Little Red (9 page)

‘Yes, what’s going on….where’s our daughter?’

‘We are doing everything possible right now. I will see that a member of the team speaks with you, I will be speaking with you both at a later date also, there is information that I can possibly act on now. So I apologise if I seem abrupt, it is not intended!’ he offered a small smile as they exited the room.

‘Is that it?’ Nathan quizzed.

‘What?’

‘We were in there less than five minutes!’

‘Look, I’m not wasting time here. We have a team to continue with the interviews…..and we
may have an address to go to!’

Nathan fo
llowed Jack to the reception as he requested the address for Oliver Breen. Anne had finished printing the personal information and handed Jack the pages, he winked and folded them into his pocket as they left the scene.

The female constable met them at the school gate, she step
ped towards Jack as they neared. Her posture showed that she awaited another task, Jack gave her one. He assigned her the objective of door to door enquiries, as many PC’s as she needed. He believed somebody on the street must have seen something. He confirmed that the task was understood and climbed into the vehicle, Nathan stood at the driver’s side the whole time, observing Jack as he buzzed with adrenalin. The navigation system beeped as Jack entered the details of the address into the locate menu. Several seconds later the destination appeared.

‘Forty minutes away, the other side of London’ he said to Nathan who was sat in the driver’s seat.

‘Roger, just give me the heads up if we head off course…..it’s being a while since I drove in London’.

‘Brilliant’ the sarcasm created a war of stares between the two men. The car pulled off slowly leaving the pandemonium behind. They could feel the familiar buzz of closing in on a lead. The excitement showed as Nathan’s foot began to push harder down onto the accelerator, Jack allowed it……he also felt the thrill pulsing through his veins.
It had been a long time since the two had worked side by side. The partnership was a strong bond, one that was impossible to break. They fed upon each other’s rush of adrenalin, boosting one and other further into a case. They both hoped that it worked this time.

The car came to a halt as they caught the tail end of traffic. The snow had caused a vehicle to spin and collide with another. The
holdup aided in the recent adrenalin rush to expire. The men found themselves moaning, Nathan slapped the steering wheel with his hand as the other rubbed his forehead.

‘Well, we have a bit of time to kill……….how about you fill me in with the reason you were choking in the room!’

‘You want to know now?’

‘Why not, it’s a better time than any’

‘I suppose’ Nathan shuffled in his seat, pulling the small black lever by his left leg, the chair reclined slightly.

‘Last time you asked for my help…..whilst Elle and I still lived in London, there were a few issues I….no, we had to deal with. That’s why we flew to Spain, to get away from the past’.

‘You’re on about a fresh start yeah?’

‘Pretty much yeah, w
ell, I suffered from severe nightmares for close to twelve months. I mean these things were in full detail, I would wake up dripping and soaked in sweat…….sometimes I would sleep walk and Elle had to find me when she realised I wasn’t there.’

‘This is what was happening in the room?’

‘Similar……..they started the first night I landed’.

‘
The same dreams as before?’

‘No
. Not quite the same but there are similarities. When I worked on the Golden Boy case, remember the house I located him in?’

‘I think so, the derelict building
?’ his memory fuzzy.

‘Yeah, well, the old dreams were based in that house. The detail was exactly the same as what I saw…..so good I even smell the same stench from where the bodi
es were found in the cellar and the walls. The dreams I am having at the moment are the exact same house, same smell…..same everything, apart from the room.’

‘The room?’
his eye brows raised slightly.

‘I get to the top of the stairs and there is a door to a room. That is the room where I found the killer and young boy. But this time the room is bright, I mean I can’t see shit to start with……….but I can hear the song.’ he shuffled once again.

‘Hey there little red riding hood….you sure are looking good….you’re everything a big bad wolf could want. It’s on repeat too. I can see a figure at a table, but it’s blurred and I can’t make out who it is. I get closer with a weapon in my hand. On the table is one of the Golden Boy’s victims. Not the last one, it’s a boy we didn’t save…..second or third I think. Well he looks at me and mouths the words help me………….’

‘Jesus Nathan’ Jack bewildered by his friends story.

‘Yeah I know. But the figure then does something to the boy and a shit load of blood starts flowing onto the floor. The figure turns to me as I drop the wheel brace and walks up slowly…………I can’t breathe or move. That’s when you woke me!’ he told the story looking through the windscreen, he felt his friend’s eyes watching him with every word he spoke. He then realised it was the first time he had told anyone apart from his wife.

‘Nathan…….that’s deep. But its normal mate, some people suffer from it for long periods of time……some never get over it!’ he tried to reassure.

‘Suppose’

‘What happened in that house though mate?’ he knew it was wrong to ask but the moment was perfect. His friend had just opened up to him for the first time in their history together………he was intrigued to know more.

‘Jack……..you don’t need to know mate. Elle doesn’t even know the whole story. All she knows is that I went to catch the killer and save the boy. Then I ended up with severe lacerations and shock trauma. To be honest I’m not sure what happened!’ he lied.

‘Right………but you did save a
boy’s life!’

‘Yeah……Theo
Jameson…..poor fella.’ he remembered the boy well. His golden blonde hair was cut in a mushroom style. His weak body was battered and bruised. The small cut to his chest was bleeding lightly, allowing a constant trickle to escape the hole.

‘Well
I suggest we keep it under wraps……last thing we need in this case is Doctor fucking Lime screwing things up when he requests to perform a Psycho Analysis on you!’ his tone attempting to create a slight humour. It failed.

***

The van’s engine offered a light purr as the ignition was switched off. It rumbled to a halt, the working parts inside tinkered as they cooled down. The Wolf climbed out of the seat and gave a glance over each shoulder, checking his surroundings,
all clear.
The van had been backed up as far as possible, laying ten feet from the rear entrance to his house. The previous kidnap had gone well up to this point, he had miss-judged the parking and had to carry the girl double the distance to hide her inside. This he wanted to avoid as it was still daylight. He gave another check to confirm his concealment and pulled on the back door handle, the clunk told him that the catch had been released. The doors swung open and he entered the back, being sure to duck slightly to stop his head colliding with the wooden interior. The girl was still unconscious as the Chloroform had been a high dosage, especially for someone so young. He imagined it swirling around her lungs like small puffs of smoke performing a dance. He reached down and grabbed her wrists and her torso was heaved up into a seating position. She slumped forward unaware of her current situation.

He turned the girl so that her back was facing the back doors and dragged her to the rear bumper. He climbed down carefully and lifted her into his arms. He turned and fled inside the building, now she was out of sight.
The interior of the house was dark, as usual. He liked the blackness surrounding him, it helped in his development. The guest within his mind gave courteous words, encouragement and praise. His task was accomplished to a rewarding standard and he was slowly becoming what he longed to be. The girl lay in his arms, her body felt light as his biceps hardened. He shuffled down the steps to the den, needing to secure her before she awoke, to save himself from scratching finger nails and kicking feet.

The van’s back doors were slammed shut, the vehicle rocked slightly from the force behind it. The Wolf entered the driver’s seat an
d wound the window down by hand. The squeak rang in his ear as the glass caught the rubber seal. He relaxed his body, forcing the adrenalin to exit him. The key slipped into its home and the engine sprang to life as the key was turned. The black van rolled slowly out of the drive.

***

Nathan pulled the car onto the curb being car
eful as the front wheel connected with the concrete block. They bounced slightly inside as the suspension absorbed the blow. He revved the engine gently to push the car up onto the small grass patch. The voice on the Sat-nav had told them that they had reached their destination. Jack spied for the number that Anne had given him. He noticed the area was a clean and welcoming environment. The houses seemed new looking, an array of well-trimmed hedges and mowed lawns surrounded them. It offered the picturesque images from an estate agents brochure, the enticing fresh looking buildings, their double garages and large bay windows. Nathan was surprised to find a lack of white picket fences.

‘Well that’s the place’ pointing across the street to number seven.

They sat for a while observing the location. They noticed the bright yellow Mazda parked outside the front of the house. The once clean rooftop was littered with brown leaves and splashes of bird excrement, the greenish white colour running down the windscreen.

‘Well it’s not a van!’ stated Nathan
.

‘Noticed, it also appears that the car has been static for a long period of time, a week or two maybe, judging by the crap upon the top’.

‘Yeah, noticed!’ he smiled to Jack.

‘Come on, let’s take a look’
.

They exited the car and walked towards the building. They could see that the house was well taken care of. The driveway had been swept and kept weed free. The windows
were clean and blinds were closed. They approached the door and rang the bell. Nathan removed his finger from the button and Jack slapped the brass knocker against its plate several times. They waited……………………

‘Let’s take a look around the back
’ Jack decided when there was no answer.

They followed the drive down the gable side of
the house which led to the rear. The garden was a small size but had been well nurtured. In the far corner sat a shed, the trees covering the rear to add privacy for the occupant.

‘See anything?’ Jack asked
, as he patrolled the garden.

‘Nope………nothing’ replied Nathan, his face pressed against the kitchen window as he scanned the interior. He caught Jack’s reflection as he walked
to the shed and watched as he clasped the bulky padlock in his hand and pulled it.

‘Locked’ he stated
.

‘Doesn’t mean anything………the guy likes to keep his doors locked to stop pinching!’

‘I know. I just had my hopes up that’s all’.

‘But still………….what happened to Mr Breen?’

‘Maybe he saw the Wolf in action and was taken too!’

‘Possible’ agreed Nathan, ‘
but I doubt he would risk it, surely his face is covered when he takes them?’

‘Yeah……we can stand here all day throwing suggestions at each
other……but we won’t get anywhere will we……come on, let’s head back, we can see what the team retrieved from the school.’

They walked back to the car, not a word was spoken. Both men were expecting something from the lead, but the result was disappointing,
these things are never easy.
Jack slammed the driver’s door over enthusiastically, the results affecting his temper. There was nothing to take away from the scene, no helpful pushes to advance with the investigation.

‘Maybe a surveillance car would be worth a shot,
for a couple of days, see if anything happens!’ he suggested, the bony fingers brushed over his scalp and combed his hair.

‘Don’t see why not, shows that we’re doing something more than sat on our arses in the office!’ Nathan assured as the vehicle was started.

***

The team were typing away as Jack entered the room. Their heads remained down as they organised the evidence and statements from the school.

‘Please tell me we have something?’

The typing stopped and heads were flicked to the direction of his voice. Their faces displayed the answer he didn’t want.

‘There are still teams on the ground Sir. They are conducting the door to door questioning. We’re awaiting a sitrep anytime now!’ the PC informed him.

He turned back and headed for the door. The windows shook as he slammed it closed.