Within the Shadows

by J. D MCG

  The children slowly approached the house with curiosity, wanting to know what had happened. One child came riding up close to Sarah, wanting to be the first one to find out. His lack of hair showed his mother couldn't afford a barber, so used a number one clipper all over his head. The boy's trousers were also too small for him as was his coat.

  'Excuse me, Miss. What's happened?' he asked.

  'A police matter. Now run along home,' she said rudely, before turning her back on him.

  'Fuck off,' the boy yelled back at her, wanting to show he was the toughest kid in the street.

  Sarah turned around in shock at what the boy had just said to her, but he'd ridden off on his bike. She phoned Ally to update her on their progress.

  'Hey, boss, we've located the owner of the transit van. Unfortunately, he's dead.'

  'Okay, I'll grab the address off Ethan and be there soon. Keep people away until forensics gets there,' she ordered.

  Sarah knew that was going to be harder than she thought, as the crowd started to get larger. Everyone started yelling at her and Brian to find out what had happened inside the house. All I need now is for the reporters to show up, she sighed.

  Chapter 9

  Ally arrived on scene an hour later. Forensics had already started working on the house, gathering as much evidence as they could find. She could see news crews standing outside the border of police tape, waiting to get a statement. Families had also congested every possible entrance of her getting through the police tape.

  'Excuse me,’ she shouted as she pushed her way through the crowd.

  She flashed her badge to the officer guarding the perimeter, before getting past the border and to the house, where Sarah and Brian were located.

  'So, what happened?' she asked them.

  'We arrived, noticed the door was open. Brian went around the back and I entered through the front and made my way through until I found him on the kitchen floor,' Sarah recalled their actions.

  'How'd he die?'

  'Looks like a knife wound to the throat. I think the assailant took Mr Chambers by surprise and slit his throat,' she explained her theory.

  'Could it be our kidnapper?' Ally pointed the finger towards Lily.

  'I'm not sure,' Sarah voiced her opinion. 'Mr Chambers has quite a good physique, and wouldn't have been so easy to take down. There's no way Lily could have done this. She must have help.'

  'Good point, DS Taylor,' Ally congratulated her.

  Sarah became smug and smiled profusely at Brian as if she was the star pupil. Ally got dressed into a forensic overall and entered the house to witness the murder scene for herself.

  Inside she was greeted by Chloe Fisher, not that Ally could tell, as everyone inside the house looked the same in their white suits. Chloe continued gathering evidence and taking photos, while Ally grabbed a peek at Douglas Chambers’ recently deceased corpse.

  Moments later, Brian and Sarah watched as Ally exited the house, and stripped out of the white overalls.

  'I see what you mean now, Sarah. About him not being easy to take down,' said Ally.

  Ally's phone began to ring. She removed it from her pocket, glanced at it to see Ethan's name, before answering it.

  'Hello, Ethan.'

  'I've got a location for the van. I ran the plates through ANPR and it entered the Arena car park, off St. Vincent Street, and it hasn't left,' he explained.

  'Good work, Ethan. You might have just helped us find Barnes,' she cheered.

  She hung up the phone and informed the others of the news. 'Ethan's ran the plates of the van through ANPR and it's stationed at the Arena car park off St. Vincent Street.'

  The three of them walked away from the crime scene and back to their cars. They stopped before entering, and Ally gave her orders.

  'Brian, I need you to call for armed backup. When we arrive, I want you to pull up outside the car park. I want no police lights to give us away. We'll wait for the AFO, and then search the car park for the van. This is our last hope in finding Barnes. Let's bring him home.'

  They entered their cars and sped towards the Arena car park. Ally hoped this would finally be an end to the search for their DCI. She wanted to bring Jacob in on the search but knew he wasn't in the right frame of mind and needed to get himself better.

  I can do this, she gave herself courage.

  * * *

  The door inside the room unlocked, lighting up the room Barnes was being held in. He was unsure of what was about to happen. Lily slowly entered the room clutching a plate with both hands. She sat on a chair that hid in the dark corner of the room.

  'You hungry?' she asked him.

  'Starving,' he replied, his mouth-watering from looking at the sandwich.

  Lily took a bite. 'This is good,' she said with a mouth full of food.

  Disappointment filled up inside of him, knowing this was another cruel torture of hers. She never intended to give him the sandwich. She just wanted to push him for the information she needed.

  'If you want some, all you have to do is tell me what I want to know.'

  'Oh, I should have known,' he laughed. 'You're persistent, aren't you?'

  'I like to finish my plans. You know that.'

  Barnes knew that. She killed his friend and old partner, as well as having orchestrated other murders. He also knew that he was included in the final part of her plan, dead.

  'So what are you going to do with me, because you know I'm never going to tell you?' he smiled.

  'But you will eventually,' she smirked back at him.

  The man Barnes knew only as Cain, entered the room, clutching something in his hand, before passing it to Lily. He then left the room, as she approached Barnes, who was sat uneasy and anxiously on the floor.

  'You're going to tell me what I want to know, otherwise, your family are going to get worse than you,' she spoke calmly and softly while showing him recent photos of his ex-wife and two daughters.

  'You bitch!' he yelled. 'I'll kill you!'

  'Not before I kill them, and you,' she threatened. 'You're running out of time, Joe.'

  Tears started to form in his eyes. 'I'll kill you,' he repeated quietly, sobbing his heart out.

  'You've got twelve hours to make up your mind.'

  Lily walked out of the room and shut the door, locking out the light from the room. Barnes sat in the darkness with nothing but the possibility of what could happen, and it would all be his fault. He did nothing but cry.

  * * *

  They were a mile away from the Arena car park. Ally silenced her sirens and flicked off her lights as she approached. She noticed in her rearview mirror, the other officers did the same as she instructed.

  Ally parked her car outside the entrance. Sarah and Brian pulled alongside her, as she departed her car. The Authorised Firearms Officers perched themselves with the car park within the sights of their guns.

  'Right,' Ally rounded them up to hear her plan. 'Somewhere in there is this van.' She showed them a photo. 'We're looking to apprehend the suspects alive. We need to know where they're keeping Barnes. Now let's get moving.'

  The team took a few minutes to arm up with Kevlar vests and a handgun each. They were taking no chances since they knew how dangerous Lily could be. As soon as they were ready, armed police stormed the building first, before the three of them entered.

  The armed police split into three teams and took different access points. Ally went with the team who went left, Sarah straight ahead and Brian to the right.

  Once the first floor was clear, they moved further up to the second. Ally checked every inch of the floor before moving up to the next with the rest of the team. Brian began to sweat. He wasn't used to how dangerous this case had become. In all his years on the force, rescuing Barnes was one of the scariest, most intense case of them all. His urgency to find his friend was top of his list, but he wasn't sure they were even g
oing to find him, let alone alive.

  As they reached the third floor, Ally's phone began to ring quietly in her pocket, but loud enough for her to hear.

  She stopped still to answer it. 'Ethan, what is it?'

  'I've just gone through some of our dead victim’s accounts, the one with the van...'

  'Get to the point, Ethan,' she cut him off.

  'Well, it turns out he also owns a canal boat.'

  'Does this boat have a name?' she asked with urgency.

  'The Queen Rose,' he replied.

  'Thanks, Ethan.' She hung up the phone.

  As the armed police moved off towards the next floor, Ally hesitated and thought twice about what she was going to do, before finally deciding. She darted off back down the parking garage, towards the entrance. Officers stood guarding, making sure no civilians were able to gain access.

  Ally flew past them, running as fast as her feet could take her, turning left around the corner and heading towards the canal. When she made it close to the water’s edge, she slowed down, making sure not to give herself away. The light was beginning to fade from the sky, making it nearly impossible to find the canal boat where she assumed Lily was keeping Barnes captive.

  Couples and friends sat beside the canal at nearby restaurants, eating their meals, accompanied by fun and laughter. Ally glanced around, checking every canal boat that sat on top of the water, but she kept coming up short until she spotted it a few metres down by the water’s edge.

  'We've found the van,' she heard Sarah whisper down the earpiece.

  She heard the shouts of the armed police before they opened the van. There was silence before she heard the word, clear. There was nothing inside the van.

  'It's empty,' she heard Sarah speak again with disappointment.

  'Guys, I've got a lead. I need back-up,' Ally informed them.

  'Where are you, Ally?' Brian asked.

  'Down by the canal. I need you here quickly. I think I'm about to make contact with Lily.'

  'What are you doing out there?' Sarah questioned her actions, wondering why she wasn't with them inside the car park.

  'No time for explanations, just get here.'

  People chatting loudly nearby and slight screams could be heard coming from behind her. She turned her head to see the armed police, followed by Sarah and Brian, marching stealthily. Ally started to move quickly towards the canal boat, removing her holster handgun and aiming it in the direction of her target.

  As Ally approached the boat, the armed police moved either side, covering all entry and exit points, in case the assailants made a run for it.

  'On my orders,' Ally whispered her command.

  * * *

  Barnes' stomach growled, but the worry was the only thing he could think about. Food didn't seem so important to him now. His family was in danger and it was his fault. If he just gave her the information she needed, they wouldn't have brought his family into it.

  He could hear chatting faintly in the distance. What are they discussing? Hopefully, they're not talking about my family. Then it went silent. He could see the shadows of Lily and Cain, under the bottom of the door. They were still as if something had spooked them.

  Barnes listened carefully and heard a tapping of footsteps outside. He crawled closer to the blacked-out window. Is there someone out there? he thought.

  He heard a couple of footsteps above him. He had no idea where he was being held, but he had hopes that the movement above, was a rescue team coming to free him.

  Watching the shadows beneath the door, he waited to observe what was about to happen. Lily and Cain stayed still and had been the entire time until he noticed Cain's shadow move slightly. Barnes waited.

  A creaky door echoed. Lily and Cain still in their positions, unmoved. It was still quiet and unnerving. Barnes' heart began to race and beat faster and faster with every silent second. Then he heard something.

  'Police,' a familiar voice appeared throughout the boat. 'Is anybody down here?'

  Barnes hesitated. He knew Lily would harm his family if he spoke and on the other hand, Ally could die if he didn't. He didn't have long to decide what to do, and with every moment he wasted, Ally was a little closer to danger. The shadows of Lily and Cain disappeared into the dark as the light vanished.

  * * *

  Ally was in. Nobody answered her call, making her uneasy and anxious. She took another step down the stairs and into the pit of the boat. Her gun aimed in front of her, pointing the barrel where she faced.

  She was scared but she didn't want to show it. If Barnes wasn't here, she didn't know if they'd ever find him. She glanced around the room, not being able to see much other than where she was walking. The canal boat was run down, dusty and needed a lick of paint. A good place to stash someone, she thought.

  Her heart began to race, her mind wandering all over the place, thinking about who was lurking in the dark. Ally moved slowly through the darkness, taking one step at a time, her gun still protecting her.

  She heard a creak from a floorboard. Someone was approaching her.

  'Hello,' she called out. 'This is the police. Come out with your hands above your head.'

  Still, nothing but silence. Sarah crept down the stairs behind her, making Ally jump with fright, removing her eyes from the darkness which lay in front of her.

  'Jesus, Sarah,' she whispered.

  'Sorry,' Sarah apologised, before she noticed a six-foot man, charging towards Ally. 'Ally, look out!' she cried.

  Ally turned around to see Cain running at her from within the shadows. She dodged his fist, which flew at her with haste. She fell backwards onto the floor below Sarah's feet. Sarah aimed her gun at him.

  'Don't move another fuckin' muscle!' Sarah yelled at him.

  But that didn't stop Cain. He knew Sarah was just as frightened, as he quickly approached her, knocking her gun out of her hands and dropping it to the floor. Sarah took a step backwards, terrified and worried about what was about to happen to her and Ally. Cain laughed with a deep, frightening roar.

  'Armed police! Don't move!' their backup shouted throughout the boat.

  The game was over for Cain. He'd been caught.

  'Who's laughing now?' Sarah said smugly.

  The officers moved into the boat, cuffed Cain and dragged him outside, while Ally, Sarah and the other AFOs searched the rest of the boat. There was no sign of anyone else lurking in the dark, just a locked door at the far end.

  'Is anyone else in here?' Ally shouted.

  'Ally,' a man's voice shouted from the other side of the locked door.

  'Barnes, is that you?' she shouted back, relieved that they'd actually found him alive.

  'Yes.' He cried, knowing it was all over.

  Ally started to kick the door down but realised it was no good. Sarah called for an officer to come forward. The pair of them moved out of the way as the officer used the end of his weapon to smash the lock on the door.

  Ally and Sarah burst through the door to see Barnes on his knees, covered in blood, with an ankle bracelet around his leg which was chained to the wall. His face was unrecognisable it had been beaten so much. Barnes was crying tears of joy. The pain and suffering was over.

  'I'm so glad to see you both,' he rejoiced.

  Ally helped him to his feet, while Sarah sought after the keys to his ankle bracelet.

  'You're okay now,' Ally told him.

  Barnes cried as he hobbled out of the canal boat. Paramedics rushed over to assist Ally with helping Barnes to walk. He perched on a side platform while the paramedics checked him over.

  'I'm so glad you've got them. I hope they spend eternity behind...'

  Ally cut him off. Something bothered her about what he'd just said.

  'They?' she asked.

  'Lily and Cain,' Barnes answered.

  'We only caught the one guy. There was no sign of Lily. Ar
e you sure she was in there?'

  'I'm positive,' he continued, starting to cry again.

  He panicked, knowing how dangerous she was and she was back on the loose. The danger was real, and it terrified him. Then he thought of the threat she made towards his family.

  'Are you sure she's not in there?' he asked again, confirming the reality of the situation.

  'Yes, Barnes. I'm positive,' Ally repeated for the second time.

  'Then we need a patrol car outside my ex-wife's house,' he yelled.

  Ally was shocked. What has she done to him to terrify him this much?

  'Okay.' She called Sarah over and asked her to send officers over to Vanessa Barnes' home. 'I need you to explain to me what happened, boss,' she demanded, placing both her hands on his shoulders.

  'She wanted information from me. I don't know what she was asking me about,' he lied, 'but she threatened my family if I didn't tell her what she wanted to know.'

  'It's okay. Your family will be alright,' she consoled him.

  * * *

  Vanessa Barnes' evening was just like any other; cooking her daughters dinners, cleaning up around the house before she put the girls to bed. Once they'd settled down for the night, she chilled on the sofa with a glass of red wine. She wasn't an avid wine drinker, just an average bottle from the supermarket did her just fine.

  But somebody interrupted her night with a knock on the door. Reluctantly, she removed herself from her comfy, slumped posture and answered the door, to see two policemen standing in front of her.

  'Good evening...' one officer greeted before Vanessa cut him short.

  'What is it? What's wrong,' she began to panic, seeing the officers at her door. 'Is it my husband?'

  'Your husband is fine. We've been asked to keep guard over your house,' the officer continued to inform her.