The Broken II: Tainted Trail

by A. L. Frances

  No sooner has this corrupt whisper travelled directly into Hope’s ear than the curtains open unaided. Perched on the window ledge, shimmering next to the darkness of the night, is Jezebel’s evil accomplice, the Raven. This strong oversized bird is riddled with evil. Her blood-red eyes glow against her jet-black silky, thick feathers. A disturbing thick bloody substance drips from her eye sockets and rolls down her feathers. The bird stares intently through the window at the events unfolding in Hope’s room.

  Jezebel slowly raises her head then gives it a sudden twitch and the window flings open, almost coming off its hinges. Stretching out her thick wings, in flies the Raven. She lands on Jezebel’s shoulder and stares at the demonic empire’s newest addition.

  Content, proud and ready to implement the next step, Jezebel once again licks the black liquid oozing from the wounds upon Hope’s face. The Raven joins in, pecking at the sinister substance.

  Baby Hope is now tainted. She no longer belongs to the human race. Her soul has surrendered, now owned by two of the most powerful inhumane forms.

  Across the hall, completely unaware of the goings on in her daughter’s room, Alice is having a nightmare. Wrestling with the covers, she’s soaking wet with sweat. Tossing and turning, she begins shouting in her sleep, “No, please, no!”

  Alice gasps loudly and puts her hands around her throat. Her face turns bright red as she struggles to breathe. With one final huge intake of oxygen, Alice manages to break free and throws herself forward. At the end of her bed, two bright red demonic eyes are staring at her. Alice screams. No sooner has the cry left her mouth, the owner of those eyes throws herself on Alice.

  Closing her eyes, Alice screams, “What do you want from me?!”

  No response. Alice remains stiff, locked by fear. The silence continues and Alice bravely opens her eyes. A woman with grey skin and black hair hanging down either side of her face stands at the side of her bed. The two lock eyes.

  The dark woman opens her mouth and a thick black substance travels down her chin. “Morirai presto,” she intones.

  “What, do you want?” Alice says, her voice trembling.

  The dark entity says nothing, merely tilts her head. Turning, she slowly drags her feet and makes her way back to the bottom of the bedframe. Still stiff and unable to move, Alice is powerless to do anything as her arms are suddenly stretched out and pulled over her head. Her legs are pulled in the same manner and restrained at the foot of the bed. Crying out in pain, Alice screams, “Please – why are you doing this?”

  Screwing up her face, Alice feels a burning sensation on her wrist. Slowly the words ‘they are mine’ appear. Tears begin to fall rapidly down her face. The dark woman twitches her head. Alice’s arms and legs are instantly released. Grabbing her wrist, Alice reads the words. Her heart is racing. She has never felt this scared in all her life. Cowering, Alice looks to the demonic entity at the foot of her bed.

  Desperate for answers she whispers, “Who are yours?”

  Saying nothing, the entity charges at Alice.

  Screaming, Alice throws herself forward.

  As if waking from a dream, suddenly she is safe. She is in one piece. Soaking wet from head to toe with sweat, Alice reaches for the lamp at the side of her bed. She turns it on and looks at her wrist. Thankfully, there’s nothing there. Leaning across to Jesse she tucks herself into his arm and whispers, “Jesse, I had a bad dream.”

  With his back to Alice, Jesse says nothing. His eyes snap open. They are jet-black. A huge smirk appears on his face.

  Chapter Ten

  The Hunt is On!

  The Metropolitan Police Headquarters deals with undercover projects, gangs, drugs, murder and all the top-end crimes in Greater London. The huge building, with its spotless windows, stands sturdy, the official policing badge proudly placed on the exterior wall. New Scotland Yard holds secrets of all kinds.

  Inside, the aircon is flowing at maximum capacity to keep the staff from overheating on this hot summer day. Rushing through the door, late as always, is Detective Chief Superintendent John Terry. Wearing a deep grey suit, and with his full-ish head of blonde hair, this friendly, unassuming figure has a smile on his face. He greets his colleagues in a mischievous manner. DCS Terry is old school. He doesn’t adhere to the rules, he makes the rules adhere to him. Over the years, his quick wit and charm has saved him from many a tricky situation, including almost having his authority stripped and being placed on restricted duties. Many question his position, but this loveable, eccentric member of the force cannot be replaced. He has won accolades and praise for his impressive arrest record which includes multiple undercover assignments. As he has matured, his attention span has become somewhat shorter and he is easily distracted. Even though his work pace has slowed down over the years, the force just wouldn’t be the same without DCS Terry.

  Making his way to the reception area, he places his newspaper to the side as he scans his ID at the reception desk.

  “’Ello, Mags. How’s it going, beautiful?”

  Sixty-two-year-old Margaret, one of the Metropolitan’s longstanding receptionists for the past thirty years, is the only reason DCS Terry doesn’t head straight to the lift and actually follows the signing in procedure. In the past he had tried to slip past the front desk without signing in, but this strong, “take-no-crap” woman had a job to do and no one was going to jeopardise it. Margaret had instantly pulled him back with a stern look that he knew not to challenge. Forced to adhere to the rules, rebellious DCS Terry always ensured it was worth his while by flirting with her. Fed up as it’s too hot to be stuck indoors all day, Margaret replies morosely, “Morning, Tez.”

  DCS Terry formulates a cheeky reply that he hopes will make her smile: “You know it’s not too late to book them one-way tickets, Mags. Me and you dump the ball and chains we’ve got and run away… What do you say? You going to finally take me up on my offer? I’ve only been asking the past, what… twenty years or so…?”

  With a slight smirk she replies, “Tell you what, if I’m still alive, try me in another twenty.”

  “Ha, you know how to keep a man wanting more. Treat them mean, keep them keen. I know your game. After all these years I think I’m finally onto you.” He laughs as he picks up his newspaper and makes his way towards the lift, calling back over his shoulder, “One day, Mags, one day.”

  “In your dreams, Tez!” she calls back.

  DCS Terry walks out of the lift onto the tenth floor. The mint-green walls make the corridors seem longer than they are. The energy circulating around this section of the building is the opposite to the reception area. In fact, it’s so quiet you can hear each squeak from DCS Terry’s shoes, along with his heavy breathing as he’s walking at a faster pace than usual. The tenth floor consists of two average-sized boardrooms and a third that’s of a larger capacity, toilets and a modern kitchen. This soundproof section of the building is used to conduct matters that require confidential handling. Access is given to authorized personnel only. The vast majority of heated conferences regarding current high-end crime issues take place here.

  DCS Terry taps on the wooden door and waits a brief moment before entering the boardroom with his head held low. He instantly sees Chief Inspector Lamont. He’s wearing a deep blue suit with a crisp white shirt and ruby red tie. This man has a powerful presence and his style is immaculate as always. Standing proudly and centre stage, he’s looking towards the door as DCS Terry walks through. With a slight smirk Lamont says, “Ah, morning DCS Terry. What a surprise – late as always, I see. Well, we’re glad you could make it.”

  “Yeah, morning everyone sorry for my delay—”

  Interrupting, Chief Inspector Lamont continues, “We’re just starting now anyway, so you haven’t missed much. Your seat’s up front with me.”

  Seated in their designated places, each attendee possesses a matching collated bundle of papers. Taking his
seat, DCS Terry begins indifferently flicking through the bundle. He loves his work, but he can’t get his head around the paperwork trail that’s required these days.

  The meeting starts with a review of the agenda, but, due to the sensitive nature of the pending case before them, before any real discussion can get underway each member of staff must sign a confidentially agreement.

  Clearly enjoying the authority which he has over the room, Chief Inspector Lamont says, “So, has everyone signed their agreements? If you’re questioning whether you should indeed sign this document, then I’m sorry to say, you’ll need to be reassigned. My advice to those of you who are struggling with this is to get out now and don’t bother wasting my time or your own.”

  No sooner have the words left his mouth, then the attendees begin looking at one another. The newer additions who haven’t worked with Chief Inspector Lamont before are confused as to whether he’s being serious or not. But he doesn’t retract his words, and, slowly realising this isn’t a joke, they each sign the document before raising their hands and saying, “Yes, sir.”

  Continuing, Chief Inspector Lamont says, “Brilliant – full house it is, then!” Clapping his hands together he continues, “Right – now that that’s out of the way, please refer to the paperwork in front of you. You’ll find written statements and various interviews… etcetera, etcetera.”

  Watching Chief Inspector Lamont like a hawk, DCS Terry observes as he makes his way to the table next to where he sits. Present on the table are multiple piles of additional paperwork. Each pile is laid out in a precise and perfect order.

  Grabbing one of the piles of papers, Chief Inspector Lamont continues, “What we have here are all the images taken. Any photographic evidence and still imagery from video footage. The real juicy stuff. Now, Joanna, be a doll and pass these evidence bundles to everyone.” When Joanna, who doesn’t appreciate the “doll” reference, doesn’t instantly jump from her seat as soon as her name’s called, Chief Inspector Lamont’s tone becomes somewhat degrading. He says, “Earth to Joanna! Come on – let’s not waste any more time.”

  Chief Inspector Lamont’s Personal Assistant Joanna has the patience of a saint. Rising from her seat she responds, “Yes, sir. Sorry sir.” And, without any hesitation she does as she has been told and begins handing out the additional bundles. The front page of each packet is plain white with black policing banners across the top. In the centre, in huge bold print, it reads – Private & Confidential – Operation Bee Sting. No sooner have the bundles been placed in front of them than each member begins eagerly skimming through the sheets of paper. The room becomes quiet, the atmosphere tense as they flick through the pages, absorbing the confidential information.

  The newest members of the group are keen, excited and nervous, all at the same time. For some of them this is their first big case and the practicalities of what is expected of them when it comes to going above and beyond the call of duty is now more real than ever. After swearing the British Police Oath, they are required to stretch to extreme lengths. They must ensure they remain on high alert, ready for the unexpected. The attendees, from various police force departments, all have different skills, roles and serving lengths, but, this doesn’t matter as each of them has demonstrated greatness and has proven their worth in some way or another, resulting in an invitation to this conference to become part of this case. Their job is clear, but far from simple. They’re responsible for getting Britain’s most dangerous and calculated criminals off the streets and placing them into custody. And their next target is Matthew Honey.

  “Okay, so let’s begin now that everyone is present…”

  Resembling a child that’s just been told off, DCS Terry says, “Sorry.”

  Ignoring Terry’s apology, Chief Inspector Lamont continues, “Let’s get to the main reason why we’re all here today – Operation Bee Sting.” He presses the button on the remote in his hand.

  “This is something I’ve been working closely with some of you on for a while now. But, for those of you who are unfamiliar with this case, I’ll give you the quick brief.” Pressing the button once more, the clip changes, “First, we have our suspected perp, Matthew Honey, arrested on suspicion of killing his wife, Lauren Honey, and in connection to the disappearance of his daughter, Evelyn Jade Honey. He’s currently on conditional bail. I’m not sure how, but the Crown seem to think he isn’t a risk to society and that it’s not in the public’s interest to put him away - in their words, ‘we don’t have any real evidence.’ I think this is a load of total B.S and, I don’t back this decision one bit but, who am I after all my years on the Force?” Shaking his head, he continues, “Anyway, Matthew Honey is suspected of arranging the killing of his wife in a hit and run around four years ago. Lauren Honey, victim number one.” Pressing the button again this now flicks to an image of Lauren. “Initially, we wrote this off as an unfortunate accident. We now suspect that this was all part of Honey’s plan.”

  From the back of the room, a new attendee speaks up, “Sir, if you don’t mind, pardon my interruption, but I’m sure I read somewhere in disclosure that Matthew Honey actually asked us to reopen the case because no one was ever made accountable for this.”

  “Yes – that he did. Let me ask you this PC…”

  “Blackwood, sir.”

  “PC Blackwood. Okay, do you know how the mind of a criminal works?”

  “Erm, I studied criminology for around four years, so I’d like to think I understand it to a certain degree, yes.”

  “Okay, so let’s do some role play.”

  Appearing nervous, PC Blackwood hesitantly replies, “Erm, sure…”

  “So, let’s say you got someone to commit a murder for you – but, you knew there was a very slight chance that you could get caught out.” Making his way around the huge boardroom table Chief Inspector Lamont says, “Now, to cover up your own tracks would you not plead your innocence to the world and act as though you’re cooperating with everyone to the highest form? And, even go above and beyond, but – and this is the best bit, not actually push anything you’re suggesting? All this in the hope that, if you ever do find yourself in a pickle and actually get caught out, you could say, ‘Oh, excuse me, officer of the law, but why would I be cooperative and request for this to be investigated further if it was me that killed my wife? Are you following me PC Blackwood?”

  “Erm, yes, Chief Inspector Lamont, sir.”

  Walking closer to PC Blackwood and almost standing behind him he carries on, “So, that being said, only you know that the trail is stone cold. There’s no car, no perp, you have a perfect alibi and supportive witnesses – not only this, a location where all of the CCTV cameras are just slightly out of sight… I mean, I could carry on at how precisely planned this crime was…”

  Twiddling his pen between his fingers and sweating slightly, PC Blackwood nervously replies, “Well, yes, I agree when you put it like that, I suppose it’s extremely possible, sir.”

  “Okay, so would it be safe to say that this potential suspected perp with his own sick mind may have been trying to cover his almost clean tracks before we came knocking once more?”

  “Yes, Chief Inspector Lamont, sir.”

  “Right, then, so what do you say, PC Blackwood, shall we get back to it?”

  “Yes, Chief Inspector Lamont. Sorry, sir.”

  “Actually, does anyone else have anything they wish to share with the group before I carry on?” There is a deafening silence as the attendees regard one another uncomfortably around the table. PC Blackwood now has his head down and is sinking into his bundle of documents.

  “Okay, so, as I was saying, Lauren Honey, victim number one. Tragic hit and run. Investigation was closed but the perpetrator was never found. We now believe Honey wanted revenge on his wife because he suspected she was having an affair. And also that he wanted her out the picture for his own financial gain. We’re not one
hundred percent on this, but we’re slowly building our case and piecing bits together.”

  He presses the button once more and the screen flashes to a picture of Evelyn Jade Honey. “Now, this is where it gets confusing. We need to somehow link this messy murder puzzle together. This is sixteen-year-old Evelyn Jade Honey, victim number two. Matthew and Lauren Honey’s child. Disappeared we believe around eight to ten months ago, maybe longer. Body never found. Evelyn’s disappearance only came to light when her concerned family members and school teachers reported strange events. They also alerted authorities that she was missing. In particular Christina Hart, who is Lauren Honey’s twin sister. Christina’s daughter Melissa Hart has also made allegations regarding Evelyn’s state before she went missing. Not only this, we managed to obtain a report from the Head Teacher of her school. Each of her teachers, at different times, have all mentioned strange incidents involving Evelyn Jade Honey, all of which happened during the days leading up to her disappearance. We now believe these were cries for help.”

  As Chief Inspector Lamont makes his way around the boardroom, DCS Terry is observing the room, and taking mental notes as he evaluates the level of engagement of each officer in regard to this case. Much like Lamont, he only wants ‘A type’ players on his team. He wants Matthew Honey to pay for the terrible things he has done to his innocent family. And so, he desires a fully pledged squad. A group that’s eager and hungry to solve this crime and get justice for the two women who have been presumably murdered at the hands of this man. The man who should have been their protector. The same man who, in his eyes, completely abused his position and preyed on these vulnerable females. DCS Terry has now made it his mission to ensure that Matthew Honey pays for the crimes he has committed. Content with what he’s seeing, DCS Terry sits back as he watches Chief Inspector Lamont drop the biggest bombshell, “Now, you may see our discussion as a little far-fetched, and you may believe Matthew Honey is innocent and question why, what, how and when, and so on, but, the truth of the matter is, and what concerns us most out of this whole case is that Evelyn’s dad, Matthew Honey, never actually reported his daughter as missing.”