Hikers - The Collection (Complete Box Set of 5 Books)

by Lauren Algeo

  Brewer tried not to flinch at the comment about his wife. ‘Yes, she’ll be there. You’ll be driving the car though so you’ll have to keep your eyes on the road.’

  Adders screwed up his face again. ‘This trip is getting worse by the second. It’s a bloody long drive to Cornwall.’

  ‘Hey, don’t blame me – Connors chose you to drive,’ Brewer shrugged. ‘I was going to take them on my own.’

  ‘Were you now?’ Seok jumped on his words. ‘Planning to rescue her again are you?’

  Brewer prayed that his face wasn’t turning red with the sudden heat that spread through his body. He barked a laugh. ‘No chance, once was enough!’

  ‘She’ll still be very grateful to you,’ Richards winked. ‘Getting her a job, saving her life…’

  Brewer squirmed in his chair. He couldn’t escape the fact that they were all staring at him. It felt as though his hair was sweating. Had they all been talking behind his back and realised how much he’d done for a complete ‘stranger’?

  ‘Maybe I can save her life on this trip,’ Adders mused. ‘You might be married mate but I’m very single and I hear she is too.’

  ‘You’ve got no chance with someone like her,’ Richards snorted. ‘Look at your ugly mug!’

  The attention shifted to mocking Adders and Brewer exhaled in relief. The pressure on him was temporarily over. They would no doubt start the teasing again in the hours that lay ahead – waiting around was dull and it passed the time for them. He would have to try to rein in his emotions as best he could. He glanced down at his watch and saw that it was only 10am. This was going to be a long day.

  Chapter 43

  ‘At least it’s Adders,’ Ellen said for the fiftieth time.

  She put two plates of scrambled eggs and toast on the dining table and sat down in the chair closest to Brewer. He picked up his knife and fork even though he had no appetite. He’d had a sick feeling in his stomach over the weekend and now the day was finally here.

  They’d both spent the last three nights tossing and turning in bed and not sleeping. Brewer had found himself wandering downstairs at about 2am last night. He’d stopped in front of the drinks cabinet but there hadn’t been anything there. He wouldn’t have drunk, even if he hadn’t poured out all the alcohol, but it was comforting to be close to the unit. He could pretend there was something to numb the fear and apprehension he felt.

  ‘Adders is far better than Seok,’ he responded mechanically, having answered her in the exact same way since he’d told her about Adders accompanying them on Friday afternoon.

  Seok and Richards would have been worse; Adders might be distracted more easily. They’d been discussing it all weekend, going back and forth on how to get away from him for long enough to kill Daniel. Brewer thought he might want a nap in the car after the long drive, or they could send him to the shop to get coffees and a newspaper. There were ways to get rid of him without arousing his suspicion.

  Ellen ate a few mouthfuls of scrambled egg before putting her fork down. Her face was pale and she looked more tired than she had in years. He was reminded of the grieving, scared woman he’d met a decade ago. He knew from experience that her frail appearance meant nothing – she was strong and resourceful, and nothing would stand in the way of her revenge. She wanted Daniel dead with a passion and she would do everything she could to make that happen.

  ‘We do it exactly like we agreed,’ Brewer said with more than a hint of warning in his tone.

  Ellen nodded once but said nothing. He prayed that she wouldn’t do anything rash in the heat of the moment. She’d sat him down on Saturday afternoon and told him that she would do it herself. She thought it would be more authentic if he and Adders stayed by the car while she took Daniel along the cliff tops. She thought she could inject the boy on her own then throw his body over the edge. Her screams would alert him and Adders that something had happened and they could discover that Daniel had ‘fallen’ together. In her eyes, that was an ideal solution.

  Brewer had adamantly refused it. If Ellen were alone with Daniel, anything could go wrong. He might pick up on the tension in her body language or notice something was off with her behaviour. A quick search of her mind and he might find out about the insulin, even if she did her best to block it. If he discovered what she’d been planning, his retaliation would be brutal. It would be Ellen who would have the misfortune of taking a tumble into the raging sea below. In Brewer’s mind, it was a terrible idea.

  They’d argued for all of Saturday night before coming to a compromise on Sunday. Ellen and Daniel would go off on their own initially while Brewer waited with Adders. They would look around the National Trust site while the men stayed in the café or by the car – knowing Adders, it would be the café in case there were any nice waitresses working there. When Ellen took Daniel along the cliff edge to a more secluded spot, Brewer would make an excuse to get away from Adders and follow them.

  They had agreed on a couple of excuses that would work, depending on the situation. Ellen would either ‘leave’ something behind that Brewer could take out to her, or if Adders wasn’t in view of a window, Brewer would pretend he was going to make a phone call to check on the rest of the team. He would then sneak up on Daniel while Ellen distracted him. He could get the insulin injected before the boy knew what was happening.

  They would sound the alarm together. Ellen could run screaming for the café for help while Brewer pretended to search for a way to get down the cliff face to find Daniel. By the time the emergency services and coast guard arrived, the boy’s body would be long gone and they would be in the clear.

  The plan was far from fool proof – child hikers could be unpredictable and they were relying on the site being quiet in October – but it was the most concrete solution they had. With any luck, everything would fall into place for them and the killing would go smoothly. Neither of them had been too vocal about what they would do if things went catastrophically wrong.

  They didn’t want to talk about the possibility of failure and each knew the other wouldn’t allow it. There was an awful, unspoken agreement that they would sacrifice whatever it took to end the hikers’ reign forever.

  Brewer had visions of himself wrestling Daniel over the edge of the cliffs and them both plummeting to the water below. He didn’t think he would survive another fall from that height, not without the luck of an over-hanging rock to break up the descent.

  He risked a look at the side of Ellen’s face as she sipped a cup of tea. He would do everything in his power to keep her safe this time. He didn’t want to die, the idea of losing the life he’d been leading for the last ten years was overwhelming and he couldn’t bear the thought of Ellen being left alone, but he would do what he had to. Daniel could not survive this trip; the impending summit was too much of a risk. The boy had to die today.

  Brewer cut off a piece of toast and put it in his mouth but found it difficult to chew. The crisp bread scratched his tongue and he swallowed it almost whole. He put his knife and fork back down.

  ‘You should eat,’ Ellen said gently.

  He gestured to her full plate – she’d only managed a few mouthfuls of her breakfast. ‘So should you.’

  She shook her head. ‘My stomach is in knots. If I force myself to eat more, I’m scared I’ll throw up on the car journey down.’

  Brewer nodded in agreement. He had a gulp of his tea to satisfy her instead. ‘We should leave soon anyway.’

  They were due at Downing Street at 8am so they could set off early for their trip. Connors would have an overnight bag ready for Daniel in case they decided to stay down there and travel back the following morning. Ellen had packed two bags with spare clothes for them last night although they knew they wouldn’t need them. Daniel would be long dead before nightfall.

  Brewer carried their uneaten breakfast through to the kitchen and stood by the sink for a moment, staring out of the window. It was still dark outside and he could see drops of rain on the glass. The
y’d been checking the forecast obsessively over the last couple of days, aware that Marie wouldn’t allow them to take her precious boy to the cliffs if there were storms and high winds predicted. Thankfully there were only patchy showers due in the morning then the afternoon would be grey but dry. It was still fairly warm for late-October, with temperatures around 13°C.

  Brewer listened to Ellen walk upstairs to get their bags. He wanted this day to be over yet he didn’t want the trip to start. Once they were with Daniel, there was so much danger. They could try their hardest to block their minds but if he decided that he wanted to dig deep to relieve his boredom in the car, Brewer didn’t know how strong he would be. If he discovered anything untoward in their actions, the fall out would be deadly.

  He gazed at his reflection in the black window. He’d found himself dressing in his old hunting-style clothes that morning. There was no need for a suit on the field trip – Connors didn’t want to draw any unnecessary attention to Daniel – so he’d put on a grey jumper, dark blue jeans and his Doc Martens. He’d shaved and combed his hair but there was nothing he could do about the dark circles under his eyes.

  When all this was over, he and Ellen deserved a holiday. Somewhere warm and relaxing, where they could unwind and recover from the stress of the last few weeks. He had to believe that they would both be able to survive this. Staying positive was the only way to get through it.

  Ellen’s reflection appeared in the window behind him and he flinched. He hadn’t registered the sound of her coming back down the stairs.

  ‘Bags are by the door,’ she told him.

  Brewer turned slowly to face her. Somehow Ellen still managed to look smart in her casual clothing. She was wearing black jeans and a black fitted t-shirt, with a burgundy cardigan over the top. Her flat, black boots were almost new and gleamed under the kitchen lights. She’d tied her hair into a neat ponytail and had a touch of make-up on.

  He drank in the sight of her then walked across the room and wrapped his arms around her. They stood for a minute, clutching onto each other tightly, knowing that their lives could change throughout the course of the day. Brewer kissed the top of her head then moved down to her lips. He cupped her face in his hands and looked into her eyes.

  ‘I love you,’ he whispered.

  ‘I love you too.’ Her reply was barely a murmur.

  Brewer inhaled deeply and let go of her face. As much as he didn’t want to, they had to get moving. He led the way to the front door, turning off the lights as he went. They stopped in the hallway and Ellen picked up her bag. Brewer had one last look at the dim house behind him and prayed they would both make it back there safely.

  He bent to retrieve his bag then opened the front door on the cool morning. ‘Let’s finish this.’

  Chapter 44

  ‘We’re nearly there, buddy,’ Adders called over his shoulder.

  Daniel glanced up then turned his attention back to the computer tablet on his lap. The boy had been watching films for most of the journey with earphones in but every time Brewer had glanced behind from his position in the front seat, Daniel’s eyes had been staring vacantly at a spot next to the screen. He was clearly busy plotting, rather than watching Harry Potter.

  Ellen was sitting in the back seat, directly behind Brewer, and he knew the long journey had been uncomfortable for her. They’d been in the car for over four hours and only had one rest stop. She’d blamed her pale face on travel sickness and used the excuse to sit quietly next to Daniel. Brewer wished he could have taken the pain away from her.

  Halfway through the drive, he’d risked poking his hand through the small gap between the chair and the door and given her knee a reassuring squeeze. She’d touched his hand briefly in return although he hadn’t been able to turn round much.

  Adders had spent most of the time chatting or singing along to the radio. Brewer had tried to respond when he could but mostly he’d stayed in his own head, making sure his mind was protected from prying eyes. Daniel had kept out of his thoughts for the majority of the drive, only skimming across the surface a couple of times at the start.

  Brewer had endured the sensation and kept his thoughts on neutral work-related topics. He presumed Ellen would have done the same but he hadn’t been able to ask her. She’d gone off to the toilets on her own at the service station and it was too risky to send her a text with Daniel so close. He could only hope the boy had left her alone as well.

  ‘We can grab some lunch as soon as we get there,’ Adders said. ‘I’m starving!’

  It was nearly 12:30pm and luckily there hadn’t been much traffic on the way so they were due to arrive before 1pm. The thought of eating a meal across from Daniel turned Brewer’s stomach. He still had the nauseous feeling that he’d been coping with for the last couple of days.

  ‘Sounds good,’ he said out loud. ‘Let’s hope the café there has some decent food.’

  ‘Yeah, I don’t want any soggy sandwiches,’ Adders laughed. ‘Maybe a nice burger.’

  The car lapsed back into silence and Brewer gazed out of the window. Whenever it felt safe, he’d been running through scenarios in his head. What he would say to Adders to get away from him. Where he would track down Ellen. He felt as prepared as he ever could be for something as horrendous as this.

  Daniel was only a boy after all, and he didn’t know who he really was. They still had the element of surprise. Daniel was expecting a tedious field trip, which was keeping him from all his plotting. The summit was four days away and Brewer could only imagine what suffering the boy wanted to inflict on the foreign visitors.

  He closed his eyes and swept through his mind again. There were no niggles of an alien presence; no faint scratching sounds deep at the back of his head. Daniel was keeping to himself for a while. Brewer hadn’t heard the boy whisper to anyone since the night of the fire and he hoped that he’d never have to hear his sinister little voice fill his head ever again. They would do this fast and with minimal chance of chaos.

  ‘Not nodding off on me, are you?’

  Brewer felt Adders’ elbow nudge into his side and his eyes sprang open.

  ‘Not at all,’ he mumbled.

  He felt as though he’d never sleep again, his body was too wired. He’d had to physically stop his legs from fidgeting up and down with the non-stop adrenaline flowing through his veins.

  ‘Good, I need you to double check the directions,’ Adders said. ‘I don’t trust the sat nav this close to the cliffs.’

  Brewer took the old fashioned map out of the glove compartment and confirmed that the dashboard sat nav was indeed taking them the right way.

  They were only a couple of miles away and Brewer spotted signs for the familiar town of Trenance. He’d washed up on the beach there after his cliff dive and been taken to the local hospital. Seeing the name sent goose bumps crawling across his flesh. He could remember every emotion he’d felt on that terrifying night. The image of the ghostly hiker-girl danced across his vision.

  For a long time, that was the closest he’d ever come to death – until the Master’s house. He didn’t remember what he’d felt or thought under the haze of the potassium chloride though; it was all black. With the child hiker, he could recall everything: the wind buffeting his body on the cliff top, the rocks scraping his back as he plummeted downwards, the agony in his shoulder as he’d managed to grab onto that over-hanging rock. Being back here brought everything to the surface and that was dangerous; he couldn’t give anything away to Daniel. Perhaps coming here hadn’t been as smart as he’d thought.

  The car wound along the roads and Brewer saw the sea for the first time in years. There was nothing inviting about it though – the sky was grey and the waves raged across the surface. It looked exactly like the sort of place where Daniel’s body should end up.

  ‘Only a couple of minutes now.’ Adders sounded more enthusiastic than he had all journey.

  Brewer wished that his life were as simple as the other man’s. That the onl
y thing he had to worry about on this trip was when he’d get his next meal. Instead, he was planning a murder and trying to ensure that he got away with it.

  The familiar National Trust site loomed up ahead and Adders slowed the car down. Brewer drank in the foreboding landscape and remembered how many people had died there during the little girl’s reign. He knew she was long dead but his mind could still imagine her appearing suddenly in front of them. He fought down the urge to shudder; he had more important things to be concerned about than ghosts.

  Adders pulled the car into the mostly empty car park. There were only half a dozen other vehicles and a couple of those would belong to staff. The cliffs seemed to be as quiet as they’d hoped. There would be other walkers who hadn’t driven to the Trust site although probably not many.

  Adders turned off the engine with a loud sigh. ‘Made it!’

  He opened his door instantly to manoeuvre his large frame out, grabbing his jacket from the middle as he went. Brewer pushed open his door and climbed out slowly. He breathed in the sea air and felt the strong breeze against his body. Adders gave an exaggerated stretch and yawned loudly.

  ‘My back’s seized up,’ he said. ‘You might have to help out with the drive back.’

  Brewer nodded, knowing that was unlikely. They’d be down here overnight to deal with the aftermath of Daniel’s death. He turned his head and watched Ellen and the boy get out of the car. He caught her eye and she gave a brief half-smile to show that she was ok.

  ‘It’s beautiful here, isn’t it?’ she said to Daniel.

  The boy glanced around with his dark eyes. ‘It’s very impressive,’ he nodded.

  ‘There’s so much to learn here,’ Ellen carried on as they walked towards the Trust building. ‘I want to show you the rock formations and erosion from the top of the cliffs. The view of the steps themselves is incredible.’

  Brewer had to admire her bright, enthusiastic tone. He could barely manage to string a sentence together at the moment.