by Aj Estelliam
‘So, do you know where he’s being held?’ Pete asked.
‘No,’ I said grimly. ‘The trouble with what I do is it’s not predictable. I see flashes and bits here and there but none of it can be controlled. I can’t pinpoint his location unless I’m shown it. I have a feeling that even he doesn’t know where he is…’
‘Why do you say that?’ Jess asked.
‘Because he’s been trying to communicate with me. He keeps calling me to help…’
‘How can we do that when we don’t know where he is?’ another man asked.
‘That’s where I need your help,’ I told them all. ‘We need to assemble teams to search the graveyards like before…that’s what she does so why wouldn’t she do it with him?’ I questioned.
‘But, what about Jeremy Swan?’ an officer asked.
‘He was a convenient scapegoat for all of this,’ I told them. ‘Zoe involved him from the start, digging graves, promising him sexual favours and her gratitude if he assisted her. He enjoyed it all as his mental health is all over the place. I actually think he was very skilfully manipulated and should not be held to account for all of her crimes.’
‘How can we help?’ Jess asked, clearly trying to get me to wrap things up.
‘I need people out searching. I don’t claim to know where he is just the following-he’s currently being held in a dark, sterile room. He is bound with plastic. He is gagged and has been drugged intermittently. He is fighting but he is struggling. He’s in pain…we have to help him.’
‘What about his fiancé?’ the woman on the front row asked. ‘Especially considering she’s pregnant!’
‘I know,’ I frowned. ‘Honestly? I don’t know…’ I murmured. ‘And that scares the fuck out of me.’
The meeting disbanded and we quickly headed off to churches of the surrounding area. I went with a small team of Jess, Pete and one more officer called Rob. We drove to the first church and stepped out into the snowy air. I pulled my coat around my shoulders more closely and headed across the snow.
In the graveyard, I stood and waited. I listened and when there was nothing, I turned.
‘Let’s move on,’ I said, walking back towards the car.
‘Nothing?’ Jess asked, hurrying into step beside me.
‘No. We can’t waste any time. If there’s nothing, we need to move quickly. We have at least twenty churches in the surrounding area at least! If she’s changed the game, we’ll be looking even further.’
‘Can you see any evidence that either of them have actually been buried?’
‘No!’ I said, in a frustrated voice. ‘I can’t see anything right now.’
‘Well let’s just keep going then.’
‘That’s what I think,’ I told her, standing by the side of the car. ‘If I can’t see anything else, we may as well search where it’s likely she’s put them…’
‘Yeah…’ she sighed. ‘This is such a mess…’
‘I know…I keep thinking of him bound and helpless. It just…’ I broke off. ‘It isn’t right.’
‘No. Come on; let’s focus. We’ll go and find him and make sure his new family gets through this. Let’s be positive and believe we’re going to save them.’
I nodded, swallowing hard. Steeling myself for hours searching in snowy graveyards, I got back in the car.
Five graveyards further, we still were having no luck. With no progress made, we moved on to the seventh and then the eighth. In every graveyard, it was the same story. Silence greeted me; only the dead were present and their voices were still.
In the ninth graveyard I was feeling disappointment, in the tenth despair and when we reached the eleventh, I found myself feeling nerves in the pit of my stomach.
We climbed out of the car and walked around a huge, brick church building. The graveyard was dark as it was surrounded by large, heavy laden trees. They swayed violently in the wind and the whole place felt like it had an ominous presence. We were out of the local church area now and beyond the borders of our town. As we walked in, I felt a prickling feeling on the back of my neck. It made me tingle and I stopped still at the edge of the graveyard.
‘Alex? What is it?’ Jess asked softly.
‘I…I don’t know…’
‘You hear a voice?’ she questioned.
‘I…no, I don’t.’
‘What then?’
‘I just feel…an awareness here. My hairs are standing on end and I feel nerves in the pit of my stomach.’
‘Trust it, Alex,’ Jess advised me. ‘You’ve never been wrong before.’
I swallowed hard and turned to my small team. ‘Can you all stand back a while…I want to go and…’ I turned back as a sinister laugh reached my ears.
‘Alex?’ Jess murmured.
‘I heard something,’ I murmured.
‘A voice?’
I shook my head, willing her to stop talking. I concentrated and could still hear a faint laughing in my head. Why had I never recognised the fact that it was a woman laughing before? I could hear it now-even sense it. I bent to the ground and drew my knees up to rest my head on. I was instantly soaked by snow on my rear but I didn’t care. I needed to home in on this voice.
I closed my eyes and drifted.
Laughing. She laughed and laughed as she sat in her room with the dolls. With Barbie and Ken, she lay on the table and covered them with cloth.
Die, little bitch…and the baby too.
My mind shifted.
Terror and fear snaked through me, making me quiver and lose control of my bladder. I was feeling claustrophobic and struggling to breathe. The walls of my coffin seemed to close in around me as my heart began beating faster.
I used my hands to run over my confined position. Rough wood was felt against my hands and I reached as far as my bindings would allow. I had never coped well in small spaces and this time was no exception. I blinked in the darkness, listening…listening…
I swallowed hard as I began to understand what I was hearing. It was repetitive and constant. It was rhythmic and distracting. I felt a bead of sweat trickle down my forehead and across to my ear. I ached to wipe it away and get rid of the itch it had left. The trouble was, now I knew moving was unwise. I felt my bowels release themselves and then a sense of shame at the lack of dignity I faced. Imminent death filled the space around me and I closed my eyes at the tears which came. Soft cries filled the air as I wept.
I opened my eyes as I heard the cries. This time they weren’t in my head. They were real. I stood up and turned to my team.
‘She’s here,’ I told them.
Jess’ eyes bugged out. ‘Fee?’
I nodded, swallowing hard.
‘Where?’ she asked.
I stared.
‘Alex; where?’ she asked, panicked.
‘I…over there,’ I said, pointing in the general direction of the graveyard.
Jess immediately signalled to the other team who had just pulled up alongside our car. They got out and began taking shovels and other tools out of the boot of the police car.
I looked back over to the graveyard and wondered why I was still waiting.
Chapter 23
‘Alex?’
I stood mutely watching the graveyard as laughter filled my head.
‘Alex?’
‘Just wait a minute,’ I murmured.
‘Why?’
‘I don’t know…but I need to think for a moment.’
‘Can you hurry up with it? There’s a pregnant woman buried alive over there!’ Jess exclaimed.
‘Don’t you think I know that?’ I murmured.
Jess was antsy, moving from foot to foot, obviously keen to get moving. I stared over to the graves and in my head, I could see which one it was. It was the gravestone with a cross; if I tilted my head it was as if ‘X’ marked the spot.
‘Alex? Where are we digging?’
‘I…’
‘Alex, come on…you’re stalling for no reason…’
&
nbsp; ‘I…it’s the…it’s…the one with the cross.’
‘The gravestone with the cross?’ she asked, pointing across to the correct one.
‘Yes,’ I nodded.
‘Great,’ Jess said, and turned to her team. I barely listened as she turned to her team and started giving orders. As they made their way across the graveyard, my head began floating away…as I lost the here and now; I drifted.
‘Boom, goes the baby! Boom goes the lady! Boom goes the psychic who knows too much,’ she sang.
Over and over it repeated and after it rang out in my ears she laughed and laughed; overjoyed with how clever she had been. ‘Snuff them out, in one quick blast. Over and done with; goodbye.’
I gasped and came too in an instant. ‘Stop!’ I screamed, wailing like a banshee! ‘Stop! Stop! Don’t take another step! Fuck!’ I screamed aloud.
‘What is it?’ Jess asked, whirling around.
‘There’s a bomb!’ I cried, panic making me almost incoherent as I moved around chaotically, gesturing them back. ‘A bomb…tied to her…if you dig we’re all gone! Stop, for fuck sake, come back!’ I cried.
The whole team looked startled and alarmed. They began re-treading their steps back towards me.
‘Oh my God, oh my God,’ I cried, sinking to my knees. ‘She’s evil…so evil…don’t go any further…boom goes the baby, boom goes the lady, boom goes the psychic who knows too much.’
‘What did you just say?’ Jess asked, coming to my side and easing me to my feet.
‘Boom goes the baby,’ I sang, ‘boom goes the lady and boom goes the psychic who knows too much…’
‘That’s what you hear?’
Tears were falling down my face rapidly.
‘Call the bomb squad,’ Jess ordered, turning to Pete. ‘Alex, we need as much information as we can…we don’t want this blowing up before we can get her out.’
‘That’s what she wants.’
‘I know, but it doesn’t mean we’re going to let it happen now, does it?’
‘No,’ I said, wiping my tears away. ‘At least I saw it first.’
‘Exactly. Now tell me everything.’
‘I just heard her singing those lines. I can see it; strapped around her waist and ticking away. Fee can hear it and thinks she’s going to die…it’s ticking it driving her crazy.’
‘Okay…okay…anything else…’
‘I…no, I don’t think so.’
‘The line in her song,’ Jess carried on.
‘Which one?
‘The one where she says, ‘boom goes the psychic who knows too much.’
‘Yes?’
‘Well, surely she knows you’re psychic? She’d know that you would see this and stop it happening.’
‘Yeah,’ I agreed, thinking. ‘Maybe she just finds the whole thing amusing; like one big game. I have a feeling it is like that to her.’
Jess frowned. ‘It just seems weird.’
‘I agree. How long will they take to get here?’ I asked.
‘Minutes…this is an emergency and they’re highly trained to dispose of bombs quickly. They’ll get her out safety, Alex. Don’t you worry about that.’
I nodded, swallowing hard. The lump in my throat seemed never-ending lately. ‘Yeah…I guess.’
‘Come on. There’s no point you standing here in the cold. Let’s get you warm in the back of the car.’
I let her lead me to the back of the police car where she gave me a warm blanket and left me to sit on my own. I was grateful of the respite as I felt absolutely worn out and shattered.
I closed my eyes against the back head rest and tried to connect with Fee. I knew how it felt to be imprisoned in a box in the ground and with the addition of a baby and a bomb…well, I didn’t know how on earth she was keeping it together. As I drifted off in my head, I could feel her. Her rapid breathing was coming in gasps as sweat beaded and trickled down her forehead. She felt flutters in her stomach and she didn’t know whether it was the baby or nerves about the bomb. I opened my eyes and willed the bomb squad to be quick.
I sat there, watching Jess talk with the officers. Two minutes later, the sound of a van arriving made me turn. A large, black van pulled up beside the police car and a whole team of men tumbled out looking official and important. I watched as they approached Jess and Pete and began talking.
I listened from inside the car. I didn’t hear their voices, just their thoughts. Mick, the lead from the bomb team was surprised at the location of the bomb on the buried woman and Jess was just plain anxious. She wanted this done so she could move on to finding her Captain alive.
With orders given, the bomb squad collected their equipment and began work. I watched as they sealed off the area and then a small team made their way across to the grave I had indicated.
Long, tense moments followed as they cleared away the snow and then the earth from the grave site. Next came the plank of wood which covered the grave and then the coffin was exposed. I could see it in Mick’s mind’s eye.
As the top of the coffin was eased off, with precision, I heard the conversation between Mick and Fee.
‘You’re safe…here, I’ll remove your gag but you must not move. We need to disable to bomb attached to you, okay?’
‘Okay,’ she said tearfully. ‘Please…I’m pregnant…I don’t want to die here,’ she wept.
‘Calm down, Fee,’ he said gently. ‘We’re getting you out of here, don’t worry,’ he reassured her.
As their conversation continued and the others began identifying the bomb type, I was distracted by the voice in my head. I closed my eyes to focus in on what it was telling me.
‘Stellio, stellio…bomb goes the baby, boom goes the lady and boom goes the psychic who knows too much.’ Laughter.
‘Trick them with the wire. We all know it’s the green one. Don’t touch the blue one, or boom!’
I opened my eyes and immediately reached for the handle of the car. I opened it and stepped out. Jess turned and frowned.
‘You okay?’ she checked.
‘Which wire are they planning on cutting?’ I asked her directly.
‘I don’t know, Alex. They’re experts though, don’t worry. They’re not going to make a mistake.’
‘I…but she’s the trickster, Jess. That’s her thing…she’s trying to trick them with this too…I just heard it all in my head. Please check which wire they plan on cutting…’
‘Okay. Come on…if you can cope with this,’ she said, offering me her hand.
I nodded, knowing I needed to be there. I didn’t want to witness Fee lying in the ground but I needed her to live.
We walked across the snowy grass and over to the grave site.
‘Mick?’
He looked up from the grave.
I stared down and met Fee’s eyes. They pleaded with me for help. She was so terrified it was palpable.
‘You’re going to be okay,’ I said, kneeling to the side of the grave where her head was.
She looked up at me with tears in her eyes.
‘I’m going to keep you safe, okay? Do you trust me?’ I asked her.
She nodded. ‘Of course.’
‘Then let me save you…I can picture you, Fee. You and Dan…you’re on the beach, your little boy is in your arms as you sit on the sand. Dan is beside you and kissing your cheek. Your future is there in my mind. You’re going to get out of this alive-okay?’
She nodded gently, looking relieved.
I looked up at the gathered group of police and bomb specialists. They were all staring at me as if I was one sultana short of a fruitcake. ‘Which wire are you going to cut?’
Mick frowned at me. ‘And who are you?’
Jess answered for me. ‘She’s with us. She’s police, Mick.’
‘Oh. Okay. Well, it’s a classic set-up here. Should be straight forward to disable. We’re going to cut the blue wire. That will shut it down.’
I gasped aloud. ‘If you do that, we’re all gone…I’m
not kidding, you’ll blow us to pieces. You need to cut the green one.’
‘No, that’s wrong,’ he said, shaking his head and frowning. ‘If you cut the green you’ll blow us up.’
I looked to Jess feeling intense frustration. ‘I’ve seen it Jess! She’s tricking us! Please! Please, trust me…I’ve never been wrong before, have I? Please? You have to cut the green one! Christ, I’ll do it! I will do it-put my own life at risk! It has to be the green wire.’
Mick was shaking his head along with several other men in his team. ‘You’re so wrong…you’re going to kill this woman if you do that…’
I gave Jess a look of pure desperation. ‘Jess!’
‘Who are you to make this decision?’ Mick questioned.
‘I’m a psychic,’ I told him defiantly. ‘And I know that if you cut the blue wire, we’ll all be blown into tiny little pieces. The woman behind this is a trickster. She’s laid this trap and finds it amusing that this might cause the death of not one woman but her unborn child, myself and possibly some police officers too as collateral damage. Now, do you want to be responsible for that?’
He stared at me, stony faced.
‘Jess, please…who are you going to trust?’
‘Well, both of you!’ she exclaimed. ‘Alex, these men are experts! What if you are seeing it wrong this time?’ she questioned. ‘I just…is it worth the risk?’
I stared at her and met her eyes intensely. I connected with her sea-green eyes with brown flecks and felt the tug towards her immediately. ‘Jess, listen…I’m not wrong. I’m not. Trust me. Get everyone away…far away. If I am wrong; I’ll pay the price. The thing is, I’m not. You need to let me do this.’
Jess looked from me to Mick and then back again. ‘I don’t know what to do,’ she said in a quiet voice. ‘I trust you, Alex but I don’t want you risking your life here.’
I stared at her and silence surrounded us. I couldn’t believe she hadn’t backed me immediately.
‘I think I should choose,’ a small voice said from below me.
