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

by K. A. Richardson

  You’re pathetic. I told you to let me take over. I’m far stronger than you’ll ever be. If you’re going to get through this, you need me.

  ‘No, I don’t need you. Just leave me alone. I am strong.’

  Yeah, right. Strong enough to cry like a baby and pray that all of this will go away. Strong enough to long for that stupid den in the middle of the bushes. Get over yourself and let me have control. I’ll get us out of this.

  ‘I said no. Just go away. You’re making my head hurt. Leave me alone.’

  Aaaaaarrrrrrrgggggghhhhhh – the voice in her head screamed loudly and kept going.

  Cheryl shook her head vigorously. But it didn’t stop the screaming.

  ‘Just leave me alone. I’m stronger than you. I can do this. I don’t need you.’

  Don’t need me? Don’t make me laugh. You couldn’t wait to let me in when he was touching you, could you? I’m okay to take over when it suits you. Good luck dealing when this one takes you into a room on his own – what will you do then? See how far praying gets you, then, shall we?

  Then, the screaming began again, and this time, it didn’t stop. It was like a siren with no end. Cheryl tried everything, shaking her head, crying, begging. But still it continued.

  Eventually, she did the only thing that ever made it stop completely – she stood and ran headfirst into the wall opposite with as much force as she could muster in the small space. Her head connected with brick, and she fell to the ground in a crumpled heap. Her eyes fluttered closed, and the blood trickled past her closed eyes and dripped off the end of her nose.

  Now, she would have some peace. At least for a while.

  * * *

  12th December, 0600 hours – Rainbow Riding Stables

  Soft nickering came from the stall, and it woke TJ from her slumber. Despite only sleeping for a couple of hours, she found herself waking and feeling like she’d slept for longer. She could feel the cold air on her nose, and momentarily, she considered staying put. It was cosy and warm in the sleeping bag, and the hay she was lying on made a nice mattress.

  She stepped out of the sleeping bag and shivered as the blast of cold hit her full on. Ignoring the noise her teeth made as they chattered, she stepped over to the stall and glanced over. The foal was standing staring at her suspiciously, and in the dull light of the barn, she could finally see its colour clearly. The filly was a bay – beautiful chocolatey brown with a white flash on her nose, and three white socks going up from her hooves. Strangely, she also had a white flash on her flanks – it was a zig zag shape, almost resembling a lightning bolt. TJ grinned to herself: normally, it was a hard job naming a horse, but Lightning suited this one perfectly.

  Domino had passed the afterbirth with seemingly no issues, and the foal was content and happy. TJ unbolted the door to enter, wanting to double-check Domino was OK. The foal whinnied loudly and spun round, running to her mother’s side. She peeped out around Domino’s neck balefully, silently asking who this weird creature on two legs was entering her home.

  TJ quickly checked Domino over, giving Lightning a gentle pet to help her understand that she was friendly. She cleaned the hay out and laid some fresh down, then bolted the stall door behind her. Feeding time wasn’t for another hour or two, so she had plenty of time now to nip back to the farmhouse and grab a coffee and shower.

  She knew her hair would be stuck at all angles and sleeping on hay usually meant lots of stragglers floating around, too.

  The yard was quiet but for the occasional tweet from the early rising birds. Dawn was a way off yet, and the night sky was bright and clear. Frost sparkled on the edges of the stables and the stall doors. TJ inhaled deeply – the smell of the frost mingled with the familiar horse smell and she felt reassured. This was her home.

  Wandering up the yard towards the path, something caught her eye. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it but something felt… wrong. Her body gave her fair warning as the hairs rose to attention, and her skin prickled. Uneasily, she glanced around – everything seemed in the right place, but the feeling of dread deepened.

  One of the motion sensitive lights burst into life, and TJ noticed the graffiti on the tack room door.

  Her body went stone cold, as if something had sucked all the heat out, and she stood still for a second, reading the words.

  ‘Die, bitch, Die.’

  The paint had dripped down giving the words an even more eerie effect.

  Her heart thudded so hard, she thought it might actually leap from her chest. She knew she had to check the tack room. But it was too early for Paul and Barry to be at work – what if someone was inside?

  TJ took a deep breath, steeling herself to open the door. She’d done it a hundred times – the door was just a door.

  The handle felt heavy in her hand as she tugged it down, and the door opened silently. The tack room was pitch black, and she reached in and flicked the light switch on.

  She couldn’t stop the gasp as she took in more spray-painted abuse. ‘One, two, I’m coming for you.’ The words mocked her – and were familiar – something from years gone by that had stuck in her mind.

  Suddenly, sharp pain burst to life in her temples. She clenched her jaw hard, her body’s natural response trying to stem the impending migraine by causing more pain. Pain radiated from her head down to her jaw until it was so bad she couldn’t see straight.

  She stumbled into the tack room, her hip connecting with one of the saddle racks mounted on the wall. It knocked her sideways, and she lost her balance. Her leg gave way, and her knee connected with the concrete hard, but that pain was nothing compared to her head. TJ cried out, her hands pushing hard into her temples. Black spots appeared in her eyes, and the tears fell without warning. When the wave of nausea hit, she doubled over and heaved, emptying her stomach.

  TJ tried to control her breathing, attempting to focus on the ribbons mounted on the cork board at the back of the tack room. It failed, though, and she slumped forwards, her consciousness threatening to leave. Her cheek slid across the concrete, but she didn’t feel the sharp sting of the scrapes – her eyes fluttered closed, and she passed out.

  * * *

  12th December, 0730 hours – Sunderland City Police Station

  Jackson parked his car up alongside Kevin’s in the secure car park of the police station. He was really tired – Kevin had ended up crashing on the couch after they’d talked until the early hours, putting the world to rights after finishing the beers way before midnight and moving onto coffee. The caffeine had been a mistake, and Jackson had been antsy and unable to sleep.

  He rubbed a tired hand over the stubble on his chin – designer stubble, his mum always called it, but he knew it was more of an ‘I’m a lazy get and I can’t be arsed’ type of growth. It wasn’t anywhere near Grizzly Adams’ length, but it definitely needed taming back.

  Resolving to do it later, he pushed the door open and got out of his car.

  He and Kev both wandered up the stairs to the CSI office in comfortable silence and worked together to get the morning coffee on the go. The Tassimo in the corner of the kitchen hummed quietly as Kevin shoved a mug under and placed a pod in the holder. This was a cappuccino kind of day. Jackson grabbed the bread from the side and placed some in the toaster. Jackson knew Johnny would be walking through the door a second before the hands clicked onto the hour – he was never early. Not anymore. There had been a time when Johnny was the first one in and last to leave, but looking after his mother, who had Parkinson’s, took its toll. The whole team knew it was just a matter of time – so they did all they could to take the load off as much as they could.

  Kevin, with a hint of a grin, handed him his cappuccino and took the toast offered by Jackson before heading into the supervisor’s office. It was only now that Jackson clicked that Kevin was signing on in Sunderland rather than Darlington, which was where he had been based for the last couple of months.

  Jackson poked his head round the office door. ‘Are
you supposed to be signing on here or in Darlo?’

  Confusion fleetingly passed over Kev’s face, then realisation dawned.

  ‘Aw shit. I totally forgot I’m at Darlo with being off. I’ll ring through and drive down in a bit. Can’t believe I did that. Your fault, that, you know?’

  ‘How’d you figure that? Do I look like your bloody keeper? You turned up with beer, which, might I add, you drank most of; then nicked the one I had in the fridge. Not my fault you forgot where you’re actually based.’

  Kevin grinned at the banter. ‘No, you’re right – I’m the dickhead. It’s Faith on today with Helen too – I’d best be there to referee. Never understand why those two can’t just get along.’

  ‘Sure you do – Faith’s a lazy cow and feels threatened by Helen. Helen comes in, grabs all the jobs and pisses off out to do them. Faith fannies about doing all the crap that doesn’t actually need doing, then wonders why she’s getting bollocked for not getting the same number of idents as everyone else.’

  ‘I know. I’ll ring the office and allocate the jobs evenly. Faith does do what she’s asked – she’s just lazy about picking the jobs up herself. She was angling last week for me to see if anyone would job-share with her. You’re not fancying part time, are you?’ Kev’s tone was light, and Jackson picked up on it straight away. He knew his cousin was joking.

  ‘Aw, yea, put me down for it. I’ll stay at home all week and wash my hair or whatever. I know you’ll cover my bills – you’re good for that, right?’

  ‘Piss off,’ replied Kevin as he picked up the phone to ring the Darlington office.

  * * *

  12th December, 0740 hours – abandoned school near Durham

  Cheryl woke with a pounding headache. It took her a minute to remember she’d run into the wall to quiet the voice – no wonder her head hurt.

  She gingerly put her hand to her face, feeling streaks of dried blood across her cheeks and nose. She pulled herself to her feet, ignoring the waves of dizziness at the movement. Every bone in her body ached – not just from being cramped in the small room but also from the cold. She’d gone past the point of shivering now – it was more like a constant state. She felt it even more in here than in her den in the park. Cheryl wondered whether Sally had gone looking for her. She must have, surely?

  There’s no sign you left. You didn’t even struggle, you silly cow.

  ‘I did struggle. I tried not to let him take me.’

  Yeah, without any effort at all. Sally won’t even have missed you. She’s not there for you like I am.

  ‘She is too. Sally was there when I had a breakdown. She’s my friend.’

  Friend? Yeah, right.

  Ignoring the voice, she grabbed the door handle and rattled it loudly.

  ‘Let me out! I want to go home. Please… let me out?’ her voice dulled to a whisper, and she hiccupped a sob as despair took over. How long had she even been here? Would he ever let her out? And who was he, anyway?

  ‘STOP RATTLING THE DOOR!’

  His voice boomed round the small room, and Cheryl jumped, startled.

  Ignoring him, she grabbed the handle and rattled it again – claustrophobia was making the room close in on her and she was starting to panic.

  The high-pitched alarm sounded again – she’d upset him by not doing what he said. The pain in her ears was sharp, and when the left side suddenly went bang, the pain intensified even more. Cheryl collapsed to the ground, crying hysterical sobs as liquid dripped from her sore ear. The pain was so great that she barely even noticed when the alarm stopped.

  ‘You know the rules. Don’t break them again. Now, get up and go to the door. It’s time for your next task. This could well be the one that gets you out of here.’

  Cheryl brushed her arm across her face, smearing the tears and snot that had dripped from her nose. She could barely concentrate on his voice through the pain, but she knew it would be much worse if she didn’t comply. She was shaking like a leaf and whimpering as she reached for the door handle.

  The brightness of the lights from the furnace room hurt her eyes as she opened the door and stepped through. The room was warming up again, though it wasn’t anywhere near the temperature it had been the day before when she’d first gone inside. On the table in the centre was a large wooden box, its lid sealed. On the top of the box was a hole. There were also a couple of pieces of roast chicken, and a bottle of water.

  Cheryl felt her stomach grumble in response to the food. When did I last eat?

  She forced herself to pause, though – rushing forward and grabbing the food was probably exactly what he didn’t want – and she didn’t want to hear that alarm any more.

  ‘You’ve got a busy day ahead – eat the food, drink the water. Then, I’ll let you know what you have to do.’

  6

  12th December, 0910 hours – Rainbow Riding Stables

  TJ hadn’t stopped since coming round from her faint. She still felt really rough – the migraine was battling to take over and force her into a darkened room for the rest of the day. She was doing her best to ignore it, and that tactic was working, for the most part.

  She’d already rung the police – the damage in the tack room was far more substantial than just a bit of spray paint – and they’d said they would dispatch a cop when there was one free, but that the CSIs would be there today at some point. Whoever had caused the damage had been particularly vicious – luckily, she’d only had a couple of lessons booked in for today, which she’d managed to cancel with no problems, so the stables themselves would be quiet. It was going to take her days to replace the damaged saddles, reins and bridles.

  TJ had also rung the lady from the council and cancelled the appointment – the new outdoor arena was needed – the one she had just wasn’t big enough when the classes were full, and the stables had a waiting list. It made better business sense to have a larger arena, so she could run two classes simultaneously. The council hadn’t been best pleased with the cancellation, but it couldn’t be helped. She’d fed the horses – they needed mucking out, too, but Paul and Barry would take care of that later.

  The thudding in her temples reminded her again that she was barely keeping the migraine at bay. She’d taken some strong pain-killers with a glass of water instead of her normal morning coffee. Her jaw ached with the strain of not clenching, like it wanted to, and she wondered for the hundredth time which was worse – the pain caused by the clenching of the jaw bones or the migraines and aches she got from not clenching.

  Knocking sounded at the back door and she jumped up from the kitchen table and flung it open.

  ‘Morning, miss. How are you this morning? Missed you down at the stables when I came in, so I’ve mucked the stalls out. Domino’s foal seems to be doing well. I just popped up to remind you about getting some more feed and to double-check that you wanted some of those in the fields bringing in?’

  ‘Yeah – it’s supposed to drop to minus five tonight, could you make sure they’re all brought up, if you don’t mind? I’ll be down this afternoon to help with brushing them down and popping rugs on. Think they’ll be better off in the stables tonight.’

  ‘I’d say so.’ Paul stepped forward as he spoke, invading her personal space and giving her instant goosebumps. ‘You okay there, miss? What happened to your cheek?’

  ‘I’m fine, Paul. It’s just a scrape. You haven’t been in the tack room, have you?’

  ‘No, miss. Me and Baz saw the sign on the door, right enough. Have you rung the coppers?’

  ‘Yeah, they should be out at some point today. Maybe tomorrow. I think I’ve found enough ropes to cover for getting the horses in from the field. They’re a bit old and tatty, but they’ll do.’ TJ had instinctively stepped backwards, her arms crossed over her chest.

  Paul’s intense gaze was freaking her out. And she was already on edge, which only sharpened the feeling.

  After a longer period of awkward silence than was needed, he finally stepped o
ff and left her kitchen. TJ felt a shiver down her spine, and the small hairs on her neck stood to attention. She couldn’t quite put her finger on what bothered her about Paul. Maybe it’s just me? He hasn’t actually done anything. It’s just those freaky eyes. She shook her head and put the kettle on. If ever there was a day for camomile tea, it was today.

  * * *

  12th December, 0940 hours – Rainbow Riding Stables

  Jackson had been out of the office just over an hour and had already knocked off two jobs. Johnny had taken the other two on the board, which meant, as of a few minutes ago, Jackson was driving back to the station. Hopefully, it’ll stay like this all day. He grinned and turned the radio up. The old vans hadn’t had radios – this was like luxury. Made driving so much easier when the local channel was blasting out his favourite rock tunes from the eighties. His gravelly voice filled the van as he sang about the summer of sixty-nine with Bryan Adams.

  He was just about to pull in at the station when his personal radio burst to life in the van. Depressing the button on the steering wheel, he answered, ‘6743 go ahead.’

  ‘Thanks, 6743. Just had report coming in of some criminal damage at a horse stables. Are you free to deal?’

  ‘Yeah that’s fine, LV. Where do you need me?’

  There was a pause as the dispatcher checked details.

  ‘Rainbow Riding Stables just outside of Durham – do you know it?’

  Jackson instantly remembered TJ’s warm smile. He blushed, glad the radios weren’t video conference. ‘Yeah, I know the place, LV. Mark me en route. I’ll hit state six when I get there.’ Pressing the ‘6’ key on his radio would alert the dispatcher that he had arrived at the scene.