Demon (Kassidy Bell Series Book 3)

by Lynda O'Rourke

  “I think this is it,” I whispered. “I think this is Carden.”

  The van turned right and slowed. Large iron gates closed behind us as we entered the back of the police station. The van came to a halt as it stopped in a marked parking bay.

  “Remember,” muttered Raven, “just tell the truth.”

  The doors to the van opened. Dave and Eric ushered us out.

  “Let’s get these crackheads booked in and then I’m off to get some grub,” said Eric, checking the time on his watch. “Hope the canteen’s still open; it’s gone past 3 o clock.”

  Dave took me by the arm and walked me in through a back door, down some grubby-looking corridor and into a large room with a counter. Behind it stood an older guy, probably in his late forties. Another officer was stacking paperwork neatly into a pile. I looked over my shoulder. Max and Raven stood just behind me. Eric, who wanted his lunch, tapped his foot impatiently. He herded Max and Raven forward as if this would hurry up the procedure of getting us booked in.

  “Hello, Dave,” said the policeman behind the counter. “Haven’t seen you over here for a while. All full up down your end, is it? Been nicking too many people, have you?” He smiled at Dave.

  “Alright, Sarge,” nodded Dave. “Yeah, custody’s full at Draper Station.”

  “What ‘ave we got here then?” asked the Sergeant, looking at me. His grey eyes narrowed as he stared at the three of us.

  “They’ve been arrested on suspicion of murder,” said Dave, bringing me forward so I was standing right in front of the Sergeant at his desk.

  “What are the grounds for arrest?” he asked Dave.

  “They were spotted running from a suspected murder scene at Garner Tunnel. When asked to stop, they ran. They were given every opportunity to stop but didn’t. Had to get the police dogs out to stop them.”

  “I see,” mumbled the Sergeant, turning to look at us. “I’m authorising your detention at this police station so enquiries can be made into the offence for which you have been arrested.” He looked at Dave, “Remove their handcuffs, please.”

  I felt the cold metal of the cuffs drop away. Bringing my arms around, I twisted my wrists, relieved to have them free again.

  “Hold out your arms for me, please,” ordered the Sergeant as he began to inspect my wrists. “Any injuries?”

  I shook my head waiting for his response to the black veins snaking around my wrists. He flinched and blinked his eyes several times as if he had seen wrong.

  His stare had become cold, wary. “You take drugs?”

  “No, I don’t,” I said, taking a deep breath. “This was injected into me.”

  “Sarge,” said Dave, “the other two are the same.” He took hold of Max and pulled him forward. “See.”

  “Wait there for a minute,” ordered the Sergeant. He turned his back to us and started typing away on the computer. A moment later he was back, a puzzled look across his face.

  “You say you were injected with something?” he asked, scratching his head.

  Before I could answer, Dave piped in, “Sarge, I’m sure it’s drugs – some kind of hallucinogen. They were claiming that the fog had something in it, which was going to kill them and us.”

  “It’s true!” spat Raven, shoving past me and Max so she could stand in front of the Sergeant. “And if you keep us here, the fog will catch up and kill us – even you.”

  Eric stepped forward and pulled Raven back. “Whatever they’ve been taking, it’s really messed up their heads.”

  The Sergeant leant over the counter and said, “Where do you three come from?”

  “Holly Tree,” I answered.

  “Bit out of your way, isn’t it? What’s brought you this far north?”

  “We need to see a Doctor called Langstone. He works at Cruor Pharma’s sister company somewhere near here,” butted in Raven. “If we don’t see him soon then this stuff in our veins is gonna kill us.”

  “How is this doctor connected to you?” asked Dave. “Why him?”

  “Because this shit was injected into us at Cruor Pharma on Strangers Hill… Doctor Langstone used to work there and he knows what this shit in our veins is,” Raven glared.

  “What is it that’s been injected into you?” Dave asked.

  “We’re not too sure,” said Max, glancing at Raven and me, “but we think it’s…”

  “It’s Demon crap!” blurted out Raven. “Demons are after us… they want our bodies so the Cleaners can live in them. The doctors at Cruor Pharma are all Demons. They’ve killed loads of people and…”

  “Enough!” ordered the Sergeant. He turned to look at Dave. “I’m not happy to question them until they’ve been checked over by a doctor and had a psychiatric assessment.”

  Raven turned and winked at me.

  “Grace, will you remove her jacket?” said the Sergeant, frowning at Dave. He looked troubled. A young police woman who had just strolled into custody came forward.

  “I’m not taking off my jacket,” snapped Raven, wrapping her arms tight around her.

  “Yes, you are,” said Dave, prising her arms open while Grace unzipped the leather jacket.

  Raven tutted as the jacket was removed. She hugged her arms tight about her, glaring at the flowery blouse she wore.

  Dave held out his hand. “Give me the bag.”

  I glanced down at the satchel. Reluctantly, I handed it over. I watched as Dave emptied out the contents across the counter, the Sergeant picking up each item and checking it over.

  He flicked through the pages of Father Williams’ diary – not bothering to read any of it. Next he picked up the Bible and opened it to a page which had been bookmarked with a prayer card.

  He stared at me. “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you,” mumbled the Sergeant, closing the Bible and placing it back into the satchel. “Did you highlight that quote?”

  “No, the Bible belonged to Father Williams, as does the diary,” I answered.

  He looked at Dave, who had just finished watching Raven and Max empty out their trouser pockets. “We’ll hold them in the cells and wait for them to get assessed by the FME. There’s similarities to another case I’ve been dealing with here. I trust CID is dealing with this case?”

  “They’ve been informed, Sarge. Probably down on the tracks where the offense took place,” answered Dave.

  I looked at Max. He stared back. What was the other case that the Sergeant had mentioned? Was it to do with Robert, Max’s brother?

  “Your names, please,” asked the Sergeant, fingers poised over the keyboard.

  “We’re not giving you our names,” hissed Raven. She glared at me and Max. “Don’t tell them our names!”

  Ignoring her, the Sergeant checked through our items again, looking for any form of identification.

  “It will make this whole process easier and quicker if you just give us your names,” said Dave. He held his open hand out in front of me. “I need to take that chain you have around your neck, please.”

  I shot my hand up and took hold of the rosary beads. I didn’t want to part with these. They were my protection. Not much, I knew, but, they were something. “Why?” I asked, rolling the beads between my hands.

  “You can’t take them into the cell with you, that’s why,” said Dave. “Don’t worry, you’ll get them back.”

  I pulled the chain over my head and dropped it into his hand.

  “There’s nothing here with any identification,” grumbled the Sergeant, turning the iPod over in his hands.

  I watched as he tried to turn it on. Nothing happened. He tucked it back into the satchel. “Okay, we’ll just have to manage for now without their names. After they’ve been checked by the Doctor we’ll take fingerprints and identify them that way,” said the Sergeant. He turned to look at Grace. “Cells 5 and 6 can be used. Mark it up on the board.” He nodded at a whiteboard attached to the wall.

  “I’ll run some checks,” said Dave. “We know they’ve come from Holly Tre
e. I’ll check with the locals. Maybe they’ll know who we are dealing with.”

  “No!” I grabbed hold of his arm. “No, you can’t do that!”

  “Seems to me you have something to hide,” said Dave, removing my hand from off his arm.

  “Don’t do it,” said Max. “Please. They’ll take us away – back to Cruor Pharma.”

  “Who’s they?” questioned the Sergeant, leaning over the counter.

  “Inspector Cropper,” I shuddered. The very name brought goose bumps over my flesh. “If he finds out we’re here then he’ll come and get us.”

  “Been up to no good in Holly Tree, have you?” The Sergeant looked at Dave. “Get on it. Contact this Cropper and see what he has to say.”

  “No!” hissed Raven. “He works for Middleton… he covers up all that Demon shit in Cruor Pharma!”

  “That’s a very strong allegation you’re making against an officer – an Inspector, at that,” glared the Sergeant.

  “Please… you have no idea what that man is capable of,” I blurted out. “Doctor Middleton pays him to keep quiet. He’s bent and so is the rest of the force who works alongside him.”

  “I’ve heard enough!” said the Sergeant. “Take their shoes and get them in the cells.”

  Dave and Eric came forward.

  “Shoes,” ordered Dave. He watched Raven as she flung her shoes with the bows across the room.

  “Here!” she snapped. “You’re welcome to them.”

  I unzipped one boot and pulled it off. How was I going to hide Sylvia Green’s passport from them now? Did it matter? The reason I had taken it from Ward 1 was to prove that what had happened inside Cruor Pharma was true. Why hide it now? Surely it could only help us.

  “I have this,” I confessed, pulling out the passport and handing it to Dave.

  “At last,” he smiled, “we have some ID.” He flipped it open to the page with the photograph. His eyes narrowed as he checked the picture and then checked me. “This isn’t you.” He looked back at the page, his eyes scrolled down. I watched him mutter the name under his breath – “Sylvia Green.”

  “What did you say?” asked the Sergeant, flipping open a hatch in the counter and coming around to where I stood with Dave.

  “This passport belongs to “Sylvia Green,” said Dave, handing it over to the Sergeant. “Does this mean something to you?”

  “It does,” answered the Sergeant. “Where did you get this from?”

  “Ward 1 at Cruor Pharma,” I said, remembering how we had come across it tucked inside a large clear plastic bag full of brown envelopes. “If you shake the passport a form should fall out. It’s a consent form signed by Sylvia agreeing to participate in a drug trial at the hospital.” I looked at Max and Raven. I wasn’t sure if they were annoyed that I had given up the passport so easily but we had agreed to tell the police the truth.

  “You may as well see this one then,” said Max. He rummaged around the inside of his jeans and pulled out Robert’s passport. “Here.” He gave it to Dave.

  “Robert O’Brien,” said Dave. “Did you get this one from the same place?”

  “Yes,” whispered Max. “It belongs to my brother. He did a drug test at Cruor Pharma the same time as Sylvia Green. He’s been missing ever since.”

  “Drug tests,” exclaimed the Sergeant. “Seems more like drug use! So far, all I’ve heard is nonsense about Demons, bent coppers, and stolen passports.” He looked back over his shoulder at Father Williams’ satchel, Bible, and rosary beads. “I believe that you three are part of some strange cult, fuelled on with the use of drugs.”

  “What?” shrieked Raven. “You’re not listening! It’s true, all of it! There are Demons out there! They want us back. They want our bodies for the Cleaners!” She flung her arms out, gritted her teeth, and lunged forward. “When are you gonna get it into your thick heads that we are in danger?”

  “Calm down,” shouted Grace. She took hold of Raven and pulled her back.

  “I’ve heard this all before,” said the Sergeant, shaking his head. He turned to Dave. “I had a young lady in here not too long ago – Sylvia Green. She was deemed insane and locked up in Carden Asylum. She told a similar story but it was obvious it was all down to drug misuse. She’s been under some program for the last few months and she’s been cleared well enough to be interviewed. I don’t know what crap you’ve been injecting into yourselves in Holly Tree, but whatever it is, it’s landed you all a trip to the asylum.”

  He looked at the other officer, the one called Eric. “I’d like you to ring the asylum. Tell them what we have here.” Then, staring at Dave, he added, “Take them to the cells…”

  The door to the custody suite suddenly flew open. Two officers barged in, and shuffling in between them was Sylvia Green.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Sylvia Green was handcuffed and wore a hospital gown underneath a thick, white coat. Her blonde hair was messed up – knotted and matted like it hadn’t seen a comb for some time. Her heavy eyelids drooped over her blue eyes, and her mouth hung open a little, revealing several teeth that looked more like black stumps. I felt myself shrink back. Sylvia no longer looked like the nineteen-year-old in her passport photo. She moved across the custody suite like a ninety-year-old. My stomach knotted. I suddenly felt afraid. Her very presence had me on edge. Her face was covered in thick, black veins that bulged so much it made her skin stretch tight. The whites of her eyes had clusters of pooled blood. How had she been deemed fit enough for questioning? Why had she been brought from the asylum to the police station? I took a step back as the two officers holding onto her brought her towards the Sergeant.

  “Are you sure about this?” I questioned, my eyes never leaving Sylvia. “Is she safe?”

  “Of course she’s safe,” answered the Sergeant. He looked at Grace, who was still standing beside the whiteboard. “Mark her down for cell 7.”

  “What!” Max screwed up his nose. “You’re putting her in a cell next to us? Are you out of your mind?” He looked at Dave as if he was hoping for some kind of help.

  “Sarge… are you sure she’s fit to be interviewed? She really doesn’t look well,” questioned Dave, eyes wide as he stared at Sylvia.

  “She looks messed up,” shouted Raven. “She looks fucking insane!”

  Paying no attention to Raven, the Sergeant glared at Dave. “Wind your neck in, sunshine, and remember who you’re talking to. I’m in charge of this custody suite and it will pay you to remember that.” He turned to the two officers who had brought Sylvia in. “Remove her handcuffs.”

  “No!” I shouted. Images of Howard, Carly, and Alex flooded my head. “You don’t understand… she’s dangerous… she’ll kill us all!” I pulled on Dave’s arm. “I’ve seen people like this before… they act like zombies… they can crawl up walls and across ceilings… she’ll rip our flesh off with her teeth…”

  “Calm down, love,” said Eric. He stepped forward and took hold of my arm. “That’s just the drugs messing with your head. A little trip to the asylum will sort you out.”

  “Didn’t sort her out though, did it?!” screeched Raven, coming to stand behind me. “What kind of fucking treatment leaves you like that?”

  “Don’t take drugs then,” Eric sneered. “You’ve only got yourselves to blame.”

  “We didn’t take drugs and neither did she!” shouted Max. “It was injected into us by doctors who assured us it was a simple drug test.”

  I held my breath as I watched the handcuffs come away from Sylvia’s wrists. The room fell silent. Even the police officers seemed suddenly unsure. Was it because they could see the sheer terror in our eyes? Had our pleas to not un-cuff her finally sunk in? Or was it because Sylvia slowly turned her head and grinned? She peered out from her matted hair. The black stumps in her mouth seemed to get bigger as her lips stretched into a wide snarl.

  We all took a step back. It was like unleashing a wild dog and not knowing if it was going to pounce and attack.


  “See!” glared the Sergeant, turning his back on Sylvia and gathering up some paperwork from the counter. “Nothing to worry about.”

  I stood, breath held, and watched Sylvia sway back and forth. She checked us out, one by one. I watched her blood-spotted eyes slowly move from, Raven, Max, Dave, and then to me. What was going on inside that messed-up head of hers? Did she even have any knowledge of life anymore? Was she too far gone to remember who she was and how her life had once been? Was I staring at a future reflection of myself? I closed my eyes. She was what I feared for my future. Sylvia started to hum and I opened my eyes. That wide, rotten grin was still stretched across her face.

  “Dave?” I whispered. “This isn’t right. She should be locked up.”

  “I can’t go against the Sergeant’s orders,” he whispered back. His eyes fell upon Sylvia and I could see he was thinking the same but wouldn’t admit it – not in front of the Sergeant anyway. “I’m sure if she’s been deemed fit by a doctor then it must be fine.”

  “You can leave us now.” The Sergeant turned around and spoke to the two officers who had escorted Sylvia into the police station.

  “Thanks, Sarge.” They nodded their heads and left the room.

  I counted who that left inside the custody suite. There was Grace, Dave, Eric, and the Sergeant. Was that enough to stop Sylvia Green if she suddenly woke up out of her grinning, trance-like state? No. I knew it wouldn’t be. Not after witnessing Alex in the Bishop’s house. How many police officers had he wiped out? I couldn’t even remember. Maybe I didn’t want to be remember.

  Sylvia suddenly shuffled forward a few steps. I jumped. Max sprang back. She began to laugh.

  “It’s all right, it’s okay,” mumbled Dave, his hand clasped tightly around his pepper spray, which hung from his belt. “Sarge, I really think she should be restrained.”

  “I thought I’d made it clear who’s in charge here,” snapped the Sergeant.

  “Sorry, Sarge,” said Dave. “It’s just that she could be a risk to others and herself. Whoever the doctor is that authorised her fit must have a screw loose.”