All they could do was wait.
47
The two women had relaxed somewhat and were sitting by the door on the floor, when Jo heard the faint jangle of keys.
‘That’s him,’ hissed Lindsay.
‘Right,’ Jo leapt up, with Lindsay right behind her. She was tired and thirsty but pushed aside those needs to concentrate on getting Lindsay out.
Everything felt as though it were happening in slow motion. The key was placed into the lock. It was turned. The tumblers fell into place. The door opened a crack… and Jo pounced. She put her shoulder into a rugby tackle, pushing herself off with her feet and drove into Anubis with everything she had. All her fear and frustration was poured into the task and she barrelled into Anubis taking him by surprise.
‘Run!’ she shouted to Lindsay and felt the girl push past her and bolt for the stairs. Anubis must have stumbled backwards, away from the door, as it swung wide open. As Jo suddenly had nothing to push up against, she stumbled and cried out as Anubis got hold of her clothes and pulled her towards him.
The next thing she felt was a bolt of pain, which firstly ran up her arm, then her neck and caused stars to burst in front of her eyes. She fell to the floor, limbs jerking, all control of her body suddenly gone.
The fog in Jo’s brain slowly lifted and her sight started to return. But there was something wrong with her body. She couldn’t lift her arms or her hands, nor her legs and feet. Raising her head to find out what the problem was, she realised she couldn’t do that either. Her head was fixed, staring at the ceiling. She was cold, not just with shock, but because she was naked. As a huge wolf’s head loomed over her, she began to scream, until a rag was stuffed into her mouth. That shut her up.
‘Ah, Detective Inspector, you’re back with us. I hope I didn’t hurt you. Well actually that’s a lie, I really hope I did.’
His laugh was evil and maniacal and made Jo shiver even more. Shock was starting to set in, and her eyes bulged and cheeks puffed out as she tried to swear at him.
‘Shall I take this out?’ he asked. ‘Will you behave if I do? Not that anyone will hear your screams. We’re far too isolated for that. But because it becomes tiresome. I can’t be doing with the noise. So, shall I take it out?’
Jo mumbled, ‘Yes please.’ Which bore no resemblance whatsoever to the words she was trying to articulate.
Anubis leaned over her again and began to pull the rag out of her mouth. Jo spat and spluttered as the last of it cleared her dry mouth.
‘That was a very brave stunt you pulled earlier,’ he said to her. ‘I must confess to being taken by surprise.’
‘You’re finished, Professor,’ Jo croaked. ‘Lindsay will bring help.’
‘Sure of that, are you? How do you know she got away? For all you know she could be back in the locked room.’
Jo knew what he was doing but refused to be rattled. He was trying to undermine her confidence and belief that Lindsay would have managed to get away and run for help.
‘She will have got away and raised the alarm,’ insisted Jo. ‘If she didn’t get away, prove it to me! Go on, get her out and show her to me.’
‘Oh, shut up will you. I’ll do no such thing. In case you hadn’t noticed I’m rather busy, and I’m the one in charge, not you anymore. So if you’ll excuse me, I have preparations to make,’ and he stuffed the gag back into Jo’s mouth, then moved out of her line of sight.
As she heard him clattering around, Jo tried to stay positive. She needed Lindsay to have gotten away so she could be found. But what if Lindsay didn’t get away? Well, then they were both doomed to die.
Jo knew the Professor wouldn’t take the chance of leaving either of them alive.
Her thoughts strayed to the maniacal way he’d laughed earlier. She felt she could see something behind those glass eyes of the wolf’s head. Something glinting, something biding its time, just waiting for the right time to pounce. The thought sent yet another shiver through her, but this time it had nothing to do with being cold and everything to do with being scared shitless.
48
Mick Wolfe’s stomach rumbled, causing him to check his watch. Where on earth was Jo? She was very late with the Chinese take-away. Something must have happened at work and she’d been delayed. Grabbing his mobile he called Jo, yet again, but the call just rang out. Which was strange. Jo always answered his calls to her, even when she was busy at work.
With small prickles of worry lifting the hairs on his arms, Mick rang Byrd.
‘Oh hi, Eddie, Mick Wolf here,’ he said as Eddie Byrd answered the call.
‘Hi, Mick, what can I do for you?’
‘I was just wondering if you knew what had delayed Jo. She was calling for a takeaway on the way home, but she’s not arrived.’
‘I don’t know, Mick. Have you rung her?’
Mick tried very hard not to sigh in frustration. ‘Of course I have, Eddie,’ he said carefully, not wanting to rub Eddie up the wrong way. ‘But she’s not picking up and I expected her home an hour ago. So I thought she might still be at work with you.’
Mick realised he was very much hoping that was the case, but it was becoming increasingly clear it wasn’t.
‘No, sorry, Mick, I left work, oh nearly two hours ago now, I guess. She seemed fine then.’
‘Shit. This isn’t like her, Eddie.’
‘No, you’re right. She was gathering up her stuff to leave when I did. If something had happened with the case, she’d have called me back.’
‘And called me to explain and cancel supper.’
‘Let me ring the nick and I’ll call you back.’
The line went dead and Mick tried Jo’s mobile again, but she still didn’t answer. Becoming very concerned now, Mick started to pace and didn’t stop until Byrd rang him back.
‘Mick, I’ve talked to the desk sergeant. Jo left a few minutes behind me. He saw her climb into her car and drive away on the CCTV screen. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong. I’ve no idea what’s going on, but I don’t like it.’
‘Neither do I, Byrd.’
‘Leave it with me, I’ll put a call out to all the traffic cars to be on the alert for Jo’s car. In the meantime I’ll get CCTV to try and track her movements and go back through the ANPR records. What take-away would she be going to? Let’s see if she made it there.’
Mick gave Eddie the information he wanted. ‘Sung Lee Chinese takeaway just off the A27. It’s a bit of a hidden gem, great food at great prices.’ Mick shut up, realising he was gabbling on.
‘Thanks, Mick, I’ll keep you posted. And you’ll ring me if you hear from Jo?’
‘Of course, Eddie. Thanks for your help. I hope we’re not over reacting.’
‘No we definitely aren’t. If the Boss is in trouble, we need to find her. And fast.’
Mick was cheered by the last comment and went to get a small beer to drink while he paced through the empty house.
49
The longer Jo was strapped to the table, the more she thought that Lindsay must have got away. If not, surely the girl would have found a way to let Jo know she was still alive. Banging on the door of their cell-like room. Screaming. Shouting. Anything.
Jo closed her eyes and prayed.
PLEASE let Byrd find me. Please HELP him and the team. They WILL find Anubis. They WILL find me. They WILL have found Lindsay. Someone WILL have heard her story and alerted the police. Please let Byrd find me. Please help him and the team…
Jo kept up her silent mantra as tears leaked out of her closed eyelids. But she had to force herself to remain optimistic. Otherwise she’d give up. And Jo Wolfe didn’t do giving up. She’d never given up after her accident. She’d never given up when she’d realised she had a brand-new gift as a result. As awful as that gift was, as scary as the visions were, she’d never given up hope that she would find the victims, or the perpetrators of the most horrible crimes.
Ergo she couldn’t give up hope now. She had to believe that she’d see
Byrd again. The night they’d spent together had been special. Even though she’d vowed it would never happen again, she hadn’t meant it. Not really. She wanted one more night with him. One more night when she wouldn’t feel so alone. One more night when the presence of a warm body beside her would keep the nightmares at bay. One more chance at…
She felt the air change on her face and opened her eyes. Goosebumps pimpled her skin, crawling down her arms and legs. The cave was thick with the stench of death. The wolf’s head loomed over her. It was so very intimidating, as she was sure it was meant to be. But this time it seemed real. Seemed as though the Professor and Anubis were as one, and that the wolf’s head was no longer a disguise. She watched as the creature’s jaws yawned open, saliva dripping from its fangs onto her skin. The drops stung her flesh. It was as though she was being burned with acid. Then the apparition spoke.
‘Oh good, I’m glad you’re awake for this,’ he said. ‘One of the preparations for the ritual is your hair.’ The Professor’s voice had deepened. It rumbled through the cave and Jo could feel the metal table vibrating.
Anubis held up a large pair of scissors for her to see.
Jo realised he was about to cut her hair. But not if she could help it. She tried to move her head, but of course she couldn’t. Nor her arms, nor her legs. She wouldn’t be able to stop him.
He grabbed the combs that were still in place on the top of her head and released her black hair. It was shoulder length, but Jo rarely wore it down, preferring to tie it up out of the way, especially when at work.
Anubis laughed. ‘I’m afraid I’m not a hairdresser and there isn’t much room, what with your head being pinned down and all, but I’ll do my best.’
She felt Anubis grab handfuls of her hair and could hear the sawing noise as the scissors cut it. She imagined he was fashioning it to give her the blunt Egyptian style. He leaned over her face and Jo could feel the scissors cut across her forehead. Jesus, he was even giving her a fringe.
She was so bloody cross. How dare he violate her like this. Make her into an image that pleased him. If she got away – no WHEN she got away – she’d have to have a short haircut, as soon as possible. No way was she leaving it the way he’d cut it.
‘There, that’s much better. Would you like to see?’
If Jo hadn’t a gag in her mouth, she would have told him to go and fuck himself. But unfortunately that wasn’t an option.
Anubis unbuckled the strap holding her head and held up a small hand mirror. She didn’t want to look and closed her eyes, refusing to open them.
He slapped her face.
She still wouldn’t look in the mirror.
‘Open your eyes, bitch!’ he shouted, and Jo was once more subjected to saliva dropping from his fangs. Anubis clearly wasn’t used to being defied. After slapping her this way and that, Jo still refused to look in the mirror. He finally gave up.
‘Oh well, your loss. I’ve still got things to do, so as much as I’d like to indulge you, I really must press on.’
Anubis turned away from her and Jo heard tinkling behind her head and wondered if he was setting up the scales to weigh her heart. The thought made her scream, but it was too muffled through the gag. Still she got another slap in the face for her trouble, so she decided to stop. To save her strength. She turned back to her mantras.
My team WILL find you. They WILL find me. They WILL find Lindsay. My team WILL find me. They WILL find Lindsay…
But she was becoming desperate. She had no idea who she was dealing with. It no longer seemed to be the Professor with a mask on his head. Instead, she had been confronted with a beast, who emanated pure evil.
50
Shirley Jones and her husband Tony were coming back from a trip to the cinema. Bowling along the road in their non-descript Ford, they discussed the film.
‘To be honest,’ said Tony, ‘I thought it was a load of rubbish!’
‘No, it wasn’t that bad, surely.’
‘Oh come off it, zombies are so yesterday.’
Shirley laughed. ‘So yesterday – where on earth did you get that phrase from?’
‘One of the kids at school. It’s my way of staying up to date. Being hip, innit?’
That made Shirley laugh even harder. ‘Tony, you’re a primary school teacher. The last thing we both are is – what the hell?’
‘Sorry?’
‘Stop! There’s a girl in the road!’
Shirley couldn’t believe her eyes. Caught in their headlights was a young woman. At least Shirley thought it was a young woman. She had short, bobbed hair that was a wild halo around her head. She appeared to be dressed in a cotton shift that was filthy and wasn’t that blood on it?
Tony brought the car to a halt. ‘Jesus. Is she okay? She looks like a character from the film we’ve just seen. If anyone looks like a zombie, it’s her.’
‘I don’t think she’s okay at all. Neither do I think she’s an extra in a cult horror movie.’
At that point the woman collapsed. She did a slow-motion gracious pirouette, ending up face down on the road.
‘Tony, call an ambulance,’ Shirley shouted as she opened the car door.
‘Where are you going?’
‘To help her, of course. Now phone the bloody ambulance.’
Shirley leapt out of the car and ran to the woman, who appeared to be unconscious. She manipulated her the best she could into the recovery position, then took off her coat and covered the young woman with it. She really wanted to move her into the car to keep her warm, but was afraid to in case she had injuries that couldn’t be seen. She took off her cardigan and bundled it up to place under her head. As she did, the woman started to mumble.
‘Help, got to help her.’
‘Help who?’ Shirley leaned down, putting her ear near to the woman’s mouth.
‘The policewoman. I’ve got to tell Byrd. Wolfe is in the empty house.’
‘Bird? What are you talking about? Birds?’
‘No, policeman called Byrd. Got to tell him where she is. Please help. It’s very important.’
The woman stopped talking and she began crying.
‘Help is coming, don’t worry,’ Shirley said and held the girl’s hand tightly. ‘I can hear the sirens. It’s going to be okay.’
A few minutes later the ambulance pulled up on the empty road in front of them and a doctor and a medic emerged from the back doors. Then a police car stopped behind them, and another in front of the ambulance. Their lights continued to flash as two uniformed officers began to put cones out protecting them from any vehicles that may come along. Not that Shirley thought that likely as the parts of Chichester around Bosham were sparsely populated.
As the doctor started his examination, the medic turned to Shirley.
‘Do you know what happened? Has she said anything?’
‘We just found her in the middle of the road. She collapsed onto the tarmac, so my husband called for you lot. I covered her the best I could to keep her warm.’
‘Thank you, I’m sure that’s helped a lot. Has she said anything about where she’s come from?’
‘She was mumbling about something. Birds and wolves and policemen.’
‘I’m sorry?’
‘She kept saying to get help. To tell Bird where she is. Where Wolf is, I think. She was most insistent and very upset. Does it make any sense to you?’
But the medic didn’t answer the question. ‘We’ll be off soon, as we need to get her to the hospital. The paramedic turned his attention to the woman as she heard the doctor say, ‘Let’s get her on a stretcher and inside as quickly as we can. Her body’s shutting down.’
The medic nodded his agreement and disappeared into the ambulance.
By this time the police had finished securing the site and approached the couple, guiding them onto the grass verge. ‘Good evening. Could you tell us what happened please?’
Once again Shirley told the officers what had happened, with Tony chipping in what he
thought were salient details, only to be thrown a look by Shirley. One that said shut up you don’t know what you’re talking about – let me handle this, making him look at the floor and kick the grass. Once again, she told them about the woman’s pleas to tell the police about birds and wolves and heads.
‘I’m sorry?’
‘She kept saying to get help. To tell Bird where she is. Where Wolf is, I think. She was most insistent and very upset. Does it make any sense to you?’
The two officers glanced at each other, a look passing between them that Shirley didn’t understand. ‘Are you sure you’ve remembered that correctly, madam? It’s very important,’ said one of them. ‘Can you try and recall her exact words?’
Shirley bit her lip as she thought back. ‘A policeman called Bird. Got to tell him where she is. Please help. It’s very important.’
One of the officers moved away and began talking into the radio on his shoulder. Shirley heard a snipped, ‘Control, patch me through to D S Byrd. It’s urgent.’
‘Thank you for your help, madam,’ said the one who’d stayed behind. ‘Can you give me your contact details please?’
Once they’d done that, the officers said that they could leave, and they’d be in touch if they needed any further information. Shirley wasn’t at all sure what further information she could give but nodded all the same. As they climbed back into their vehicle, both police cars stayed where they were, lights still flashing. Waiting. For what, Shirley didn’t know.
51
Anubis was still clattering away near to Jo. She was amazed that he had so much to do. He seemed to be lifting items and chanting incantations. Then something touched her chest. He’d laid something on her. All she knew it was cold and nicked her skin as he put it down.
Touching the Dead Page 13
