Don't Tell Meg Trilogy Box Set

by Paul J. Teague

  ‘You need to come with me, Becky. I know he’s dangerous, but he has Alex at the storage units. We have to get her. If we play this thing right, we can distance you from this too. Is that okay?’

  Looking at the expression on her face, it didn’t look like it was okay, but she nodded anyway and put her phone in her pocket.

  ‘My car is just up the road. Do you have a car of your own?’

  ‘No, I’ve been using Lee’s. I walked here from town, it was easier.’

  We walked back to my car. It was getting darker, the hazard lights illuminated everything in the vicinity. We drove off. I was sweating, nervous about what we were about to do. Lee was angry with me and Becky. I had to get Alex out of there. I needed to alert the police, but not before I’d rescued Alex. The minute Lee heard sirens, he’d panic. If he thought his time was up, it could turn into a real hostage situation.

  We were silent on the drive over to the storage units. I was thinking through the safest course of action. It would be quiet at that time of night. We had 24/7 access, but there would only be the night security guard on at that time. I don’t know how Lee had got into the unit, but it was a great place to hold a captive. There was one way into my unit and one way out. He’d see me coming, I’d have to let him know I was there.

  I had an idea. I had DCI Summers’ mobile number. I could type in an emergency text message and leave it ready to send. As soon as Alex was clear, I’d send the message. She’d have the cops over there in minutes, and I’d have to keep Lee talking until they got there. I’d leave the car running for Alex, tell her to get away from there.

  Would it work? It was Becky and me that Lee wanted. Presumably he wanted to kick the shit out of me. Would he go for a kill? Surely not. Becky had warned me about his violence. Perhaps I could take a few punches while I stalled and waited for the cops. But what about Glenn, Len and Vicky? They would have told a different story. I had a better idea. I’d call DCI Summers on my phone and let her hear my entire conversation. It would take the police a few minutes to get there, I’d have that time to rescue Alex. I could talk DCI Summers through what I was doing, using my phone like a walkie-talkie. That way the police wouldn’t screw it all up. And I’d send her my location by text the minute Alex was safe. As a back-up.

  We arrived at the road leading to the storage units. I turned off my sidelights and we swung into the parking area, pulling up as close to the door as I could. I left the engine running and my door open. There were two other cars parked at the far side, possibly people working late at the industrial units.

  ‘Close it quietly,’ I said to Becky, who had finally put her phone away. She clicked the door shut.

  ‘How crazy is he?’ I whispered. ‘Will he launch straight at me, or will we be able to talk?’

  ‘Who knows?’ she replied. ‘I’d describe him as unpredictable.’

  ‘Have a look in that skip over there, would you? See if you can find a bit of wood or something that I can use as a weapon.’

  Becky moved away, and I typed out my emergency text to DCI Summers.

  I’ve got your killer. He’s called Lee Taylor. He has Alex Kennedy, she’s in danger. If you get this text, I’m in trouble. Send officers to Boxed In on Waterloo Street ASAP. Try to do it quietly, this guy is dangerous! Pete Bailey

  I saved the message into my drafts, and then opened up DCI Summers’ contact, ready to dial her directly. Becky walked back from the skip. She was carrying a metal pole about a metre long. It looked as if it had been part of a towel rail or a shower unit, something like that. Not the most useful weapon she could have found.

  ‘Okay, thanks, if that’s the best we can do, I’ll take it.’

  I pressed dial on my mobile phone and slipped it into the top pocket of my shirt. I made sure the speaker volume was low, I didn’t want DCI Summers’ voice being heard. I remembered the small kitchen knife that I’d grabbed before leaving the caravan. Would I even use it? I doubted that, but it might come in handy as a threat. I had a tiny knife and a metal tube as protection – great strategy, Pete.

  As the call connected, I was close enough to hear her voice.

  ‘Hello, DCI Kate Summers speaking ... hello?’

  There was a pause. She probably thought it was a crank call. I urged her to check her caller ID. If she knew it was me, she’d hang on. I needed to give her the sound of my voice.

  ‘Okay Becky, I’m going to give the door a try. We’ve got the right place, haven’t we? This is Boxed In storage?’

  Becky looked at me. It wasn’t the subtlest attempt to let DCI Summers know where we were, but it would do. I didn’t want to tip her off that I’d contacted the police. I still wasn’t certain that I could trust her.

  The door opened. It was on the snip. The office light was dimmed and I couldn’t see anybody inside. I signalled to Becky to be quiet. We closed the door gently behind us, I didn’t want to alert Lee to our presence. I needed to do a bit of reconnaissance first.

  There was a sliding glass screen between the reception area and the main office. Fresh blood was spattered up the glass from the inside. My stomach tightened, ready to vomit, but it didn’t come. I knew what was in there, I’d seen these scenes before. Did I want check to see if he was still alive? I chose instead to announce it to DCI Summers via my mobile phone commentary.

  ‘Becky, he’s killed the security guard. We need to be really careful. He won’t have a gun, will he?’

  Becky didn’t seem too shocked by the news of what Lee had done to the security guy.

  ‘No gun, Pete. Not that I know of.’

  I wanted everything to end. I felt numb, back in a terrifying nightmare. The sense of fear and the adrenalin took me right back to the events of six months ago.

  The vomit came. Poor DCI Summers, I was the worst phone conversationalist ever. I hoped that she hadn’t hung up, dismissing it as a crank call. If she had, I’d have to rely on my text message back-up. It was a long way off MI5 standards.

  I quickly recovered and checked out the map on the wall showing the layout of the units. I’d looked at this when I came to my storage unit, but it made no sense to me whatsoever. I ripped the map off the wall so I could carry it with me.

  ‘Stay together, Becky,’ I whispered, looking over to the spot where Becky had been standing. But she was gone.

  I was furious with Becky for going on ahead.

  ‘Becky!’ I whispered. ‘Becky!’

  Everything was silent among the units, and I had only the dim lighting of the night lights to help me to see. I tensed up, wondering if Lee had heard us already. Had he come to find us?

  I took the phone out of my pocket and spoke to DCI Summers.

  ‘Are you on the line?’

  ‘Pete Bailey? Yes, I’m listening. What’s going on? Wait for us to get here, don’t go in on your own.’

  ‘He’s got Alex. He told me to come alone. Promise me you won’t turn up with your sirens on. Becky’s disappeared and there’s a body – the security guard. There’s a lot of blood. You mustn’t spook him. And Vicky, did you get to Vicky at the campsite?’

  ‘Yes, yes we did. There’s a team down there now. Listen, Pete, we’re on our way. Do not go in there alone. This guy is really dangerous. Repeat, do not go in there ....’

  I slipped the phone back in my pocket, leaving it live.

  I held up the metal pole and checked that the small knife was tucked safely into my back pocket. I looked at the map, took a right turn, and began to move deeper into the vast industrial unit. Every now and then I’d hear a noise and I’d look for Becky, expecting to see her waiting for me. As I cursed her for getting separated, I had a rare moment of clarity. I was an idiot.

  Becky had claimed that she and Lee had split up; she reckoned they’d gone their separate ways. If that was the case, how come I’d got all those text messages from her phone? Had she been sent to deliver me to him? Was she some kind of decoy? It would explain why she had disappeared. Maybe she’d been warning Lee all
along. They were probably waiting for me, ready to pounce. But what did they want? What was the point of all this? She’d done a good job of fooling me that she was scared of Lee, although it wasn’t the first time that she’d played me for a sucker.

  I was no better off with the map. I couldn’t get the orientation right, and after a few minutes I didn’t have a clue where I was. I dropped it on the floor and began to work by the unit numbers. They were all shapes and sizes. There were tiny units, presumably for students, people starting out who hadn’t yet amassed a great number of possessions, and then much larger ones, for people like me whose lives were on hold.

  I heard a loud crash in the distance. It had come from the main entrance. Was it Becky? Had I been wrong about her? Maybe she was looking for me and cursing me for losing her?

  I moved along the lines of units, listening carefully. No voices, no footsteps. In the far distance, I heard a police siren. Was that for me? I hoped not.

  I turned a corner along a long row of units and finally recognised where I was. This was my row. And to confirm it, I could see that the door was open and light was pouring out.

  They were in there: Lee and Alex. I listened, I couldn’t hear any voices. I hesitated. Should I announce myself? Or would it make more sense to get a feel for things first, maybe hatch a plan? I was desperate to rush in there to see Alex.

  I moved silently towards the unit, listening, willing Alex to say something so that I could hear her voice and be sure that she was okay. There was more movement in the distance, an echo. Was it the police? Had DCI Summers got someone here already? I was too close to speak into the phone – all she’d hear would be my nervous breathing, if anything at all. My heart was thudding in my chest.

  I made it to the side of the unit. The back of my shirt was wet with sweat. I had to peer through the door, it was the only way that I could see. I risked a quick glance, why wasn’t anybody talking?

  I saw her. Alex. She was sitting on a chair. That chair used to be in our kitchen, and now it was being used for a hostage. Her head was bowed, she was still. Her hands were tied too, she’d been restrained. I couldn’t see her face. I wanted her to move, I had to be certain she was still alive.

  I reconsidered my strategy. If I could confirm she was okay, I’d be better off backing away and letting the police deal with it. But Lee wanted me, and had threatened that I should not alert the police. Maybe I shouldn’t have contacted DCI Summers in the first place. The cops might mess it all up.

  The decision was made for me.

  ‘He’s here, Lee.’

  It was Becky’s voice. She’d been tailing me, making sure that I didn’t get to surprise Lee. Alex immediately looked up towards me, her eyes full of terror. They’d taped her mouth with brown parcel tape – there was enough of it, left by the removal men when they’d dumped my boxes.

  Lee was dark and muscular. He had tattoos up his neck, along his arms and on his hands. He was carrying a knife, which had smears of blood along the blade where it had been partially wiped clean. The knife was one of those horrible things you see on the internet. It had a long blade with five serrations at the end and a bright red handle. It was shaped like a scimitar. It actually had the words Zombie Apocalypse along the blade.

  Are they really allowed to sell these things online? It got worse. There was a similarly branded crossbow sitting on the cushion of my one remaining sofa. I don’t know why I hadn’t had it taken to the tip. It was the only item of lounge furniture that hadn’t been spattered with blood from Jason Davies’ death in the house.

  This guy had to be a nutter. Who carries gear like that around?

  ‘Step into the light, Pete,’ Lee commanded. ‘Drop that feather duster or whatever it is you’re carrying.’

  I let go of the metal pole. It clanged on the floor, the echo ringing out across the industrial unit. Alex tried to say something, but I couldn’t understand a word. Lee stepped up to her and struck her hard with his free hand.

  ‘Jesus!’ I cried out, lurching towards him by instinct to try to protect Alex. As I neared him, I felt him pull his head back and he struck my nose with his head. I heard the crunch. There was a sudden searing pain across my face and I could feel the blood flowing into my nostrils, and then running down my mouth.

  I dropped to the floor, I’m not sure why, maybe it was a defensive action. I don’t think I’ve ever felt a pain like it. My eyes were watering. I was half-crying at the shock of it.

  ‘Shut up, arsehole!’ Lee hissed.

  There was another noise in the distance. I began to pray that the police were making their way through the units already, there was no way that I was going to be able to deal with this man. What had I been thinking of?

  It took me some time to recover. Lee and Becky were kissing. He thrust his tongue deep into her mouth, pressing his hips firmly into hers and grabbing her buttocks with his free hand. He wasn’t the slightest bit concerned about me. I clearly posed no threat to him. He carried on with Becky as if I wasn’t even there.

  Finally, I was able to speak. My nose was blocked with the flow of blood, my voice nasal and pained.

  ‘What’s this all about?’ I asked. ‘Let Alex go. You know she’s got nothing to do with this.’

  ‘Wads dis all abowd?’ Lee mocked. He was a bully, through and through. I knew the type. Big, macho, good-looking, strong, with the cockiness of a violent man who knows exactly how to handle himself. A wimp like me was a joke to him.

  ‘Keep your mouth shut!’ He moved away from Becky and raised his hand as if he was about to strike Alex once again. She flinched. He’d trained her already. Alex knew what this man could do, I could see that she’d been struck several times. Her eyes looked empty, I’d never seen Alex like that. She was resigning herself to her fate. I’d seen that look before, when Sally jumped off the roof of the cathedral, at the moment when she decided to end her life.

  There was a loud, metallic clunking sound deep within the warehouse. The lights went off. Complete darkness. Moments later, the emergency lighting came on, throwing out barely enough illumination to make out what was going on. Then all hell broke out.

  Chapter Seventeen

  I had been so preoccupied with my bleeding nose that I hadn’t noticed the sound of sirens in the distance. When you live in a city, sirens punctuate your life, you think nothing of them.

  When the lights went out, I was hopelessly slow to react. I looked around, trying to figure out what was going on. I was useless. But Lee knew exactly what to do. He was one of life’s cockroaches, a survivor. He was ready to crawl under a new rock at a moment’s notice, making himself scarce until it was time to crawl back out again.

  I assumed the police must have arrived – I was praying that help had come. I was aware of a fast and sudden movement.

  Lee grabbed the crossbow and handed the knife to Becky.

  ‘Take her!’ he said, motioning towards Alex.

  I sensed him moving the crossbow in his hands. Oh please, no, Jesus, not the crossbow. He struck me on the head with its heavy iron handle. I felt myself fade momentarily, then my senses came back.

  ‘Come with me. Don’t make a sound. You utter a word, this bolt goes straight through your head. Got it?’

  I nodded. I was cowed. This man had beaten me completely. There was nothing I could do against his strength and his casual violence.

  He rushed me along the units. The fire exits were brightly lit, like beacons in the semi-darkness. He had this worked out already. He knew exactly how we were exiting that building, and it wasn’t through the front door. He and Becky didn’t say a word as they moved us silently and professionally towards one of the exits at the far side of the warehouse.

  I listened for signs of the police. They had to be in the unit, surely? Who had cut the power? That had to be DCI Summers’ doing.

  My earlier cack-handed attempts at navigating my way through the maze of storage units were put to shame by the confident manner in which Lee guided us towa
rds the exit. Every now and then he would push me to speed me up. I felt like a whining child out on a long walk.

  Lee kicked open the fire door. It flew open and we burst out into the darkness. An alarm sounded on the door, announcing that it had been opened. We were at the far side of the warehouse, nowhere near the car park where I’d started out. I could hear a commotion at the front of the building – it had to be the police arriving. They were too late; we were well away from them.

  I was dazed and confused, my head felt as if it had had a concrete block dropped on it. They had a van waiting at the back. It was unlocked. Becky opened the doors and pushed Alex inside. She offered no resistance, she’d given herself up for dead. Lee raised his fist and struck me hard on the side of my head.

  Blood flew out of my nose and mouth onto the pavement. Barely conscious, I was aware of being thrown into the back of the van. I landed heavily on top of Alex, I felt her flinch, and then for a moment everything went black.

  Lee was driving recklessly, throwing the van round corners and leaving me and Alex lunging from right to left, our limbs striking the metal sides of the vehicle.

  He and Becky were silent. They knew what they were doing. This had been planned. She’d reeled me right in and made sure that I was delivered directly into the hands of Lee.

  I was aware of Lee looking into his rear-view mirror. I recall thinking that he was checking to make sure that we weren’t being followed. I couldn’t hear sirens in the back of the van, neither could I see the flashes of blue lights.

  My memories of that journey are vague. I must have been drifting in and out of consciousness. All I could think of was Alex, I didn’t care about myself. She felt so small as our limp bodies rolled about in the back of the van, colliding then moving apart.

  She’d come to visit me, as a friend, to support me. I’d been grateful for that, delighted to have her company. But I’d put her directly in the path of danger, exactly as I had with Meg when I’d slept with Ellie in the hotel. This was my fault. I’d brought Becky into our lives. I could have finished my shift the night before Alex arrived. I could have thanked Becky, told her I was flattered, but politely turned down her proposition.