Buried (Alex Hope Series Book 2)

by Aj Estelliam

  Both Jess and Captain Withers stared at me with identical expressions. It seemed they did this a lot.

  ‘She’s right,’ Jess murmured.

  ‘Yeah…come on…let’s head out and join the teams,’ he agreed.

  I smiled, feeling satisfied. Finally, some action. This case was not going to be solved whilst sitting around and drinking tea.

  I headed out into the black night with Jess by my side. We drove in her car to the first church nearby. There were teams out looking for Gina and I was planning on looking too. I didn’t want her to die, and somehow, I felt like it was more likely with her. I felt a lack of strength in her character; a quietness to her soul which Rachel hadn’t had. Rachel had wanted to fight-I wasn’t sure that Gina did.

  ‘You’ve gone awfully quiet since your little outburst,’ Jess commented from beside me.

  ‘Was I a total bitch in there?’ I asked her.

  ‘Nah…just a little out of character,’ she said quietly.

  ‘I just feel so frustrated, Jess! With the murders before, I felt so much of it clearly. With this case, I’m getting tiny little glimpses and I feel like I can’t help as much as I want to.’

  ‘Hmm…maybe we need to think about helping you to ‘see’ things more clearly.’

  ‘How do you mean?’ I asked.

  ‘I mean, relaxation techniques…perhaps even hypnosis, yoga or meditation.’

  ‘I don’t know-but it might be an idea if things don’t improve.’

  ‘Are you getting anything at all about Gina?’ Jess asked, as we pulled into the churches carpark.

  ‘No-but I have to say-I’m worried, Jess.’

  ‘Why?’ she frowned.

  ‘Because she’s given up,’ I told her bleakly.

  ‘Given up?’

  ‘Yes. She has no hope. Rachel held on to that sign of the cross and believed that God would save her. It kept her going. Gina is fading…I don’t even know if I’m going to be able to save her as she’s gone so quiet.’

  ‘Alex, fight for her…come on-you’re strong. You can do this.’

  I blinked back tears. Right now, I didn’t feel very strong.

  We climbed out of the cars and walked over to the graveyards. Police covered the area, looking for disturbed ground. I walked into the centre of the graveyard, stood in the darkness and closed my eyes. She wasn’t here. I knew it. They were wasting their time and valuable resources. I headed over to where the Captain stood with other men.

  ‘Captain Withers?’ I said softly.

  ‘Yes?’ he said turning.

  ‘It’s the wrong place…don’t bother here anymore.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ he asked.

  I nodded. ‘Move on.’

  He met my eyes in the moonlight and he knew I was sure. He turned and called his men in. We would move on to the next church.

  The team moved on throughout the night. I lost count of how many churches we visited. By early light, we were scouring yet another churchyard. While Captain Withers set his men about looking for ‘disturbed ground,’ what he was really looking for was my signal. I would go to each graveyard and listen. As soon as I was sure there was nothing there, we could continue on to the next place.

  As light dawned on the situation, everyone grew tired and weary. Just to keep going was an effort. None of us stopped though; a life was at stake.

  The next church we stopped at was old. The little brick building was dilapidated and looked like it could do with some serious updating. We headed around the back to a small graveyard. As the men spread out, I went to stand in the centre.

  I closed my eyes and listened. The wind picked my hair up and blew around in the breeze. I almost missed it. I could barely hear the sound until another soft wind sent it my way. A little cry…a heartbeat, pounding against a chest. A whimper and moan.

  Turning, I looked to see where the sound came from. I walked towards it feeling sure I was right. Suddenly, there was no question. She was here.

  I walked to a grave and stared down upon it. I then lay down, curling my body up into a foetal position and rocking very slightly. I cried for her as she cried beneath me. Strong arms then lifted me out of the way and into a warm lap. Jess.

  Police swarmed the grave and armed with shovels and tools, they began to dig. The Captain was there too, adding his strength to his army, desperate to free her. They dug to the wood and then pulled it out with force. Then, they were in. The coffin was prised open and she lay there; so tiny she had curled herself into a foetal position-just as I had mimicked. I watched as her eyes grew round and she exhaled rapidly, knowing she wasn’t going to die. As they brought her to safety, I cuddled into Jess’ warm top and rocked against her. It was almost too much to bear. Being buried alive…who would do such a thing? What kind of monster lurked out there in the shadows? I shivered and held Jess closer. She answered by pulling me tight against her. As they brought Gina Harmon to the surface, I released the breath I felt like I had been holding all night. I had done it…in the end, I had found her.

  Gina was taken to hospital and everyone else headed back to the station. Jess and I went back briefly before being sent home to sleep. When we reached home, I headed for the bathroom instead of the bedroom. I felt tainted and dirty; like evil had left an odour upon me. I scrubbed myself clean and then put pyjamas on for bed. I was bone-tired and just about ready to drop.

  In the bedroom, Jess was already lying down. She looked as tired as I felt and as soon as I climbed in beside her, she cuddled me close and closed her eyes.

  ‘Sleep,’ she ordered.

  ‘Bossy boots,’ I murmured, but did as she said. I was just about ready to collapse with exhaustion. Sleep consumed me in seconds.

  Chapter 6

  I woke many hours later feeling much more like myself. As I blinked against the light, I thought about the restorative effect sleep had. I had always liked my sleep and was useless when I missed it.

  ‘Hey,’ Jess murmured, rolling over to face me.

  I smiled at her warmly. Her face was crumpled and sleepy. She looked younger and so much more relaxed in bed. When she was awake, I often thought of her as ‘all business.’ Focused and determined; always the police officer on duty. Right now, she was mine, all mine. ‘Morning,’ I grinned cheekily.

  ‘Someone looks perkier!’ she commented.

  ‘Mmm…I had a good sleep,’ I said, sidling closer to her.

  ‘I can see that. It’s nice to see you smiling again.’

  I sobered a little. ‘I’m sorry it’s been all about the case since we came home. I know you wanted this to be a lovely homecoming and for me to settle in well. Sorry it hasn’t been that.’

  ‘Alex; life for us isn’t destined to be an easy ride. I’m a police detective and you’re a psychic. It’s bound to be interesting.’

  I smiled at her. ‘Well, at least we have the here and now…’

  ‘What are you suggesting?’ she asked, smiling.

  ‘Well…’ I murmured and reached for her.

  She smiled before leaning in towards me and kissing me softly. Her lips felt smooth and gentle over mine. I sighed and opened my mouth under hers. Her tongue played with mine and I felt my arousal ignite. I moved against her wantonly, desperate for more suddenly-needing her touch.

  Jess moved me onto my back and pushed my top up and away. As her lips closed around one nipple, I arched against her and cried out in pleasure. Her hands, lips and mouth played with me gently and I felt my body rising with heat.

  Jess moved southwards and when she reached the place where I ached, bent to lick me intimately. I moaned in pleasure and cried out her name as her touch sent me into the heavens. I writhed, bucked and arched against her talented mouth until I felt myself tighten and release. I came with incredible force, my orgasm sending me spiralling out of control. In bliss, I found my release and lay back, enjoying the delicious sensations my body was experiencing.

  When I came too, I turned over with a smile and climbed over Je
ss to kiss her thoroughly. Losing myself in her body, I made love to her. I lost all sense of time and place as we connected as one.

  Sometime later, I lay next to Jess who was dreaming gently. I closed my eyes tentatively, afraid of the visions that may come but ready all the same. I needed to help, and the only way to do that was to ‘see’ more.

  I rested and searched my head for more. The trouble is, I couldn’t see anything of use. I opened my eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. I didn’t want to see anyone buried again. It was getting all too much.

  I got up quietly, aware of the time. Having been up all night and morning, we had slept during an afternoon and I didn’t want to mess up my body clock too much. I took another shower and then headed down the stairs to find something to eat. I made a cheese sandwich for myself and Jess when she woke and sat down on the sofas. Clicking on the television, the news blared out.

  I stared at the woman reporting on the discovery of Gina Harmon and felt like I knew her. She seemed familiar somehow. I watched for a moment more before remembering. She was the woman from the bathroom! They had been right-the Captain and Jess! She had been trying to get information from me! I frowned at her as she reported.

  ‘Hey,’ Jess said, coming to sit beside me.

  ‘Hey,’ I murmured. ‘I made you a sandwich,’ I said, indicating the food on the coffee table.

  ‘Oh thanks, I’m famished!’

  ‘Look, Jess,’ I said, indicating the TV.

  ‘What?’ she said, biting into the sandwich.

  ‘You know that woman accosted me in the bathroom? She said her name was Laura Thomas…well, that’s her!’ I said, pointing at the television. ‘I couldn’t place her at first because she looked pretty different but that is her! Can you believe it! The press stoop pretty deep, right?’

  ‘You better believe it,’ she grumbled. ‘And she’s the lowest of the low.’

  ‘Is she?’

  ‘Yes…she’s Dan’s ex and a whole lot of crazy,’ she chuckled.

  ‘Why?’ I asked, watching the woman talk.

  ‘She’s just a psycho,’ Jess laughed. ‘She was besotted with Dan and when he tried to break up with her, she kept turning up everywhere trying to convince him to reconsider.’

  ‘Oh…’ I murmured.

  ‘Yeah…and she’s pretty cut-throat. The story is key with her…she’ll do anything to get it-like you found out in the bathroom. I hate to say it, but I reckon she’ll find out about you before too long…she has a way of finding these things out.’

  ‘Really? But I don’t want the world to know what I can do!’

  ‘No, I know,’ she sympathised, ‘but a lot of people witnessed what happened at the graveyards. They’re figuring it out…even though they’ve been told not to talk, it doesn’t normally take much for someone to take a pay-out if the price is right.’

  ‘But that’s awful! I mean, confidentiality of the case!’

  She nodded, sombrely. ‘I know…but it happens all the time, sadly.’

  I frowned. ‘Surely everyone will receive a lot of flak if they give information to journalists?’

  She nodded slowly. ‘Yeah…but it’s often the case that it’s never known who spoke to them.’

  ‘I see,’ I said, nodding slowly. I sat back against the sofa watching the news. They were on to another subject now so I breathed a little easier.

  ‘So, Alex? Do you think there will be more?’ Jess asked. ‘I mean, do you get any sense about whether this is destined to go and on?’

  I shook my head in confusion. ‘I really have no idea, Jess. All I’m seeing this time are victims-nothing about the person behind this.’

  She looked across at me. ‘That was different in my case, wasn’t it?’ she asked, thinking of her brothers who had kidnapped and murdered.

  I nodded. ‘I could feel them…even see their actions sometimes. It was all there…this time; well, I just don’t see it.’

  She frowned. ‘Well, I guess we just keep going.’

  I looked up at her.

  ‘We do it the way we’ve always done it-with traditional police work.’

  I nodded, breathing deeply. Jess’ phone rang and she headed to the kitchen to answer.

  ‘JJ Love,’ she answered, sounding every inch the police detective once again.

  She listened as the Captain spoke. I could tell it was him as I could hear his deep tones.

  ‘Yes…yeah…oh God, really?’ she said into the phone, her face turning pale and pallid.

  I watched her and couldn’t make out what had happened. My heart picked up its pace and I waited for her to hang up. When she did, she went for her shoes-a sure sign that things were not good.

  ‘Get your things,’ she ordered. ‘There’s been another kidnapping,’ she said grimly.

  ‘Oh no…another woman,’ I said, reaching for my shoes immediately.

  ‘No…’ she replied, looking up for a moment. ‘A boy,’ she said sadly. ‘A ten-year-old boy!’

  I gasped in surprise. ‘No! Surely this isn’t connected to the women? It’s always been women taken!’

  ‘Not this time.’

  ‘How can they be sure it’s the same person?’ I asked.

  She sighed. ‘Because he left his calling card…’ she replied.

  Of course, I thought to myself…the typed note. I pulled on my shoes and then grabbed my coat and bag. After shutting the door behind us, once more we drove off to the police station.

  The station was a hive of activity. With the disappearance of a small boy, suddenly things had kicked into high gear. When a child was involved, it seemed to heighten everything. No-one wanted any harm to come to an innocent little boy.

  We reached the Captain’s office and I could see that he was distressed.

  ‘Thank goodness you’re here,’ he murmured. ‘Have you seen anything?’ he asked desperately.

  ‘No,’ I said, shaking my head and frowning. ‘I’m sorry but I haven’t…do you have a picture of something of his I could hold?’ I asked.

  ‘I…yeah, there’s a picture…his parents are headed in now…we can ask them for something too.’

  ‘Good,’ I nodded, feeling concerned that a child had been caught up in this mess. ‘Captain-when was he taken?’

  ‘He was taken on his way home from school. His parents don’t usually allow him to walk home alone but as they were both working this week, they decided to allow him to walk home with a friend today. They made it to his friend’s house but then when his parents got home an hour ago, he wasn’t there.’

  I swallowed hard. ‘Maybe he just went to another friend? Or to the shops? Cinema? Something?’ I asked, desperate for him not to be another victim of this awful criminal.

  He shook his head. ‘Sadly no…we found one of those typed notes.’

  I had forgotten that piece of information. ‘Oh.’

  ‘D U D,’ it read again.

  ‘And, where was it?’ I asked.

  ‘Posted through their letterbox at the boy’s home…’

  I frowned and felt my heart beating fast. ‘Oh, Dan…what has the world come to when someone starts kidnapping little boys?’

  He nodded, looking stern. ‘Now don’t lose focus, Alex. Matthew needs you more than ever…we have teams going to all the church yards in the area. This is going to be solved-we’re not going to allow a little boy to die because of this sicko.’

  I squared my shoulders and tried to put a brave face on when I didn’t feel it at all. ‘Okay…what can I do?’

  ‘Do what you always do…find out where he is from visions. Use my office for quiet-I’ll get you a picture of Matthew.’

  ‘Matthew?’

  He nodded. ‘His name is Matthew Chance and he’s a local boy.’

  I swallowed hard and then nodded. ‘Okay…I’ll go to your office.’

  Two minutes later, the Captain brought me a photo of Matthew. He left me alone and I sat down with the photo on the sofa and tried to concentrate on my thoughts. The troub
le was, I was getting nothing. I could hear one hundred and one people in the next room; their thoughts invading my conscious uncomfortably. Matthew though, was silent.

  I sat there with my eyes closed trying to shut everything out. I couldn’t though. It was too hard. I sat and waited, hoping Matthew’s parent’s arrival would spur things along. When they arrived, I wasn’t prepared for their grief and emotional turmoil.

  ‘Alex? Can we come in?’ Captain Withers asked.

  ‘Yes of course,’ I said, standing to face the parents of Matthew Chance.

  They walked in, clearly beyond distressed and were shown to sit down on the sofa. I watched them as Captain Withers explained the process which would happen and grimaced as I watched their expressions.

  The father was feeling unimaginable guilt and thought his son was dead. The mother was sat there wondering how she could find her boy-and feeling grief unlike anything she had ever experienced. My heart ached for them and I felt like I wanted to help more than ever. The trouble was, I was getting nothing. From everyone else, I could hear it all but Matthew was quiet.

  Deep in my heart, I worried that he was already gone.

  As activity swarmed around me, I sat in the quiet room feeling useless. I wanted to help and yet I couldn’t. I had looked at photos, touched the parent’s hands, held Matthew’s belongings and relaxed and meditated. Teams were out searching churches and graveyards and yet still, I felt like I wasn’t helping.

  Restless and unhappy, I left the office and wandered through the police station. I ended up standing at the crime board which had been set up in the drawing room. I stared at it all, trying to make sense of something which made no sense to me.

  As I watched the board, I became distracted by the map which had markers on where the previous victims had been found. They were marked with drawing pins and I stepped closer to see the points where they had been found. As I stared at it, my hand lifted to the map, running across it with an automatic movement that felt out of my control. I stopped at a small, wooded village called Yateley. My finger stopped and pointed and when I closed my eyes I saw a small, lifeless body lying in the snow, covered roughly with snow and leaves. I gasped and fled from the room, shouting for the Captain at the top of my lungs.