The Escape (Detective Jane Sparrow Book 2)

by Claire Merrington

  “Ok so if I rang your company they may be able to trace the origin of the package?”

  “Quite possible mam yes.”

  “Thank you for your help.”

  Jane handed the young man his clipboard back and he let out a sigh of relief as he was let back out through the station doors. Jane began to open the package and she could feel the tension pouring off her surrounding colleagues. Inside again were a total of five photos but this time there was also a letter. Jane spotted the image on one of the photos and immediately could tell this was worse than the first lot they had received. Staring back at her through a new set of photos was that of a badly burned and charred remains of a victim having been burned at the stake.

  Chapter 12

  Jane couldn’t believe what she was seeing. This was worse than the first. Jane thought that the first victim had suffered enough, and then with what he did to Jack. But this, it seems as if Thaddeus is reaching for a whole new level with each of the new murders. Jane scanned and flicked through the images trying not to look too much at the woman’s face, so the guilt and apprehension that it brought did not begin to build in her stomach. Again staring at her through the photos was a lady equal to Jane in physical attributes and appearance tied to a stake in the middle of a field. There were no defining markers in the background of the image to help suggest a location. The victim had been stripped to her underwear and was bound by ropes to the stake. One rope lashed around her middle section, another at her ankles while her wrists were pulled round and bound at her back. The sight of the arms being pulled round to the back made Jane’s own shoulders ache with remembrance. The next photo in the sequence showed the victims eyelids once again having been removed. When Jane looked closely at the victims face it made it seem as though she was crying tears of blood. Jane let out a gasp as she sat and took in what was being depicted in the next image. Thaddeus was standing there with what Jane believed to be the victims tongue in a pair of forceps completely removed from her mouth, and the poor woman could do nothing but gurgle on her own blood. The fourth photo showed Thaddeus having lit the body the way the woman was twisting against her bounds at the stake showed she was very much alive at this point. It was almost as though she was trying to curl away from the flames as they licked up her body. But with the binds so tight there was no place for her to go. The fifth and final photo showed what were the remains of a beautiful woman no more than five photos ago reduced to a charred corpse. Thaddeus had once again marked the victim with Jane. He had carved it into the victim’s collarbone. Jane sat there too dumbfounded to speak. Not only was the woman tortured by the removal of not only her eyelids but her tongue as well. Stripping her off her ability to shut out the horror and her ability to scream out, but even worse in Jane’s mind she was also tortured by being burnt alive.

  “This is a lot worse than before. He burned the victim at the stake after he removed her eyelids and tongue. He has escalated to a whole new level. He even in a way mutilated the body after death. He had to carve his ‘Jane” in somewhere where we could still see after the flesh was gone so he waited and carved it into the victim’s collar bone.”

  “Wait there was no flesh left at all?”

  “Not really Eric a scrap of flesh here and their and a few meatier chunks on certain areas but not enough to say flesh like a body. Why?”

  “A normal wood fire doesn’t burn hot enough for it to melt the flesh away. A normal wood fire burns at approximately 430degrees Celsius flesh on a human body wouldn’t ignite to burn away like that until 760degrees Celsius. But if it continued to burn at that sort of temperature you would end up with a cremated victim say a pile of ash. So it burnt at a lower temperature than 760degrees but hotter than a normal 430 degrees. SO say 550degrees Celsius so it would melt the flesh and only char the bone. Or it could of burned at a hotter temperature for a shorter period of time. There are quite a few variables but either way it definitely wasn’t a normal wood burning fire to be left with remains like that.”

  “Ok so your saying he used some kind of accelerant to ignite the body to make it burn quicker and hotter?”

  “I would say yes burning a body is not as easy or as quick as people think. I’m surprised he would take the time. Too much risk at being caught.”

  “That’s a good point. I mean how do you burn somebody and not have anybody notice? You would need a really secluded location to be able to do that.”

  “Sorry to interrupt Amy I know I’m not a cop or anything so this may be a real stupid question but what happened to the house that Thaddeus was using before? The one that was in his family?”

  “Well nothing the house was owned out right by the family and was left to Thaddeus when his Aunt and Uncle died. So from when it was finished being processed as a crime scene it was sealed up and secured. The Government can’t take ownership of the house until the death of Thaddeus even though he was meant to be in prison for life. But your not seriously suggesting Perry that Thaddeus would be stupid enough to go back to living there do you?”

  “Not live there as such Sir. But the house sat in a lot of grounds its what gave him the privacy to be able to commit his earlier crimes. So it has a lot of grounds that nobody else would be on he could of used one of the fields.”

  “That’s a valid point Perry. Sir we haven’t been out to the house to clear it since Thaddeus escaped. I don’t think he would make it that easy for us to go back and live there, but definitely to use the grounds as a crime scene. He knows full well I then have to go back there and what torment that would be for me. Another way for Thaddeus to play a mind game.”

  “Ok were go check it out but not now it’s getting too dark to see and especially if we think he may have rigged the body in anyway with one of his devices. We will wait till morning unless we get another phone call about a package being delivered.”

  “Jane wasn’t there a letter this time with the photos? What did it say?”

  “Oh right yeah I’ve not even looked at that yet.”

  ‘Jane, Jane, Jane my dear

  Andromeda of my stars. A new love note addressed just to you. In the fields

  Where my love for you first began

  She awaits you.

  The last sight she had was of me,

  The last scream she could make was of me

  And the last sensation she felt was that of my burning desire for you.

  Each lick of a flame tore at her flesh

  And all I could think of was you.

  I will have you Jane. I need

  You. To feel you, to have your blood flow through my hands. To watch your soul leave your eyes and know that you are mine. I will come for you soon.

  So take care now Jane.’

  Jane had read the note aloud all of the team including Perry had moved even closer surrounding her. Perry had taken a protective stance with his arms around her. Jane knew he certainly didn’t like the level of obsession Thaddeus had taken with her or the way Thaddeus spoke of the two of them meaning to be together.

  “Ok well his level of obsession and crazy has gone through the roof. But at least he has confirmed that the body is definitely at that house, well in the grounds at least. I know he said he thought it was written in the stars that we are meant to be together but I have never heard of that term before. Andromeda of the stars?”

  “Andromeda is a constellation in the Perseus family. It has another name in which it is referred to which is why I think Thaddeus chose it. It’s referred to as the chained woman.”

  “Well that is a very adept name of a star as any for me. I suppose that would be how he sees me.”

  “I’m not liking this one bit Jane. Are you sure you don’t want to go into protective custody yet?”

  “I agree Jane I think it’s time you consider it.”

  “Perry, Sir I understand the reasoning you have come to and your concern on the matter still. Thaddeus does seem to have stepped up his delusional state a bit but if I run away and go into hiding Tha
ddeus will have won. He won’t stop killing because he can’t get to me. He will get worse I can promise you that.”

  “Well Jane you’re the only one that is my concern. So I’m sorry if my caring in the matter of other people is not as high as it should be. You can go into protective custody you are not the only Detective that can work this case. But you are the only one whose head is in the proverbial noose.”

  “But it’s not can you not see that. Thaddeus has already killed two women and Jack. Do you really think he will stop there? I cant take you all in to protective custody with me and there would be no stopping him from killing all of you to get to me. I wont have that Perry I cant have that. No one needs die for me.”

  “Ok Jane what can we do?”

  “We work this case all night if we have to. We are going to have a new crime scene tomorrow with new evidence. It will help give us a fresh prospective on the case. But for now we work what we have got. I need a notification put into place that as soon as any new women go missing fitting my own general description I want to know about it. I don’t want him taking someone else and not finding out until he sends us the photos. Also Superintendent Andrew Walden can you look into the taser find out who was registered at having that sidearm its most likely Jack’s but its safer to check?”

  “Yeah I can look into that.”

  “Thank you Sir Ian, Amy we have the contact details for Hal Walpole can you go and collect his statement sees if he did see anything? And on your way back can you swing by the Halfords store and pick up the extra CCTV footage for me?”

  “Yeah were head on over to Hal Walpole first then were be picking up the CCTV.”

  “Thanks guys. Eric can you start going through the security footage from the shops that you got today and make the extra markings on the map for locations. I’ll look into the new payphone number and mark that location and then I’ll start looking into Kyle McManus.”

  “Are you going to be alright here for a while Jane? Because I’ll go off and start making a start on the LSD connection. And I’ll ask around about Kyle McManus. I may be able to find out some information that can help you.”

  “Yeah go Perry thanks call me if you get anything. I need to ring the crime scene techs and the police unit I sent out see if they found anything at that tree location. So we all have our tasks to do lets get going people.”

  Ian, Amy, and Perry all left the station Eric set off to set himself up with the TV and the map of Thaddeus locations that he had originally started. The Superintendent had headed on up to his office to look into the taser. Jane felt like she had gone from being surrounded by her team and their concern to standing in still a busy room and station but left feeling completely on her own. Jane liked to try and hide from the team how scared she was, Jane thought she managed it well most of the time. But Thaddeus was breaching a whole new level. Jane had witnessed first hand how psychotic, sadistic and pure evil Thaddeus could be. Looking into the eyes of Thaddeus new victims that he had killed through the photos that he had sent. Jane could see the fear that was present and so pronounced in their eyes as they were bound against any chance of escape and she couldn’t help but picture herself back chained at Thaddeus will. Every fibre and rational bone in Jane’s body was telling her to run, to hide, and to forget everything but surviving but unfortunately Jane had bigger pride issues than self-preservation. She was loyalty bound to her job, to her duty and that it was her responsibility to make sure that Thaddeus is caught no matter the cost. Jane just had to focus, work harder and be as relentless and ruthless in the hunt for him as he had been for her so far. Jane promised herself one thing she was going to make sure that Thaddeus had a changed perception of her. Never again would she be made to feel like a woman caught, she promised by the time she was through with Thaddeus she would no longer be the Andromeda of his stars. Jane set herself to work she first called the police unit that she had sent out with the crime scene techs to the tree gathering just off to the side of Proctor and Gamble. She had expected to have heard back from them by now. Jane got through to one of the officers who were prompt in apologising about the delay in updating Jane but they had been struggling to get a signal in the wooded area. It had taken them a while but they had managed to track down the tree. The crime scene techs had been very thorough and had collected photographic evidence of the wear marks to the tree that were made by the rope as well as other trace markers that were left by Thaddeus. There were also trace amounts of blood at the scene that were being sent to DNA for analysis although they were pretty certain it would come back belonging to Helen Moore. There was also something else on the tree that they had found disturbing. Nailed to the tree was a picture of Jane. Not only had Thaddeus addressed the body to her but the crime scene as well. Jane thanked them for their assistance and told the attending police officers to let the forensic team know to update her as soon as they have any analysis results for this case. She also told them to be prepared as there was probably going to be a new crime scene tomorrow, as they believed there to be a new victim. Jane thanked them once again and moved onto her next task. Trying not to let the information of Thaddeus having her photo weigh her spirits down. She traced the phone booth that Thaddeus new answer phone message had been left from to one in West Thurrock. Jane marked the new location on the map to make sure there was an accurate geographical profile going. When Jane looked at the map it looked like he was circling around the area that she was in. He seemed to be staying just on the outside of the boundary but every now and then darting in to the area where Jane is. Jane felt like prey being circled like a shark does in the ocean. It only made Jane more determined to continue on her quest to do everything possible to catch Thaddeus. Jane began her search in the system for a record of Kyle McManus to get a more detailed review of his background. He had been sentenced to a twenty-five to life sentence in prison five years ago after being arrested following the occurrences of three bomb packages being sent to people who Kyle believed to have wrongly deceived him. One person was a fatality and the other two packages severely injured their intended targets. Kyle McManus main area of focus had been in and around London. When questioned by the police following his arrest Kyle McManus gave up several names of accomplices and associates that had helped him on his way. Three of which lived in the Essex area. One Johnny Devlin from Purfleet, one Micky Hampston from South Ockendon and one Daniel Smith from Aveley. Jane sent Perry a quick text with the names in to see if he knew any of them and what kind of information he could get. Jane ran a search through the system for them as well. At the time when Kyle McManus had been arrested all three lived in the Essex area now it was a bit of a different story. Johnny Devlin had been killed in a car accident two years ago, Daniel Smith had moved to Manchester eighteen months ago so they only had Micky Hampston from South Ockendon left. Jane paused a moment before relaying this new information she had got to Perry, Jane couldn’t believe that she was starting to doubt him but everything just seemed to be raising alarm bells in her head. Jane knew that Perry was going to pick up on this new concern he was excellent at reading body language. So Jane promised herself that she would talk to him tonight about her fears but for now she needed his help so she relayed the new information over and went to check in on Eric. Eric had made his way through five of the six tapes that himself, Ian and the rest of the team had collected from their days work visiting the shops. There was clear photographic evidence of Thaddeus being in each one and the markings on the map were getting ever clearer.

  “Jane I found the taser and your not going to believe it.”

  “Sir that’s some good news then but why is that going to make me not believe it? Was it not the one registered to Jack then?”

  “No it wasn’t registered to anyone it has been logged to this station but not checked out. Which means it should have been in storage but it’s not.”

  “Ok I’m picking up from your tone that you believe either Thaddeus walked into our station and collected his own taser, which I’m
highly sceptical about him pulling that off. Or we have an inside man who passed him one.”

  Jane studied her Superintendent’s face for a reaction to either of those statements.

  “Ok I’m guessing from your silence that you are leaning more towards the latter?”

  “Well aren’t you I mean the idea of Thaddeus being able to walk in here and back out again when every member of staff at this station and the public knowing what he looks like is beyond reasonable belief. But an inside man doesn’t seem like such a far fetched idea. We already know that Thaddeus plays a powerful mind game look at all the family’s from before and what he talked those dads into doing.”

  “Your right there is no denying it. It’s the most reasonable and rational conclusion from the evidence.”

  At that precise moment Ian, Amy and Perry had walked back into the station. All Jane could do was look into the eyes of all the people she called friend, colleague and Perry her love. A little bit of Jane’s heart died in that moment that the thought of one of them betraying her.

  “Jane what’s the most reasonable and rational explanation of the evidence? Why are you just staring? Jane what’s wrong?”

  Amy tried to break through as Jane’s mind was spiralling into a panic dive. Thaddeus was out and coming for her and one of these people were helping him. But who…