He needs to make his mind up before he goes in there, he flicks a coin, head he keeps it.
HEADS IT IS
“Yes, It’s fate, I’m going to have a pet for a while” he says to himself.
Adam steps from his car and briskly walks across the driveway. He knocks firmly on the front door and waits for an answer. A small blonde woman answers the door wearing tight jeans and a red hooded jumper.
“Hello Mr Craven, do come in.”
“Please call me Adam we’re not in school now Mrs Richards, is young Billy about?”
“Yes he’s in his room. I managed to get a little bit out of him yesterday. We spoke he said he misses his sister a lot, and hates his dad drinking. He cried a for a while, hugged me, and then said he loves me, so he does seem to be coming around a little bit.”
“That’s fantastic news Mrs Richards. I hope I can get him to come back out of his shell a little bit more for you today then.”
“I do hope so Adam, and please call me Denise.”
We’ll see how much he comes out of his shell by cutting your fucking head off in front of him Adam thinks.
“His room is up the stairs first on the right, just shout me if you need anything.”
“Is Mr Richards about?”
“No he left this morning at about 11:00am and went straight to the pub as usual, me and Billy will work on him together once we sort Billy out.”
“That sounds like a plan, nice to see you’re getting back on track Denise.”
“Thank you Adam, I really do appreciate your help.”
“No problem Denise. Right I’ll go have a chat with Billy see if I can help him some for you.”
“Would you like anything to drink Mr Craven?”
“No I’m fine thank you Denise, and please do call me Adam.”
Adam makes his way upstairs towards Billy’s room, he’s been in this house before to deal with Emma. It was less than two weeks ago but so much has happened in such a short time it feels like much longer.
The walls look much different in the light of day, and the family photos seam to stare back, watching him with their eyes. There is a photo right at the top of the stairs with the full family in it. Mr Richards is a big man, Adam isn’t scared, he has his trusty scalpel and he knows how to use it.
Adam knocks on Billy’s bedroom door and waits for an answer, one does not come. He knocks again this time a little harder, still no answer. Adam pushes the door open and walks into the room.
Billy is sat on his bed with his back against the head board, he does not look up or even move when Adam enters the room. Adam notices a picture of the little girl he had played with just weeks before on top of the bedside cabinet next to Billy. He Grins.
The room is mostly pail blue and has a large television on the wall, it is one of those flat screen TVs that Adam has never purchased as he doesn’t really like TV. Below it sits a black computer system which is curved on top and has a shiny finish to it. Games sit on the shelf above the computer, most of them look like war and football games.
Adam walks over to the Childs large double bed and sits on the edge.
“Hello Billy, how’s it going?”
No answer comes from the Billy, just a very slight shrug.
“Billy I’ve come to see how you are, all your friends at school have been asking about you. Everyone is worried about you and they want to know if you’re coming back to school soon?”
Billy looks up to his teacher with a sad tearful face. His blonde hair is ruffled on top of his head and the pain in his pale blue eye’s is obvious. Adam loves to see the suffering in an innocent persons face.
“Why have you come to see me Mr Craven? I just want to be on my own.”
“Well Billy I thought you might like it if I take you home with me for a while.”
Billy looks confused, but also intrigued.
“What you on about sir? Don’t be daft.”
“Would you like to come and stay with me for a while Billy?”
Billy edges away from his deputy head teacher and scrunches his eyebrows together.
“No, why would I ever want to do that?”
“Well the thing is you don’t really have a choice Billy. Your parents and I have decided your coming home with me for a few weeks.”
“Don’t be daft sir they wouldn’t do that, please can you just leave me alone?”
“Ok I will, if that’s what you want Billy I will? But before I go I have brought something for you, do you want it?”
“Not really sir, I just want you to leave me alone.”
“Tough shit you little cunt your having it!”
Adam quickly grabs the child by his throat to stop him from screaming or making any noise.
“Remember when you found your sister cut to pieces little boy? Well I fucking left her there for you, and I have a real treat for you today.”
Billy is struggling to try and escape from the man but he has no chance, spit starts to come from his mouth as Adam chokes him tighter with every movement.
Adam pulls a scalpel from his pocket with his free hand and holds it to Billy’s face.
“Move another inch and you’ll end up like your sister did.”
Billy’s eyes fill with tears and his face is red. Now that Adam has loosened his grip on Billy’s throat he is breathing heavily for air. Adam takes a black cord from his pocket and proceeds to gag Billy with it. He then ties Billy to the bed so tight he can’t move an inch.
Adam walks towards the bedroom door. He opens it about a foot and with a very cheerful voice
“Denise”
“Denise”
Denise appears at the bottom of the stairs.
“Yes Mr Craven, oops sorry I mean Adam, can I help you?”
“Yes can you please come upstairs a moment Billy and I have some great news we want to share with you.”
“Yes I’ll just shut the front door.”
Adam panics, why the hell is the front door open, shit has Derek come home he starts to worry that two of them might be hard to handle.
“Sorry, do you have company Denise?”
“No it was just a package for my husband that I had too sign for.”
Adams heartbeat returns too normal, he wants to do this quick, he’s worried Mr Richards might come home soon.
“Ok take your time Teresa.”
Adam closes the bedroom door and looks over to the bed where Billy lies. He is tied up and his eyes are wide and frightened. His fear of what this man is going to do to his mother is obvious.
“Wait till you see this Billy you’ll love it, and when we’re done you can come home to stay with me, won’t that be nice?”
Billy writhes on the bed desperate to escape, but he’s going nowhere, Adam just smiles and waves has scalpel in front of his own face.
Denise opens the bedroom door and walks in.
“What is it boys?”
She sees Billy tied to the bed just as the scalpel in Mr Cravens hand cuts through her windpipe severing most of her main arteries. Denise holds her hand to her neck as the blood pumps from the wound, within seconds she stops struggling and is dead on Billy’s bedroom floor.
Billy shakes like he’s being electrocuted on the bed, he is struggling and trying to escape. He wants to kill the man standing in front of him. Adam swiftly walks across the room and punches the boy several times in the face until he is unconscious.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
It’s Human Skin
Chapter 32 It’s Human Skin
Small and Falls pull into Teresa Bennett’s street, they can see the police car parked outside the house, pulling alongside it they can see both officers reading separate papers
“Has she been back yet?”
“No sir.”
“Right get on the radio and tell them to get me a ram over here on the double.”
“Yes sir.”
The officer in the marked car picks up the radio as Small and Falls pull off into a parking place
further down the street. Small steps from the car closely followed by Falls. They stand outside the house just waiting.
“Could these pricks take any bloody longer?”
The spring in his step is gone, the day has beat it out of him, Falls could tell from the sound of his voice that this was getting on top of him and Small was starting to get angry.
“Sir it’s only been five minutes, shall I call it in again?”
“No go tell them idiots in the car over there to do it, tell them I want it here yesterday.”
Falls approaches the car where the two officers are now sitting laughing with one another pointing at something in the paper and he knocks on the window.
“Lads the boss said radio through for that ram again and tell them to make it snappy.”
“It’s only been 5 minutes’ sir.”
“Just do it hey, he’s pissed off enough as it is.”
“Right away sir.”
The large white police van pulls into the street as Falls gets back to where small is standing and several officers climb out.
Small points to the door of Teresa’s house.
“Hurry up!”
The large officer with the metal ram in his hand bangs on the door.
“It’s the police ope”
Small interrupts.
“Just open the fucking door she’s not in.”
The large officer looks over to where Small is standing and glares at him. One large bang and the door is open.
Small quickly opens the door of the tiny hallway and walks into the living room. It’s exactly as it was last time he had been here nothing, has been moved an inch. The only thing missing is the fat baby sitters body that had lay lifeless in front of the TV cabinet.
Small quickly scan’s the room and walks through to the kitchen, there is a glue like sticky substance under foot, and the kettle is on the kitchen floor empty.
“Don’t think there’s anyone here sir.”
“Maybe not but you see that stuff your standing in?”
“Yes sir.”
“Its melted human skin!”
DI Falls jumps quickly away from the puss on the kitchen floor.
“Oh fuck sir, so what the hells happened here?”
“My guess Falls would be that somebody has emptied that kettle there over somebody else whilst the water in it was boiling hot, boiling hot!”
Falls feels sick, no matter how many crime scenes he enters he never seems to get over the shock of what one person will do to another. He can picture the person wriggling around on the floor in agony as their skin peals away from their face.
Small steps back out of the kitchen and walks slowly up the stairs. His heartbeat is not racing, he doesn’t feel anything, it’s different when it’s an adult who’s been hurt, and at the minute he just feels numb from head to toe.
Small ignores the little boy’s room and walks straight into the bathroom. Nothing there, he steps out and walks into Teresa’s bedroom. It is a small room, much smaller than her sons, and not very well decorated. Clothes are thrown over the sides and her bedding is shabby.
She lay bent naked over the bed, the skin from the top of her shoulders is bond with the bed sheets where it has melted then dried and her head has been taken. Her back has been stabbed repeatedly from all angles, there must have been 100 stab wounds, every single one looks deep, he must have used real force to do this.
“Get forensics on the phone Falls I’m going to see that fucking Adam, he’s expecting me at eight, I’ll be waiting for him.”
“Yes Sir, do you want me to come with you?”
“That’s Ok Falls you can get off home I need some time to think. Would you like me to drop you at the station?”
“If you don’t mind sir yes.”
Both officers make their way downstairs, Falls careful not to stand on the puss again, then straight out the front door. Falls walks straight over to the marked car and knocks on the window.
“Yes Sir?”
“Get forensics here lads, and don’t move from this spot until somebody comes to take your place.”
“Sir I have to pick my”
Falls interrupts him,
“I don’t care just don’t move, ok?”
“Ok sir.”
A Lady of about 60 crosses the street towards where Small stands. She has a bit of a limp, long dark hair and is dressed in baggy clothes which look strangely out of shape. Her face looks pleased, like she feels good about something.
“Excuse me madam this is a crime scene can you please go back to your home” comes from Falls.
“Well officers I have something to tell you, do you want to know or are you to busy?”
Small smiles at the lady, she reminds him of his own mother. He ushers her in closer.
“Of course we want to know madam.”
“OK well I’m Betty Green, what’s your name?”
“I am DCI Small and this is my partner DI Falls.”
“Lovely to meet you both boys.”
“You to Mrs Green.”
“Well it all started when one of your boys came over to speak with me the day, when those kids were killed in Teresa’s house, Andrew was such a good boy.”
“Yes Mrs Green how can we help you?”
“Please just call me Betty.”
“Ok sorry Betty, please do go on.”
“Well I was talking to my son last night about the boy who got killed, my son knows him you see, he knows all the boys around here, he’s a very popular boy is our James.”
Falls didn’t want this conversation she was obviously just a nosey parker who wanted to find out whatever she could to gossip with the neighbours. Small seemed happy to talk to the women though so he wasn’t going to say anything.
“Yes Betty?”
“Well you see he said to me he saw a man going there the night that Andrew got killed, but he’s seen him there before so we thought it wasn’t very important so I told him you boys have real police work to do. I didn’t want him to mess you about, but seems you’re here I thought I might as well come and chat to you.”
Smalls eyes widen and his face is instantly more alert.
“YOUR SON SAW A MAN GOING HERE?”
“Well he says he did anyway so you might want to ask him? Will he be helping the police?”
“Yes Betty he will be very much so.”
“Can you tell us what happened then so we can help properly like Detectives? I mean what are you back here for tonight?”
“I’m afraid we can’t really tell you anything at the minute Betty sorry.”
“Have you got any suspects yet?”
“We might have if your son has seen someone here. Where is your son now? Do you know?”
“Well he’s not here right now, but I can bring him around the station when he gets home later if you would like?”
“Do you know where he is now Betty? It’s very important.”
“Sorry I don’t he’s out with his friends. I never know where they go.”
“That’s Ok what time could you have him at the station?”
“Well it’s almost 6:00pm now so he should be back within the next few hours. Shall I bring him straight down?”
“Yes please Betty we would appreciate that, we’ll wait at the station for you, did he tell you anything about the man that he saw? Or anything about what he looked like?”
“It’s really best you ask him he doesn’t tell me nothing you see, he thinks I talk too much and he tells me I embarrass him so he tells me nothing.”
“Well I think you’re a lovely woman Betty.”
“Thank you son, but you don’t have to say that.”
“What is your son’s name again Betty?”
“His name is James Green but all his friends just call him Jimmy for short, I ask them not to but he likes it. I told him it makes him sound common but he just won’t listen. Boys hey they never grow up.”
“Ok Betty we’ll see you at Middleton Police Station l
ater today and thank you very much for your help.”
Both officers quickly jump into their car.
“Falls we might have a witness, somebody might have seen the bastard, oh my god a break through at last in this god awful case.”
“Let’s not jump the gun hey sir, she did seem a bit mad!”
“Falls she may have seemed a bit mad, but if her son did see the guy who did it then we really might be onto something. He might even ID the killer!”
“Fingers crossed then sir.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Billy Comes Home
Chapter 33 Billy Comes Home
Adam drives slowly towards his home with young Billy in the boot tied up and gagged. He also has Denise Richards head in there with him. He didn’t really want it, not after how he felt about Teresa’s head but he just couldn’t resist putting it in there facing the boy so he had company on the drive over.
He knows he needs something to keep Billy in, just chaining him up in the cellar won’t be good enough. There’s a large Pet Store on the main road near his home so he makes a small detour and heads over there. Adam pulls into the large car park and pulls his car in right at the back on its own to make sure nobody goes near it.
His long dark leather coat sits folded on the back seat, he puts it on to cover the blood stained shirt and jeans he is wearing. The pet store is one of those large stores in an industrial unit that sells pretty much everything. Adam finds someone that works there and is directed to the isle where the dog cages are.
“Do you have any of those ones big enough for a fully grown Labrador?”
“Yes of course sir, these ones here are the largest we do.”
Adam inspects the cage, it is very strong and closes perfectly so he can padlock it shut.
“Do these come in flat pack?”
“Yes and we will even carry it to your car for you.”
“That won’t be necessary, can I have this one please?”
“Yes I’ll have it taken to the till for you right away. Can I help you with anything else today sir?”
“Yes I’ll need a padlock can you please show me where I can find one?”
And Then They Were Dead Page 9