A Gift for Dying

by M. J. Arlidge

  ‘Ok,’ Adam replied, sounding a little less than convinced. ‘But stay close.’

  They pressed on, pushing deeper into the site. The buildings were closer together here and they were forced down a narrow alleyway. Kassie kept tight to Adam, her eyes roving the darkness. Surely they would be at the water’s edge soon and then –

  Suddenly someone lunged at her. A dark shadow coming straight for her. With a half-scream, she stumbled back into Adam’s arms, a hand up to protect herself … but it was just a startled pigeon, flapping its shabby wings as it fled up and away into the night, fodder perhaps for the circling eagles.

  ‘Sorry,’ Kassie whispered, as she righted herself.

  Why she was whispering she couldn’t say. But she had a knot of tension in her stomach and something was telling her to be watchful. Stealing her way to the end of the alleyway, she peered around the corner and finally she saw the lake. It looked like a large, black spot on the landscape, framed by the towering freeway, a dystopian image of decline and decay. It sent a chill down her spine, but screwing up her courage she emerged from the alleyway and took a couple of faltering steps forward.

  Even as she did so, she felt a firm hand restraining her. Adam pulled her back into the shadows and directed her attention to a small building that stood a little further along on the edge of the lake. It was a shack of some kind, old and weatherbeaten, and wouldn’t have looked any different to the other abandoned structures on site, except for the fact that a dancing light emanated from within. More intriguing still was the SUV that was parked in the shadows beside the shack.

  ‘Do you think that’s Madelaine’s?’ Kassie gasped, pointing at the vehicle.

  Adam shrugged, but Kassie thought she knew the answer. She turned back to the shack, which stood in glorious isolation by the lake, utterly alone save for the dozens of birds nesting on the surrounding wetlands. This was it then. They had found Madelaine. And if they wanted to save her, it was now or never.

  105

  She had reached the end. She had fought him, fought with every fibre of her being, but she had reached the limits of her resistance. The torture had been unremitting, his cruelty endless. Her tongue had been cut out, her fingers and toes amputated. With each abomination, she had passed out, the pain assailing her, but each time he had revived her – throwing water in her face, slapping her, whatever was necessary to keep her conscious.

  On a couple of occasions, she had thought her heart would burst. At those times, she’d prayed for a cardiac arrest, for some relief from this purgatory. But her attacker was well practised, bringing her back from the brink repeatedly. Now, however, the end was near and as if sensing this, her captor spoke to her again.

  ‘Look, Madelaine, look what you’ve become …’

  Obediently, Madelaine raised her head – to find that he was holding a small mirror up for her. The sight made her retch – she was a battered, bloody mess, an abomination.

  ‘Pretty, aren’t you?’

  She retched again, bringing up pure bile.

  ‘There is just one thing missing. You like necklaces, don’t you?’

  Madelaine wasn’t sure she’d heard him properly, but half nodded her head.

  ‘Good,’ he cooed, reaching for his cleaver and placing the blade on her throat. ‘Because it’s time for the final cut.’

  106

  The trunk of the Escalade lay open, like the gaping mouth of a predator expecting prey. Kassie crept past it – she didn’t want to look at it – her eyes trained on the shack instead. The door was ajar and as they moved closer to it, they could hear voices. A man’s voice, low and sinister, and a woman’s voice – weak, fractured, plaintive.

  Alarmed, Kassie stepped forward, reaching out a hand towards the door, but Adam pulled her back.

  ‘Me first,’ he whispered.

  He held the flashlight tight in his hand, then teased the door open. Kassie was on his shoulder and what she now saw took her breath away. The interior was dimly illuminated by a paraffin lamp, but its flickering light was enough to reveal a man in a blue boiler suit standing over Madelaine Baines – or what remained of her. Her hands and feet were bloody stumps, she was caked in gore and the blade of a cleaver was pressed to her throat.

  The masked man appeared to be taunting her, revelling in her fear. He was poised to slit her throat, but when his victim saw movement by the door, she groaned long and loud. Immediately, the man turned, cursing in surprise.

  Kassie was frozen to the spot, but Adam sprinted forward, even as the masked man prepared to defend himself, sweeping the cleaver away from Madelaine towards the intruder. But Adam didn’t hesitate, swinging his flashlight violently, batting the cleaver from his hand. Realizing the danger he was in, Madelaine’s captor responded immediately, throwing his head forward, attempting to butt his attacker. But Adam dodged him, driving his knee into the man’s groin. Groaning, the man staggered back, knocking his devastated victim over, allowing Adam to pounce.

  He landed a heavy punch and the masked man stumbled. Adam moved in for the kill, grasping the man’s head and attempting to pull him around. But suddenly it was Adam who was falling backwards, the ski mask having come clean off in his hand. Kassie glimpsed the man’s face – white, pasty, goateed – but suddenly he spun round, landing a fierce blow on Adam’s chin. The latter had not been expecting it and collapsed backwards, landing with a heavy thud on the floor. And now Madelaine’s captor leaped upon him, knocking his flailing arms aside, clamping his hands around his throat.

  Adam was squirming on the floor, his legs kicking violently, as he tried to break his attacker’s grip. And now Kassie came alive, sensing the danger and rushing forward. Adam’s attacker clearly hadn’t registered her presence, for he made no attempt to defend himself. Kassie took full advantage of this, wrapping her arm around his sturdy neck and tugging backwards with all her might.

  The man groaned – in surprise and pain – and briefly released his grip. Kassie tugged harder, but now he launched himself backwards at her, ripping her arm from his neck and ramming an elbow into the side of her head. Suddenly she was sliding sideways, the room spinning and moments later she felt her cheek collide harshly with the rough floor.

  She lay there, groaning, unable to move. She felt dizzy, the room seeming to spin around her. Still, she knew she had to get up, so falteringly she stumbled up on to her knees. She wanted to help, to save Adam and Madelaine from this pitiless killer, but even as she looked she realized it was hopeless. The man had resumed his attack on Adam, his hands locked around his victim’s neck, squeezing, squeezing, squeezing …

  She had to intervene. She crawled towards them, but lost her balance, stumbling sideways. She had only seconds now – Adam’s eyes were bulging, his face purple – yet still she couldn’t will her body forward. Cursing, she began to cry. Was this really how it was going to end?

  But now, to her surprise, the man was scrambling to his feet. Adam was still conscious – just – retching and coughing on the floor, so why had his attacker risen? And now Kassie became aware of the awful, insidious smell that was beginning to fill the room. Darting a look over to her right, she saw what had happened. The paraffin lamp had been knocked over in the melee, spilling its deadly fuel on to the small table, which had in turn ignited the fabric of the building. One wall was already on fire and in seconds the whole building would be ablaze.

  Stunned, Kassie watched as the man snatched up his cleaver and fled, abandoning his victim and his attackers without a second glance. Moments later, she heard the SUV start up and roar away. The sound seemed to bring her to her senses and without thinking she scuttled over to Adam.

  ‘Are you ok?’ she cried, clawing at him.

  ‘I’m fine,’ he croaked, struggling to right himself.

  Turning away, Kassie spotted Madelaine, lying prone on the floor, even as the flames threatened to encircle her. She raced over to her and, slipping her arms under Madelaine’s, tried to right her. Kassie could feel the
heat of the blaze, could hear the wood crackling overhead, but try as she might, she couldn’t get any purchase. So instead, she turned her attention to Madelaine’s bonds, yanking at the ropes that secured her to the chair.

  But even as she did so, an awful keening sound made her look up – just in time to see a flaming timber crash to the ground right next to her, rebounding off the plastic sheet and sending sparks flying up into the air. Kassie darted a look at the blazing roof, which was creaking ominously, and redoubled her efforts.

  She tugged and tugged, digging her fingers between the ropes and trying to loosen the knots, but it was no use. Acrid fumes now filled the shack, as the plastic sheeting they were standing on began to melt. The smoke was stinging her eyes, filling her lungs, but she knew she couldn’t stop. She had to get Madelaine out.

  The sweat was running down the side of her face, it was getting increasingly hard to breathe, but now she grabbed hold of Madelaine’s mutilated hands and started to pull. If all else failed, she could drag her from the shack. One of her nails cracked, then another, but she ignored them. She moved Madelaine a few inches, then a few more.

  Another timber crashed to the ground, clipping Kassie on the shoulder, knocking her off balance. For a moment, she lost her bearings, the smoke swirling all around her, but then she glimpsed Madelaine’s prone form again and started to tug once more. She managed to shift her a couple of inches, but then her progress was suddenly halted. Had the chair caught on something?

  ‘Madelaine?’

  Her cry was cracked and reedy. And there was no response. Kassie yanked again but even as she did so, two more timbers fell, showering her with sparks. She heaved again, but now she felt someone grab her from behind. She spun around and through the gloom was surprised to make out Adam’s face. He was trying to say something, she could see his mouth moving, but what he was saying was lost as another roof timber crashed to the floor beside them.

  Still he pulled at her. Kassie tried to fend him off, but his grip was vice-like. Now he was dragging her towards the door. Furious, she turned, trying to grab hold of Madelaine once more. But she had lost her now in the smoke.

  ‘—ssie, we’ve got to get out of here.’

  Now Adam’s voice cut through and seconds later she felt a rush of cold air, as he pushed her from the blazing shed. For a moment, she struggled in his arms, but she knew it was hopeless. The whole structure was ablaze and anyone inside would be lost for sure.

  ‘There’s nothing more we can do, Kassie,’ Adam gasped, holding her to him.

  She continued to struggle, but it was half-hearted now, her body buckling as the tears came. Moments later, the entire roof collapsed in on itself.

  ‘We were too late …’

  Now she went limp in his arms, despair and exhaustion mastering her. Adam made no move to release her, hanging on to her. They had tried their best, but they had failed. There was no longer anything they could do, so the pair stood there, swaying, their eyes glued to the burning shack, as huge flames leaped from it, framed by the inky black waters of the lake.

  107

  ‘Tell me again what he looked like.’

  Kassie looked up, disbelieving. She was exhausted, reeked of smoke, and had only just been cleared by the paramedics, but still Gabrielle Grey seemed determined to torment her.

  ‘What more do you want me to say?’ Kassie croaked.

  ‘The “man” you’ve described could be anyone. Did he have any distinguishing features at all?’

  ‘It was dark, the place was full of smoke. I only glimpsed him –’

  ‘So, “white, middle-aged, goatee”. That could describe half the men in Chicago.’

  Kassie glared at her, her deep dislike for this cynical cop growing. They had hurried away from the blazing shack, immediately calling 911. To their dismay, Gabrielle Grey had arrived five minutes after the uniformed officers, waiting patiently for the paramedics to give Adam and her the all-clear, before separating them and spiriting them away to CPD headquarters for questioning. Kassie just wanted to be left alone, to lie down and cry herself to sleep, but she knew she had no power here.

  ‘His beard was greying,’ she continued unenthusiastically. ‘And he was a little overweight. I grabbed his fat neck when I was trying to pull him off Adam –’

  ‘We didn’t find any skin under your fingernails when we swabbed you.’

  ‘It must have come off when I was trying to free Madelaine. I lost two nails ripping at those ropes …’

  Kassie’s voice caught, tears pricking her eyes. The thought of Madelaine’s fate was too awful to contemplate.

  ‘Eye colour?’ Grey continued, remorselessly.

  Kassie shook her head.

  ‘Any tattoos?’

  ‘Not on his face or neck. I couldn’t see the rest of him.’

  ‘Scars? Birthmarks?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘But you’d recognize him if you saw him again?’

  ‘Yes. Yes, I would.’

  ‘Well, thank heaven for small mercies …’

  This final comment was aimed at her colleague, but Grey’s attempt at gallows humour fell oddly flat. The experienced detective seemed to have changed since Kassie last saw her – she looked washed out, beleaguered even.

  ‘And you say this guy drove off?’ her colleague pitched in mechanically. ‘While you were still inside.’

  ‘Yes, in a black Escalade. You must have seen the tyre tracks.’

  ‘We saw some tyre tracks,’ he responded coolly.

  ‘Jesus Christ!’ Kassie exploded, her voice cracking with emotion. ‘Why won’t you believe what I’m telling you? Dr Brandt will confirm everything I say.’

  A look passed between the two police officers. Kassie wasn’t sure what it meant. Adam had backed her up, hadn’t he?

  ‘There was a man there. You should be circulating an image of him, getting his face on the news.’

  ‘Is that right?’

  ‘He’s probably injured, bruised. Someone will notice something, someone will know who he is.’

  ‘Tell me again about your connection to Madelaine Baines,’ Gabrielle interjected, dismissing Kassie’s suggestion.

  ‘I’ve told you, I’ve never met her. I saw her at the vigil, but that was it.’

  ‘And you were at Lake Calumet because …?’

  ‘I’ve explained why we went to the lake –’

  ‘Sure,’ Grey interrupted. ‘But here’s the thing. I don’t believe in fortune tellers or mediums … or Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy. I believe in evidence, facts, concrete connections, so I’m curious as to why you and Dr Brandt keep turning up in this case. So far you are the only thing that links all three victims. You accosted Jacob Jones, you broke into Rochelle Stevens’ house. A teenage girl matching your description was seen hammering on the Baineses’ front door earlier today.’

  ‘This is nuts.’

  ‘Is it?’

  Gabrielle’s tone was hard, her gaze unflinching. But Kassie wasn’t finished yet.

  ‘If I was involved, why would I set fire to the shack? Risk my own life? Why would I call 911?’

  ‘Maybe there was an accident. Maybe the fire got out of control. Maybe you’re telling me a pack of lies.’

  Kassie shook her head, lost for words.

  ‘You’ve admitted you knew Rochelle from your NA meet. And Jacob Jones was responsible for a prior conviction of yours. What I’d like to know is how you knew Madelaine Baines.’

  ‘I don’t.’

  But the look on their faces suggested they knew otherwise.

  ‘I swear I don’t,’ she repeated, less firmly.

  ‘We’ve had a look at Mrs Baines’s schedule over the last few months,’ Gabrielle continued. ‘Turns out she helps out with a charity that runs reading schemes in failing schools, trying to get rough, tough kids to read “proper” literature. You were one of the kids registered to the scheme –’

  ‘What …?’

  ‘But your membership was suspe
nded because of disruptive behaviour –’

  ‘I never met her,’ Kassie insisted.

  ‘Kassie –’

  ‘Lots of people came into our school and, besides, I was hardly ever there.’

  ‘Madelaine Baines was in and out of your school for months. You seriously telling me you never met her? That she didn’t have some hand in your exclusion from the programme?’

  ‘If she did, I don’t remember.’

  ‘Not good enough, Kassie. Three authority figures have been brutally murdered, three authority figures who you came into contact with.’

  ‘No …’

  But Kassie’s protestations were weak now and Gabrielle went in for the kill.

  ‘You are the link, Kassie. You and you alone.’

  108

  He stared at himself, angry and unhappy.

  Having fled the lake, he’d driven hard and fast through the night, eventually abandoning the Baineses’ SUV in a desolate parking lot in South Shore. This had been the planned dumpsite all along, but still he felt unsettled and agitated as he disposed of the vehicle. As he wiped down the interior, the smell of the disinfectant making him nauseous, he kept firing anxious looks across the empty lot. He knew that the gangs were active at night and the last thing he needed was to be jumped while carrying out his clean-up operation.

  He’d had enough surprises for one night.

  He’d been so caught up in Baines’s death throes, that he hadn’t heard her would-be rescuers’ approach. He had been stunned at first, unable to process what was happening. Then, as he’d fought back, eventually regaining the initiative, he’d been shocked to realize that he recognized one of them. It was the same girl who’d disturbed him at the Baines residence.

  Who the hell was she? And how had she found her way to Lake Calumet?

  These questions haunted him as he’d scurried through South Shore, sticking to the shadows, keeping an eagle eye out for the night bus. Had she tailed him? No, he would have seen her. Did she have some kind of tracking device on Baines’s vehicle? No, that was absurd. Just as pressing was the question of how she knew. How did she know that Madelaine Baines was in danger, when he alone had decided her fate? It was impossible and yet somehow she was on to him, somehow she knew what he was planning.