by Max Hardy
Rebecca looked shocked, and took a gulp of wine before she spoke. ‘Jesus, why would he want to do that, why would he want to kill me?’
‘While you were watching other people in the clubs, he had been watching you. He saw you as a challenge. He is genuinely a psychopath, so don’t try to rationalise why you in particular too much. My understanding is that you would have been one of many that he has killed.’
‘Perhaps he should have, it would have saved me the many failed suicide attempts.’ she said, a slight tinge of ironic humour in her tone.
‘I can say, unequivocally, that I am pleased he did not kill you and that you didn’t kill yourself. I have said this to you before, you are a remarkable woman who has been exposed to extraordinary circumstances. I genuinely do want to help you on the path to redemption. So now you know just about everything that happened that night. The how, most of the why’s. Let me ask you this question now. Do you feel like killing yourself?’
‘At the moment, just at the moment, no, I don’t want to kill myself. There are questions I still want answers to and I don’t think you can give them to me. I need to understand more about Madame Evangeline. I also need to understand what happens next. I am a committed psychopath, surely someone must be looking for me? As much as I now know what happened, I am still a convicted murderer.’ she stated, rationally.
‘What happens next Rebecca, is entirely down to you. Call the police, tell them you are here. Kill yourself. Go on the run. It’s your choice. There is something I would like you to do for me though before we get to that decision.’
She laughed, ‘You are really selling those choices Doc. What would you like me to do?’
He smiled back at her. ‘Just keeping it real. Let me show you.’ he said, rising from the sofa and approaching the locked bedroom door. He took a key out of his pocket and unlocked it, inviting her over. She approached the door tentatively, her expression quizzical as she stood next to him and looked into the room.
‘Before you make your mind up, I would like you consider another option.’
11:32 pm
The car was swerving from side to side down the drive, its headlights illuminating the trees lining it before their glare was consumed by the Arc lights in front of Featherstone Hall. Saul was flopping from side to side as well, struggling to hold the wheel with his injured hands, struggling to concentrate on the road through the pain that was ingrained on his tortured face. He took his bandaged foot off the accelerator and placed it on the brake, agony breathed into the scream he emitted as he tried to exert pressure and slow the car down. It didn’t slow down enough and smacked into the side of a police van parked on the drive, coming to a shuddering halt. The airbag inflated straight into Saul’s face as his body was thrust forward and then jolted back on impact.
The noise of the impact had people running from every direction toward the black SLK. Corporal Garry arrived first and yanked the door of the car open, Saul’s battered form falling straight onto the gravel drive, howling on impact. Saul had no socks or shoes on, only makeshift bandages, dirty and bloody, on his feet. He wore no shirt, trickles of dried blood visible around the open lesion in his chest. His tuxedo was ripped and filthy. Garry picked him up and sat him on the driveway as Strange, Sarah and Jessica arrived.
They all scrambled to the driveway around him, finding a gap to get close, all laying hands on him in an attempt to comfort, concerned shrieks calling his name. More officers rushed in behind them, anxious to see how they could help.
‘Can you all just calm the fuck down and give me some space.’ Saul shouted angrily, his face contorted with the pain of movement as he did. As one, they all sat back from him, silence descending upon the scene.
‘Look, I know I look like shit, but we don’t have time to fuck about with me.’ He reached an arm over to his inside jacket pocket, wincing continually, and took out the white mobile phone, handing it to Strange.
‘Sir, this is the phone Madame Evangeline gave Rebecca Angus. It has calls and texts from her. It proves she exists. You need to get the Tech guys to see if they can find anything that might help us identify who she is. She is the one who was involved in Michael’s death.’ he instructed, staring fleetingly at Jessica as he did.
‘John, we need to talk about Dr Ennis.’ Strange said, passing the phone onto Reynolds who was standing behind him.
‘All you need to know about Ennis for now is that he is not our ‘Unknown Caller’, and while he ripped the heart out of Michael Angus, he didn’t kill him. What you need to know about our ‘Unknown Caller’ is that he, Dr Hanlon and Rob Adams are one in the same person. What you need to focus on is anything that might lead you to him. What I need now are some painkillers and five minutes alone with Jessica. You aren’t getting another fucking thing out of me, until I get those two things.’
‘Shit.’ exclaimed Strange. ‘Five minutes John. That’s all. Gaz, Jessica, please help Saul to the Unit around the back. Sarah, can you wait in the interview room until they are finished please. Come on everyone, back to work, let’s see what we can find out about this phone and revisit leads on our ‘Unknown Caller’. We only have twenty five minutes before that bomb explodes.’
11:38 pm
Garry closed the door of the Visitor Unit, leaving Saul and Jessica alone inside. Saul popped painkillers into his mouth and took a quick gulp of water from the cup Jessica had given him, wincing with pain as he swallowed. He was sitting beside Jessica, then awkwardly started to shuffle his seat around, intent on facing her.
‘John, let me do that.’ Jessica instructed, stopping him and pulling her seat around instead. She leaned over and tried to kiss him. He turned his head away, shaking it disconsolately.
‘John, what is it?’ she questioned, sitting back slightly, surprised by his reaction.
‘Madame Evangeline Jess. Who the fuck is Madame Evangeline?’ he asked, the question loaded with accusation. He placed his hands with an effort onto her knees, one on each leg.
‘John, I don’t have a clue who she is. Why would you think I do?’ she answered, her demeanour stiffening in concern.
He glared at her, accusation turning to confusion. ‘Neither do I Jess. I know I was with you every single moment of that evening.’ he said, shaking his head and leaning forward into her a little, the fingers of his hands creeping inside the hem of her dress, stroking her outer thighs.
‘Yet we know it was your property where Michael was murdered. It was your limousine that brought him here.’ he added, shaking his head and lowering it towards her knee, his hands snaking further up her thighs.
Jessica looked down at his confused, frightened eyes and raised her hands, putting one on each cheek, holding his face tight, her own countenance reflecting his confusion. ‘I can’t explain those things John. I wish I could.’
‘Then perhaps you could explain this.’ he said, tensing suddenly and thrusting his hands all the way inside her dress, forcing it up towards her hips.
‘What are you doing John?’ she screamed, trying to wriggle from his grasp, kicking her legs. She forced her body back, intent on trying to distance herself from him, but it only allowed Saul to push her dress up over her hips, exposing her panties, exposing the bottom of her stomach, exposing the cherry red forked tongue of a tattoo, snaking out the top of them, toward her belly button.
‘Could you tell me,’ Saul spat, through pain and through the effort of pinning her down. ‘why you and Madame Evangeline have the exact same forked tongue tattoo.’
Jessica stopped squirming, a look of sheer astonishment screaming from her eyes as she looked down at the tip of her tattoo, then to Saul’s ferocious and imploring glare. She burst into tears, her body sagging back into the seat, her hands reaching for the hem of her dress, trying to lower it over her hips. ‘I don’t know John. I really don’t. I am not Madame Evangeline. I thought you believed that, I really thought you believed that.’ she cried, the tone hurt and violated as she turned her legs away from him and pul
led her dress all the way down.
Saul still stared at her, the fury fading, an utter confused desolation replacing it as his head dropped and he began to weep. ‘I don’t know what to believe Jess. I know you were with me. I know that. But all these things. He wants me to go into that room Jess and make a choice. You or Jacob. You having that tattoo is the first bit of conclusive evidence we have. But I know you can’t be Madame Evangeline.’ He sunk his head into his hands, weeping disconsolately.
Jessica looked down at his beleaguered, broken body and reached her hands out, lifting his torso, pulling him into her, cuddling him into her chest. ‘John, there is no choice. It doesn’t matter what you believe. If you think the evidence is there, go into that room and tell him. What’s important is Jacob. We have to get Jacob out.’
11:45 pm
The door of the Visitor Unit opened and Jessica supported Saul out into the chill night time air, both with tear stained faces. Strange, Sarah and Garry were waiting for them.
‘Is everything alright?’ asked Strange, concerned.
Both Saul and Jessica nodded together. Saul approached Sarah, putting his arms out, embracing her tightly. ‘I’m sorry for all of this. It is all my fault.’ he whispered into her ear, holding back tears.
‘John, all I want is Jacob safe, I don’t care whose fault it is.’ Sarah answered, her voice crackling with tension.
Saul broke away and slowly started to walk around the side of the MIU, towards Featherstone Hall, Jessica supporting him. ‘Sir,’ he started, addressing Strange. ‘Jessica and I are going into the Hall. It’s what he wants. I don’t believe that she is Madame Evangeline, but we have to go in there.’
‘John, any minute now we will have extended the time the bomb will explode. You don’t have to do this now, not until we find more evidence, not until we find out what is on the phone at least.’ Strange answered.
‘Sir, this is personal, he wants me in there, before midnight. All I can do is tell him the truth.’ Saul said, holding tight onto Jessica’s arm, casting her a pained smile.
Reynolds was running toward them as they came around the side of the MIU. ‘Sir, all the c…connections are decrypted and we have just extended the trigger to activate at 23:00 tomorrow.’
Strange walked towards Reynolds and threw his arms around him, patting his back affectionately. ‘Excellent work Steven. That is great news. I wish I could say take a break but I need you to continue looking at the mobile and I need you to get the guys set up to trace calls from the line in the Drawing Room now. Can you do that for me please?’
‘No problem Sir.’ Reynolds answered as he turned and ran back to the MIU.
There was a palpable drop in tension as the small group continued their walk to the Hall.
‘Ennis is a killer Sir.’ Saul said to Strange as they walked.
‘We know John. Mick and a number of teams are looking into twenty three possible murders. Did you kill him John?’ Strange asked straight out.
‘No Sir. It was our ‘Unknown Caller’. In self-defence. Ennis went for him with a knife and he protected himself. It was Ennis who ripped the heart out of Michael Angus. He was planning to kill Rebecca Angus.’
‘What about Rebecca Angus, was there any sign of her?’
‘She had been there Sir. Our ‘Unknown Caller’ has her somewhere. I talked to him.’ Saul answered as they reached the door of the Hall.
‘Go in there and talk to him again. Go in there and make him see the error of his ways. Go in there and do the right thing John, that’s all you can do.’
11:50 pm
‘This is DI Saul. I have Jessica Seymour with me. I have reason to believe she was involved in the murder of Michael Angus.’ Saul announced. He and Jessica were standing with their backs to the fire, looking out over the Drawing Room toward the bookcases, toward the camera. They waited for a moment, the bleep of the heart beat the only sound above Saul’s laboured breathing.
The Bakelite phone started to ring. Jessica aided Saul across the floor to it and he picked it up.
‘I’m pleased you made it back John. It’s good to see you have Jessica with you too. Do you have something you would like to tell me?’
‘We have evidence to prove that Jessica Seymour owns Featherstone Hall, the place Michael Angus was killed. We have evidence to prove that she owns the Limousine that brought Rebecca Angus, Michael Angus and Madame Evangeline to Featherstone Hall in the early hours on the 1st January 2012. We have evidence to prove that Jessica Seymour was in Edinburgh at the same time as both Michael and Rebecca Angus on that date and the day before.’ Saul relayed, then paused.
He had been looking at the opposite wall as he spoke, looking intently at the Cezanne picture, at the disjointed perspectives of the table, at the apples on its top. At all the apples. He looked from it to the crate. The wooden crate in the middle of the room. The wooden crate they were under strict instructions not to touch. He turned to Jessica, to his lover, to the woman with the forked tongue on her stomach. His face displayed an overwhelming sadness, a tear trickling down his cheek. ‘I’m sorry Jessica, I truly am.’ he whispered to her, reaching for her hand and holding it tight, his face grimacing under the physical pain, despairing under the mental torture.
‘We have reason to believe that Jessica Seymour is Madame Evangeline and was involved in the murder of Michael Angus.’
Saul sniffled, trying to contain his tears, the heart monitor beeping, a lonely tone echoing a hollow life. The hollow life of Jacob, his countenance angelically serene as Saul looked up at the screen. The phone line crackled with static, but otherwise was silent. Jessica looked at Saul anxiously.
‘Anything else John?’ came the question, a few seconds later.
Jessica shook Saul’s hand, attracting his attention, distracting him from staring at Jacob. ‘Tell him John!’ she whispered harshly, in astonishment. ‘You have to tell him everything!’
Saul shook his head and mouthed the word ‘Sorry’ to her, his face desolate.
‘No, there is nothing else.’ Saul answered, his lips quivering with emotion as he did.
‘Thank you John. I appreciate all the efforts yourself and your team have put into finding the real killer of Michael Angus. If nothing else, I hope you understand how grave a miscarriage of justice took place. If nothing else, the beast that was Gordon Ennis is now exposed. It is 11:56 pm. Unfortunately, you have not presented the evidence I wanted to see regarding Madame Evangeline. I would leave the building as quickly as you can. The crate will blow up in four minutes.’
11:56 pm
Jessica supported Saul out of the Drawing Room and into the corridor. ‘John, why didn’t you tell him about the tattoo?’ she asked incredulously.
‘It’s wrong Jess. He is still playing games with me. I know you were with me that night. I know you cannot be Madame Evangeline. He wanted me to choose. I chose what I believe to be true. I believe in you.’ Saul said as Jessica hurried them down the corridor.
‘John, what about Jacob. You do know what could happen!’ she said, her voice rising with panic.
‘We have to find another way to help him, one that doesn’t involve sacrificing you to the whim of a madman.’ he answered, a spirited determination entering his tone. ‘Let’s go and find out if they have managed to trace that call.’
They walked out into the antiseptic glare of the arc lights, vapour wraiths dancing from their lips as the cold air surrounded them. Sarah was pacing nervously just outside the cordon tape. Strange was running out of the MIU toward the tape, Garry following closely behind. They all reached the tape at the same time.
‘He didn’t go for it Sir. We didn’t have the evidence he wanted. As far as he is concerned, the crate will explode any minute now. Did you get a trace?’ Saul asked.
‘We did, the call came from a payphone on the Quayside in Newcastle. Officers are on their way now.’ Strange answered.
‘Look guys.’ started Garry, ‘I know we have altered the trigger, but I
would still suggest we back away from the building just for the moment, at least until after twelve.’
‘Why?’ asked a nervous Sarah in surprise. ‘You have changed the trigger, there isn’t any risk, is there?’
Strange shot Garry a reproaching glare. ‘It’s alright Sarah.’ he said, coming up beside her and wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulder. ‘It’s just a precaution.’ he finished, gently directing her away from the building, back towards the MIU. Jessica led Saul in the same direction. Garry stayed at the tape, a look of concern on his face.
As they approached the MIU, Reynolds came running out of the door, his features animated, arms waving as he shouted towards Strange.
‘Sir, Sir. The white mobile, it’s ringing Sir!’ he puffed as he arrived in front of Strange, passing over the device. Strange looked down at the words on the display of the phone.
The words said: Madame Evangeline.
Strange glanced between Saul, Jessica and Sarah in bemusement as he raised the phone to his ear and pressed the answer button.
‘Hello, this is DCI Strange. Is this Madame Evangeline?’ he asked.
There was a click on the line and a recorded voice kicked in. ‘The time now is 23:59:48 seconds precisely.’ It was the voice of the ‘Unknown Caller’, of Dr Hanlon, of Rob Adams. ‘The crate will explode in ten seconds.’
Strange had just activated the bomb.
11:59:50 pm
‘It’s the trigger, it’s another fucking trigger!’ Strange screamed, panic on his face as he threw the phone to the ground, pushing Sarah, Saul, Jessica and Reynolds towards the MIU as he shouted to everyone else. ‘Get out of the way, get out of the way. The crate is going to explode!’ waving his arms frantically to the various officers stationed around the perimeter tape. They all started to run towards the MIU or towards the nearest vehicle.
