Only the Good Die Young (7 page)

Chapter 8

Dave knew he needed to keep the elderly lady alive. He needed to keep her talking somehow. He asked her name.

‘My name is Betty,’ she said. ‘What’s your name?’

‘I don’t know. I can’t remember,’ said Dave. ‘But I think I was in the army.’

‘Can you remember your training. For situations like this, I mean.’

‘Not yet. I’m hoping it’ll come back to me. I need to be a magician to get out of these ropes he’s got me in.’

Betty laughed a little.

‘It’s a hopeless situation isn’t it,’ she said.

‘Not completely. I think you did well to keep quiet. He thought you were dead.’

‘I thought I was.’

‘Is there anything within your reach?’ asked Dave.

He could hear her feeling around.

‘Something,’ she said. ‘My eyes aren’t good at the best of times.’

‘I seem to be blindfolded,’ said Dave. ‘I can’t remember how I got here. Can you?’

‘I was a silly old fool,’ said Betty. ‘He told me he was a preacher, looked all smart in his suit. He said he’d take me home in his car as his good deed for the day. I thought he was ever so kind.’

They were silent for a bit.

‘Why do you think he targeted you?’ asked Dave.

‘Well,’ she said. ‘This is why Betty is a silly old fool. I knew there was a few missing elderly people. I heard about it on the news. They were looking for a man in the area. They said don’t approach him. I thought I would be fine. Who would capture and kill little old me?’

‘He seems to have a conspiracy theory from what I can tell,’ said Dave. ‘I would imagine he’ll need locking in Broadmoor when they find him.’

‘If they find him,’ said Betty.

‘I think they’ll find him,’ said Dave. ‘He’s not being discreet, standing on the streets like that. And he’s greedy. He’ll be looking for more victims. It seems to give him a high. Regular serial killer if you ask me.’

‘It might be too late for us though,’ said Betty.

Dave sighed. She was right.

He wondered where Stephen was being kept. He couldn’t work it out from his voice. Betty’s voice was ahead and to the left. Stephen’s voice seemed to come from everywhere.

‘Stephen, where are you?’ he called.

There was no answer.

‘Tell me you’re alive,’ said Dave.

‘I’m here,’ said Stephen. ‘I’m trapped.’

‘Can you think of an escape route?’

‘I’d untie you if I could,’ said Stephen.

‘Thanks Stephen,’ said Dave.

Dave could hear Betty crying quietly.

‘Are you OK?’ he asked. ‘Betty?’

‘It’s you I’m worried for,’ she said.

Dave felt his stomach sink. He tried to remember his name. The smell of dead bodies was strong. Why did he have images of dead people in his head. He tried to see more. He could see policemen. He could see himself telling a policeman to make inquiries about witnesses.

‘Betty?’ he asked. ‘In the news did they mention the police? Was a policeman missing?’

‘I only caught the last of it. They said he was very dangerous. Yes, I think they did mention an officer, one of their best, well, there was something about it. Are you a policeman now?’

‘I have to think I might be,’ said Dave. ‘Stephen? Am I a policeman?’

‘Yes, you are. You are a detective.’

‘Why didn’t you say so before?’ said Dave.

‘I didn’t remember,’ said Stephen.

‘May I ask who you talk to?’ said Betty.

‘Can’t you hear Stephen?’ said Dave.

‘No, I think only you can.’

‘He must be behind me. Stephen? Can you shout over to Betty?’

There was silence.

‘Stephen?’

Dave hoped that Stephen was alright. He seemed to only talk now and then. He must be fazing in and out of sleep, or unconsciousness. He needed to escape too.

‘I think Stephen is sleeping now,’ said Dave.

‘Do you know who he is?’ asked Betty.

‘He’s my brother,’ said Dave. ‘I thought he was dead. It turns out he was taken by our captor. He has been here a long time.’

‘Right,’ said Betty. ‘I can see that you need him.’

‘I’m not going anywhere without him. If we escape, he’s coming. I’m not sure where he is hidden. He thought we were in a cell. We’ll find him.’

‘I think we should maybe focus on ourselves first and come back later for Stephen.’

Dave didn’t reply. It was clear that Betty thought of herself first. Of course she was a priority, she was in need of medical attention. It didn’t matter. There was no plan as yet. Dave struggled against his ropes. There was no give.

Dave had an image of a woman in his head. She was beautiful. He could see her laughing. Was she his girlfriend? His wife?

He saw them sitting in a cafe together. He saw them talking. What were they saying?

Then he remembered. She was Shirley. She was his sergeant and she certainly wasn’t his girlfriend even though he’d like her to be.

‘I’m Detective Inspector Dave McDonald,’ said Dave.

‘Are you?’ said Betty.

She sounded weary.

‘Betty keep going, I know it’s hard but we’re going to get you out of here,’ said Dave.

‘I’m not sure. One minute you’re in the army, the next you’re a policeman. I don’t know what you are.’

‘I was in the army. I was in the army a long time ago. When I left I became a police officer. I’m 42 years old. Why is it so easy now to know that?’

‘Maybe you’re coming out of the concussion,’ said Betty.

‘But Stephen,’ said Dave. ‘I was young when he died. He has been here a long time.’

Betty sighed.

‘I told you I’d been here a very long time,’ said Stephen.

‘Twenty years,’ said Dave.

‘You think about that,’ said Betty. ‘Our killer is only a youngster himself. He’s full of acne. He’s probably younger than my grandson.’

It didn’t make sense. Dave tried to work out how Stephen had been here so long.

‘Stephen?’ said Dave.

‘Stephen isn’t real,’ said Betty. ‘You’re wasting time. We need to get out of here. Don’t you have a radio to call the station? Isn’t there anything you can do? He’ll be back soon, I know he will. He might check my body, if he finds out I’m alive, he’ll kill me.’

Dave shook at his ropes again.

‘Betty is there any way you can move closer to me? Can you crawl?’

Dave could hear Betty struggling to move, breathing heavily.

‘Come towards my voice,’ he said.

Her breathing was hard but he heard movement, dragging movement.

‘Hup, two, three, four,’ he said.

‘Don’t push her too hard,’ said Stephen. ‘She needs to do it in her own time.’

‘Plenty of time,’ said Dave. ‘If I hear a sound I’ll let you know.’

As he said it, a train rushed past.

Betty screamed.

‘It’s only a train, it isn’t his car,’ said Dave.

He heard her move.

‘I’m here,’ said Dave. ‘Move towards my voice.’

Betty screamed again.

‘What’s that?’ she said. ‘I can feel meat. It smells like meat.’

‘Come away from the meat,’ said Dave.

He knew what that smell was.

‘Oh my Lord, Jesus! It’s a hand! I feel a hand,’ she said.

‘Please Betty, don’t think about that now.’

He heard retching.

‘Betty please, move towards my voice.’

She moved. He heard her faster now. She was moaning slightly.

‘I know it’s painful, but we can fix that later. Focus on my voice. Forget the pain.’

She moved again. He could hear she was dragging herself with her elbows along the ground.

‘I think I’ll die trying,’ she said.

‘No you won’t. We’ll get you medical attention as soon as we get out of here. Come on, hup two three four. You can do it.’

Betty made a growling sound. He could tell she was focussed. Please God, he prayed. Then he felt her. Her hand met his foot.

‘Oh no!’ she said.

‘No, it’s OK, it’s me,’ he said.

‘Thank God, thank God,’ she said.

She cried and Dave looked over at the door, straining to hear a car or the shutters. He heard nothing.

‘I think we need to be fast,’ he said. ‘We don’t know where Richie has gone.’

Betty felt his feet.

‘These ties won’t come off without a wire cutter or something,’ she said.

‘What about my blindfold?’ he said. ‘Can you reach it?’

Betty climbed up his body, holding onto the rope. She felt for his face.

‘I’ve found it,’ she said. ‘It might pull off.

As she pulled it, he felt the skin around his wound ripped off. He let the pain ripple inside him without showing an outward sign. He blinked. It was dark but he could make out the shapes of things. Betty put her head on his shoulder. He could tell she was exhausted. He was surprised she had got this far.

‘How old are you Betty?’ he asked.

‘Oh, let’s just say I remember the war,’ she said.

Dave shook his head in anger. This man was evil. He was picking out the weak and vulnerable. For what? For some bizarre idea that the elderly were to blame for his mother dying young.

‘I don’t care what happened to his mother. He’s a killer. I’m going to try and be rational, try and say I’ll get him to prison. But if I get the chance, it wouldn’t be far off to say it was self-defence to have killed him.’

‘That’s the Lord’s job,’ said Betty.

Dave sighed. Look where a belief in God had got Betty. He wasn’t a believer. If there was a God in the sky up there, he didn’t care much for his creation. He remembered his prayer earlier. It just showed how indoctrinated he had been. Prayer to a higher being in the hope of living.

‘We might not have long,’ said Dave. ‘And we still need to find Stephen. Can you untie the rope?’

‘I will certainly try young man. My hands are not much good. I’ve got terrible arthritis.’

Dave saw how gnarled her hands were. He could see they were not the same shape as his, bent and swollen.

‘Please try,’ he said. ‘It’s our only chance.’

She found the ends of the rope.

‘It’s tied very tight,’ she said. ‘Lots of knots,’

‘Anything you can do to loosen them will help, then I can do my magician trick.’

She laughed but only to humour him. He thought of magicians sawing bodies in half and realised it was a sick joke really. Betty had touched the bodies of Richie’s victims. She knew what was in store if he arrived back. Dave listened for cars. He heard a pigeon cooing outside. It made him want to see the outside world again.

‘Please,’ he said.

‘I’ve still got my old teeth,’ said Betty. ‘I’m going to lose them now.’

She bit into the rope. He tried not to move while she struggled.

‘There,’ she said. ‘I’ve done one knot.’

Dave shrugged his shoulders. A rope at the top came off.

‘Hey,’ he said. ‘It’s working.’

It was still tight around his wrists but he was free of the pillar.

‘High five!’ he said.

Betty patted his hand.

‘I don’t know how I’ll get that one off,’ she said.

‘It’s OK,’ said Dave.

He kneeled. His feet were tied together and his wrists were tied behind his back. He had seen criminals tied like this. He had seen them move and he had seen them try to escape. He jumped to his feet. He moaned in pain. Pins and needles spread through his body, and cramp through his legs.

‘Ah!’ he cried.

But he jumped up and down. The sensation was coming back in his legs and arms. He looked around him. How could he untie himself?

He jumped across the floor to where Richie had been. There must be something. He saw a tool box.

‘Betty,’ he said. ‘I think I’ve found tools.’

There was a saw lying on a table. Could he saw himself free? He leaned his wrists against the saw. He rubbed them up and down. It cut his skin but he didn’t care. This was urgent, no time to be careful. The rope frayed, then came loose.

His actions became quick then. In the dark, it was hard to see what was in there. He found pliers. He cut his ankles free. He rubbed at the skin. He did a star jump to see how he felt. He thought he could do this. He could kill this guy. He looked through the toolbox then took the whole thing. He went to go to the door, to see if he could open it. As he did, he fell. It felt like he hit a tyre but the car was parked a metre away. He could see the shape of it.

He felt the object he fell into.

‘The wheelchair,’ he said.

‘My wheelchair?’ said Betty.’ Did you find it?’