by Aj Estelliam
As Jess drove swiftly up the M25 and past London, I felt myself growing more frantic inside. I kept thinking of the Captain and coming up with nothing. It was worrying me. When I thought of him I felt blank, and I didn’t want to stop and analyse what that meant.
My mobile phone rang then, jarring out of my reverie. I snatched it up with unsteady hands and lifted it to my ear.
‘Hello?’
‘Alex, it’s Pete.’
‘Oh, hey Pete. What’s the update?’
‘Not good news I’m afraid,’ he told me grimly.
‘Oh no, what?’ I asked, feeling sick to my stomach.
‘We went to Dan’s house and we found no-one there. What is worse is we see evidence of a scuffle and there’s blood.’
I gasped.
‘We suspect it’s Fee-the girlfriend’s as there was another identical note left…’
‘Oh God, no! She’s pregnant, Pete!’
‘I know,’ he said quietly. ‘You said.’
‘I need you to look into the person I suspect, Pete. Her name is Zoe Masterson. She’s…’
He cut me off. ‘Zoe? Not possible! I know Zoe…she’s local, works for the news.’
‘I know, trust me, Pete. You need to consider her more.’
‘You think she did this? She can’t be behind this?’
‘Why not?’ I asked.
‘Because…because…’
I heard his thought before he said anything more. Because this was the work of a man, he thought. A woman wouldn’t be strong enough or able to manage this kind of evil. ‘No, Pete, you’re wrong. She is behind this and I’ll prove it.’
‘Well, I…I guess we can looking into her.’
‘Please do. Oh, and Pete?’
‘Yes?’
‘Any idea what the word ‘stellio’ means?’ I asked him.
‘Spell it?’ he requested.
I gave him the letters and waited.
‘I’ll just type it into Google,’ he told me.
‘Thanks.’
‘Ah yeah…it’s come up…it’s Latin. It means ‘trickster.’
‘Of course it does…’ I replied, thinking. ‘She’s been tricking us all along. That’s why the word was in her head.’
‘What are you talking about, Alex?’
‘In the hospital,’ I told him, ‘I could hear nothing from her mind except the one word-stellio. She was tricking us even then, controlling her mind and keeping me out. This is one manipulative and clever woman, Pete. We’re going to need to pull out all the stops to find her and stop her…’
‘But…but…’ he stammered.
‘What, Pete?’
‘I…the thing is…I knew Zoe,’ he told me. ‘I knew her well,’ he said, brokenly.
I stopped for a moment, realising what he was saying. ‘You mean…’
‘Yeah,’ he said grimly.
‘Did she ever ask you about Daniel?’
‘I…I don’t think so,’ he murmured, clearly deep in thought. ‘I mean…well, maybe I might have shared the occasional little tip so she could get a quote or two for her articles…only like twice!’
‘Oh Pete, no!’
‘I didn’t think it would lead to any harm-I mean she only wanted to talk to him as he left the building!’
‘So, you informed her as to when he would be alone leaving the police station?’ I asked, my voice low and controlled.
‘I…’
‘You did, didn’t you?’
‘Yes,’ he said, admitting his mistake in low tones.
‘Oh, Pete-how could you? You led a murderer to her prey.’
‘I never would have dreamed…never have thought…’
‘No,’ I replied quietly, ‘but you’ve managed to put your boss in danger and if he doesn’t come through this, you’re going to have one hell of a guilty conscience to live with-for the rest of your life.’
‘Surely it won’t come to that?’ he asked, somewhat desperately.
‘Don’t be so sure, Pete. I can’t hear him at all…there’s nothing.’
‘You mean…?’
‘I don’t know what it means! I hope it just means he’s out cold or something. The alternative is too much to bear.’
‘I don’t know what to say.’
‘You say you made a mistake and admit to it. Then you do everything in your power to get him to safety.’
‘Yes, but how?’
‘By going after Zoe Masterson,’ I told him definitively.
I hung up from my conversation and glanced over at Jess who was frowning.
‘You hear all that?’
‘Yeah…Pete’s fucked up, I take it?’
‘He has, yes. Don’t be too cross with him though, Jess. He didn’t mean any malicious harm, he was just out to score some more sex with her. It wasn’t anything he thought would cause a problem.’
‘No, but still it was underhand.’
‘I agree,’ I nodded.
‘So, no sign of Fee?’
‘No,’ I said, feeling anxious. ‘That worries the crap out of me, Jess. I mean imagine you’re a crazed loon who is obsessed with your ex…you know he’s engaged and that his fiancé is expecting a baby. Surely if you’re a complete nutter, you’d want to harm that woman and baby…not to mention the man himself.’
‘That’s my take on it,’ she agreed.
I glanced at the speedometer. She had police lights on and was speeding at ninety miles per hour. ‘Can you go any faster?’ I asked, tightly.
We sped on up the motorway as I tried and failed to connect with the Captain. I even focused on Fee but could hear nothing there either. I was praying that maybe they had been knocked unconscious and that was why I couldn’t hear them. I didn’t even want to consider the prospect that one or both of them were already dead. I couldn’t bear it.
I sat back and pushed my hands into my pockets without thinking. As I did so, my right-hand fingers came across something cold and hard. I frowned and then pulled it out of my pocket slowly.
Staring down at the tiny object, I realised now why I had taken it. The Captain’s cufflink. Somehow, I had known…all that time ago, and I had known I would need something of his to get close to him.
I held it in my palm and closed my fingers around it. I breathed long and slow, sending my thoughts deeper and into a realm where connection was possible. Slowly, but surely, I drifted as the energy coming from the cufflink fought like hellfire. My chest rose and fell, my breathing slow and calm. I drifted…
The blows were coming hard and fast. I bowed my head to protect myself. My body was curled as far down as I could but with my bindings against the chair, retreat was impossible. I focused in on the pain and allowed myself to suffer. Acceptance was key. I would accept all she had to offer and then fight back. She would not win, I told myself. I tightened my muscles as another blow landed on my back. ‘Alex…’ I called. ‘Alex…’
My eyes opened and my heart immediately accelerated as I sat up in my seat straight and tall.
‘He’s alive!’ I exclaimed, suddenly full of excitement.
‘You had a vision?’ she questioned.
‘Yes! He’s alive, Jess! He’s alive!’
‘I knew it…’
‘I didn’t! I haven’t been able to hear him whatsoever.’
‘So, what changed?’ she wondered.
‘Because I found this,’ I said, lifting up the cufflink and showing it to her as she drove.
‘What is it?’
‘It’s Captain Wither’s cufflink. I took it from his office some time ago…’
‘Why would you take something like that?’
‘I have no idea…I remember thinking why am I pocketing this, but now I understand…’
‘You knew you would need it someday.’
‘Maybe not consciously, but definitely on some level.’
‘So, go on…where is he? What did you see?’
I took a deep breath. ‘He’s tied to a chair, and bound hard. The tig
htness of the plastic on his wrists is digging in hard enough to cut…it hurts…’
‘Ah, Christ…’ she muttered.
‘She’s beating him with…I think it’s a hammer. I’m not entirely sure but he’s taking it like a man. He’s coping with the pain and getting through it…he’s telling himself to accept the pain.’
‘Sounds like the Captain.’
‘It does, yes.’
‘What else?’ she asked.
‘Not much. He’s calling for me though, Jess.’
‘He is?’
‘Yeah…I think he realises I can help. He keeps calling my name.’
‘So, you can find him?’
‘I hope so,’ I nodded. ‘I mean, I’ve found a way of connecting. All I need to do now is look for clues about the location-and hope I figure it out soon enough.’
‘Soon enough?’ she questioned.
‘Oh, she intends to kill him,’ I said, nodding. ‘I’m sure of that much. It just depends whether we reach him in time.’
Jess steeled her face and increased her speed then. ‘We will,’ she replied. ‘We have to.’
We drove into the distance, closing the miles between us and him quickly. As Jess drove, I clasped the cufflink in my hand and kept focusing on Dan. I could see him in my mind’s eye and was now looking around him for clues. The image wasn’t massively helpful, but it was becoming clearer as I watched the drama unfold.
The beating had stopped and she had left the room temporarily. I looked around from his perspective but it was dark and empty-of little help really. I closed my eyes and focused in on his voice as he called for me once more.
‘Alex! Alex!’
My head dropped and I felt my eye lids flutter as the desperate need for sleep engulfed me. I strained against my bindings, tensing my muscles again and again. Tears threatened as they wouldn’t budge. How was I going to save Fee when I couldn’t even save myself?
‘Alex! Can you hear me?’ I called.
I felt a droplet of sweat fall from my forehead to my knee. It reminded me I was alive. I was still alive, so fight-I told myself. Come on, Dan…you’re stronger than this.
I breathed in and out, in and out, moving my hands and fingers. As I wriggled and tensed, I felt a tiny give in my right wrist. Come on! I kept trying…
The vision left me and I opened my eyes.
‘Jess?’
‘Yeah?’ she said, as she drove on fast and hard.
‘I can see him again.’
‘What can you see?’ she questioned.
‘He’s in a dark, sterile room and bound on a wooden chair. He has a gag in his mouth and his arms are tied behind his back. His waist is bound and his feet are bound. They’re plastic bindings and are hurting him. He’s desperately trying to loosen then as he’s worried about Fee. He’s also figured out that calling for me might help as I may be able to find him.’
‘You think he’s going to buried in a church like the others?’
‘I’m assuming so! I mean, why would she change tack now?’
‘That’s what I’m considering…the thing is, he’s end game, isn’t he?’
‘What do you mean?’ I asked, turning in the passenger seat to look at her more closely.
‘Well, all of this was about him. Maybe this is her final showdown and it’s going to be different. If she intends to kill him, then that is different in itself!’
‘I guess so…’
‘You don’t think so?’
I shook my head, feeling something close to despair. ‘I don’t know, Jess! The worst thing is, I can’t get in her head! If only I could then we could save him!’
‘Remember what your Dad said that time though.’
‘What?’ I asked, frowning.
‘He said you wouldn’t hear someone if they are empty inside.’
Realisation dawned on me. That was it. That was why I couldn’t hear her. It was because she was empty…she was a shell housing a complete evil, narcissistic sociopath.
Chapter 22
The next three hours of driving were, for me, an absolute agony. I flitted in and out of the visions and what I saw made me sick. My boss, the Captain, fighting for his survival whilst being abused.
During the last hour, I felt myself growing more and more antsy. I fidgeted in my seat and couldn’t keep still. My palms sweated and my headache grew worse. Jess beside me was stoic and calm. She drove on fast and with skill, clear on her goal. She was going to get us there as quickly as she damn, well could. As it was, she had made excellent time considering we had six hours to cover.
We arrived at the station shortly after four hours on the road. As soon as the car slowed, we were out and hurrying inside.
As I reached the inside of the police station, I felt my panic reaching fever pitch. We reached the main room where everyone was assembled and already working hard and immediately headed for Pete.
‘Pete!’ I exclaimed.
‘Oh, you’re here! Thank God!’
‘What news have you got?’
He frowned, deeply. ‘None! We can’t find her…we’ve searched and sent out alerts. She’s nowhere to be found. Work haven’t seen her since six this morning when she was meant to be following up the lead on a story. We have no sign of Fee and yet the blood work has come back as hers. As for the Captain…well, there’s nothing.’
‘Have you had teams out at the local churches?’ I asked, desperately.
‘Yes! They’ve found nothing.’
‘Okay, okay…’ I said, pacing. ‘I don’t know what we do…do I head for the churches; do I stay here and meditate? What do I do?’ I said, moving in frantic fashion. ‘What the fuck do I do?’ I then screamed, losing control and collapsing to the ground, crying.
Strong arms lifted me into her arms and Jess carried me away from the multitude of eyes that watched me. She led me into the Captain’s office, kicking the door shut after her. There she sat down onto the sofa with me in her arms and rocked me as she would a small child.
I shook and quivered as I cried, unable to contain it anymore. I felt useless…absolutely, fucking useless. I cried and cried until there were no more tears left. When I finally went still, Jess spoke-surprising me with her words.
‘You done?’ she asked.
I looked up at her.
‘We need to go now. You ready?’
I nodded, swallowing hard. ‘Where are we going?’
‘We’re going to find him, of course.’
I felt her strength and her determination was evident in every inch of her being. ‘Okay,’ I agreed, stumbling off her awkwardly.
‘Get yourself together, Alex. He needs you…’
I nodded, straightening my shoulders.
‘Come on,’ she ordered.
I followed Jess out of the room.
We went into the meeting room and Jess quickly commanded Pete to assemble everyone together. They all filed in presently, concerned about our boss and willing to help. Not a thought in the room was negative. Captain Withers was a well-respected and likable boss; I knew that much from looking around and hearing what they were thinking.
Very shortly, everyone was in and sat down. They looked to Jess expectantly. It was her time. She had taken over in a matter of seconds and no-one was questioning it. They wanted someone to help, and she was the best woman for the job.
‘Thank you for getting here so quickly,’ she began. ‘As you know, we’re concerned for the safety and well-being of the Captain. He has been missing since shortly after seven this morning. We believe he has been taken by a very dangerous and sociopathic character and being held and abused. Some of you know Alex and about her involvement in the case over the last few weeks…I don’t care if you believe in psychic ability or not-she has found all our victims and that cannot be refuted. Alex?’ she turned to me.
I hadn’t expected this. I got up and moved to the podium to speak. I didn’t necessary want to, but for Dan I would do anything at that moment.
‘
Hi everyone…I uh, I don’t think I’ve talked to many of you directly. I’m Alex. Alex Hope. I’m uh…I hear things. I hear thoughts. Sometimes I see things and have visions too. Right now, my mind is crazy because there are about fifty of you in this room and your thought processes are taking over my head. A few of you don’t believe in ‘that crap,’ I said, lifting my fingers for quotation marks, ‘but frankly I couldn’t give a fuck what you believe. I’m not going to waste my time convincing you all of something which is fact. I could prove it in seconds…’ I said, scanning the room. I looked at one man. ‘You’re bidding on a guitar on eBay at the moment,’ I said clearly, ‘it’s a telecaster with silver streaming the body.’
I turned to another man nearer the back. ‘You sir are moving to a new house next week. You’ve lost the shed key-it’s in the drawer with the batteries if that makes any sense?’ I moved on to a woman on my right. ‘You desperate to have a second baby…don’t worry,’ I told her. ‘It’s happened already. Take a test later and you’ll get a positive.’
I looked up and met a whole range of wide eyes staring at me. ‘I could stand here all day proving myself to you all. I don’t want or need to do that! Just trust in me, please. The Captain is a good friend to me. I don’t want to see him get hurt any worse than he already has been.’
I swallowed hard and squared my shoulders before beginning. ‘I believe the Captain was taken by Zoe Masterson-the journalist who he used to date. Do any of you know her?’ I asked.
‘All of us know her-she’s around all the time!’ one man piped up.
‘Okay…well, she used to date him,’ I revealed. ‘When he dropped her, she took it personally. You have to realise this woman is a narcissist. It’s all about her. She can’t take this insult-it’s just too much for her.’
‘Why now?’ a woman asked.
‘Because he’s met someone…I know this isn’t common knowledge but he just got engaged and his fiancé is pregnant. I think Masterson got wind of this and flipped…’
