Spiritwalker

by Siobhan Corcoran

  “Whatever's the matter?” Kingston asked in French. Eventually with Coutoux's broken English and Kingston's mediocre French. He began to understand what had happened. He now realised why the police hadn't been around. Jane had crashed the Land Rover and she was in a coma. He smiled to himself. Maybe everything wasn't lost after all, he thought as he thanked the Frenchman for letting him know. He begged one more favour of him. He needed transport and quickly. Coutoux promised to lend him his wife's car. Kingston gathered some clothes for Jane and with everything in his holdall, Coutoux drove him to his home and there he was handed the keys of a little Mini. Little did he know that he had only an hour’s head start. The jet carrying the four passengers from the U K were hot on his heels and they had just touched down at the little French airport. Arriving at the hospital he quickly introduced himself as the husband of the lady who had been brought in earlier that evening. No one doubted him or thought for a moment that he might be lying. He was shown up to the intensive care unit and allowed to sit by her bedside. He understood that her injuries weren't too severe but that she hadn't woken up since the accident. The doctors told him that her chances were excellent.

  As he sat there looking at the frail creature in the bed, it was as though a veil was lifted from his eyes. The woman he had thought he worshiped was now just a broken, battered, middle-aged woman and he no longer felt anything for her. Except hate. He hated her for the way he imagined she had fooled him. The way she had pretended to love him. He was getting more and more consumed with hate for her and he just wanted to kill her. It would be so easy he thought, all he had to do was hold a pillow over her face and press down until she could no longer draw breath. He got up from his seat and began pacing the small room. He had finally made up his mind to do it, when a nurse walked into the room. She asked him to wait outside for a few moments. He left the room and decided to go and get a cup of coffee. His tongue and throat were dry and he badly needed a drink. His headache was coming back with a vengeance. He asked a passing nurse where he could get a coffee, she told him that there was a machine on the ground floor close to reception. He headed off down in the lift and was just finished filling his coffee when the front doors burst open and in walked Ian Turner followed by the other three. He quickly stepped out of view and watched as they waited for a doctor to arrive. He nearly got caught at that moment. He was so fixated on Anna when he saw her that he almost forgot to duck out of sight as they flew passed him rushing for the lift. He knew she was the cause of his predicament and he wanted her dead. He had never experienced a loathing so great since his father was alive. It was almost his undoing, he took control his feelings and he quickly turned his back and tried to look casual as they passed. He doubted that they had even registered his presence, so engrossed were they in reaching Jane to make sure she was alive.

  He swallowed his coffee and slipped out past reception and into the car park. He got into Madame Coutoux's Mini and drove aimlessly for long time. The petrol gage on the car beeped at him, telling him to refuel. He realised that it wouldn't be long before the French police were informed of his crimes and they would come out in force looking for him. He had to change cars. He left the little mini down a side street with the keys still in the ignition. He knew it wouldn't be long before some enterprising youth found it and took it for a joy ride. Maybe even burnt it out. He went in search of a suitable replacement. He tried every vehicle he passed looking for one that was unlocked. He could have broken the window and got in that way but he didn't want anyone to become suspicious, so he waited until he found the right one. He must have tried a hundred cars at least before he found one that wasn't locked. Perfect he thought as he sat in and hot-wired it. Another trick he had picked up in his youth, when he had often gone joy riding with friends. He had thought himself invincible until he was caught one night breaking into a car. He had been hauled home by the police and his father had given him the mother of all beatings that night. He hadn't done it since. The memory of that beating was still vivid in his mind.

  He started the car and drove off. He knew he had enough money to last him for a while. He had taken the precaution of bringing the contents of his safe, both from London and from his home in Southend with him to France. He estimated that he had close to fifty thousand pounds in his holdall. Enough to last him for a while, at least until he figured out what to do. There was one person who kept creeping back into his thoughts, try as he might to forget her. Anna Cotter, she had to die. He hated her, he didn't know how she had discovered him but he knew it was all her doing. He would never again be at peace until he had erased her from the face of the earth. With these thoughts flooding his brain he decided to stop for the night. He pulled into a small pokey looking hotel and paid in cash for a room for the night. He slept poorly that night, thoughts of Anna hunting him turned his dreams into nightmares. Her features contorting into horrific shapes, her mouth opening to reveal large pointy teeth, ready to devour him at any moment. Worst of all though, was when she merged into a being that resembled his father. The two headed creature chased him ceaselessly in the darkness. He woke as the sun was just beginning to peep up over the horizon. He was soaked in a cold clammy sweat and he was almost screaming in terror. Slowly he regained control of himself and was disgusted that he, a grown man should be terrified by a wisp of a girl. He showered and changed. Sitting in the room silently he made plans. He knew where she lived, he had seen her address on her licence that first day she had arrived, and he knew that one way or another he was going to have to go to Ireland and finish her torture of him and his dreams for good.

  Chapter forty

  The first thought Jane had as she struggled to open her eyes was that he had captured her again. She groaned softly as she turned her head towards the sound of a machine beeping rhythmically. The door of the room opened slowly, softly. She cringed as she waited in fear for Kingston to appear. It wasn't him, the silhouette of a woman emerged, she was illuminated by the bright lights behind her. She looked like an angel emerging from the heavens. Jane recognised her immediately. It was her angel, her guardian angel the one who had come to comfort her a few nights ago. The door closed and the angel materialised into a woman. The woman walked towards her and smiled when she realised that Jane was awake and watching her. Jane wasn't afraid any more, she felt the heavy burden of fear lift from her shoulders and she smiled back.

  “Where am I?” She asked Anna. She wouldn't have been surprised if the woman had told her that she was dead, only she didn’t feel like she was dead. She had aches all over that convinced her that she was very much alive.

  “You’re safe, you’re in hospital.” Anna told her “I'm Anna. We’ve all been looking for you for a long time.” Anna whispered softly.

  Jane felt her heart give a leap. They hadn’t given up on her as Kingston had told her, she almost cried she was so happy. A movement caught her eye distracting her from Anna. Something stirred in the chair beside her bed. It the semi darkness of the room her eyes focused.

  “Eva?” She gasped, as she recognised the familiar shape in the chair, hardly daring to thrust her own sight. Her sister stirred again at the sound of her name. Then coming fully awake she jumped up off her chair and clumsily fell on her sister and enveloped her in a fierce embrace. They stayed like that for a few moments, neither of them saying anything. Eva reluctantly released her sister and sat back to look at her.

  “We thought we'd never see you again.” She said as she brushed a lock of hair from her sister's face.

  “I almost gave up myself. I thought he was going to kill me. I managed to escape.” Jane said suddenly bursting into tears. The realisation that she was no longer a prisoner over-whelming her.

  “We know darling, It’s okay he's never going to hurt you again.” Eva said soothingly. “Anna found you” Jane turned to Anna and said.

  “I saw you one night in my dreams. I knew you were looking for me. It gave me the strength to fight him. I thought you were an angel.”

&n
bsp; The door opened flooding the room once more with light. Ian’s Silhouette filled the doorway.

  “Ian, she's awake!” Eva cried joyfully. Ian rushed over to the bed and hugged his wife to him, kissing her face repeatedly. Jane returned his embrace fiercely. She never thought she would be so happy to see him again.

  “What about my girls, are they okay?” Jane asked when he finally let her go.

  “They're fine, everyone's fine.” He assured her

  “Sassy, what about Sassy, he said he was going to get her?”

  “She's fine.” Eva told her. “Anna put a stop to him there.”

  For the third time the door opened, this time it was a nurse. When she saw that her patient was awake she shooed everyone out of the room and buzzed for the doctor. The three of them stood in the hallway laughing and talking. Delighted to see Jane awake and recovering from her ordeal. For two days they stayed close to Jane's bedside. Taking turns to sit with her. Night was the only time they weren't allowed to stay. Reluctantly they traipsed back to their hotel and tried to sleep. Kingston hadn't yet been captured. This played on the minds of them all. Each one praying that he would be found soon so they could relax. While he was still at large there was a fear that he would try to get to Jane again. They didn't see much of Morley, he was busy helping the French police, photographs of Kingston were circulated by Inter-Pol. Airports and ferry ports were on high alert but still there was no sign. They knew it was like looking for a needle in a hay stack. He could be anywhere by now. Border controls within the EU were very lax now and people travelled relatively freely. It would be easy to evade capture for someone as clever as he.

  On the third day Jane was discharged from hospital. Ian had organised for the jet to take them all back to the UK. Morley was the only one who didn't return with them. He was looking tired and deflated. Anna knew he was getting a hard time from both his own bosses and from the French police. He didn't complain, in fact he had tried to appear cheerful, but when they were having lunch alone one of the days, he had hinted that he was being likened to the Lone Ranger. He admitted that he might be facing disciplinary action as soon as he returned home. Anna did her best to reassure him, she promised to remain in England until he returned. He was hoping to return home within a day or two. She had volunteered to stay and keep him company in France but he had declined. That morning when he said goodbye to them at breakfast he seemed in better humour, he had been told that they had received reports of sightings of Kingston and was hopeful of a positive outcome. He dashed off immediately after breakfast to view the CCTV footage in question. He promised to keep them up to date on events. Pulling Anna aside he made her promise to be on her guard, reminding her that Kingston had tried to kill her once before. He kissed her tenderly and wished her a safe journey.

  Back in England, at the Westhall's, Jane was over-joyed by the reception she received, reporters were camped outside the grounds hoping for a glimpse of her. Ian shielded her from all of the publicity, only allowing her out of his sight once they were safely inside the grounds. Molly and Samantha followed by Sassy dashed out as soon as they saw the car approaching. Jane was smothered by hugs and kisses. She was so overcome with happiness that she burst into tears making all around her cry too. Anna stayed in the background and helped Olana in the kitchen to make lunch for the hungry travellers. Eva came in search of her and Anna pulled her aside saying.

  “I'll leave after lunch if that's all right with you.”

  “You will not indeed, I heard you tell Inspector Morley that you were going to stay for a few more days. I would be highly insulted if you didn't stay here with us.”

  “I really don't want to intrude on your family time. Anna said

  “If it wasn't for you Anna, we might never have seen Jane again. Besides I think on you as part of the family, I really do.” She hugged Anna tightly.

  Molly and Samantha walked into the kitchen and having heard their Aunt's words they surrounded Anna and hugged her too. There was no need for words, the gratitude they felt was written on their faces.

  “Not more women crying” Ian said jokingly as he entered the kitchen in search of some food. “I'm starving here and all you can do is hug each other and cry. He was quickly hunted from the kitchen by his two daughters both brandishing tea towels, ready to attack him.

  Two days later Morley returned, he had been in constant contact with Anna, updating her on any new developments, but there wasn’t much to tell. They had traced Kingston as far as Belgium, but all trace of him was lost after that. He had promised to take Anna to dinner the evening he returned. He wanted a last evening with her before she went home to Ireland, he knew that she had booked a flight for the following day. He had told her that he had a meeting with his super the following afternoon, and he wasn’t looking forward to the lecture he was going to get, at best he thought he might only get a verbal warning, at worst he might get suspended. Anna had told him not to worry, that she was sure it wouldn’t be as bad as he feared.

  Chapter forty one

  Superintendent Adams was a formidable man, though only five foot five inches tall he put the fear of god into all who came into contact with him. At sixty two years of age he still had the same bulk and frame of a man in his forties. His large bald head and dark bushy eyebrows only enhanced his bull like features. His eyes bore into Morley as he paced, never leaving their mark for a second. Morley sat meekly on the uncomfortable, plastic chair as Adams paced up and down lecturing him on his unprofessional conduct.

  “What on earth’s got into you Morley?” he boomed, his voice thundering around the small office. “You were always a by the book man…well explain!” Morley didn’t know how to explain, he knew he had gone against every rule in the book, not to mention international codes of conduct. He had thrust his way into a foreign jurisdiction before consulting with the local police force.

  “I was following up on information received, I was told that Mrs Turner was in grave danger unless I acted immediately.” Morley tried to justify his actions, but he knew that no explanation he could ever give would cut any ice with Adams.

  “If you were in the army you would be court marshalled. Do you understand how much grief I’ve had to put up with because of your damned impulsive behaviour? If I had my way you would be demoted to sergeant and sent out walking the beat.” He raved furiously at Morley, glaring down at him.

  Morley not knowing how to respond just sat there thinking that it might be better to stay silent and let his superior get his anger out of his system. He didn’t want to say anything that might fuel it further. He wondered how long it would take before he was told what his punishment would be.

  “Have you anything to say in your defence Morley, because if you have I’d very much love to hear it?”

  “I can only apologise for my behaviour and promise that it won’t happen again. I was only thinking of the safety of the victim.”

  “Damned right it won’t happen again.” He said harshly. “You’re one lucky SOB… do you know how many phone calls I’ve had praising your work, and your initiative, every relative of that Turner woman rang me…gushing about how wonderful you were. The chief constable himself rang me a today…do you know what he wanted?”

  Morley’s heart sank further, he had hoped to keep his actions from reaching the ears of any one higher ranking than his own super.

  “He wants me to be lenient where you’re concerned…he practically ordered me to brush it under the carpet. Do you know why? He told me that a personal friend of his was working as a PI on this case and that she interceded on your behalf.”

  Morley was astonished, he hadn’t known that Anna knew the chief constable.

  “Stop opening and closing your mouth like a fool, I’ve more news for you. That maniac Kingston has been traced to Ireland and the chief constable has requested that you travel to Ireland and liaise with the Irish police…This time you will be going in an official capacity. Your flight leaves in two hours from Stansted. Janet will
give you all the details. And Morley Don’t fuck it up.”

  He was dismissed, it was difficult for him to take it all in. He hadn’t been suspended instead he was being sent to Ireland to continue with the investigation. Morley was worried though, there was only one reason he could think of that Kingston would travel to Ireland….Anna. He had to ring her and warn her, he went to his desk and rang her mobile number. No answer, it went straight to voice mail, he left her a message then he rang Neil.

  “Neil, it’s me, I’m on my way over.”

  “I know, I’ve been assigned to the case on this end. I’ve been trying to ring you. I only just found out. I’ll collect you at the airport when you land.”

  “Neil listen, it’s serious. I can’t get hold of Anna. And the only reason I can think of for Kingston to be in Ireland is to get to her. Will you have someone check on her and warn her that he’s in Ireland? She flew home early this morning, she should be there by now” His tone was so serious that Neil couldn’t help but be concerned.

  “Gary I’m sure she’s fine, she probably just forgot to turn her phone back on after the flight. I’ll get some of the local boys to swing by and check on her. Don’t worry. I’ll see you soon.” Neil hung up and dialled Anna’s local Garda station, they promised to pay her a visit. He gave them a detailed description of Kingston just in case he should show up. He then tried to ring Anna, but like Gary his call went straight to voice mail. He tried not to worry, but he too thought it was unlikely that Kingston was here just to lay low for a while. He was aware that Kingston had tried to kill Anna. He knew that if he blamed Anna for his current predicament, that she could very well be in grave danger.

  Chapter forty two

  Anna was both glad and sad to be returning home, she was looking forward to getting back to some semblance of a normal life again after the hectic time she had while working on the case. She was looking forward to seeing Boozy again and to the slower pace of life in the countryside. She was sad to be leaving Morley so soon after they met. They both promised to keep in touch with each other and he had promised that he would come to Ireland the first chance he got. She also spent a lot of time working in the UK and knew that with a bit of effort from both of them that a long distance relationship might work…for a while at least. She stared vacantly out the window of the plane at the persistent drizzle as the plane descended onto the runway at Cork airport. She collected her luggage and was through customs in no time. She paid her parking fee and was driving home, slowly beginning to feel better as she looked forward to a hot bath and a glass of wine in front of her own fire.