Beyond Evidence

by Emma L. Clapperton

  "You got here fast," the coroner said handing them both face masks and a pair of latex gloves.

  "What's the story then?" Preston asked immediately as he put on the mask and gloves.

  "Most likely strangulation, as you can see here and here," he pointed to the females neck. "The bruising is most likely to have been caused by finger grip."

  Lang inspected the bruising as Preston continued to speak, "We're looking at a serial killer here aren't we." It wasn't a question.

  "I'd say, most certainly," replied the coroner.

  "Does this female have a name?" Preston asked.

  "Yes, she has been identified by the driving license in her bag as Miss Anna Roper, twenty three years old," the coroner replied, shaking his head in disappointment.

  "Thank you, could you send a report to the office? We'll need to inform the family," Preston said.

  "It's on its way," the coroner replied. As they left the tent, Preston stood up on the hill slightly looking down on the newest crime scene.

  "I'll phone Patrick, let him know," Lang said.

  "Yeah, that's good." Preston felt devastated. He felt like he was failing the families of the already deceased and now another girl had wound up dead.

  "This guy has got to be some kind of ninja for no one to notice anything," Lang said as he dialled Patrick's number.

  "Yeah, tell me about it."

  The phone rang on the other end a few times before Patrick answered. "Hello?"

  "Patrick, it’s Jim, I've got some bad news unfortunately."

  "What is it?"

  "Another woman has been found murdered in the canal at Kelvingrove Park, same injuries as the other girls," he said it with sadness in his voice.

  There was a pause at the other end of the phone.

  "Are you sure it is linked?" Patrick asked.

  "Absolutely, it would be a major coincidence if it wasn't."

  Patrick felt his heart skip a beat at the news. This was never going to end. "What was her name? I'll see if I can make a link with the other spirits," Patrick said.

  "A Miss Anna Roper," Lang replied.

  Patrick had a feeling of Déjà vu but it quickly passed. "Anna Roper... I know that name I think."

  "You do? How is that?" Lang asked.

  "I don't know, maybe it's just a common name. Anyway, thank you for letting me know."

  Lang hung up and went to see if Preston was alright.

  "In all my years of doing this Jim, I have never seen a serial killer. I don't know how we're going to solve this. This guy is a complete pro."

  "Paul, he may be one step ahead now, but we'll catch up soon enough. He'll get what's coming to him. Just wait and see."

  "I hope you're right Jim because if you're not I think that this case could end us," Preston said.

  Lang knew it was possible but he didn't show it. "It won't come to that at all, we'll get him and we will put him away for a very long time, trust me."

  "Like I said, I hope you're right. Come on, we need to get back to the station."

  Telling a family that one of their own had been murdered was the worst part of the job for Preston and in this particular case he felt like he had done it one to many times. This killer was more than one step ahead of him and Lang, he was a million steps ahead. Preston really felt deep down in the pit of his stomach that this killer was unstoppable, and determined to keep going, striking when it was least expected. As they got into the car Preston sat in silence for a few moments. Lang allowed his partner time to cool down.

  "You know what I see each time another young girl like Anna is found dead?" Preston said.

  "A truck load of paperwork and a brick wall?" Lang suggested feeling just as pissed as Preston.

  "My two girls, I see their faces. Because it could be them next you know."

  "No way Paul, don't think like that." Lang put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

  "Why not? Anything's possible here. They go out with their friends in Glasgow, they could fall prey to him just like the last four did."

  "Well then, let's make sure no one else does, let's get back to the station and follow up on every damn lead we can, CCTV, witnesses, the lot. Come on, we're not going to get the bastard just sitting here are we?" Lang said.

  Preston turned the key and made the journey back to the station.

  Thirty Five

  A new spirit

  Patrick sat down on the sofa and put his head in his hands. How could this have happened again? Patrick felt extremely angry for Anna and for Angela, Michelle and Rebecca. He'd let them down, failed as a medium and now he felt like he had to start all over again.

  Jodie walked out of the bedroom and saw Patrick sitting in the living area. "Patrick, what's wrong?"

  "I just got off the phone with Lang," he took a deep breath. "There's been another murder."

  Jodie sat back and absorbed what she had just been told and as the realisation sunk in she suddenly felt the tears fill her eyes. "Oh God, when did this happen?"

  "This morning, she was found in the canal at the entrance to Kelvingrove Park, same injuries as the others too." Now he was holding Jodie, offering comfort.

  "Oh no, that's awful. Was she of the same description as the others? What was her name?" Jodie was crying now, wishing that all of it would just go away.

  "I haven't seen a picture of her yet, but her name was Anna Roper and she was twenty three apparently."

  Jodie thought about the girl and wondered how long it would take before she began presenting herself and how with Anna being the fourth murder victim, it probably wouldn't take that long. As Jodie was lost in her thoughts she hadn't noticed Patrick leave the cottage to stand outside and let the new devastating information sink in.

  As he watched the clouds floating slowly over his head he felt his stomach knot and pull at the thought of another victim to the sick person who got a buzz from strangulation. The anger began to build from the pit of Patrick's stomach and before he knew it he had punched the front door of the cottage. Jodie jumped out of her skin and ran to the door. When she opened it she almost laughed out of relief that it was only Patrick at the door and not another episode in her head.

  "What are you doing?" she asked when she saw that Patrick’s knuckles were bleeding.

  "Punching the door, what does it look like?" he snapped.

  Jodie was stunned at his outburst. "Alright no need to snap," she said as she took his hand in hers and led him in to the kitchen.

  "I'm sorry, I'm just so bloody angry. I feel like I am failing this case and failing those girls."

  "You are not failing the case Patrick, you will solve it, maybe not now but you will," she said as she dabbed at his knuckles with a tissue.

  "But I have to solve it now, it's already too late. He's killed again and gotten away with it once more."

  Patrick was so angry that for a moment Jodie thought that she was getting in his way and annoying him rather than helping him, "Do you want me to leave you alone?" she asked.

  "What? Oh no, I'm sorry babe I didn't mean to make you feel uneasy. God, you've had enough to deal with without me making it worse." He took her face in his good hand and kissed her gently on the mouth. As he did so, she connected with his mind and as they kissed she listened quietly, so he wouldn't hear her in his thoughts.

  His mind was sad and tangled in the frustration of the case and Jodie's own, tired mind. She could feel the pain he felt in his chest, not a physical pain but one of grief. He was grieving for the relationship that they once had. It was not the same as it once was, before the case took it away from them. He loved Jodie with every breath, every blood vessel, every blink. She could feel the weight of everything slowly pushing him down and she knew that in some way it would break him. She pushed her lips to his, harder now and for the rest of their moment, she pushed the thoughts from his head and filled it with happier times. She felt him relax as she did so and as they made love they both forgot about the murders, only for a short time, but
it was enough to make Patrick realise later that enough was enough. No longer would this take up his life, he was sick of the stress and anxiety that they both felt.

  They lay on the couch with a large tartan blanket over them and even though Jodie was silent he knew she was awake as her breathing was gentle and light.

  "Marry me?" he asked.

  "What do you mean? We're already engaged," she said bewildered by his question.

  "I know that, but I mean let's actually get married. When all this is over, let's just do it. There's nothing to say we can't is there?"

  Jodie looked into his eyes and regarded his words, "Are you being serious?"

  He smiled. "Yes, I am. So?"

  Jodie's smile widened and she immediately flung her arms around him. "Of course I want to get married, it's all I have ever wanted."

  As they held each other in their arms, their happiness beamed all around the room. Jodie felt like she had the most energy she had ever had and Patrick felt like his whole body was smiling. But the thought never left the back of his mind, not really. The killer was still out there and it could take a long time before he was caught. The spirits never left his mind either and they never would, not until Ross Turner was caught, behind bars or dead, it had to be done.

  Jodie fell asleep with a subtle smile on her face and Patrick held her for the rest of the night and as he fell asleep, his dreams were filled with nothing, whereas Jodie's were filled with the screams of Angela, Michelle and Rebecca and a new voice.

  Anna Roper.

  But she wasn't just screaming in terror at the prospect of her own murder. She was screaming at the prospect of another on the way.

  Jodie awakened in a cold sweat and sat bolt upright, with the feeling of burning skin and suffocation. She was alone in the room.

  No Patrick. No killer. Just alone.

  Thirty Six

  Injection of fear

  She splashed her face with cold water, trying desperately to wash away the dream, the screams, the burning.

  Why is this happening to me? She thought to herself.

  The cottage was dark and silent, she looked into the bedroom from the bathroom and the digital clock read 2:10 a.m, another sleepless night ahead of her then.

  She splashed her face once more and dabbed it with the towel as she stood quietly over the sink. She replayed the dream over and over again in her head, wondering why yet again she had the burning sensation slowly creeping over her skin and now the feeling of suffocation. A new face now haunted Jodie's thoughts, Anna Roper. As if things weren't stressful enough, now she had to cope with a new spirit.

  She opened the mirrored wall cabinet and took out her bottle of sleeping pills. She swallowed one with a glass of water and closed her eyes, not being able to bare the sight of her own reflection, I look so tired and unwell, she thought.

  She was startled as she suddenly felt Patrick wrap his arms around her waist. "Are you ok?" he whispered.

  "Yeah, bad dream."

  "Tell me," he kissed her neck.

  "No, honestly it's nothing."

  "Now, I don't believe that for a minute," he kissed her neck again.

  She sighed knowing that he didn't believe her. "Well, if you really want to know, I had a dream about Anna Roper."

  Patrick stopped kissing her neck and spun her around to face him. "A dream or a vision?"

  "A bit of both to be honest, it was awful Patrick. And I had that feeling again, the burning, like my skin was on fire."

  He was hugging her before she had finished speaking, almost squeezing her. His face showed courage and confidence that things would be ok but his mind spoke a thousand words of fear and worry for his fiancée. "Jodie it was just a dream, you wouldn't have had it if we hadn't found out about Anna."

  Jodie considered this but immediately dismissed it. "No. I'm beginning to think that they are trying to tell me something."

  "Like what?" he asked calmly to keep her from becoming upset.

  "I don't know. But I think they are trying to tell me that something is going to happen but I can't see what it is," her voice began to wobble.

  Patrick held her tightly as she began to cry and through her tears he could see the fear of the unknown in her eyes, "It's going to be ok. I promise I won't let anything happen to you, or me for that matter."

  "I don't think it's that simple Patrick."

  "Trust me, it is," he said as he wiped away her tears.

  He led Jodie back in to the bedroom and tucked her in to the bed linen like a mother would with their young child. He climbed in beside her and wrapped her in his arms. "Just sleep baby, I'm here and I will keep you safe."

  Jodie quickly drifted off unexpectedly and before Patrick knew, Jodie was breathing slow and steady.

  She was in a deep sleep now.

  ***

  The car was packed and ready to go. The black double sided tape and rope lay in the boot of the car and he made sure that the one most important thing he needed was easily accessible. He had dressed himself in black from head to toe and he ensured that the only part of his face that could be seen were his eyes, not even the skin around his eyes or eyebrows, just the eyes themselves! He rubbed his hands together as he observed the equipment that he had required for his plan, the plan that had only come together in the last two days. The car hire company were the only people who knew that he had the car and by the time everyone else knew about him it would all be over anyway.

  "Not long to go now Mum, I will be seeing you very soon," he said as he sat in the car looking at her photograph.

  He got out of the car and leaned against it. He looked up at the sky and all he could see were the twinkling of the stars and the blackness that was the night, well early morning, 2:30 a.m to be precise. Being in Loch Lomond made Ross appreciate his surroundings a little more than usual, there was no light polluting the night sky, blocking the stars from the human eye. The moon shone almost like a light bulb without a shade. It lit up the tops of the hills and lit up the Loch. The water was still and nearby came the trickling sound of a small stream.

  The chill in the air was pleasant on his skin and it made Ross relax. "I'm going to enjoy this," he said as he observed his surroundings.

  Ross Turner turned his back on the beautiful scene to get into the car and felt frozen to the spot in which he stood. He wanted to move, but a fear washed over him, a fear that he couldn't identify. Ross slowly felt his fingers become numb, his feet felt as if they were sinking in to the ground and the more he tried to move the more fearful he became. Unaware, the spirits swirled around him, slowly, haunting his every move, every thought, every idea.

  He tried to move and as he did, the energies of now all four spirits crushed his physical movement. Michelle became angrier each time an attempt was made to reach for the car door or to move a step closer. Her energy pushed down on him, making his head feel heavy. His chest began to feel tight, breathing quickened. His head felt like it was about to pop and if he could have seen his face he was positive it would be a vibrant red colour. Ross tried desperately not to panic, but seeing as he assumed he was having a panic attack he found it some what difficult. He slowed his breathing, attempting deep, long breaths. As he began to calm, Rebecca moved in, allowing her energy to wrap him up. A new wave of panic set in and now his heart was beating so hard and fast that he felt it could burst out of his chest. Angela pulled Rebecca back, for now. Their energies must be used for a more appropriate time.

  Ross Turner climbed in and quickly started the car and shot off down the road, the engine becoming a dull roar the further away it became.

  They allowed him to breathe again. But Anna did not leave him, she stayed by him, watched his every move. She would not rest until she saw him suffer. Her spiritual purpose was to see Ross Turner die and even if it took a hundred years, Anna was prepared to be stuck in between planes until that day would come.

  Thirty Seven

  Kidnap

  Lomond Park was in complete darkness
when he had arrived. Every lodge and cottage had no sign of life, all lights were out and no one was around. He had entered the park quietly, leaving the car behind a large bramble bush at the entrance. He hadn't wanted to take the car in, he couldn't risk stirring up an unsuspecting audience. As he walked along the path he could see the cottage in the distance.

  He held onto the small bottle in his pocket and was already wearing the small face mask under his balaclava. His gloves were thermal but bore a leather exterior.

  As he watched the cottage grow in his vision he began to feel the throbbing in his head and the pain in his chest.

  Soon, he thought to himself as he picked up his pace. All he could think of was bursting into the cottage and creating a bloody mess, a massacre. The anger was becoming unbearable but he managed to contain it as he made his way, closer now to the cottage.

  "The pills should have worked by now, if she has taken them that is," he said under his breath.

  He reached the cottage, still careful not to attract anyone to his presence. He made his way towards the bedroom window, aware that his footsteps sounded louder than usual in the quiet of the night. He peered through and to his expectations both Patrick and Jodie were asleep. He then made his way around to the front of the cottage and tried the door handle.

  It opened.

  Ross couldn't help but to think that this was all just a little too easy and that something was going to stop him before he could finalise his plans.

  Easy does it, he thought to himself as he pushed the door open. Careful of his tread, watching out for obstacles in his path he made his way to the bedroom. The cottage was so dark, darker than dark itself and something felt odd to him. He stopped and turned to scan the room but saw nothing. But he could feel...

  Suddenly, a vase flew at him, full speed towards his face. His instinct was to duck, but instead he caught the vase.

  You're not getting rid of me that easily. He wasn't sure who his thought was directed at but he was pissed that his plan was becoming more difficult than he had anticipated.