  One eye opened slowly. Saw the landscape lying sideways.

  It was dark. The sun had disappeared, taking with it the beautiful colours of the sunset.

  She felt the chill down one side of her face. Felt the tingling pain in her hands. She rolled off her side, onto her back again and remembered where she was.

  Everything was numb.

  She had no idea how long she’d blacked out for. All she knew was that there was a deep rumbling in the distance of something drawing closer.

  Then the thundering sound was above her, before she saw a light illuminating the sky. Her eyes flickered as the wind picked up.

  Then the noise was almost deafening. Soon a light shone down so intensely, she shut her eyes tight.

  It was then she heard it.

  A voice in the void.

  It told her to remain calm… at least, that’s what she thought it said. She wasn’t sure. In the bright light, noise and confusion, all she wanted to do was give in and sleep for eternity.

  Opening her eyes one more time, she saw the belly of the police Eurocopter above her.

  It hovered.

  She blacked out.

  *

  She could hear lots of noise. Running. Shouting.

  A sense of urgency.

  Her eyes fluttered open.

  She saw a man looking down at her. He was saying something, but it sounded muffled. The ceiling was rushing past his head. She realised she was moving.

  They hastily turned around a corner. More ceiling, lights, noise… The man was leaning down again, telling her something.

  She shut her eyes.

  The light hurt and sleep was calling her again. She heard a clatter and a force underneath her body jolted her awake again. She realised she was on a bed… being wheeled along winding corridors.

  There was a woman hovering over her now. The ceiling was rushing past her head too. She wore a uniform. She looked like a nurse.

  Claire felt like she was floating. It felt comforting. She closed her eyes again and drowned out the sound around her.

  She concentrated on the voice in her head. She heard her mother’s words. Words spoken a long time ago, when she was a child.

  It gave her comfort.

  ‘If I shall die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take…’

  CHAPTER 100

  4th December

  His watch said it was nearly two in the morning. Stefan guessed he’d had maybe an hour’s sleep at most. He got up from the sofa, stumbling in the darkness. He heard a noise and stopped.

  It was Iris. She was talking in her sleep upstairs.

  Stefan had driven her back to the house from the hospital once the doctors had stabilised Claire. Iris had wanted to stay by her side, but she’d been persuaded to get some rest herself, and Stefan had promised to stay with her.

  He found his jacket, thrown over the back of a chair, fished his mobile from the pocket, and checked the call list.

  1 Missed Call – Elias Crest.

  ‘Crest, sorry I missed your call,’ Stefan said, when Elias picked up at the other end. ‘I fell asleep. I’ve lost an hour.’

  ‘We found another body.’

  Stefan’s face was white. ‘What?’

  ‘We found a body not far from where we picked up Fallon Dockley. All we know so far is that it’s female… we think.’

  ‘You think?’

  Elias sighed and shook his head at what he’d seen – the body lying in a heap on the forest floor. ‘The body has been there a while. It’s been exposed to the elements, not to mention the wildlife.’

  ‘I get the picture.’

  ‘There’s more… Fallon had a locket which she found on the body. It has an inscription on the back. We’re running a check with Mispers.’

  Stefan heard Iris stir upstairs. Her feet landed on the floor and moved towards the landing. Soon he heard the third stair from the bottom creak.

  ‘Keep me updated,’ he said, about to hang up.

  ‘Wait,’ Elias said.

  Pause.

  ‘How’s Claire?’

  ‘She’s… stable. For now.’ Elias closed his eyes, letting the silence drag out. ‘I have to go, Crest.’ Stefan hung up just as Iris pushed open the living room door.

  ‘I heard you talking. Was that the hospital?’

  Stefan looked into her worried, tired eyes and shook his head. ‘No news is good news,’ he said, setting down his phone. ‘Did you get much sleep?’

/>   ‘I can’t really sleep knowing Claire’s in ICU.’

  ‘She’s made of strong stuff,’ he said, smiling. ‘She’ll be OK.’

  ‘What if you’re wrong?’

  Stefan looked away. Look on the positive side, love, he thought. ‘I’m not wrong.’

  ‘You make this sound trivial. How can you be so sure?’

  He looked away, down at his feet.

  He felt his throat pull tight.

  ‘Because I have to be.’

  CHAPTER 101

  4 days later

  Claire sat up in the hospital bed. She thought about how just days ago she was near death. Hypothermia had set in, clutching at her body, not willing to let go without a fight. Somehow she’d battled against the odds. Somehow her body had fought back and physically she was recovering well. How she was coping mentally, though, was a different story and only time would tell just how fragile her mind had become. Right now, all she felt was the swell of relief. Relief at being alive.

  She flexed her toes and winced.

  Chilblains.

  She had them on her fingers as well. Red, itchy, blister-like sores, which felt like they were burning. She started to scratch at them, unaware that a man was approaching her bed.

  ‘Don’t scratch them, you’ll make them worse.’

  She looked sheepish when she saw Stefan’s face. ‘I just want to claw my skin off.’

  ‘You’re lucky this wasn’t worse. I thought maybe I’d lost you.’

  ‘Unfortunately for you, I’ll live,’ she said with half a smile.

  His face remained serious. ‘You could’ve died.’

  The smile faded from her face. She gave him a small nod but didn’t speak.

  She couldn’t.

  Behind her tough exterior she was like a little girl running scared. She’d almost died. She’d somehow survived against that monster, yet despite the initial relief, she’d then realised she had no energy left to save herself on the ice.

  She thought she’d die there. Alone.