Angel's Trap : Book 1 of The Secret of the Oxpen's Angel : Read One Of The Most Gripping Women's Crime Fiction Novels Here!

by Lei R. Tasker

  “We always got on well at dad’s and we had similar taste in books and music. We had dinner at my parents once a week and got to know each other quite well. Then, during the summer and autumn of 2018, she was working a lot, research trips for my dad and university work, so I didn’t see her as much. She seemed to be having a tough time. Then in spring this year, she got back in touch. She trusted me, and so when she found that poem, she came to me and told me everything. She had taken photos of the poem and kept the names of the men she met on her phone. I told her not to carry on working my dad, and that I would get to the bottom of it.”

  “So, these men, what did they do to her?” Paige asked, still unsure as to what Eckland was involved in. It was clear to her that even Leo didn’t know the full picture yet.

  “They called themselves ‘The Angel Syndicate’, supposedly an academic organisation, but whenever Ella went to a party or conference that they attended, they were secretive. Some of those nights ended with her in my dad’s spare room with no recollection of the last few hours of the previous day. After that, expensive gifts started to show up at her doorstep with cryptic notes, none of them signed, just saying ‘had a great time with you’ or ‘nice to meet you’. At first, she brushed it off – she was new to academia, and my dad can be quite persuasive, especially with a shy girl like Ella. Sometimes it was an advanced copy of a book she wanted, other times designer clothes. He reassured her, encouraged her to chat to these people.”

  “How often did she wake up not knowing about the day before?” Paige asked.

  I’d say 6 or more, at least the ones she told me about. Perhaps she repressed it at first. But, as there were more and more unexplained ‘lost nights’ - sometimes hours were missing, sometimes half a day - she started to realise there was more to it than that. She wouldn’t dare speculate about what they did to her in those ‘lost’ moments, but sometimes she had bruises.”

  “You think they raped her?” Paige gasped, catching up.

  “Possibly, or something equally disgusting. Ella was considering going to the police the last time I saw her, but she was scared. She kept talking about powerful men and consequences, but I’m not sure what she thought would happen. I suppose her death seems even more suspicious to me because of those comments.”

  “How did you end up with her phone?” Paige asked, wondering how any of this could be true.

  “She went to a bar with her friends for a drink or two, and the same thing happened again. She woke up in her bed with no memory of the night before. She had texts from her friends asking her where she had gone. She was beside herself, as you can imagine and asked me to come over. She gave me her phone, paranoid that she wasn’t safe. I tried to encourage her to go to the police, but she was too scared. She wanted to go back to her parents to get away and said she would call me from her parents’ house, but she never did. Two weeks later, she was dead.”

  “Shit...” Paige said under her breath. How can this be right? she thought, Eckland had always seem so slapdash, was he capable of this kind of thing? Was Leo telling the truth? How could she trust anything he told her?

  “I know, it’s unbelievable. Until a month ago, I thought my parents were just two retired academics. Now I don’t know what to believe. It was hard for me to come to terms with the idea that my dad could be involved in something like this, but I don’t see why Ella would lie to me,” Leo was fidgeting now; he’d clearly been carrying this alone for some time.

  “Leo, come on, how can I believe any of this?” Paige said.

  “Because of Tom,” Leo said, “I have proof that he was involved in whatever my dad has been doing.”

  Paige’s heart jumped, “What do you mean?” She asked.

  “Ella and her friend Jade were sent on a ‘research trip’ to Greece last summer, funded by my dad. He wanted them to look at some manuscripts that a friend of his has. When they got there, they met one of my dad’s ‘associates’ who showed them round the towns and introduced them to some more people out there. Ella told me the man was named Tom.”

  “That doesn’t prove it was my step-dad!” Paige snapped.

  “No, but...” Leo breathed out deeply, “I’m sorry Paige, but there is a photo.”

  He unlocked Ella’s phone and swiped the screen a couple of times. He started to come a little nearer, but Paige backed away again and so he threw the phone gently across the ground to her. Paige bent down and picked it up. The shock made her suck in her breath sharply – Ella, Jade and Tom were stood in the same hotel doorway she’d seen in the photo at Ella’s memorial and on Jade’s Facebook. There was no mistaking that that was Tom – he was even wearing the Beatles t-shirt Paige had bought him as a birthday present a couple of years ago. Tom had an arm round each girl, smiling broadly for the camera.

  Paige stumbled backwards against a tree, slipping down it until she was sat on the forest floor. How can this be real life? she thought, beginning to sob, Tom was my dad’s friend for over twenty years, and he was married to my mum when this photo was taken... this doesn’t make any sense.

  “I’m so sorry Paige,” Leo said, “But I hope you realise why I tried to warn you now. I recognised Tom as soon as I saw him that day, he picked you up.”

  “I don’t... I don’t understand,” Paige choked, in between sobs, “Tom was the one who told me about the job with your dad!”

  “That makes sense,” Leo said gravely, “I think he may have been involved in recruiting girls for my dad as Ella said he tried to bring women back to the hotel room while they were in Greece.”

  “Oh my god...” Paige muttered. She had known Tom for so long and although their relationship had changed since her dad’s death and his marriage to her mum, he was always the same, funny and generous person in her eyes. Her entire perspective was shifting. When did he go to Greece? She tried to think back to the previous summer and couldn’t remember her mum mentioning Tom going away without her.

  She tried to think back over her life – had Tom ever said anything strange to her? Had he ever disappeared with no explanation? Been protective of his phone? Or did he have a second phone? Had she ever seen him out with young women?

  She searched her memories for any hint that Tom had been anything other than a plumber from the outskirts of Oxford, but she couldn’t think of anything.

  Something came to mind – Tom hadn’t been in any of the pictures that Jade had uploaded to Facebook, although this photo must have been taken at the same time. So, why didn’t Jade upload all of the photos? Had Tom or Eckland threatened her? Why was the photo taken in the first place? She suddenly realised – who had taken the photos? Tom may have taken the ones of just Ella and Jade, but was there a fourth person taking the group shot?

  Steadying her breath so that the sobs came less frequently, she asked, “Why did you warn me not to trust Jade? Surely she will have more information about this than anyone else?”

  “You’re right, except that she and Ella fell out right before her death. The morning after Ella went to a bar with her friends, Jade left her a weird voicemail,” he gestured to the phone, “Go to the call history, you can listen.”

  Paige flicked to the call tab and found Ella’s voicemails. The most recent one, marked 18th May 2019, was from Jade. Paige played the message:

  Ella, I’m at my mum’s place and I’m not coming back until you’ve moved your stuff out. I don’t know what the hell you thought you were doing last night, but it isn’t funny. Hugh Eckland rang this morning to ask where the hell you are. Me and you are done.

  “I don’t really know what it means, and I don’t think Ella did either. Jade must have seen her with someone from the Syndicate that night while Ella was drugged, but Ella never got a chance to speak to Jade again before she died. That’s why Jade seems suspicious to me.”

  Paige looked at Leo with a little more clarity. Could he actually be telling the truth? He couldn’t have faked that message – it was definitely Jade’s voice.

  “You see?”
Leo said, “it came up on Ella’s Facebook when you and Jade became Facebook friends, and I knew I had to warn you. I’m not sure Jade is as innocent as she wants everyone to think.”

  “Okay, let’s say I believe you,” Paige said, standing up and wiping her eyes on the sleeve on her hoodie, “What makes you think I’m in danger?”

  “Because there’s a pattern occurring. There was a first year that worked with my dad before Ella. He told me she moved to Canada, but I can’t find any evidence of that. Then Ella was killed, and despite there being witnesses who saw a figure in dark clothing running from the scene and Ella’s wallet with cash in it still being on her when they found her body, the police say it was a mugging with no way to trace the killer. There’s far more to it than Ella was able to tell me. Add in the fact that Tom was your step-dad and he’s dead too and he convinced you to take a job with my dad, I’m worried the same might happen to you.” Leo really did seem sincere.

  “Okay, there’s one last thing – how did you know that I would be on that bus?” Paige asked, “Even if I believe that you were following me to protect me, the fact that knew where I would be is really creepy.”

  “Yes, I suppose it is,” Leo said, biting his lip nervously, “I speak to my mum on the phone quite regularly. Usually she makes no sense, going on about things she’s seen on TV or read in books. But you know how much she loves to cook, so she talks about dinners she’s made or plans to make. Well, ever since you returned after Tom’s death, she’s been talking about how you won’t stay for dinner, getting the bus back at 5pm or earlier. I needed to get you alone, somewhere we could talk, and I knew this place was on the route. I rode the route every day, hoping you would come on board.”

  “You could have just called me, Leo? If you had asked to meet me somewhere, I would have,” Paige said, “I would have even gone on a second date with you if you’d asked, although I bloody well won’t now!”

  There was a brief glint of humour between them with that last remark hanging in the air.

  “I’m sorry,” Leo said, pausing, “I didn’t know how to approach any of this. It’s been difficult for me too.”

  “Okay...” Paige said.

  “Let me call you a taxi,” Leo said, pulling out his own phone. Paige gently threw Ella’s phone back to Leo.

  They waited for the taxi at the edge of the woods, both unable to speak from the exhaustion of the revelations, standing a few feet apart.

  The taxi arrived and Paige gave a sheepish smile as she climbed into the back.

  Before she could close the door, Leo’s phone began to ring, “It’s my mum...” he said, worry in his voice, “I already spoke to her this afternoon, she never rings me.”

  Answering it, his face immediately changed to one of horror. Paige could hear Arlene’s frantic voice at the other end of the phone and then the call cut off.

  “What’s wrong?” Paige asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Leo said, “She was muttering something about my dad falling and she can’t get him back up. I think I’ve got to go there...”

  Paige weighed up her options – if she left Leo here, he could be waiting for a taxi for ages, not able to get to his parents. But, was Eckland really hurt? He obviously wasn’t above lying to suit his own motives.

  “Where to?” the taxi driver asked obliviously.

  Paige and Leo shared a look – Paige knew she had to help, none of this was his fault.

  “Okay, fine,” she said quietly.

  “The Rectory, Mill Street, OX2 0AL,” Leo said, climbing in beside her.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  THE TAXI PULLED UP outside the Ecklands’ and Leo asked the driver to keep the metre running. Paige waited in the car for news, unsure of what Leo would find inside.

  Had Eckland really fallen? Why hadn’t Arlene called an ambulance?

  Leo sprinted up the front garden and knocked forcefully. When no one answered, he produced a set of keys from his pocket and let himself in. Paige watched the door, wondering how long she would have to wait.

  The door opened again within a few minutes, and Leo emerged, walking aimlessly, leaving the door open and sinking down onto the doorstep. His face was washed of all colour and tears crowded his eyes. Paige ran out to him.

  “Leo?” She queried, kneeling down next to him. Leo didn’t say anything, just sat staring at the grass.

  I have to go in...

  She pushed herself up, leaving Leo on the doorstep and entered the hallway. As she stepped inside, she felt the doormat squelch beneath her shoes and looked down to see it was seeped in blood, as was most of the hardwood floor. She had suspected that something was wrong from Leo’s reaction, but she hadn’t been prepared for the carnage inside. She clutched her hand to her mouth, lips quivering against the inside of her palm.

  She danced around the pools, steadying herself against the handrail to the stairs as she slipped in the viscous liquid, “Oh god...” she said as she picked her way across the tiled kitchen floor, smattered with the same ripples of blood. Only shock was halting her emotions from overflowing.

  “Fuck,” she breathed, a whimper escaping from between her fingers. There was no one in the kitchen and so Paige headed back to the hall, crossing over into the living room.

  The same trail of blood criss-crossed the carpet and shag piles, leading to the seating area. A noise made Paige jump backwards, knocking against the coat rack in the corner. Relief washing over here, she realised that the two usually apathetic cats weren’t in their favourite spot on the sofa – instead they were hiding, hissing at her from under it. The scare tempted shuddering sobs, which she tried to supress as she followed the house round, heading to the sunroom at the rear.

  There in one of the lounge chairs, was the body of Hugh Eckland. She let out an involuntary shriek, collapsing against the doorway with wide eyes. His wrists had been slashed and resting on the cushion of the chair next to his right hand was a small knife. Paige’s eyes flitted over the scene with horror, from the mutilated wrists to the blank expression on Eckland’s face, his eyes still half open. A knife jutted out of his chest at an awkward angle. Paige had never seen something so gruesome in person and she couldn’t take it in. Reality slowed around her as she sobbed on the floor, gripping the doorframe so hard that her nails bit into the paint.

  In his left hand, barely held by his loose grip, was the copy of the poem about Ella, spotted with bright red blood.

  Preview of The Secret of the Oxpen’s Angel

  BOOK 2

  ANGEL’S LIES

  ONE

  PAIGE STAYED WITH LEO as the ambulance came about collected Eckland’s body. The house was immediately rendered a crime scene, and Leo’s childhood home was invaded by fully suited forensic police.

  Leo sat on the doorstep for as long the police allowed him, barely able to speak, silent tears soaking his face and the collar of his shirt. Paige felt for him – she had lost two dads in her life, and Paige understood the two minds with which Leo confronted his father’s actions and the pain of his death. Tom’s involvement in the Syndicate may only have come out after his death, but Paige knew how Leo would be struggling to mourn his father in light of everything he had done.

  As the shock started to wear off, Leo wiped his face and turned to Paige, “Where is my mum? She’s not in the house.”

  He stood up and frantically explained to the police officers that Arlene was missing. Paige could see that grief for his father’s death and shock at the scene had transformed into worry – however had killed Eckland could have harmed Arlene too.

  “Leo, we’ll find her,” Paige said, offering a comforting hand on his back, “Let me put a post on Facebook?”

  “The more people that are on the lookout for her, the better,” the police officer said, writing down information Leo had given her.

  Paige used a photo from Leo’s Facebook to make a public post calling for information. Within ten minutes there were shares far and wide and hundreds of comments.

/>   “We have to ask you to leave now, but we will be in touch,” the police officer said, “do you have somewhere to go?”

  “Yes...” Leo said, pushing his thumb and forefinger against his eyes to remove the last of the tears, “I can go back to my house, mum might have gone there. I’ll take you home on the way, Paige.”

  “No, I’ll stay with you,” Paige said, surprised how quickly she had swapped from fear of Leo to empathy for him. Despite his strange antics she could see his sincerity as he sought justice for Ella, his confused grief for his father, and his worry for his mother.

  “Good – go there and wait for our call. If she arrives at your house, let us know,” the police officer gently escorted them to the pavement where the taxi driver was still waiting, “And Miss Webb, we will need to reach you as well – I understand you were the last person to see either Hugh or Arlene Eckland alive?”

  “Yes, I suppose I must have been...” Paige said, thinking, besides the killer, remembering how she had recounted to the police officer that she had left the house to get the bus not one hour before they found Eckland dead.

  “Please make yourself available to give an official statement at some point in the future. We will be in touch via the contact numbers you provided,” Paige had given them her mum’s home number, her mobile and Leo’s number, at the time somewhat unaware of the significance of her last conversation with either of his parents.

  “It’s on me mate,” he said as they approached the car, “Sorry for your loss.”

  “Thank you,” Leo said quietly, ducking into the back seat with Paige. Leo gave the address and the taxi pulled away. It was jarring to see The Rectory swarmed with police, tape crossing off entire sections of pavements and curious or grief-stricken neighbours looking on from their respective front gardens.

  The taxi’s drive was short as, just as Leo had said, his house was just beyond the station in a small cul-de-sac. It was a modern semi-detached house, a stark contrast to the old fashion décor of his parents’ terrace, although not as spacious. Paige gave the taxi driver all the cash she had; despite the unforeseeable circumstances, she felt guilty for the amount of time he had waited.