Souls At Zero (A Dark Psychological Thriller) (23 page)

But there was no time for any of that now. Which Blutwolf should have knew in the first place. His desire for revenge had blinded him to the realty of his situation however. He allowed himself to think he could remain a rogue wolf for as long as he needed to. He should have known a control freak like the Angel Of Death wouldn't tolerate that for long.

So now the plan had changed.

Like it or not, Edger would be teaming up with Blutwolf so they could take out the Angel Of Death.

And once that was done, Blutwolf would kill Edger's daughter, and force the man to live in a world of pain for the rest of his life.

DI Black was at his desk in Lisburn Road Police station staring down at an eye witness report on an armed robbery that happened the day before at a jewellers near the city centre. He was doing his best to concentrate on the report, but his mind was on Harry Edger, as it had been since he last arrested the ex-Legionnaire the day before. It was eating at him that Edger was allowed to go free and was still running around out there, most likely still planning how he was going to kill Brian McGinty. McGinty was under round the clock protection now, but that didn't make Black feel any better. The fact was, Edger had committed some serious crimes, and then had the fucking nerve to make
another
attempt on McGinty's life within an hour of being released from custody. Black had never come across a situation like it before. He just couldn't understand why a man like Edger was allowed to go free.

"Paul?"

He was vaguely aware of DS McKee calling him from the desk opposite. He barely looked up at her. "What?"

"What the hell's wrong with you?" she asked him. "I called you twice there. You're in a world of your own."

Black looked up at her. "What is it?"

"I was going to ask if you gleaned anything from those eye witness reports you're supposed to be reading, but it's pretty obvious you have no interest in them, and I know why."

"I'm reading them."

"No, you're not. You're thinking about that man Edger. I know you, Paul. You were told to let that go."

"I can't."

"Well, you'd better try, because we have this robber to sort out, and a pile of other cases on top. Get your head in the fucking game."

Black frowned at McKee for a moment, considering telling her to fuck off. Her blatant ambition grated on his nerves sometimes. She didn't care if Edger was still running around out there. Her only concern was solving the next case and moving one step closer to her next promotion. He was about to remind her of her rank when a young guy he recognised as being from forensics walked into the incident room and stopped by Black's desk.

"This is more than my job's worth," the young forensics guy said and dropped a manila folder onto Black's desk. "We were told to forget about this case."

A sense of excitement ran through Black as he looked at the folder on the desk. "Thanks, Aaron," he said to the forensics guy. "I'll not forget this."

The forensics guy said nothing more and walked out of the incident room.

"What's that?" McKee asked, her tone already disapproving.

"The car used in Kaitlin McGuire's abduction was brought in this morning," Black said, picking up the folder and opening it. "It was found abandoned near the Springfield Road. I got my guy in forensics to run some tests."

"Jesus, Paul. You'll get him sacked as well as yourself."

"I need to know what's going on here," Black told her, scanning the forensics report inside the folder.

"It's your funeral."

Black ignored her as he read the report. As expected, hair fibres were pulled from the back seat of the car, probably belonging to Kaitlin McGuire. Various sets of fingerprints were also lifted from the car. All but one set belonged to the car owner and his family. Black read the name linked to the other set of prints. "Jesus Christ."

"What is it?" McKee asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. "Did you find something?"

"I found something alright." Black closed the folder and stood up.

"Where you going?"

"To have a word with Mr Edger," he said, walking out of the incident room.

Gemma McGuire was standing by the window in John Rankin's office, staring over at the city hall building while drinking yet another cup of coffee. Her head was pounding from all the vodka she had drank the night before, and her stomach was turning over with constant anxiety, making her feel sick. Rankin sat behind her at his desk, while Donna Lennon sat at her own desk in the corner of the office, doing whatever she was doing on her laptop.

"You alright, Gemma?" Rankin asked her.

Gemma forced a smile and nodded, but said nothing.

Rankin leaned back in his chair. "Harry will get her back. At least we have an idea where she's being held."

"Black Mountain is a big place. Kaitlin could be anywhere."

Rankin got up and stood beside her, put a hand on her shoulder. She couldn't help but flinch at his touch, although he didn't seem to mind. "Harry is one of the most capable men I've ever met. He'll find her."

"I hope you're right."

"Hey guys," Donna said, getting their attention. "I've been looking over different maps of the area that Kaitlin is in. I think I may have narrowed down a few places. Black Mountain is a big place, but it's mostly uninhabited. There are only so many dwellings inside the area we triangulated."

"That's good, Donna," Rankin said. "You need to get on the phone to Harry and let him know so he can check them out."

Donna went to lift her mobile phone off her desk, and then froze as her eyes went to the door. A second later, Gemma and Rankin looked to the door as well.

Standing there was a man with a gun in his hand. The man was just over six feet tall, wearing black army fatigues and a black jacket. His hair was dark and Gemma saw a deep scar running down one side of his face. The man stood in the doorway, saying nothing, but holding the gun out in front of him.

Rankin moved towards his desk but the man stopped him. "I wouldn't," the stranger said. "I'll put a hole in your head before you get anywhere near your desk drawer."

Raising his hands slightly, Rankin said, "Okay. Who are you?"

The man with the gun walked into the office and closed the door behind him. He was well built, and moved with confidence, exactly like someone else she knew. She frowned as she looked at his face, and then her jaw dropped open. Her coffee cup slipped from her hand and smashed to the floor.

"I'm the man who has that woman's daughter," the gunman said, waving the gun in Gemma's direction. "Did you get the present I sent you?"

Gemma's eyes were wide with shock. She wanted to call the man an evil bastard but she couldn't speak. The more she looked at his face, the more certain she became of who he really was.

"What are you doing here?" Rankin asked him.

The gunman looked around the room. "Where's Harry?"

"He's not here," Donna said.

The man with the gun frowned and took a device out of his pocket, held it up. "According to the tracker on the phone I gave him, he's here."

"That phone?" Donna said, pointing to the mobile phone that still sat on her desk.

The gunman's jaw clenched and he walked over to within two feet of Gemma, pointed the gun at her face. "Where did he go?"

Gemma stared at the man, at his dark eyes. The shape of his face.

Impossible. It can't be
.

The gunman stared back, then smiled. "You recognise me. Don't you?"

Gemma nodded slowly. "Yes."

He kept the gun pointed at her. "Who am I?"

"You're…" She could hardly say it. "You're Declan Edger. Harry's brother."

"What?" Rankin breathed beside her.

The gunman smiled.

Black lit a cigarette as he stood outside in the station car park, then he took out his mobile phone and dialled the number he had just gotten for Harry Edger.

Edger answered after the fifth ring. "Who is this?" he asked. It sounded to Black like Edger was driving and the signal wasn't great either.

"It's DI Black. I need to talk to you, Mr Edger."

Edger sighed down the phone. "We have nothing to talk about."

Black blew out a plume of smoke that the wind immediately carried away. "I think we do, Edger. It's about your brother."

Silence for a moment, then Edger said, "What about him?"

"Was your brother lifted for rioting when he was fourteen?"

"Yes. So?"

"And was he fingerprinted?"

"Yes. Where are you going with this Black? I don't have the time."

"Don't worry, Edger. You'll want to hear this." Black took another drag from his cigarette before tossing the butt. "The car that was used in your daughter's abduction was brought in this morning. I had forensics check it over."

"And what?"

"Forensics found a set of fingerprints. Belonging to your brother, Edger. Now how do you explain that when your brother is supposed to be dead?"

There was no response from Edger.

"Edger? Are you hearing me? Your brother is still alive, and he kidnapped your daughter."

The line went dead.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Black Mountain isn't exactly a mountain. It's more of a massive hill that overlooks most of West Belfast. Although the Black Mountain is mostly rocky scrub-land, it still has a network of roads running through it, many of which are hardly in use anymore, leading as they do to deserted farms and other dwellings long since abandoned. The mountain also contains a deeply excavated quarry and a police barracks that has been there for years, though Edger wasn't sure if it was still used these days as he spotted it from a distance while he drove. He was trying to stick to the twenty mile radius in which Donna had located the kidnapper's phone, but often he had to go outside that area just to get to a different part of it because of the way the roads were laid out. As he drove, he kept an eye out for any abandoned buildings or farms that might be a likely hideout for the kidnapper. It was unlikely the kidnapper had set up in a place that people were already living in, so Edger dismissed any houses or farms that were obviously occupied by people.

His search hadn't long started when he got the phone call from the cop, Detective Black. When Black had delivered his message, Edger had to pull over to the side of the road. He turned the engine off and sat there in shock for at least five minutes, trying to come to terms with what Black had told him.

Declan, Edger's brother, was alive, according to Black. Not only that, but Declan was also responsible for kidnapping Kaitlin.

Edger sat shaking his head, unable to comprehend this revelation. At first he thought Black was bullshitting him, trying to rattle somehow, for he knew Black felt aggrieved when he was released from police custody. But Edger knew enough about Black to know that he was a straight talker, like himself. He didn't seem the type to play games, especially about something like this. And he had been right about Declan getting arrested years ago for rioting, a stupid mistake at the time that he regretted immediately afterwards. Declan
had
been fingerprinted back then, so it was conceivable that the prints in the stolen car matched his.

But why? Where had Declan been all these years, and why did he feel the need to kidnap Kaitlin? To punish his younger brother?

You know why.

The voice came from nowhere and hit Edger like a hammer.

"No," he said, shaking his head.

Yes. Admit the truth.

His phone rang in his jacket pocket. Almost grateful for the distraction, he took the phone out of his pocket and saw that it was Gemma phoning off her mobile. "Hello?" he said in a quiet voice.

"Harry," Gemma said, sounding rattled herself, so much so she could hardly speak.

"Gemma, what is it?"

"He was here."

"Who?"

As if you need to ask.

"The man who took Kaitlin."

Jesus.

"Are you still with John at the office? Are you alright? What happened?"

"He came in here with a gun asking where you were." She sounded like she was doing her best to hold back tears.

Edger swallowed. "Did he hurt anyone?"

"No," she said. "But Harry, it's Declan. It's your brother. The one you told me was dead."

He closed his eyes for a second. It really was Declan then.

"Did you hear me, Harry? Your brother stole Kaitlin!"

"I know. That cop called me five minutes ago. They matched the prints found in the car he used when he took Kaitlin."

"How is this possible, Harry?" she demanded. "Tell me. Tell me what he wants. You must know."