Small did not slow down, this time he wasn’t going to let his emotions become involved, this time he was going to walk straight into the room and remain detached from the emotion involved. Small opens the bedroom door and steps in quickly. The room smells like roses and not rotten meat as he had expected. Pink all pink, there was pink everywhere, except for a small white four poster bed situated in the middle of the room. Small does not look round, he does not stop to take in the décor. He walks immediately over to the bed and pulls back the pink net curtain. As he looks down toward the bed he sees nothing, there is no child in the bed, there is no blood in the room. Nobody has died in this room.
As Small turns to leave he hears an almighty yell from down the hallway, he panics and quickly runs from the room.
“What has happened? What the hell’s all the noise about?”
Falls is standing down the hallway outside the bathroom door, his face is pale and he is using the wall to support himself.
“She’s in there sir, she’s in the bathroom.”
Small can feel his heartbeat racing in his chest, his temples are swelling over and over again. He begins to pace the length of the house, down the corridor toward the room at the end on the right. He had made this walk before, only last time he walked in the opposite direction.
As he reaches the doorway he can feel those emotions he had fought to keep inside beginning to build up within him. He can feel the anger towards the person who has committed these atrocities, he knows any decision he makes right now will be the wrong one, he has to remain calm.
The bathroom door opens silently as he turns the handle. A toilet sits at the opposite end of the bathroom next to a glass shower cubicle. There is a large bath to the right hand side of the room. The bath is full. The water in the bath does not look like water anymore, it is blood red, and there floating on top of the blood red water is a small headless corpse. The corpse barely takes up half the length of the bath.
Red patches are where the Childs nipples used to be. Dozens of stab wounds to the abdomen are so severe that the intestines can easily be seen from across the room.
Small turns immediately and leaves the room, he rushes down the stairway out of the front door and straight into the street. He can breathe again. He can feel his heartbeat returning to normal. The cold sweat that is running from his head like a tap begins to slow and then stops.
Small climbs into his car and locks the doors, he needs to be alone, he needs some time to think, he needs to catch this monster before it strikes again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
The Burning
Chapter 28 The Burning
Adam sits staring into space in front of the small fire. He travelled to this secluded field miles from home to dispose of what was longer needed. The small fire, made from twigs and debris is now burning strong.
Adam walks down a short narrow footpath leading to where his car is parked. He unlocks the car with his fob and takes two black plastic bags from the boot. Each bag contains a large amount of body parts from small birds. He plans on burning them one by one to remember each and every kill in turn.
After burning the third body part, Adam quickly realises he no longer gets any pleasure from the killing of animals. He stands up quickly and pours both bags onto the fire, he has evolved now, he no longer needs such meaningless deaths to find pleasure, he no longer needs to hurt unimportant animals, he is now what he has always known he would one day become.
Adams phone buzzes in his pocket
“Hello?”
“Hello Adam, this is DCI Small we followed up your lead on Mrs Redgrave, but wasn’t very successful.”
“Sorry Small did I give you a lead?”
Adam smiles into his phone, of course he’d given those stupid coppers a lead, but he wasn’t going to admit it, not in front of anybody else, and definitely not on the phone.
“Well yes, you mentioned she had a sinister side.”
“Did I Small? I think you may be looking into things a little too deeply, clutching at straws the papers say.”
Small is furious, he is sure this bastard knows more than he is letting on and he is going to find out just what it is.
“Look Adam I need to speak with you again, when can I come over and see you?”
“You want to come over and see me at my house Small?”
“Yes or you can come to the station if you prefer?”
“No you can come to mine, I was just thinking they must be mighty big straws if you want to come and see me at home.”
Small doesn’t want to go over and talk to him, he wants to rip his throat out but he knows his ego will drop him in it if he spends enough time talking to him.
“When can I come over and talk to you then Adam?”
“Tomorrow night is ok with me if you like but it will have to be after 8:00pm. There is something I have to do first.”
“OK I will come over this evening.”
“You spoke to Teresa yet Small I haven’t been able to get in touch with her since that day.”
Small’s heart sinks, last time Adam had told him to speak with someone they turned up dead.
“That’s confidential Adam, I’ll see you at 8:00pm.”
Small hangs the phone up quickly, he is furious, he wants to smash the inside of his car to pieces. He would take great pleasure in killing that man, he could quite easily kill that man and he still didn’t even know if he was the killer. He needs to calm down, he was getting carried away with himself just like he had with Capel. This guy was a smart arse yes, but that in no way made him a killer, that in no way made him the man he was looking for. He will go over and see Adam later, but he will remain open minded, he has a few coincidences, but however he looks at it, Adam was in Leeds with Teresa the night her son died.
Small calls Falls from the car, he can not go back in that house.
“DI Falls.”
“Hi Falls its Small, we need to speak with that Teresa sooner rather than later, she may know something crucial to save another Childs life.”
“I agree sir, shall I come out now and we can go over there straight away?”
“I can’t right now let’s make it the first thing we do tomorrow.”
“Yes sir I’ll be at the station for 9:00am tomorrow morning.”
Small sits in his car going over what he is going to ask Adam later tonight, he has to trip him up, he needs to use his ego against him. If indeed he is the killer, then that big fat irritating ego of his will surely trip him up, it will surely send him spiralling into bragging mode and send him to prison forever.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Bringing Back The Zombie
Chapter 29 Bringing Back The Zombie
Derek Richards climbs from his bed at 10:30am, these late morning are becoming regular, he hasn’t worked now for nearly 2 weeks and has no plans to return to it. He pulls on his nightgown and makes his way to the bathroom, looks in the mirror at his blood shot eyes and unshaven face. He decides again to just get dressed and leave for the pub.
Denise Richard feels worse today than she has since it happened. It was finally sinking in she was never going to see her little girl ever again. Billy sits cross legged on the couch, not speaking, not moving, not even watching the TV. He hasn’t muttered a word since he found his sister that way.
The whole family has been torn apart, Derek is becoming an alcoholic who sits in the pub 12 hours a day, pint after pint after pint. Billy has become a Zombie who doesn’t move speak or show any emotion. Denise feels like she is in this on her own, they all are in their own way though, it has split the whole family up and they never seem to talk at all anymore.
Denise can’t get out of the house, she doesn’t have anything to take her mind off it, she knows it will never really leave her, but it is all she can think about whilst she has nothing else to do.
Her phone buzzes on the kitchen side, “Hello?”
“Hello Denise its Mr Craven. I just wanted to arrange a time
to come over and see young Billy if that’s still what you want?”
“Oh hi Mr Craven, thanks for coming back to me so soon, when did you have in mind?”
“I have a free evening tomorrow after school, how does 4pm sound?”
“Yes perfect, me and Billy will both be here.”
“Ok, is there somewhere me and Billy will be able to speak alone?”
“Yes of course.”
“Good its just he might respond better talking to an outsider on his own.”
“Yes that sounds like a good idea. I would try anything at the minute to be honest.”
“Ok Denise ill see you tomorrow afternoon about 4:00pm.”
Denise hangs up the phone, she hopes Mr Craven can get through to Billy tomorrow, it might not get everything back to normal, nothing could, but if it does help in any way at all then it will be well worth it.
“Billy that was your deputy head Mr Craven on the phone, he’s going to come round tomorrow about 4:00pm he wants to speak with us both but you first, is that be ok with you?”
Billy turns to his mother with tears in his eyes and shrugs, she can see he is hurting immensely but she doesn’t know what to do or say.
“Billy will you please speak to me sweetheart?”
His hands begin to shake as the tears fill up his eyes, then he starts crying hysterically and shouting
“EMMA EMMA EMMA EMMA EMMA”
“Billy stop.”
Denise breaks down and cries with her son, they both hug on the settee and cry for several minutes.
“She’s gone Mum, my baby sister is gone forever.”
“I know son, I know” she weeps.
“I told her I hated her the night before Mum, we were fighting over what we wanted on TV and I told her I hated her and I went to bed.”
“She knows you don’t hate her son, she knows you love her, you are her big brother.”
“But I just wish I never said it Mum, I can never tell her again I did love her, I do.”
“Billy your little sister looked up to you, you are her big brother and she loved you. She knew you loved her very much.”
“Why did it happen to us Mum, why?”
“I don’t know son but it did and we have to stick together through it.”
“But I can’t Mum.”
“We have to son, me and your Dad will always be here for you.”
“My Dad’s just a fucking piss head now Mum.”
She had never heard Billy swear before, she didn’t even know he knew any swearwords, but now wasn’t the time to tell him off. She had to speak to Derek, he had to pull himself together for Billy or he was going to fall apart and they will have lost both children.
“Billy your father is hurting like we are, he just deals with it different than we do, he will come round soon I promise you.”
“I love you Mum.”
“I love you to son.”
They both held each other sobbing on the couch. It was the first time they had spoke since Emma had died, but maybe, just maybe this would help them get through it together.
CHAPTER THIRTY
No Flies or Bodies
Chapter 30 No Flies or Bodies
Small walks into the station feeling positive about the day ahead, he has a lot on and hopes something will pay off.
“Morning Falls, hope your feeling energetic because we have a busy day ahead of us today.”
“Why have we finally got some real leads sir?”
“Not quite but we have to get our asses over to see Teresa this morning, then we have the search on Capel’s place this afternoon. If he was involved, and I’m not 100% sure he wasn’t, then we may be able to find out who his partner in crime is.”
“We got the search warrant through sir?”
“We most certainly have ma boy, we most certainly have.”
“I hope he was involved sir, god knows how we are going to explain that one when the case finishes if he wasn’t.”
“Let’s think positive hey falls I got a good feeling about today.”
“Yes Sir.”
Falls smiles a real grin for the first time in weeks. Good to see his boss back in good spirits, maybe we’ll get some real work done now and catch this bastard.
“Come on then Falls let’s go see that bloody Teresa and find out what she has to say for herself.”
Both officers jump in the car, and set off to go over to Teresa house.
“If I’m right about that Adam then Teresa must know something, weather she realises it or not.”
“If you are right sir, the beers are definitely on me tonight!”
“If I am right Falls you won’t be leaving the office tonight, never mind getting pissed!”
Falls smiles at his boss. “Feeling a bit energetic today are you sir?”
“Yes Falls, yes I am.”
They pull into Teresa’s street, and get a parking spot right outside the house. Small jumps from the car like a school boy when the bell rings in school for home time. He walks straight up to the front door and bangs on hard. Falls has to hurry to the front door he doesn’t want to be half way across the street when she answers.
They wait there a moment then Small knocks again. No Answer.
“Falls get the school on the phone quick let’s see if she’s gone back to work already.”
“I can’t imagine that she has sir, she only just lost her son.”
“Great Falls, just ring them.”
“Ok Sir.”
DI Falls calls the office and gets the number for Boarshaw Primary School. He taps in the number on his mobile phone whilst still talking and presses the call button as soon as the office hangs up.
“Hello, this is DI Falls from Middleton police station, could you please put me through to Teresa Bennett.”
“Ok one moment ill just check if she’s in for you.”
The phone goes quiet for a moment then the girl’s voice comes back on the line.
“She isn’t in today officer is there anything else I can help you with?”
“Do you know where she might be in? She’s not at home.”
“I don’t know Detective I’m pretty sure she hasn’t got any family round here.”
“Thank you very much for your help.”
Falls shakes his head at Small. “She’s not in work. They don’t know where she is sir.”
Small goes back over to the front door and tries to look through the letterbox but he can’t see anything as the hallway door is shut.
“Lets call back later Falls, in the meantime lets put some uniform on her door.”
“Yes sir I’ll make the call now.”
Small and Falls get back in the car and drive over to Capel’s place. Uniform are waiting outside and have already opened the front door for them.
“No flies or bodies in this one then lads?”
Small turns to Falls with a look of disgust at the comment.
“If you can’t say anything positive keep it shut Falls.”
“Sorry sir I just”
“You just took the piss out of a dead family that’s what you just did.”
Falls looks like a school boy that’s just been caught passing notes, his head is now hung and the skip in his step that Small put there earlier has instantly been removed.
“Sorry sir.”
The house is in a cul-de-sac not in the best area of Manchester but it’s a nice area and seems very quiet. The house is built from Yorkshire stone and has stood in this spot for many years. There is a lot of clutter in the house, school paperwork is everywhere. This was definitely not a man who had company round a lot and if he did he wasn’t house proud. There is a very well worn grey carpet in the living room and an old brown couch that is probably older than any person in the room. On the desk in the corner sits a laptop open but not switched on. Small heads straight for the computer.
“Ill have a look at this lads and you lot get searching.”
Small presses the power button on the comp
uter and waits for it to load up. No password required he is straight into Capel’s documents. Most of it is school work and copies of attempts at writing from the children in his class. He notices a dongle on the table and pushes it into the USB port on the side of the computer.
Up pops an orange menu box. Small clicks on the highlighted button that says connect.
Lets have a look what he’s been going through then. Small clicks on the tools menu and brings up Mr Capel’s history, most of it is Facebook, Facebook, Facebook, God he thinks the whole bloody worlds is on this site now. As he scopes down the list he notices a Google search Capel had done some weeks before, his heart sinks, Capel was telling the truth it read Manchester Massage Parlours.
When Capel had said he thought it was the prostitutes they had arrested him for, he may have been telling the truth. It looks like that poor lonely man had died in prison just because of that. He had died because he was nothing more than a poor lonely man and these places may have been the only places he ever got any attention. Small feels guilty, he feels bad for the way he had made that poor man feel during his last few days on earth. He preys the lads will find something.
The search went on at Capel’s house for several hours and they found nothing, the man they had arrested was a good man, and a good teacher. Small decides right then and there that when all this is over he will make a public apology and also make sure Capel gets the burial he deserves.
“Hello Strangeways.”
“Hi this is DCI Small of Middleton Police, I meant to call down there on Monday regarding the killing of a Mr James Capel whilst he was in your custody. I have been busy on a Murder case and haven’t had the time yet.”
“Yes Detective how can I help you?”
“Could you please just ask Gary to give me a call before he gets off his shift later, I need to discuss the case with him.”
“I will pass the message on for you detective.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Heads It Is
Chapter 31 Heads It Is
Adam sits in his car outside the house where his next victim lives. He isn’t sure if he wants the next one alive, he quite fancies the idea of having a live one in his basement. A live specimen could be quite good fun for a while.
And Then They Were Dead Page 8