Within the Shadows

by J. D MCG

  'Barnes?'

  'My dad said he's the only one he trusts,' he said while showing Ally the letter.

  She took a few minutes to read over the letter. 'What do you think you'll find in here?'

  'Hopefully some answers.'

  The pair of them entered the building, and a familiar face stood before them.

  'Oh, hello detectives,' said Billy, the lock-up's manager.

  Both Ally and Jacob had met Billy about a month ago when they investigated Lily's locker. Billy had no idea why the pair of them were stood in front of him.

  'Hello, Billy,' Jacob greeted him, holding his hand out for it to be shaken. 'Good to see you again.'

  'So, what brings you both here?' he asked.

  'I need your help. My father had a locker here,' Jacob said, handing him the receipt. 'He recently passed away. While I was clearing out his house, I came across this receipt. He pays annually for a locker here, and I've come to clear it out.'

  'Okay, give me a minute and I'll find out what number locker he had.' Billy clicked away on the computer.

  'Thank you, Billy. I really appreciate your help,' Jacob replied.

  After a few minutes, Billy had found John's locker. But he gave Jacob a worried look like he was about to disappoint him.

  'Good news, I've found your father's locker,' he informed them while bowing his head.

  'What's the bad news?' Ally asked.

  'Do you remember when you came here last month?'

  'How could I forget,' replied Jacob with a sorrowful tone.

  'Well, her locker was...'

  '249,' he interrupted.

  'Your father's locker is 250, right next door.'

  Jacob's mouth opened wide in shock. Lily had been spying on my father this whole time, but why? Ally placed her hand on his shoulder.

  'Are you alright?' she asked.

  'I'm just a little confused and shocked,' he answered. 'Can you take us to it?’ he requested.

  'Of course. Follow me,' said Billy.

  The three of them reached the floor where John's locker had been. A four-digit combination lock kept the locker safe from prying eyes and thieving hands.

  Billy spoke up, 'I'll leave you both to it.'

  Jacob stared at the lock. What could the number be? He tried his birthday, but the lock didn't release. So he tried his siblings birthdays and when they didn't work, he tried his mother and Maria's. Again, the lock didn't release.

  'I give up,' he announced defeat.

  'There's got to be something you're not thinking of. Did your father not leave a combination in his office?' Ally tried to get him thinking.

  Then something appeared in his thoughts. The letter. That's probably why he added both numbers and letters. He must have known I'd figure it out.

  'Let me try something else,' he announced to her while removing the letter from his coat pocket. 'Two, three, one, three,' he spoke out loud while entering the numbers into the combination.

  The lock released and Jacob's stomach started to turn. This was the moment he'd waited for. The secrets were about to be revealed. A deafening ringing could be heard as the fire alarms rang throughout the building.

  'Jacob, come on. We need to leave,' she shouted at him.

  Jacob hesitated, peeping into the locker. He shut the locker and made sure it was completely locked before he accompanied Ally out of the building.

  'This isn't a coincidence,' he shared his thoughts with her as they exited the building.

  'What do you mean?'

  'We finally get into the locker and get to find out what my father had been hiding, then the fire alarm goes off. I don't buy it.'

  'I think everything that's happened has made you paranoid,' she joked. 'We'll come back later when we're allowed back inside.'

  Jacob wanted to resist but agreed to go with her, knowing she was right, but also worried in case somebody broke in and took what was inside.

  * * *

  When they arrived back at the station, Jacob returned to his desk. He craved an alcoholic drink. He'd become dependent on it since his father's death, and the cravings grew stronger the more he felt the pain and hurt he was feeling inside.

  Jacob opened his desk draw. His eyes gazed down at a small bottle of whiskey he had placed in there for the hard times. He placed his coffee cup inside his drawer, unscrewed the lid on the whiskey bottle, and poured it into the cup. He kept peeking around making sure nobody could see what he was doing.

  The drink made him feel slightly better. It numbed the pain he was constantly feeling day-to-day. The loss of his father and the life of lies he'd lived with Lily had taken its toll on him. He still had his friends and family by his side, but being alone and having nothing but his thoughts, reminded Jacob of everything that had happened in the past month.

  He had the feeling he was being watched by his colleagues. Their beady eyes looking up from their computers, people tip-toeing around him constantly, too afraid to ask him anything, in case he'd get upset or have another breakdown.

  He got up from his seat and left the CID. He couldn't cope with everyone gazing at him, and he needed fresh air. Once he got to the car park, he pulled out his keys and got into his car. He peered out of each window, making sure no one was around, before making a move to his glove box.

  Inside was another bottle, this time it was vodka. He unscrewed the lid and took a swig. It calmed his nerves. Jacob needed to get out of the office for a while, so he started the ignition and started to drive.

  Thoughts of Lily swam around inside his mind. Tears started to stream down his cheeks which he couldn't control. He pulled over by a local pub, craving another drink. He wiped his tears before pulling himself out of the car and walked into the pub. It was dim and smelt like stale booze. He sat at the bar and ordered a pint of lager, hoping it would do the trick, but it didn't. It didn't even touch the sides on making him feel any better.

  The TV was tuned in to a news report featuring his current case with Jack Roberts. That's all I need now,' he thought. I can't be doing with listening to this right now.

  Jacob yelled at the bartender, 'Can you turn this off, please?'

  The grumpy bartender grunted, before switching the channel to sports. Jacob drank his pint and kept himself to himself. He sat there thinking about his father and the visions. The visions had gone once the recent string of murders had stopped. He kept telling himself the visions were due to lack of sleep and stress, but deep down, Jacob knew it was something else. His father had even told him, he'd experienced the same thing when he was a detective.

  Stumbling out of his seat, Jacob headed back to his car. Outside he scrambled for his keys inside his pocket, almost falling over. He'd hit rock bottom and he knew it, though he didn't care. He had lost everything. His whole family had been torn to shreds.

  Jacob looked over the road and caught a glimpse of a man, standing and staring directly at him. He recognised the man very well and thought he'd never see him again. That man was his father, John Wright. Is this another hallucination? he thought.

  'Hey,' he yelled at the man. 'Wait.'

  Jacob pushed his way through the crowd of people in front of him and tried to cross the street. He stepped off the curb in a hurry, making cars swerve to avoid hitting him. Car horns beeped ferociously, with drivers yelling obscene words towards him. But Jacob didn't care, he just focused on the man who resembled his father, who was currently walking away.

  Once Jacob reached the other side, he continued to tail the man, not taking his eyes off him, until he bumped into a lady.

  'Watch where you're going,' she yelled angrily at him, making him lose sight of the man.

  'Sorry,' he apologised, giving her direct eye contact.

  By the time Jacob looked back towards the man, he was gone. Was it my father? Did he cause the distraction earlier with the fire alarm? Jacob stood motionless for an instant,
before making his way back towards his car.

  * * *

  Jacob arrived back at the CID and aimed straight for Ally, who was inside Barnes' office. He shut the door behind him, making sure his colleagues couldn't hear the conversation that was about to take place.

  'Ally, I've got to talk to you,' he stuttered.

  She noticed his head was sweating and he seemed panicked. 'Jacob, is everything alright?'

  'No.' He started pacing. 'I've seen him. I reckon it was him who set the fire alarm off in the lock-up earlier.'

  'Who? Barnes?' she questioned him.

  'No, my father.'

  Ally was shocked and worried that Jacob was having a mental breakdown. Then she caught a whiff of alcohol on his breath.

  'Jacob, have you been drinking?' she asked quietly, trying not to have prying ears hear what was being said.

  'Yes, well, a little.' he admitted.

  'What are you playing at? You know you can't be drinking on the job, especially driving. I'm going to have to send you home, you can't stay here.'

  'But you need to listen,' he tried to explain, but she was having none of it.

  'No. You need to listen to me,' she tried to show her frustration quietly. 'You need to go home and sleep it off, then I'll come and pick you up in the morning. Now come on, let's get you home.'

  The pair of them left the office and headed for the exit, as the team stared at them. Jacob's head was spinning and he had no idea how he'd made it to the CID safely.

  Out in the car park, Ally held the door open for him to enter. His drunk body dropped in the passenger seat and she shut the door. The pain he was feeling, felt like he'd been ripped apart, and now everybody he worked with, knew he was an alcoholic mess.

  * * *

  Back inside the CID, Brian and Sarah were chatting about their dating life. Brian had confessed he'd gone on a date the night before after Sarah and Ethan had dragged it out of him.

  'What about you then, Sarah? Is there a new lucky man in your life yet?' he asked.

  'Man? Who’s to say I'm interested in men, Brian?'

  Brian blushed, not knowing how to reply and stayed quiet at his desk. Ethan just laughed along with Sarah.

  'What about you, Ethan? How's it going with Ruby?' She turned her attention to him.

  'Good, actually. We're planning a holiday for the summer.'

  The double doors flew open as a woman entered the office. Brian stood on his feet immediately.

  'Who's that?' Sarah asked him.

  'That would be Barnes' ex-wife, Vanessa,' he informed them, as he walked over to her. 'Vanessa, how are you?'

  She was in hysterics, tears streaming down her face. 'Brian, where is he?'

  'Look, Vanessa...'

  'Something's happened, hasn't it?' she interrupted.

  'Come with me and I'll explain,' he said while ushering her into Barnes' office. 'Take a seat.' He shut the door.

  'What's happened to Joe? I know some things happened. He usually calls the girls every couple of days, but he hasn't.'

  Brian sighed. 'Look, Vanessa, I'm going to tell it to you straight. He's been kidnapped.'

  'Kidnapped?'

  He nodded and continued, 'We are trying our best to find him.'

  'Do you know who's kidnapped him?'

  'We have an idea, but no evidence to prove it.'

  She burst into tears. She still loved him but felt increasingly left second best to his job, which was the main reason for their split. But she still had feelings for him.

  'Will you keep me informed?' she asked Brian kindly.

  'Of course I will,' he promised as he lifted his heavy, weighted body off the seat and towards the door.

  'Thank you,' she said as she left the CID.

  Brian headed back towards his desk and plumped himself down. Sarah's eager eyes focused on Brian, wanting information from him.

  'What did she want?' she questioned.

  'She knew something had happened to Barnes, so came to confirm it,' he explained.

  Ethan strolled back over to his desk. He'd been flicking through CCTV images of the surrounding area of the warehouse, where Barnes had been held hostage. He sat perched, glaring at his monitor, when he locked onto a blue transit van, entering the warehouse premises.

  'Hey, guys,' he shouted.

  Sarah and Brian rushed over to Ethan's desk, to see what he'd found.

  'This van entered the premises a few hours before we arrived. They left not long after arriving and I'm going to track it with the other surveillance cameras to see where it ended up. I'm also running the plates. Hopefully, we'll have a match soon.'

  'Good work, Ethan,' Sarah congratulated him on a job well done.

  Ethan's computer pinged back information on the owner of the van.

  'I've got a name and an address for the owner of the van. Mr Douglas Chambers. It's also been reported as stolen,' Ethan continued to inform them.

  'Right, Ethan, I need you to carry on going through the CCTV. Me and Brian are going to pay Mr Chambers a visit and see if he has any information on our van thief,' she barked her orders, as the highest commanding officer in the office, before her and Brian left the CID.

  * * *

  Jacob stirred from his sleep, not knowing how he'd got home. The light outside started to fade. He had no idea what time it was, as he stumbled out of his bed and over to his en-suite. His head was thumping, his vision was blurry, and the feeling of wanting to throw up came with no warning as he leant over the toilet.

  He knew he'd hit rock bottom. Once he'd stopped being sick, Jacob carried himself over to his kitchen and poured himself a glass of water, gulping it down as fast as he could.

  Belle and Kate were sitting eating snacks but paused when Jacob made his entrance, keeping their eyes fixated on him.

  'Rough day?' Belle asked, keeping her eyes locked on him while cramming her mouth full of food.

  He just kept his head down, facing the sink. The thought of them eating made me want to puke. He checked the time.

  'Damn. It's quarter past five,' he yelled in a panic.

  'Chill. Ally dropped you off and told you to rest,' Kate informed him.

  'I can't remember anything.' He rubbed his head.

  'She told us to keep an eye on you. She said you'd been drinking?' Belle spoke up.

  Jacob turned around to face them. 'Look, it's been a rough couple of weeks and I'm just having a rough time.'

  'We're here for you if you need us,' Belle consoled him.

  'Thank you both. I love you guys.'

  They both smiled as Jacob wandered off back to his bed, and the pair of them continued their conversation.

  'I'll ask my boss if they've got anything for you at weekends,' said Belle.

  'Would you?' Kate replied ecstatically. 'I'd appreciate it.'

  'No problem, we could do with the help.'

  'Anyway, have you heard any more from Ben?' Kate inquired, wanting to hear some girly gossip.

  'He phoned me earlier. We've got a date next week,' she replied with a smile.

  Belle's life had turned around since she'd ran away from her parents, not that they noticed she was gone. They were probably too out of their faces to care. They weren't the best parents and as Belle started to get older, they became abusive. So Belle decided to run away.

  She lived on the streets until she found an empty apartment that was unlocked from a police raid. She'd been staying there a while before she met Alex Baker, the owner of the apartment. He showed her kindness she hadn't experienced for a very long time.

  But once again, destruction followed, when Alex was brutally murdered in the room next door to her. That's when Jacob came into her life. He'd become a big brother to her and her life was gradually getting better.

  Memories of her life flooded her mind for a while, but instead of dwelling on the bad, she looked to t
he recent happiness she'd felt. For once in her horrible life, she was happy.

  * * *

  Sarah and Brian arrived at Douglas Chambers’ house. It was a pretty average house for the Birmingham area, in a busy little street. Young children riding bikes in the road, while others were on the field nearby playing football.

  As they approached the house, Sarah noticed the door was slightly ajar. She pushed it open a bit wider, trying to get a look further inside.

  'Hello,' she shouted. 'Mr Chambers, it's the police. Is it alright for us to come in?'

  But there was no reply, making Sarah feel uneasy. She turned to Brian worried, as they were unarmed, and somebody could be waiting to attack them inside.

  'What do you think?' She asked Brian for advice.

  'I'll take the back, you go in through the front,' he gave his option.

  'Coward,' she muttered, as Brian took off around the house.

  She entered, slowly and steadily, making sure not to make a sound. As Sarah came to the doorway into the living room, she placed her back against the wall and took a quick peep inside the room. She couldn't see anybody, so carried on straight ahead, towards the kitchen.

  That's when she found him, Mr Chambers, dead on the kitchen floor, surrounded by a pool of blood. His throat had been slashed like he'd been taken by surprise from behind. He was a middle-aged man, with longish grey hair and a slight goatee. He was quite muscular and if he hadn't been taken by surprise, he might have stood a chance against the killer.

  Brian popped his head up by the kitchen window and saw Sarah stood over Douglas Chambers’ body. She called it in. Knowing she was contaminating the crime scene, she decided to leave the house. Her stomach churned and she threw up in the street, for all the children to see.

  Brian came running around the corner, panting for breath. 'What happened in there?'

  Sarah wiped the sick from her mouth before answering, 'He's been murdered, you idiot. What do you think has happened?' she asked a rhetorical question.