Under The Woods: a heart-stopping police thriller (The Forensic Files Book 4)

by K. A. Richardson

  Sally heard the sliding doors close as she walked out of the office.

  Where was Cheryl?

  * * *

  11th December, 1405 hours – Jackson’s residence, Orchard Road, Darlington.

  The loud bang woke Jackson from his slumber in an instant. For a moment, he was confused about where he was, but then realised he’d fallen asleep on the couch again. When the second bang occurred from his front door, he jumped up and flung the door open, fully expecting to see some little scrote acting the fool.

  Instead, he came face-to-face with her. The woman who’d been the cause of his nightmares for the last couple of months.

  ‘What’re you doing here?’ Jackson knew he was snapping, but he couldn’t help himself. He’d had enough of her.

  ‘Don’t you talk to me like that. I came all the way here just to see you because I missed you. A little appreciation might be nice from my boyfriend.’

  ‘For the last time, I’m not your boyfriend. You’ve been told, and better told, to leave me the hell alone. I’ve just got in from work, I should be asleep. Instead, I’m stood here telling you to piss off for the umpteenth time.’

  Jackson watched tears fill her eyes, and he narrowed his eyes. Before her, he’d never had a clue how to handle a woman when she cried – still didn’t, to be fair. But from her, he knew they were just crocodile tears.

  ‘Look, Nicki, we had one night. I never said I was looking for anything more, and I’m just not available. The truth is, I’m with someone else.’ He knew he had to stretch the truth to make it believable, so he added, ‘In fact, that’s why I’m in bed right now. I was up all night at her house. I’m sorry, but there it is. Now please, go away and stop calling me. I don’t want to ruin things with… Teresa.’

  He almost shocked himself with that one – he did his best to look nonchalant as Nicki stared at him in horror.

  ‘And just who is this Teresa? Does she think she can just swoop in and take my man away? I’ll claw her eyes out, the stupid cow.’

  Jackson felt his frustration grow. ‘No, you won’t. You’ll piss off and leave me alone – you’re some kind of crazy psycho, Nicki. We never had anything. You don’t mean anything to me. Accept it before I end up having to get one of my mates round to issue you with a harassment notice. This has gone on long enough.’

  ‘Crazy? Psycho? Me?’ asked Nicki, incredulously. She leaned in towards his face, and Jackson stepped back, unsure of what she was doing. ‘Trust me, darling, you ain’t seen nothing yet.’ The last sentence was more of a purr than words, but it resulted in her turning and flouncing away from his front door.

  He closed it with a click, then leaned his shoulder against the frame with a sigh.

  She’s completely nuts. What the hell possessed you to spend the night with a crank like that?

  Berating himself didn’t change things, though.

  That’s what you get for acting a prick most of your life. His conscience taunted him silently – as if he didn’t already know he’d acted a prat for the last few years. For a long time, he’d never been able to commit to anything other than work, hadn’t wanted to until now. He sighed again and ran his hands through his sandy-coloured hair. There was always plenty of time for recriminations but they didn’t change the past. Nothing did.

  Too wired to sleep now, Jackson made his way into the back room and picked his guitar up. There was only one way he knew to calm himself properly.

  * * *

  11th December, 1445 hours – abandoned school near Durham

  Cheryl had fallen asleep again at some point, but now woke up freezing and shivering. She’d soiled herself and wriggled the uncomfortable wetness against the cold concrete beneath her.

  Opening her eyes, she registered that the room looked different somehow, and slowly, she realised that the sandwich wrapper and empty water bottle were gone. Her skin prickled, and she suddenly felt sick. Someone had been in the room while she slept. Why hadn’t she woken up?

  You still had drugs in your system, idiot.

  Groaning, Cheryl shook her head forcefully. ‘Go away,’ she hissed through gritted teeth.

  ‘Are you awake?’ boomed a man’s voice around the room. It was tinny, coming from the small speaker above the camera, but it made her scream. She scuttled backwards on her bum until her back was up against the wall.

  ‘Answer the question. There are consequences, if you disobey.’

  Cheryl shook her head. She couldn’t remember how she got here, or how long she’d been there. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d been warm.

  ‘Please…’ Her voice was almost a whisper. Cheryl was terrified.

  ‘You were warned about consequences. You will learn to do as I say when I say it. Or you will be punished.’

  A loud, high-pitched squealing noise belted out from the speaker on the wall. Cheryl cried out and put her hands over her ears, screaming along with it as it assaulted her ear drums and caused pain. It was so intense, even her eyes hurt, and she squeezed them shut tightly. Her body started to shake of its own accord, the pain rattling through her ears and brain. Just as she thought she couldn’t take anymore, it stopped.

  Her ears were ringing so much, she couldn’t hear anything over the echo of the noise that remained, and he had to boom his voice loudly twice to make her notice him.

  ‘I told you there were consequences. Do you understand now?’

  Cheryl nodded vigorously, glancing up at the camera in the corner. It seemed however, that this was not enough, as his response blared.

  ‘I said, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?’

  ‘Yes,’ she whimpered, nodding again.

  ‘Good. Get to your feet. You have a task to do in the next room.’

  ‘Please, let me go,’ said Cheryl, as she pulled herself up using the wall.

  ‘No. You will do the tasks I ask of you, and then, you might be able to leave. But only if you do as I say, when I say it.’

  Cheryl pulled herself along the wall. Her legs felt really heavy, and she stumbled as she reached the door. It opened on its own when she reached it.

  She stepped through into the next room, then paused, her eyes adjusting to the red glow inside. The door slammed behind her, and she jumped.

  Cheryl glanced around the room. There was a desk in the middle of the room with something on it. She couldn’t quite see what it was, but she didn’t want to move closer for fear he would set the squealing noise off again. The room had no windows, there was the door she had stepped through, and another on the opposite wall. The room was hot, which was nice for Cheryl as she’d been freezing in the last one.

  You’re going to die, you’re going to die.

  ‘Leave me alone,’ she hissed through gritted teeth, trying desperately to calm the voice in her head that was constantly taunting her.

  You know he’s going to kill you. You’re pathetic. And thick – you’re never going to get through the tasks. Not without my help.

  ‘Help me then… help me… please.’ Cheryl’s voice dropped to a frantic whisper, her fear taking over completely. She felt warm urine trickle down her leg again.

  ‘Did you just piss yourself? You dirty cow.’ His voice boomed around the room, even louder than it had been in the one before. He could see her – that much was obvious.

  You’re pathetic. Let me take over.

  Cheryl shook her head again. ‘No, no, no.’

  ‘LIAR!’ yelled the man’s voice, so loud it made Cheryl jump again.

  She felt what little colour she had drain from her face and dropped to the floor in a dead faint.

  * * *

  11th December, 1455 hours – abandoned school near Durham

  He was disgusted and starting to doubt himself. Usually, he picked people with much more fight than this one seemed to have. The only entertainment she was giving him was when she talked to herself.

  Maybe she’s crazy. There was no maybe about it. He’d seen enough nutters in his lifetime to know when he wa
s dealing with one.

  He would have to take it easy on her, otherwise she’d have a heart attack and leave him in the position where he’d have to grab someone else.

  The first task was easy – well, he thought it was, anyway.

  All she had to do was fit the body parts in the right place in the cadaver that was splayed out on the table in the middle of the room she was in. That was it.

  She’d passed out before she’d even lifted the blanket covering the body.

  He hadn’t killed that one. Sometimes, he’d find his way into mortuaries and steal one – it had been a while since he’d last had anyone do this task, so hadn’t had the need. He’d travelled down to Bradford to steal this one, knowing better than to steal locally and risk being apprehended. He knew he had to take precautions otherwise he’d be caught. And he had no intention of being caught.

  He wouldn’t see his treasures, if they locked him up. He felt frissons of excitement travel down his spine at the thought of them. His special treasures hiding in the woods just waiting for him to visit. It made him happy to keep the clearing tidy, to make sure they had every opportunity to be grateful to him for their lovely, peaceful resting place.

  He glanced down at the table in front of him.

  Several pieces of paper were strewn over it, some with his attempts at forging the signature of that woman at the farm. Some were typed letters – he’d written several mock-ups to cancel the planning application for the plot of land where his treasures were hidden.

  He couldn’t allow that woman to destroy the land. If he cancelled the planning application, then the council would revoke the permission to build. And his treasures would be able to stay hidden away where they should be.

  4

  11th December, 1640 hours – Rainbow Riding Stables

  TJ pulled the bobble out of her hair and reapplied it, pulling her hair tight. She’d had a busy afternoon, putting the house right and then overlooking two tutorial riding classes. The last of the clients for the day had left at 4pm, and now, it was time to clear the stalls and get the horses in from the field. Paul had finished his working day and left at three, and Barry was milling about somewhere, she had no doubt. She wasn’t the kind of boss that constantly watched the staff – as long as they did the tasks they were allocated, then they were free to leave when they were done.

  She had a funny feeling in her tummy today – Domino had been pacing in her stall and seemed restless. The other horses were all on edge, too, all aware of Domino’s impending birth, no doubt. Domino hadn’t shown any other signs as yet, but TJ was pretty sure it would happen during the night. She was probably more nervous than Domino, to be fair. She knew the process well enough, had assisted Stella with a couple of births previously, but she was worried. She was going to be the only one at the stables tonight, unless she needed to ring a vet. Domino had previously birthed two foals without any problems, but TJ was still worried that something would go wrong.

  To help alleviate the worry, she cracked on with the work that needed doing. It took a good couple of hours to clear the stalls down and lay fresh hay for the horses. Next on her list was feeding – she needed fourteen buckets of the feed made up – and she realised when she entered the feed room that Paul was right. They were running low.

  She frowned at the plastic dustbins that held the food to prevent the mice eating it all – there should have been well over half left. Where had the rest gone? Was Paul over-feeding them?

  TJ didn’t think that was the case, though – she’d seen him weighing out the feed previously and never noticed the feed being lower than normal. Must be you, then. You obviously ordered the wrong amount. Nodding to herself, she accepted the explanation – it had been a stressful few days. She probably had ordered on auto-pilot and not realised. She made a mental note to check the order sheet later, then filled the buckets and added some molasses and water to the mix, making it slightly soggy and much heavier to carry.

  The horses outside knew it was dinner time, and the more enthusiastic of them started kicking the stall doors impatiently.

  Slowly but surely, she managed to get the buckets into the stalls, pausing outside Domino’s stall last. TJ slipped the bolt along and opened the door, stepping inside with the bucket.

  Domino looked just as she had earlier. Her black mane shone in the light from the stall lamp, and she tossed her head at TJ, nickering for the food she knew was coming. It was a good sign that Domino was still wanting to eat. Maybe TJ was wrong about the labour starting tonight – the horse definitely seemed much more settled than she had earlier in the day.

  She placed the bucket on the floor, and Domino advanced quickly, her flank almost knocking TJ off her feet as she leant forward and began munching. TJ smiled and ran a hand over the horse’s belly. She could feel that the foal’s position had shifted – without putting an arm inside, she couldn’t be a hundred percent certain it was the right position, but it looked and felt right. Everything seemed to be in order.

  She closed the stall door and made her way to the tack room. Now came the other hard work she had to do – buffing and polishing wasn’t an easy job, but it kept the leather saddles and harnesses in good enough condition so that they would last years without needing to be replaced.

  The stables had enough saddles for all the horses, but only a certain number were used at any one time, so TJ focussed on the general use saddles and harnesses. Despite having less to do, though, it still took her a couple of hours. When she finally checked her watch, it was almost 8.15 pm, and her stomach was grumbling.

  When she’d taken over the stables, she’d had motion sensitive lights fitted on the path that led back up towards the house – she’d hated the dark since being attacked that night and always needed to have everything illuminated.

  The night-time sounds had initially taken some getting used to – hedgehogs rustling in the undergrowth, bats squeaking and owls hooting. Now, though, it was strange if she didn’t hear those sounds. It was exceptionally dark tonight – the stars and moon were hidden behind a bank of cloud. It was cold, though – she knew the sky would likely clear later. If it wasn’t for the artificial lights, she wouldn’t have been able to see a thing on the path. The exterior light on the back of the house came on as she opened the back gate, another security feature she’d installed for her own peace of mind.

  She entered the kitchen and flicked the kettle on, more out of habit than a want for a cuppa, though it was freezing, and she was more than ready for one. TJ turned the dial on the heating and sat down at the kitchen table while the kettle boiled. She pulled her phone from her pocket and realised she had three missed calls off Jacob. Smiling, she hit the button for the voicemail and held the phone to her ear.

  ‘What’s this about Jackson telling Ben you were broken into? And you didn’t see fit to ring and let me know? Me, Ben and Grace will be at yours at about 8.30 pm – we’ll bring Chinese. Can’t believe you didn’t tell me, sis.’

  ‘Crap,’ muttered TJ, glancing down at the jumper she wore which now had mucky marks down the front. She was sure her sandy hair would look like she’d been dragged backwards through a bush, and she no doubt smelled like a horse’s backside.

  Ignoring the click as the kettle turned itself off, she pretty much ran from the kitchen past the living room door and managed to get up two stairs before she heard Grace’s high-pitched voice outside the front door. She didn’t wait for the knock – usually, she had the door unlocked if they were coming round, but today, it was locked with her being out of the house. She turned the key and flung the door open.

  ‘Aunty TJ! You made me jump,’ scolded Grace before flinging her arms round TJ’s waist and hugging tightly. At six years old, Grace was short for her age and had a petite build. Her brown curly hair and dark brown eyes, though, made her look wise beyond her years. Suddenly, her nose wrinkled, and she stepped back from TJ. ‘Pooh, you stink, Aunty TJ. You smell like what comes out of the horses’ bottoms.’

&nb
sp; Slightly embarrassed, TJ stepped back, allowing them access. ‘Let me nip up and get washed and changed. I’ll be down in five minutes, okay?’

  Jacob grinned, dimples highlighting his cheeks. Sometimes, she forgot how handsome her brother was, but here in the dull hall light, she couldn’t miss it. Ben was a lucky lady. She flashed him a smile and ran up the stairs two at a time.

  * * *

  11th December, 2035 hours – abandoned school near Durham

  He’d missed his latest Angel waking up through the day – he had other commitments, too, and couldn’t be at the school constantly. He scanned the CCTV in quick succession, checking whether he had missed anything pertinent. The woman had lifted the blanket on the table finally, peering underneath and studying the cadaver which he had no doubt was starting to smell.

  The body was an old wrinkled man. It had been in the building now for four days. He’d opened up the autopsy stitches and removed the bag holding the organs from the cavity, placing them on the table around the carcass. He didn’t include any drawings or sketches telling the woman where to put them back. This was an easy task – he couldn’t be giving all the answers away.

  So far, looking at it, she hadn’t touched the organs at all. She’d gone so green, it was visible on the camera, then huddled up in a ball beside the far wall. He knew he would have to get her attention and make her pay again for disregarding his instructions.

  Pressing the red button that sent the high-pitched alarm sounding through the section of the building he was in, he smiled as she screamed and covered her ears.

  He knew how it felt – he’d had to test it himself when he’d installed it all those years ago. It had rattled his ear drums and pushed his brain over the limits it could cope with. He dulled it now with ear defenders, but he knew even when he turned it off, she would still hear the ringing for ages. Eventually, he relented and spoke into the microphone.