by Carla Kovach
As they climbed up the mound of earth that separated the main car park from the overflow, Gina instantly felt the difference. There was no street lighting and the back was lined with dense trees and shrubs that blurred into blackness at the back. She squinted to get a better view.
Jacob pulled out a pocket torch from his pocket. ‘This should help.’ The beam reflected off a windscreen at the back, the only car on that part of the car park.
‘Her car is still here.’ Gina stepped into a pothole and let out a little shriek as she regained her balance. It had been filled with slushy water. She felt her boots beginning to soak through. That would deaden her toes within minutes.
As they got closer, Jacob shone his torch through the window of the dark-coloured car. The air freshener dangled in the window.
Gina peered through the window and pulled out a pair of latex gloves from her pocket before trying the door. ‘It’s locked but I suppose that was to be expected.’ She glanced up and she couldn’t see any CCTV. ‘We need a team here, ASAP. She could be anywhere by now. Get uniform to check her address. I’m sure we have it on file from the original call.’
Jacob stepped to one side and made the call.
‘Madison,’ Gina called as she held up her phone to get some light on the area. It was a long shot but worth a try. She crept onto the earthy back that led to the shrubs and noticed footprints that looked to have been sliding through the mud. Careful to not follow the same path, she continued forward, pushing through the brambles. In her mind, she could see a struggle. Maybe Madison tried to run. A snapped branch on a tree hung down, just holding on by a thread. ‘Madison.’
No answer.
‘They’re on their way, guv. Guv?’
‘Over here. There’s some footsteps and the opening there.’ She pointed. ‘It looks like the earth has been recently disturbed.’
‘Should we leave it until the others get here? We might destroy evidence if she’s been taken.’
‘I’ll take a different route. Stay there, there’s no need for both of us to look but I have to make sure she’s not here.’ She yelped as her ankle caught the spine of a bramble.
‘Be careful, guv.’
She took a few more steps forward, flashing her phone in front of her. Inhaling almost hurt as it was so cold and the hum of traffic was making it difficult to hear. A twig cracked. Glancing across she saw a fox turning to run away. With her pulse running through her head, she took a few more steps forward. It was hopeless. He’d chased her and caught her and now she was gone, just like Amber. Sighing, she glanced around one more time. Left, right, even above, then ahead. A glint of something sparkled back.
Taking a step closer, Gina could see a finger with a ring on it. Running over, Gina kneeled over and peered behind the tree. That’s when she spotted the unconscious girl. Blood ran down her face, meandering over her cheeks and settling into the groove of her neck. Gina felt for a pulse. ‘Madison… Madison. Wake up.’ There was no response. The pulse was faint. ‘Jacob, get a medic here now. I’ve found her but she’s unconscious.’
‘On it, guv.’ In the distance, she heard the gravel under his feet shifting as he headed back to the hospital.
Gina placed the back of her hand on the girl’s arm and it made her shiver. It was like one of the bodies they keep refrigerated. A small flurry of rain began to fall.
Gina removed her coat. As her teeth chattered, she placed it over Madison and began talking to her gently. ‘Madison, you’re safe now. Help is on its way.’ She shone her phone over the girl’s face. She shuddered as she saw how much she looked like Amber – and she shuddered even more when she saw the raging, bloody wound on her head.
A rustling could be heard and the girl made an incoherent sound.
‘Madison.’
It was no good, however hard Gina listened, Madison wasn’t making any sense.
A man in a blue tunic pushed forward, followed by another. ‘We really need you to get back so that we can treat her.’ She stepped out of the way, stomach churning as she saw how bad the head wound was. Rushing out, she met Jacob back on tarmac. ‘I don’t know if she’s going to make it. She’s covered in blood and her breathing is shallow.’
30
That bitch got me good and proper. Damn! The kitchen door shudders as I slam my fist into it. Reaching down, I stroke my tender crotch and wince. The mission had to be aborted. It forced the wind out of my sails and now I’m here, pants around my ankles, trying to sooth my pain away.
‘I told you not to go, not to leave me.’ You stand there, a smug look spread across your face. You’re relishing the fact that I got hurt.
‘Just piss off, will you?’
You shake your head, knowing that you have no intention of ever leaving me but when I finally find your replacement, you’ll have to go.
I hobble to the record player and set the needle on the soothing record that neither of us will talk over. A tear slips down your cheek, that smug smile now gone. I know you don’t want me to do the things I do but I miss us and I need to recapture that feeling. The moment I saw Amber, I thought she would be the perfect replacement and that ignited something in me. Even the way she placed her hair behind her ears was identical to how you do it.
‘You enjoyed what you did to Amber, didn’t you? You’re sick.’
‘Shut up!’ I pull my black boot from my foot, struggling as it’s such a tight fit. In a fit of fluster, I fling it at you but all it does is create another dent in the door. I rock back and forth taking in the song and then it ends. It’s finished and the bungalow is silent. The chair is empty and I am alone. I am hollow and I don’t deserve to be hollow.
I grab my phone and glance at the app again. I need to fill my life with purpose. Amber didn’t work out; Madison turned out to be a disappointment and she paid for that.
‘I promised I would find another you to make my life complete and this time, I’m sure I’ve found her.’ I gaze at the profile. Police or not. She’s the one.
I send a message, not wasting any time. The whole night doesn’t have to be a write-off yet. I followed her home earlier while Madison was in the hospital so all I have to do is be patient. When I came back and Madison’s car was still there, my night was made. I have been a busy boy but that’s far better than sitting idle, as my mother would say. At the back of my mind, I knew I had to have a backup plan. The pain in my crotch is starting to ease so I stand and walk around a little.
I learned one lesson tonight. They fight back, which means from now on I take no chances. Strike quickly. I grab my coat and head to the door.
You walk into view from the darkness at the end of the hall and you begin to sing our song as you cry. Tears spill from your eyes and you can’t get beyond the first line. As your voice cracks, you step back, falling back into the darkness. I can’t see you now but you’re always there. You never leave me.
My phone beeps. It’s a message and she’s interested but I don’t think I can wait until her proposed date night, a week from now. I know she’s a busy woman but that’s too long. I need her now. Maybe this is fate playing out. Madison was never meant to be but this one who works for the police, she’s the closest match so far. Our eyes met. That had to be a sign. The more I think of her, the more I can’t get her out of my head. There’s a void in my life. Since Amber, there is no going back in my quest to find the right one and when she is presented to you on a platter, you know it’s time to act.
I punch the wall and my fingers crack. That’s how hard it has to be when I strike them dumb. No walking stick or sick hedgehogs. Such a scenario won’t work on this woman and I want her. No, it’s more than that, I need her and I will have her.
One last message, play it cool.
I’d love to meet up! Wow, we have so much in common. :)
We don’t but we soon will. I will help you to emerge out of the chrysalis and become the butterfly that I need you to be. We’ll have each other. I glance back at the chair, the one with all the
binds and plastic covering, ready to receive another woman for conversion. Maybe I should call myself Dr Frankenstein. I’m no scientist but I will work on my creation until it’s perfect and if that means breaking her down totally so that I can rebuild her, then so be it.
‘Please don’t do this.’
I can’t see you but you’re everywhere, haunting me. Are you cowering in that dark corner of my mind? I slam the front door, leaving you behind.
I know you’re not real but I like that I imagine your voice so vividly, even though in my mind you now hate me. When the right person replaces you, she and you will meld into one and I will have you back.
We will be happy and we can live again.
I glance at the woman’s photo and smile. The more I think about it, she’s perfect. Dark hair and a look that tells me she can become what I want her to become. The slight distance in her gaze makes me want her more.
It’s going to be a long night but I’m not coming home empty-handed. That is not an option and that woman is mine.
31
‘Doctor Nowak, can you spare me a moment?’ Gina recognised him from previous encounters at the hospital.
He hurried along the corridor and put his round glasses on. ‘You want an update on Madison Randle?’
‘Yes, please.’
Jacob came and stood next to Gina, clutching two cardboard cups of coffee. He handed her one.
The doctor opened his file. ‘It’s a really cold night. She has the onset of hypothermia. She’s also not making much sense at the moment but I think that’s due to concussion and shock. I’m organising scans. We want to take a closer look at her injuries. I know you want to go in there and ask questions but she’s really not in a fit state. She’s not even getting her full name right at the moment.’
‘Thank you for the update. Do you know how long it will be?’
‘How big is the universe? As soon as she can talk to you, I will call you. I do know how important it is that you speak to her. An assault was committed on hospital grounds. We want this cleared up as much as you do. For now, I suggest you get some rest or go and get some food. I’ll call you when I have some news. She’s also in a lot of pain with the head injury, we may end up sedating her a little as she’s so agitated and confused.’
Gina’s shoulders slumped. It was no good trying any harder. If the doctor said she wasn’t up to talking, she believed that Madison really wasn’t up to talking. ‘We will need her clothes as they may contain vital evidence of her attack. Also, I’ll get someone from uniform stationed here. We will need fingernail clippings and some swabs. This could help us catch her attacker. Would that be okay to arrange those?’
‘Of course. As soon as we’ve stabilised her, we can do that for you. For now, the patient comes first.’
‘Thank you so much, Doctor Nowak.’
The doctor smiled and left her standing by the nurses’ station. Phones rang, monitors beeped and staff walked back and forth with samples and equipment. Everywhere she and Jacob stood, they ended up moving and apologising. She left accident and emergency and stood outside to make a call. PC Smith answered. ‘It’s me, Harte. Could you or a colleague please come over here and keep guard in A&E? We need to get samples from Madison Randle and I need someone to be here to supervise, bag and tag.’
‘I’m on my way.’ Within minutes she spotted PC Smith walking across the car park from the scene that he and his officers had cordoned off while they searched for evidence.
Jacob finished his coffee and dropped his cup into the bin. ‘I’ll head back over there for now. See you in five.’
She smiled and sipped her coffee, waiting for PC Smith to amble over. The fluorescent strips on his jacket shone as they caught the signage lights, passing the smoking shelter.
Nurse Becky pushed Betty Falconer through a door just inside the entrance to A&E. The old woman’s frown told Gina all she needed to know. ‘Push me to her, Nurse, please. I need to be with my Maddie.’ It was going to be a long night for Betty Falconer too.
Gina stepped back inside. ‘I’m so sorry, Betty, but it’s such a good job you got someone to call us. We found her and she’s being treated. Will you be okay?’
‘I need to be with her. She’s always there for me, now, I’m going to be there for her.’ Gina didn’t doubt that for one moment. ‘Just catch whoever did this to her.’
The nurse continued to push Betty onto the A&E ward. Gina moved away as an ambulance pulled up and its doors burst open.
Smith met her under the A&E sign. ‘I can take over here, guv. Everyone’s suited up and the search has begun.’
As she walked across the near empty car park, she checked her phone. Another message from AppyDater. She ignored it. Maybe she could look at it later. She glanced at the diary app on her phone. Tomorrow she was meeting Wyre at Amber’s apartment block before they went on to the Fish and Anchor to speak to the chef, Jake Goodman, to discuss his previous for stealing women’s underwear from washing lines. It sounded as cliché as it came but she knew this to be worrying early behaviour that could lead to something more serious.
For now, she was going to treat this attack on Madison Randle as being possibly linked to the Amber Slater murder. Both students at the same university. Both of the same age, similar build, similar in looks. There were too many similarities for it to be a coincidence. She dabbed her dry lips with a bit of lip balm, the slight slit in the middle stinging like mad. She thought of Amber’s torn lips. Why, why, why did he want to shut you up? Answering that question was the key to solving the case.
Damn it! She wanted to kick something. If only she could have spoken to Madison. She might have been able to give them a description or something further to work on.
Her phone beeped again. That app was going to go as soon as she finished with the case. She glanced down. It was the same man again. He certainly did have appeal. She bit her lip as she thought of Briggs and the fact that he’d let her down. Stuff it. She typed out a reply.
32
Wednesday, 27 January
I wait and my patience is paying off. After falling asleep for a couple of hours I feel a bit more refreshed although sleeping in a car isn’t easy. I see her through the bedroom window. She’s dressed in her white shirt and dark suit jacket. Her hair falls over her shoulders and she checks in the mirror one more time before heading to wherever for another day of crime fighting.
Little does she know that today, she gets to be star of the show. At this time in the morning it’s still pitch-black. She must be dedicated, being up this early. I think back to the lake on the morning she was there, one of the first on the scene, looking down at Amber. Was she searching for me when she glanced back and forth? Had she looked harder, she would have probably found me but no one walks along the old overgrown bridle path, definitely not at this time of the year. Not even a dog walker came by. I was neatly tucked away behind the trees, watching and waiting to see how it all panned out. I know our eyes didn’t really meet but in my mind I like to think they did, because all I see is her begging me to come for her.
For a while, I even stood, blending in amongst the crowd in my winter wear, but then they started taking names and details. I managed to slink away again. I’m good at that, at being the unmemorable person that I am.
The light to her bedroom goes off and every room is now in darkness. Her car is the silver saloon. I know that because I saw her come out of the station yesterday and I followed her home. I mean my attention had been on Madison but my time is my own. I don’t have a boss to answer to or a workplace to be at. I have commitments but they are on my terms. Finding an excuse to not be where I should is easy and nothing unusual.
I don’t need much to exist and I have a bit of a steady income although it’s a paltry one. I live my life freely without the burden of employment. No one tells me where to be or what to do which is why I’m here. The main front door will open at any minute. No pussyfooting around with this one.
Grabbing t
he pepper spray and the rock, I gently close my door and slink behind the car, then I scuttle along to the next one and I’m right where I want to be, behind hers. I’m ready and it’s dark – perfect.
I hear her boots clipping on the ground, getting louder as she gets closer. Two words to myself, Don’t hesitate.
As her lights flash and the car beeps, she goes to open her car door and I stand and bring the rock down hard, straight onto her head as hard as I can. Then comes the pepper spray, just a touch. She’s going to scream. ‘Don’t you dare scream or I will kill you – just don’t.’ Her gaze is confused and wavering, like she’s losing her focus. I bring the rock down one more time and all her muscles go at once. She slumps between her car and the next, perfectly hidden from anyone who might pass by.
I did it. She’s mine. Come on police person, detective or whoever you are. Who cares? Let’s go home.
I will break you and remake you. That’s a promise.
I cannot fail again. I refuse to fail again.
33
Gina paced in the car park outside Amber Slater’s apartment. Every car that passed had her attention. It wasn’t like Wyre to be late, ever. She could barely feel her phone as her fingers were so numb from the morning frost but she managed to call the station to see if Wyre had got their meeting time mixed up.
O’Connor picked up. ‘Alright, guv?’
‘Yes, I’m at Bulmore Drive waiting for Wyre and she’s not picking up. Have you seen her?’
‘No but I think we have a staff problem today. A couple have called in sick. ’Tis the season for the flu.’ He sang the last line.
‘Must be something in the air. So, you haven’t seen or heard from Wyre at all today?’