Buried (Alex Hope Series Book 2)

by Aj Estelliam

  ‘Good!’ I exclaimed, hearing his thoughts about the woman who he had dated. She was all business and only cared about her next story breaking. She wasn’t concerned about victims or families lives…she just wanted the story.

  ‘So, we need to figure this out now,’ he began. ‘Can you give me anything on the man who did this?’ he asked.

  I shook my head. ‘I don’t know anything, Captain.’

  He looked at me strangely. ‘That’s rare for you, Alex!’

  ‘I know,’ I frowned. ‘I don’t actually understand it myself.’

  ‘No…well, will you let me know if you find out anything else?’ he asked.

  ‘Of course,’ I nodded. ‘Maybe when things have settled a little…today has been…’ I trailed off.

  ‘I know,’ he nodded. ‘And I want to thank you, Alex. We would never have found her without you.’

  ‘I don’t know about that…’ I said, humbly.

  ‘Yes, you do,’ he said quietly. ‘There’s no way we would have found her alive unless it was for you and what you can do. Thank you, Alex. I’m very appreciative that you’re around to help us.’

  I nodded, feeling slightly embarrassed by his sentiment.

  ‘But for now, I want you to go home. JJ, you go too…look after Alex.’

  ‘Gladly,’ Jess nodded.

  ‘Come back in tomorrow morning and we’ll see what happens next,’ he told us.

  ‘Okay,’ I agreed. ‘And remember, Captain, don’t forget your seven-o clock appointment tonight.’

  He nodded, smiling at me. ‘I’ll be there, don’t worry.’

  ‘Good. See you tomorrow,’ I said, leaving.

  ‘Take care of yourself,’ he said, as way of goodbye.

  I smiled as I left.

  Jess fell into step with me as we headed out of the building.

  ‘What was all that about?’ she wondered.

  ‘Let’s just get out of here…too many watchful eyes,’ I murmured, looking around the room. I knew what they were thinking because I could hear them. I was a complete kook. A nutter, one thought. Brilliant, I mused. Found the girl, saved a life and I was looked upon as a crazy loon!

  We left the police station and climbed into the car. As soon as we were off, I turned to Jess.

  ‘You don’t think I’m mad, do you?’

  She lifted an eyebrow and stared at me briefly. As her eyes went back to road she commented, ‘not all the time,’ and then laughed.

  ‘No, seriously, Jess. Those people in there…the looks they were giving me, the thoughts in their heads…I’m helping, right? I’m not making a fool of myself, am I?’

  ‘Alex, you’ve broken this case wide open! It’s a clear fact that Rachel would have been dead by now if it wasn’t for you. You’re a heroine, not a mad woman. The little people can have their little views-let them. As long as you’re okay and happy, nothing matters. You’re going to need to learn to ignore them as with what you can do, you’re going to encounter disbelievers everywhere.’

  ‘But you believe me, right? Half the time I wonder if people think I’m involved!’ I exclaimed passionately.

  ‘Well, if they do they’re idiots. Trust in the close people around you and it’ll be fine.’

  ‘But I only have you and the Captain. You’re the only two people I know and respect around here!’

  ‘You’re not regretting moving up here, are you?’ she asked, her voice turning quiet and sounding concerned.

  ‘No, not exactly…I just…well, I have acted quite spontaneously as of late. I’ve abandoned my home, my family and my job to move to Scotland. I’ve only known you a matter of months…I just feel…uneasy,’ I admitted.

  ‘Well don’t,’ she muttered. ‘Things are going to be fine, you’ll see. I’ll get you home, run you a nice warm bath and then we can cosy up watching a film. Once you’re warm, calm and relaxed you’ll feel a million times better.’

  I smiled over at her. ‘You’re a mind reader now, are you?’

  ‘Well, doesn’t that sound good?’ she questioned.

  ‘It sure does,’ I nodded. ‘I just…’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Why do I feel so uneasy?’ I questioned.

  ‘Probably because of the case,’ she murmured.

  ‘Yeah…I think that’s it. I mean, I know I found the girl but…’

  ‘But what, Alex?’

  ‘But…well, I hate to say it, Jess, but I feel like it’s not over. I feel like it’s not over by a long shot.’

  ‘Oh,’ was her only comment.

  I watched as she rounded the bend and the sea came into view. Despite its beauty, I shivered involuntarily. A sense of foreboding came over and me and I frowned to myself. Evil seemed close; and yet I wasn’t sure why.

  After parking up, Jess was true to her word. She took me inside and insisted on running a warm bath for me. After I was well and truly warmed up, we climbed into her large bed and nestled against the large cushions against the headboard. It was comfy and warm and I was with the woman I loved. It couldn’t have been more perfect.

  ‘So, earlier…you said you’d tell me what that was all about,’ Jess murmured, turning to face me as the adverts played in the beginning of the film.

  ‘Yes…it’s to do with the Captain’s girlfriend,’ I began.

  ‘He doesn’t have a girlfriend!’

  ‘Oh yes he does,’ I smiled.

  ‘No way! The old dog! Who’ve thought it?’

  ‘Well, she’s been doubting him lately. She thinks she doesn’t matter to him and that all he’s concerned about is his job.’

  ‘Is he?’

  ‘No. He loves her…a lot.’

  ‘Oh…so why did you need to talk to him about that?’ she wondered.

  ‘Because the woman-Fee-she’s pregnant.’

  Jess gaped at me.

  ‘Yeah, I know…she was thinking of getting rid of the baby because she thinks he’s too tied to his job. I wanted to get in there before she does anything drastic.’

  ‘Oh my goodness! What did Dan say? I bet he was stunned? I can’t imagine him as a father. I didn’t know he wanted to be one!’

  ‘He’ll make a wonderful father,’ I said softly. ‘Can’t you see it?’

  ‘Well, actually, yes…when I think about it…’

  ‘You see? So, I needed to talk to him privately so that he would go to her and reassure her it’ll be okay.’

  ‘Yes, of course. I understand it all now! Wow…’ she commented.

  ‘I know.’

  She smiled over at me. ‘And you can see our children too, you said a while ago?’

  I nodded, smiling. ‘Yes, I can…I mean, I don’t think it’s happening yet a while. Maybe a few years. It’s definitely there though, yes,’ I told her.

  ‘What a lovely thought.’

  ‘It is, yes,’ I said, settling back against the sofa.

  ‘Alex?’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘Don’t regret moving here with me,’ she said in a soft, clear voice.

  I looked over at her and held her eyes. They had always captivated me-their sea green depths with flecks of brown in. ‘I don’t, Jess…I guess I’m just scared.’

  ‘Of what? Me?’

  ‘No, not at all,’ I told her. ‘More of me,’ I frowned, pointing to my head. ‘I don’t get this thing in my head, Jess. How can I expect others to understand and befriend me when I’m such a strange character?’

  She smiled at me. ‘Everyone who gets to know you thinks you’re amazing, Alex. You don’t need to worry about it.’

  ‘I don’t know, Jess. You didn’t hear what all those people were thinking as we left the station.’

  ‘Oh yeah? Well, forget them. Anyone who wants to question you or be mean to you can deal with me first,’ she said.

  I laughed aloud. ‘For a woman, you can be strangely macho sometimes.’

  ‘Only when it comes to you,’ she smiled. ‘Now come here…I feel like we’ve not even hugged since we got b
ack home.’

  I sighed, moving into her arms. She held me close against her body and we relaxed against each other as we watched the film. As we sat in the quiet room, I felt myself finally feel content and happy to be back in Scotland. It was with Jess that I belonged.

  The film played out while we lay there quietly. Near the end, I could feel myself getting sleepy and I began to drift. As I drifted, my mind relaxed. As my mind relaxed, the vision crept in.

  Like a thief in the night, the black figure loomed in the shadows. Only the breathing told me it was alive. Slow, calculated breaths. No emotion, no fear, only determination.

  As the woman beyond carried the bag to the bin, the move was made. Creeping out, he lifted the bow and shot the drug into the woman’s neck. In an instant, she was down. On the floor, and unmoving.

  Over the black figure walked, looming over the woman on the ground who stared blindly up. Bending, he lifted her and carried her to the van. Laying her down into the back, he slammed the door and was gone.

  I hurried into the back to where the woman lay in the back of the van. Her eyes darted around in fear and she tried to move her body to escape. It was no use. Whatever she had been drugged with had rendered her limbs paralysed. There would be no escape. The woman resigned herself to her fate.

  I jerked awake with a gasp.

  ‘What?’ Jess asked, sleepily.

  It was clear we had both drifted off. ‘Get up,’ I ordered, Jess.

  ‘Why?’ she said, instantly standing and following orders. A good police officer, she was.

  ‘Another woman’s just been taken,’ I told her.

  ‘Oh no,’ she muttered, pulling on her walking boots. ‘Come on…let’s get back to the station.’

  ‘What time is it?’ I asked as we hurried down the stairs.

  ‘It’s ten thirty.’

  ‘Oh good,’ I murmured.

  ‘Why is that good?’ she asked, frowning my way. ‘I was just falling asleep!’

  ‘It’s good because the Captain was meeting Fee at seven. By now, they should have had a half-decent chance to talk. Seeing as I need to call him now, I don’t feel quite so bad.’

  ‘Oh yes…I hadn’t considered that!’

  ‘Come on, Jess…let’s get moving.’

  Chapter 5

  As we drove to the police station, I phoned Captain Withers.

  ‘Hello?’ he answered after three rings.

  ‘Hi Captain, it’s Alex.’

  ‘Alex? What’s wrong?’ he asked.

  ‘I’ve just had a vision of a new girl,’ I told him clearly. ‘We’re heading to the station-can you meet us?’

  ‘Yes, of course. I’ll be there in ten minutes.’

  ‘Okay…same here. Uh, Captain?’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘Did you have time to have your chat?’ I asked him, concerned.

  ‘I did, yes. Don’t worry-everything’s fine,’ he murmured.

  ‘Oh good. Well, see you shortly.’

  ‘Okay.’ I hung up and stared out into the blackness of the night. To think, out there somewhere was a young woman-bound and helpless-worried she was going to die. I took a steadying breath. I was going to help her.

  Jess reached the station in record time and we headed inside quickly. While Jess checked the records to see if anyone had been reported missing, I sat in the Captain’s office, scouring the newspaper. Rachel’s picture was covering the front page and the article outlined the details of the case. I read it with interest, amazed at how quickly the journalists managed to put the story together.

  ‘Alex,’ Captain Withers addressed me as he walked in.

  ‘Hello, Captain,’ I nodded.

  ‘Call me Dan, remember.’

  ‘Yeah,’ I replied, distractedly. ‘A woman has been taken,’ I informed him.

  He came to sit in front of me and Jess quickly came over too. They both waited for me to continue.

  ‘She was taking the bin out to the dumpster behind the building where she works. It’s somewhere in the town-like a bar or pub or something. Anyway, she was darted.’

  ‘Darted?’ the Captain questioned.

  ‘Yes. The figure in the darkness blew a dart into her neck and suddenly she collapsed. I figure it contained some sort of drug. He then put her in the back of the van and drove off.’

  ‘Did you see the van?’ Jess asked.

  ‘Just a plain, old white van,’ I said frowning.

  ‘Anything else?’ the Captain asked.

  I shook my head. ‘Just her lying in the back of the van, terrified and helpless. She can’t move and that scares her the most. What’s worse if that she’s given up. She doesn’t feel like a fighter-like Rachel. She seems scared…resolved to her fate.’

  The Captain and Jess both stared at me with mirrored expressions.

  I sighed. ‘That’s all I know.’

  Suddenly, we were interrupted.

  ‘Excuse me, Captain,’ a male police officer addressed us, sticking his head around the door. ‘We’ve had a missing person’s report. A woman,’ he told us seriously.

  The Captain looked from the police officer to me and then back again. ‘Okay…I’m coming.’

  ‘Captain?’ I said, standing.

  ‘Oh yes, you come too,’ he nodded.

  We all stood and headed for the conference room.

  The missing woman was called Gina Harmon. She had been working in a pub called ‘O’Reilly’s’ and when she hadn’t returned home two hours after her shift, her husband had called the police. The previous reports about missing women had the locals worried. Everyone was on high alert and being careful about reporting loved ones missing when their routines altered.

  ‘Any ideas where she’s been taken?’ Captain Withers asked, turning towards me.

  I shook my head. ‘No…I didn’t see anything beyond the van.’

  ‘Describe the van again?’

  ‘White…old…just an average small, car size van!’ I said, shrugging.

  ‘You didn’t see the number plate?’

  ‘No,’ I said, feeling frustrated. ‘I told you everything that I saw.’

  ‘Okay, okay…don’t get annoyed, I was just asking,’ he almost scolded me.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ I said, releasing a breath from deep inside. ‘It’s just so hard…I see fragments and then I feel like I’m helping, but not quite fast enough. If I see anything else of use, obviously I’ll tell you right away.’

  He nodded my way and then looked towards Jess. ‘Any ideas?’

  ‘Well, if he’s true to form, we should be scouring churches right now, looking for her.’

  He gazed at her for a moment, clearly thinking this through. ‘Good thinking, JJ…let’s get some men out there-can you organise it?’

  ‘Of course, sir,’ she said standing. She turned and began walking away, and then turned, looked at me and frowned.

  I sighed. ‘I’ll be fine! Just go…’

  ‘Don’t go getting into any trouble, mind!’ she warned, but a smile at the end broke the tension.

  ‘Yes, sir,’ I grinned, smiling back at her. Our eyes met and held and I was reminded why I first fell for her so hard. She and I connected. There was something electric between us which sparked every time our eyes met. It was a little bit of magic and I felt it once again as I watched her.

  ‘Okay…see you in a bit.’

  I nodded and then turned away to look at the Captain. ‘I’m just going to the bathroom,’ I told him, standing.

  He grunted, which I took to be approval that I temporarily leave. I then headed off down the hall to find the nearest ladies.

  When I went inside, I used the toilet before standing before the mirror. I washed my hands and then splashed water on my face, trying to wake up my tired brain. If I could only force it into gear, I could help more I mused. I rubbed at my temples. Another headache threatened to overwhelm me.

  ‘Hey,’ a woman said, as she came out of another cubicle.

  ‘Oh, hey!’ I sai
d, surprised. I hadn’t noticed anyone else was in here…I hadn’t heard anything at all-and that for me, was rare.

  ‘Are you alright?’ she asked. ‘I heard about earlier…’ she said, washing her hands by the sink.

  ‘I…who are you?’ I asked, thrown.

  ‘I work with JJ…my name is Laura Thomas,’ she informed me.

  ‘Oh, she hasn’t mentioned you. You’re a police officer?’

  ‘Yes, that’s right,’ she smiled, turning to face me now. ‘I think you do wonderful work with the police,’ she told me. ‘I really admire what you did to help find Rachel.’

  I narrowed my eyes at her. ‘And what do you know about that?’ I asked.

  ‘Just what the Captain told me,’ she revealed.

  I knew then that she was lying. There was no way on earth that the Captain would disclose my hidden talent to anyone else in his department-not unless it was entirely necessary.

  I whirled and rushed for the door, yelling as I opened it. ‘Captain Withers!’

  All eyes turned to me as I hurried down the hall calling his name. Jess reached me first with the Captain close behind.

  ‘What’s wrong? Did you see something?’ he asked urgently.

  ‘There was some woman in the toilets…she said you talked to her about me. Is there a police woman called Laura Thomas here?’ I asked, frowning.

  ‘No…no-one,’ Jess told me.

  ‘She said she was a friend of yours,’ I said, turning to Jess.

  ‘No, Alex. You need to be careful…she’s almost definitely press trying to pump you for information. They will have seen you around and wonder what your involvement is. You need to be more careful than this, Alex.’

  ‘I was going to the toilet, Jess!’ I said huffily. ‘I wasn’t exactly hanging out in graveyards waiting to be attacked!’

  ‘I know, I know,’ she said, clearly trying to calm me. ‘Come on-let’s go and sit down.’

  ‘I don’t want to sit down! Let me do something! Let’s get out there and find this woman! I’m no use sitting around on my arse! Come on!’