The Secrets of the Shadows (The Annie Graham series - Book 2) Read online

  He opened the front door and then turned and swept Laura off her feet, kicking the door shut behind him. Too drunk to even think about locking it he carried her upstairs. Laura knew this was going to be fun and for the first time in over a year she forgot all about how much she fancied Will Ashworth.

  ***

  Laura groaned, blinking one eye open. She wasn’t in her own bed; her head felt like it belonged to someone else and it was too heavy to lift. She turned to see the naked body of the man she had come home with and for once she thought not bad, not bad at all. This made a change from the shock, horror, gasp and quick escapes after most nights out. She gazed around the room: it was pretty basic, king-size bed, wardrobe, chest of drawers and a huge crucifix on the wall. She’d forgotten he was the priest’s nephew and hoped his uncle hadn’t come home early, it would be a bit awkward if he’d heard them having sex in his house. She sat up on the side of the bed, her head was banging and her stomach lurched as the bitter taste of stale wine lingered at the back of her throat. There was a bottle of water on the bedside table and she picked it up and took large, gulping mouthfuls, glad to parch the dry feeling at the back of her throat. After sitting with her head in her hands for ten minutes she forced herself to stand up. She wobbled across to the chair where she’d thrown her clothes last night and got dressed but she didn’t want to just leave. She actually liked Ryan and would love to see him again. Searching the pocket of her trousers she found a crumpled business card with her phone number. Not wanting to wake him up because she didn’t want him to see her looking so rough she tiptoed around to his side of the bed and placed it on the bedside table next to him. She bent down to kiss his forehead and her legs began to tremble, it was a struggle to hold her own body weight. Her stomach lurched once more and the room went black as she crashed down onto the floor. Semiconscious, she wanted to move but couldn’t; her body was refusing to do what her mind was telling it to. From the corner of her eye she became vaguely aware of movement, someone was walking around the room. She looked at Ryan’s glazed eyes. He was dead. What was happening? Her brain felt as if had turned into treacle and she couldn’t think. The footsteps stopped and she blinked, trying to focus, but the room was fuzzy and she was unable to see clearly. She knew it was a man, she could tell by the heavy footsteps that he was wearing boots, they approached her and she tried to speak but a mumbled noise came out. Her mind was screaming at her to move and her heart was racing, she knew the man wasn’t here to help her and then she heard his voice as he spoke into her ear.

  ‘Say your prayers; it’s time to go to sleep.’

  ***

  He pulled the thick plastic bag over her head and watched as she took her last gasps, trying to suck in precious gulps of air. Her pretty, thin face the same colour red as the old fashioned carpet she was lying on. Her unfocused pale blue eyes bulged from the sockets taking away some of the prettiness. He had been parked across the road from the pub and followed the taxi as it drove away. When it had driven towards St Mary’s Church he had almost given himself a heart attack, surely not, this was too good to be true! He hadn’t wanted to use the same church twice but why not, this was a gift from God himself, it would be foolish not to make use of it. When Laura and the man who was not his vicar stumbled drunkenly into the house they hadn’t bothered to lock the door behind them, too absorbed in kissing each other. He had left them to it, he couldn’t take them on now, they would be much easier once they’d had sex and tired themselves out. He walked around the church grounds to see if there was a suitable grave he could use, he couldn’t use the same one as she deserved her own. This time he chose one which wasn’t overlooked by the school or the house. At least this would throw them, they would waste time and effort staking out the church waiting for him to strike again and next time it would be one on the other side of town, far away from St Mary’s. Taking his bag from his truck, he’d finally crept in through the front door, locking it behind him. He’d overheard the man tell Laura about his uncle so it was all perfect, this house may belong to God but they say that the devil looks after his own. He’d sat down on the stairs and listened whilst they had very noisy sex, at one point he’d found himself getting a bit too excited and had to walk around the house to concentrate on what he was doing. Eventually the bed stopped creaking and it went quiet, he wondered what was going to be the best way to do this without too much mess and blood. The man upstairs was much bigger than him, as much as he hated the sight of blood he didn’t really have much choice in how to kill him. It needed to be quick and the only thing he could think of was to stick a knife straight through his heart. At least he would be able to pull the duvet over him and if he did it fast enough; maybe he wouldn’t see any blood at all.

  He went into the kitchen and looked in the fridge; there were plenty of bottles of mineral water inside. He took one out and unscrewed the cap, then tipping the contents of his medicine bottle in he put the cap back on and gave it a good shake, there should be enough in there to render a bull defenceless. He would put it by her side of the bed for when she woke up. There was a butcher’s block with an assortment of knives on the worktop and he pulled out the one with the biggest handle and the sharpest point. Just holding it made him feel queasy but he knew there was no way he could overpower the big man and a struggle would wake Laura up; he didn’t want her to wake up until he was ready for her. Worried that this could all go wrong in a very big way he cautiously made his way up the stairs and in the direction of the room that all the noise had emanated from. He crept inside and placed the bottle of water next to Laura and then he crept around to the other side where the man was lying naked and snoring gently. His legs began to tremble before he’d even lifted the knife but he took a deep breath and pulled his arm back, aiming straight for his chest. As the knife plunged straight through the man’s heart his eyes opened and he made a gurgling sound. It must have been a lucky shot because the man’s eyes began to glaze over. He left the knife where it was, he had his thick, black gloves on so there would be no prints, and then he pulled the duvet over him so he didn’t get distracted by the blood. Laura stirred and he looked across at her, why did people feel the need to drink themselves into oblivion?

  When he looked back down at Laura she had stopped jerking and was still. It was a shame but she wasn’t a very nice person and she looked so much like his mother it was never going to end any other way. The moon had appeared from behind the dense, black clouds and illuminated the church enough that he wouldn’t have to struggle with her body and a torch. He bent down and removed the plastic bag from her head, scrunching it up and pushing it deep into his trouser pocket. He undressed her and then he bent down and heaved her up into his arms, which was a lot trickier than it sounded, she was very slim but still heavy enough to make beads of sweat form on his brow as he manoeuvred down the stairs with her. Using the tip of his Magnum boot to open the door he’d left ajar earlier, he stepped outside and paused, double checking there was no-one around. He crunched his way along the short gravel path which led into the churchyard towards his chosen grave. He gently laid her down; it was easier this time with no plastic sheeting to contend with. Putting her in the recovery position, it took him a while to get her arms just right, they needed to be raised slightly, almost caressing each other. Then he set about looking for something to cover her with. When he was satisfied he’d done the best he could he stood up and stretched, his back was aching. This wasn’t as easy as he’d imagined but it was well worth the effort. Stepping back to admire his work he smiled, Laura made a very beautiful sleeping angel and he wanted to sit down on the stone bench opposite and watch her but he couldn’t risk anyone seeing him. He snapped a couple of pictures on his phone and then pressed his right boot into the ground; give the detectives who would be working the case something to get excited about. He left the way he came through the presbytery garden and out of the open gate. He stopped and remembered he hadn’t shut the house door so he jogged back and slammed it shut. There wa
s no point in making it too easy for the police, he wanted to give them a real challenge and see if they were up to the mark.

  Chapter 13

  The smell of new rubber plimsolls and the flip, flack of the too-big soles hitting the tarmac on the playground floor made Ella feel safe. It reminded her of her days playing hopscotch, when the only thing worth worrying about was if she would get put into the red or green team for sports day. Nobody wanted to be in yellow or blue.

  ‘Miss, Miss - Billy has taken my bouncy ball.’

  Ella sighed, turning around to sort out the first drama of the day. She smiled at the six year old girl with strawberry blonde hair and a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose; Rosie Garnett would tell tales on her own mother, in fact she often did. Ella looked at Billy, whose surly expression made her struggle to hide the smile on her face. ‘Come on Billy, give it back. Rosie I’m sure he just wanted to play with you, isn’t that right Billy?’

  Billy held out his small, pudgy hand. Concealed inside his tight fist was the tiny bright green ball. Uncurling his fingers he passed it to Rosie who smiled so sweetly at him that it made Ella grimace. Rosie ran off after the bouncing ball she had just launched towards the other side of the playground and Billy stood waiting to be told off. Ella patted him on the head. Then a piercing scream froze her to the core, something bad had happened and she was almost too afraid to turn around and see what it was but her instinct took over and she turned and ran in the direction of the scream. It was one long, shrill noise and it sounded almost like the high-pitched peal of the fire alarms. They were emanating from the churchyard which adjoined the school; Ella, closely followed by Miss Smith, reached the gate which led into the church grounds to see Rosie standing on the other side, her mouth open and that awful noise coming from it. Ella rushed towards her to see what was the matter, the girl didn’t look as if she’d hurt herself. Ella grabbed hold of Rosie and gently shook her to make her stop; Rosie stared at Ella and lifted a small finger and pointed at something. Ella turned to look and felt her heart skip a beat, the naked body of a woman lay across one of the graves; her lifeless eyes told Ella everything she needed to know and she pulled Rosie against her, hugging her and gently turning her away from the dreadful sight. Picking her up she carried her over to Miss Smith who was standing with one hand clapped over her mouth; she hadn’t ventured past the gate. ‘Get the children back inside and phone the police now.’ Miss Smith nodded and taking the girl from her she began blowing the whistle to signal that playtime was over and told the children to go back in. Ella stood blocking the gate so nobody could see through until all the children had been rounded up and ushered back inside.

  As the last one walked through the hall doors she turned and approached the woman. She needed to check that she didn’t have a pulse and although Ella had never seen a dead body except for on the television she was pretty sure that this was one. She cautiously walked over to the grave, careful not to trample anything that could be evidence - she had read enough crime thrillers and they had taught her well. Bending down she pressed two fingers against the woman’s neck to check for a pulse. Her skin was icy cold and Ella knew that it had been a while since she had last taken a breath – there was nothing she could do for her. The luminous green of Rosie’s bouncy ball made a stark contrast to the marbled blue and white of the woman’s skin; it had come to rest in the crook of her bent arm. Ella doubted that Rosie would ever be able to look at a bouncy ball again. Feeling sad for whoever this woman was she made her way back to the small black cast iron gate to wait for the police, and judging by the wail of the siren’s they would be there very soon.

  Mr Michaels the head teacher came barging through the narrow door which led into the hall where the children were milling and got tangled up in a web of arms and skipping ropes. The view through the large glass patio doors made Ella turn around so he wouldn’t see the grin on her face. It was totally inappropriate but the man irritated her beyond belief. He strode across to her. ‘Are you quite sure the woman is dead and not just some drugged up homeless tramp who has dossed down in the church for the night?’

  Ella tried not to roll her eyes at him and instead shook her head. ‘Well I’m no expert Mr Michaels but if you take a look yourself you will clearly see that she has been dead for some time. Although I don’t know if you should go in there.’

  He ignored her and pushed past. Ella watched and wondered if he was about to trample through the crime scene like he trampled through life but she didn’t need to worry. He took one look at the grave and the colour drained from his face. ‘Dear God, how did this happen and in a church of all places?’

  Ella shrugged, she had no answers. Just a feeling of desperate sadness for whoever the woman was, placed on show for everyone to see. She breathed a sigh of relief as two policemen came rushing through the hall doors and over to where she was standing. Ella pointed to the grave and was pleased to see Mr Michaels squirm his way back through into the playground, his face burning. He looked like a kid caught peeking into the girl’s locker room. The first policeman made a strangled noise in the back of his throat and she thought he said Laura, the second one stepped through the gate and his hand flew to his mouth, he muttered. ‘Oh my God.’ Ella realised that the woman was someone they both knew. Her legs began to quiver and her head felt fuzzy, she blinked a few times to try and clear her mind but she needed to sit down before she passed out. Leaning back against the rough red brick wall she felt herself begin to slide down it, her brand new Per Una cardigan snagging on all the rough bits of brick all the way down until she reached the floor. How embarrassing, she felt like an idiot but then she looked across at the two policemen and they didn’t look much better. There was a lot of shouting into the radios which were clipped to the bright yellow body armour they were wearing. Her eyes shut. Through the daze she heard the words, ambulance, CID, foxtrot but it was the last words the bigger of the two men spoke that would forever haunt her dreams.

  ‘It’s our Laura, I mean its Detective Constable Laura Bailiss.’

  Chapter 14

  Will opened his eyes. He’d only drunk two halves of lager and an orange juice but he felt as if he’d drunk ten pints. He would never drink like he had last week ever again, it had ruined his life. He thought about Annie, if he was honest she was all he thought about. He wanted to do something to make it right but he had no idea what, prove to her that he wasn’t a total screw up and that she should give him another chance. Bloody Laura, he could kill her, what had she been playing at? She hadn’t really spoken to him since he’d thrown her out of his house and he’d been relieved when she left the pub last night with the big bloke who bought her drinks all night. Let her make some other poor sod’s life a misery. His phone began to ring, he glanced at the screen, unknown number – work could bugger off. He wasn’t on duty until twelve; he still had two hours to feel sorry for himself, play a bit of Adele; that was music to slit your wrists to – if only he had the energy. He reached across the bed to the iPod docking station on his bedside table and pressed play. ‘We could have had it all’ filled the air and he buried his head underneath a pillow, feeling like shit. Half an hour of self torture then he’d get up, have a shower and go face the world of fuckwits that waited for him at work.

  Pounding on the front door awoke him from his dream, he had managed to go back to sleep. Adele was still reminding him that he could have had it all. The knocking didn’t cease, he was going to get whoever it was by the scruff of their neck and ram their bloody heads right through his letterbox. Pulling his trousers and a sweatshirt on he ran down the stairs to the front door, throwing it open about to shout at whoever it was. He was greeted by a white-faced Stu.

  ‘This better be bloody good Stu, I’m not due in until twelve.’ Will turned away, expecting Stu to follow him inside but he didn’t. ‘Stu what are you doing, has Debs finally thrown you out?’

  He watched Stu gulp, struggling to find the words to say. ‘It’s Laura. She’s dea
d.’

  Will continued moaning at him, not really taking in what he just said and then he stopped. ‘What did you just say?’

  Stu’s face contorted into a mask of pain and his eyes filled with tears. ‘Sarge, Laura is dead. Some kid found her body on a grave in St Mary’s church grounds.’

  Will felt a surge of regret about the bad things he’d been thinking about her less than an hour ago. ‘Are you sure it’s our Laura?’

  Stu nodded his head, sniffling into his hand. Tears were falling down his cheeks; he couldn’t bring himself to speak.

  Will pulled a pair of trainers on and grabbed his keys off the table. ‘I don’t believe this, how? Are you in a fit state to drive because if not let me. I don’t want you crashing on the way and blowing eighty five on the breathalyser.’

  ‘Of course I can drive, I came here to get you didn’t I? I never had that much to drink; it’s just the shock of it all, you know. I mean we were with her until about half ten when she left with the big bloke. Do you think he did it? He must have but why, why would he kill her?’

  Will couldn’t think clearly, one of his officers was dead. They sat in silence on the journey until Stu turned the car into the quiet road that led to the church. He felt sick and hoped the shock wasn’t going to make him sick. There were several police cars and vans abandoned all over the place, blue and red lights flashing. Stu stopped the car in the middle of the road and they got out. The familiar sight of Kav standing by the entrance to the church reminded Will of the events not that long ago, when the town had been turned into a killing field by a man obsessed with the old mansion in the woods and Annie. Kav had also been on duty when the bodies were found last time, he looked ill, his face was grey. One of the response officers brought Will a white scene suit, latex gloves, face mask and boot covers, he took them and whispered his thanks. The young officer offered another set to Stu who shook his head and turned to look in any direction other than that of the church.