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

by K. A. Richardson

  A few seconds longer and he turned off the alarm, and repeated rule number three down the microphone to make sure she had heard him.

  The alarm had been his father’s ingenious idea. His old man had fitted one in the basement of the house they’d lived in. It was after the disaster Christmas. His mum had insisted they move, so she didn’t have to put up with the memories of his dad shagging the bitch he worked with in the marital bed. That had been disclosed one drunken night about a week after his dad’s return. His mother had never been the same since. She’d become more detached, crueller. Like he was the spawn of the devil himself. She’d let his dad do what he would to him. He remembered all too well his dad tying him up in the basement after finding him jacking off in his room to a porn movie. He’d been ten then, but it was still too young to fight off his dad, who was much bigger and broader. His dad tied the bonds so tight they’d cut off circulation to his hands and feet. And then, his mum had sounded that bloody alarm until blood trickled from his ears.

  He’d been twelve when he’d figured out how it was jerry-rigged in the basement and managed to detach it completely. The next time his dad had dragged him down there, he’d managed to get the better of him and used a concentrated version of the alarm through earphones plugged into an amp. His dad never dragged him to the basement again. In fact, his dad never left the basement again.

  His mum came down to find his dad dead on the seat, not from the massively high decibel of noise, but from the knife he’d buried in his chest. She’d clipped him round the ear for that and then enlisted him to help re-concrete the basement floor. With his dad buried underneath. To his knowledge, he was still there. With a new family trampling all over the home that held so many secrets.

  Because of the act, his mum’s attitude changed a little, then. He’d killed the twat of a husband that she stayed with out of obligation. It allowed him some freedom, and by the time his mum had died, they’d actually grown closer. His dad was never mentioned again.

  The woman on the screen huddled in the corner of the room, not quite rocking to and fro but obviously scared. And in fear she was even more beautiful than when he’d seen her in the park.

  He pressed the microphone button again.

  ‘Now I’ve gone over the rules, the only other thing you need to know is that you do what I tell you when I tell you. Or the alarm sounds. You ever touch me again, and it will be instant death. Other than that, if you do as I say and complete all of the tasks, there’s a good chance you’ll get out of here. Understand?’

  Her head bobbed up and down rapidly. There was no hesitation, no tears. He knew she meant it.

  ‘Good. Now make your way to the door at the back of the room. It will unlock, and you can move into the next one.’

  * * *

  15th December, 1730 hours – abandoned school near Durham

  Sally had never been so scared in her life. She knew this man, whoever he was, had no intention of letting her go. She’d seen it in his eyes when he’d hit her. There’d been control, but also a flash of something else. Something for which the word eluded her.

  Her ears were still ringing from the shrill sound of the alarm, and she knew if she heard it again her ears could be damaged. At this point she didn’t care. All she cared about was getting out of this hellish place. Getting out and seeing Danial.

  His face smiled at her in her mind, his toothy two-year-old grin wide and innocent. He’d have changed so much; she didn’t know if he’d even remember her now. Didn’t know what poison Farooq had forced into his tiny mind. But she knew she had to keep trying to find him. It was her sole purpose in life.

  A purpose she couldn’t fulfil from the confines of this awful place. She had to get out. And that meant formulating a plan to escape and, if need be, kill the man who held her hostage.

  Can I do that? Can I kill him if I have to?

  Her gaze hardened. He had every intention of killing her – she knew this. So, there was nothing that would stop her killing him, if she had to. She would do what she had to for her Danial who so desperately needed his mother.

  She stopped the grin before it got to her lips. He would know something was amiss. Sergeant Donaghue popped into her mind – he who always gave her the updates from Interpol on Danial and the progress on the case. He was expecting her in his office on Friday. When is Friday? She pressed the light button on her watch and looked at the date. It was in three days. She had that long to figure a way out of here.

  12

  16th December, 0400 hours – Rainbow Riding Stables

  It was no coincidence that he knew concrete was being laid behind the barns tomorrow. All of the stable staff were invested in it. New pipes leading to the barn made filling the water troughs much easier. The ground had already been prepped and was ready to go – the area was fenced off, but even in the darkness, he could see the long dark grooves waiting to be filled. They were the perfect size to hide a body, or two. Even temporarily, until he could use the chipper he knew was coming.

  The horses in the stables nickered softly – they knew his scent now. He posed no threat to them. The shortest route to carry the bodies would be through the main stable block. The through way would be clear of obstruction, and he’d be much less likely to make any noise.

  His car was parked close by. Risky at any other time but not tonight. No one would be on the yard until 7am – he had plenty of time yet.

  His boot opened with a click, and he grabbed the first body – it was her. His non-Angel. She hadn’t even had enough about her to make it into the clearing with his others. It was sad, really. She lived alone on the streets and had died alone with him. He doubted anyone even knew she’d gone missing.

  She was heavier than she seemed, though, and stiff. Whether from the cold or from rigor mortis, he didn’t know. He didn’t care, either.

  He entered the barn, dim lights glowing from the roof lamps, and traipsed through to the other side.

  Domino nickered a warning call to her foal, and Lightning moved to her side. He knew if any of the horses were to cause a fuss, it would be her. He was familiar, but she didn’t trust easily. He’d had more than one nip off her as he’d walked by previously.

  She snorted loudly, her eyes wide as he made eye contact. Her hooves kicked at the door – this was noise he didn’t need. He didn’t think TJ would be anywhere, except in her bed, but what if… he dumped the woman’s body on the floor between the rows of stalls and went into the feed room in the centre. Maybe a little late-night treat would keep Domino quiet.

  Within seconds, he had put some feed and molasses into the bucket and hung it on the inside of the door to her stall. She eyed him warily before placing her head inside and starting to munch.

  Picking the body up from the floor was harder than lifting it from his car. His back protested as he hoisted her waist-high and then up and over his shoulder. He stumbled a little, his hand grabbing at the nearest thing to steady himself. He didn’t look back, so didn’t notice the heater had turned on from the impact.

  There was a satisfying thud as the woman’s body hit the ground in the middle of one of the grooves. It landed awkwardly, and her leg stuck up, her foot outside of the groove. He kicked it, forcing it back inside, and then covered her with some of the top soil that had been dug and was waiting transportation to the fields.

  Alan Brown was heavier than the woman. And he’d been in the car a little longer. The smell of decay was faint, but his nose crinkled of its own accord.

  The horses could smell it too – the nickering was increasing in volume as the scent moved on the light wind, drifting into all the stalls. He’d have to hurry up, or he’d risk getting caught.

  He was panting by the time Alan’s body was in the top end of the groove – but he knew he couldn’t stop. He placed a soil covering over the top and grabbed the torch from his pocket, moving over the two bodies, making sure neither could be seen.

  He knew that the staff were all filling the grooves with c
oncrete tomorrow once the pipes had been laid. Soil around the pipe for insulation then good, hard, impossible to see through concrete on the top. It was the last section to be done. He knew because he’d been watching. If the bodies got covered before he could chip them and feed them to the pigs it wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Less work for him, anyway.

  Another smell drifted on the wind – smoke? Where is that coming from?

  Realisation hit – the heater in the stables. SHIT!

  He ran inside and saw flames licking their way across the hay bales. It was already too far gone for the paltry fire extinguishers mounted on the wall. Domino and her foal were already screaming, and she was kicking at the door hard. He couldn’t be responsible for killing the horses – if they died, police would be all over the stables, presuming it was an arson attack.

  Moving quickly, he opened all of the stall doors and stepped to one side as the horses ran. Domino stopped, though, right in front of him, her nostrils spreading wide as she forced breaths inside. She whinnied, surprising him, and reared up on her hind legs, kicking out at him with her front ones.

  The blow was glancing but with enough force that he fell backwards, his ribs impacting with the wide open stable door behind him. The loud crack could be heard over the whooshing in the barn, and he knew he’d broken at least one or two bones.

  Domino turned on her heels and ran, Lightning following close behind.

  Crap! How the hell am I going to explain this?

  Pain exploded through his side, and the flames grabbed a deeper hold, starting on the wooden beams. He needed to get out of there.

  The smoke was so thick now, he could barely see. But he felt his way out of the barn, coughing loudly as he methodically opened all the other stall doors. The horses all ran – he didn’t know where but presumed they were on their way to the field at the bottom of the farm track.

  He really needed to get the hell away from this place.

  He reached his car in record time, even having the forethought not to use the lights, just in case. The track was rough, and he felt every bump grind through the pain in his side. His chest felt as though an elephant was sitting on it, and his eyes were streaming. Miraculously, though, he reached the road, and once further away, he found a layby and pulled in.

  Shit. He was terrified now – he’d be found out for sure. All those years of taking the invisible, and playing a part were over. A sudden surge of anger and despair had him smashing his fists off the steering wheel over and over.

  How could he have been so stupid?

  * * *

  16th December, 0430 hours – Rainbow Riding Stables

  TJ woke with a jerk, her body covered in a sheen of sweat. That bloody nightmare again. Jacob was right, she needed to speak to someone. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a solid night of sleep.

  She glanced at the window in her room – the sun was coming up early today. What time is it? The clock on her bedside table showed 4am. 4am? The sun doesn’t rise at this time in winter. What the hell?

  A feeling of utter dread filled her heart, and she stood, ignoring the wave of dizziness moving too fast brought, and opened the curtains.

  Not pausing to think as she saw the flames, she pulled a fleece over her head, grabbed her phone and rang 999 as she tugged her wellies over her bed socks.

  * * *

  16th December, 0715 hours – Rainbow Riding Stables

  Smoke hung in the air, dank and wet now that the fire brigade had been. TJ’s hair hung limply beside her face, and she hugged herself into her coat. It was freezing. She shivered again, more from shock than the cold.

  How the hell had this happened? She knew she’d turned the heater off. She never left it on. Ever. Until now…

  The fire brigade had responded quickly, luckily for her. The blaze had been confined to the one barn – which stood now in front of her, a structure made of blackened timber. This was going to take months to rebuild. Luckily, she had enough stables – hadn’t got around to pulling down the old block.

  How the horses had even escaped was beyond her. She’d checked on them the instant she’d arrived, tears falling even as she’d grabbed the hose pipe to try and control it until the fire service had arrived. All of the horses were out. Terrified and hugging one corner of the paddock, but out and alive. She’s already rung the vet to come out – he was dealing with another call out but was coming as soon as he was done.

  The other horses in the blocks still standing had all been terrified, too – there’d been a lot of nickering and door kicking going on. She’d had to let them all out and put them in the paddock with the others. Horses were herd animals – fires terrified them. It would take a lot of work to get them all calm and trusting again. She’d have to cancel lessons for the foreseeable future. Stop the volunteers coming in.

  Where the hell are Paul and Barry? They should be here by now. She looked around, half expecting them to be walking down the path. Nobody was in view, though. Despite this, the hairs prickled on the back of her neck, and she shivered again.

  Normally, this was her safe place – the one place she could come where nothing from the outside world could touch her. Now it was starting to feel less like that and more like somewhere to be wary of. What with the vandalism and now the fire. It couldn’t have been deliberate… Could it?

  TJ shook her head – who would do this? And why? It had to be a case of her just leaving the heater on. Except she was sure she had turned it off. She’d never endanger the horses like that. This was just… reckless.

  She stared at the barn – blackened and broken even in the darkness. The dim stable lights shed a white glow over it making it look even more sinister.

  TJ felt her teeth start grinding – her head was pounding, and it was only adrenaline keeping the migraine from taking hold. That wouldn’t last long. Get busy – start some mucking out. If you’re busy your mind can’t over-analyse. ‘Yeah, right, like I haven’t tried that before,’ she scoffed, before grabbing the shovel and heading with determination into the nearest stall.

  Once she’d started, though, she was able to focus on the task at hand and push the migraine back a little. The next thing she knew, dawn was breaking, all of the stalls had been cleaned and swilled, and she heard Paul and Barry chatting as they came down the path. She put the shovel away silently, waiting for them to approach.

  Paul saw the barn first, breaking into a run and making it to her side in no time. His face was ashen. ‘The horses?’

  TJ flashed him a grim smile. ‘All in the paddock and all okay, thank god. The heater set the stables alight.’

  She couldn’t help the tears that filled her eyes.

  ‘Didn’t you turn the heater off? I could’ve sworn I saw you do it.’ Barry’s worry and shock were also evident as he reached them.

  ‘I was sure I had. But now… well, I don’t know. It’s not like a horse could have knocked it or anything.’

  ‘Is the vet coming? The horses will need checking. I can’t believe anyone would be so careless as to leave a heater on in a barn full of straw and hay.’ Paul’s tone was just ever so slightly condescending, and TJ took it straight to heart.

  Her gaze hardened, and she looked at Paul pointedly. ‘If I left the heater on, then it was an oversight – I’m almost certain I turned it off. You were in the barn after me, Paul. You gave the horses their supper. What’s to say it wasn’t you? Or even Barry? He was filling the water buckets. Pointing the finger isn’t going to do any good. It could realistically have been any of us, is the point I’m making. I’m just grateful there wasn’t more damage caused and that the horses are all okay.’

  Paul had the good grace to look contrite. ‘You’re right. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry. What can we do?’

  ‘Nothing with the stables yet. The fire investigator is coming out this morning, apparently. The fire guy didn’t seem to think it was arson, but he wants it verifying. Could you both bring the horses up from the bottom pad
dock to the one at the top? It’ll be easier for the vet to examine them there. God, I hope they’re all okay.’

  TJ felt her composure start to slip as tears threatened to fall again. And the pounding in her head and down her jaw was starting to increase. She needed to get back to the house. ‘I’ve got some phone calls to make. Can you both sort that for me? And rug them all up – Lightning, especially. You can use the Shetland pony blanket on her.’

  At Barry and Paul’s nod, TJ turned and headed back towards the farmhouse.

  She made it about half way up the path when the pain exploded in her brain, and her face felt like she’d been thumped. It was so severe, she staggered, dropping to her knees. She hadn’t eaten since the day before, but still, the nausea was overwhelming, and she vomited up what little was in her stomach.

  TJ knelt for a few minutes, the damp soaking through her trousers and into her knees. She felt her pockets for the mobile she knew she had to have on her person somewhere. It wasn’t there – the vague memory of her putting it on the kitchen table whilst she pulled her coat on flashed through her mind, and she groaned. She tried to open her eyes – but that action alone caused a wave of dizziness. TJ slumped forward with a groan, her cheek landing on the rough path with a thud.

  She knew she needed to get up, to at least call for help. But she couldn’t. This time, the tears started to fall. And a few seconds later, TJ passed out.

  A light drizzle started to fall, soaking her where she lay, and her lips turned blue.

  13

  16th December, 0820 hours – Rainbow Riding Stables

  Edina Blaze had knocked at the door to the farmhouse several times with no response. She tapped her foot impatiently. It was too cold to be standing outside in this weather. The rain fell steady and heavy.