The lake house, p.13
The Lake House, page 13
‘They’re all yours.’
Will followed him out of the barn, which was stifling, making it hard to breathe in the paper suits and face masks. He pulled his mask down, glad of the fresh air and the breeze that was blowing.
‘Do you think it’s Beth O’Connor?’
‘You know I’m not supposed to say until I’ve done the post-mortem, but yes, I’m almost one hundred per cent sure. The cut marks on the base of her neck are almost identical to the ones on the head back at the morgue. Of course we won’t know for sure until I place her head against the neck to see if they match up.’
‘What about the other? Have you had any heads come into the mortuary from anywhere else in the county?’
Will desperately hoped he was going to say, ‘Yes, one came in from Carlisle or Workington,’ but Matt shook his head.
‘I’m afraid I’ll have to leave that in your capable hands. You’re going to have to find the head. Have you had any missing person reports in the last week? Because judging by the bloating and marbling of Jane Doe number two she hasn’t been dead that long. The heat in the barn and the insect activity has sped her decomposition up; this is a real mess, Will.’
‘You’re telling me. Thanks, Matt, as always, for coming straight out and not making us wait around for ages.’
‘I’d say it was my pleasure but, to be honest, this time it’s not. I’m not looking forward to doing the post-mortems on those two. I’ll let you know when we’re good to go.’
He began to walk back to his car. As he got to the gate he stripped off his paper suit, foot covers, gloves and mask and dropped them all into a brown paper sack. Debs came out to get the rest of her equipment so she could do everything that needed to be done before the undertakers came.
Kav walked across to Will.
‘Undertakers are on standby. What did Matt say? Is it the rest of Beth?’
Will nodded. ‘He thinks so.’
‘Good, I hate to think of that poor woman’s head all alone in the mortuary fridge. Gives me the shivers. Be nice for her husband to have all of her to bury, don’t you think?’
Will didn’t want to even think about what the poor bloke was going through. What a way to lose your wife. The familiar black 4x4 of the chief super pulled up outside the field. He got out along with the detective chief inspector and Kav sniggered. ‘Should we let them go in and ruin their designer suits or make them wait outside?’
‘Let them go in, of course. Which one do you think will come out looking green and puke first?’
‘My money’s on the super.’
Will smiled at the two men who were in the process of getting suited and booted. This should add a little bit of laughter to an otherwise very sad day.
Chapter Twelve
‘I suppose we best get checking the cellar over with.’
Annie looked at Cathy. Annie thought even Cathy seemed wary about going down there now they had checked everywhere else. Dawn pulled a bunch of keys from her pocket and began flicking through them to find the ones to open the padlocks. Sam and Tracy had gone quiet; all four of them were silent and the atmosphere was so heavy it made Annie feel weary. As Dawn slid the last bolt across she turned to look at them all.
‘Are you quite sure you want to go down there – on your own? Can you not call for backup and get some male officers here to go down with you?’
Cathy had just been wondering the same thing, although normally she would have given anyone who spoke like that a piece of her mind for being so outright sexist; however, on this occasion she actually agreed with the girl. But then she shook her head. ‘I think there’s enough of us to handle anything that might be down there.’
Dawn pulled the heavy door open and stood holding it. ‘If I hear any screaming I’m slamming this door shut and locking you all in.’
‘You’re fucking not. If you hear us screaming you get on the phone and ask for urgent assistance and give us a chance to get out of there. I’m telling you now, do not lock us in.’
Annie smiled. It wasn’t often she heard her boss swear in front of members of the public but she had a fair point. She didn’t want to be locked in that cellar for anything. Knowing that they might be standing dithering on that top step for the next hour, she leant forward and pulled the light-string and the bulb came to life. Dawn smiled and Annie took this as a good sign. So she began to walk down the stairs, followed by Cathy, then Tracy and Sam, who had her finger poised over her emergency button should they need help.
All four of them had switched on their torches. The cellar smelt like a cellar should again. It was damp and mouldy. It didn’t smell as if there were any rotting bodies tucked away. She tried her best to push the picture of the grey face with the sharp teeth out of her mind. They shone the torches around and began checking every corner, nook and cranny. Nothing. There was no one there. Annie walked towards the iron grate, her heart racing. Cathy was behind her and they both leant over, shining the light down into the dark hole. This time there was no sudden movement. It was empty and Annie almost cried with relief.
‘Right, come on, you lot. Let’s get back upstairs before that woman freaks out and locks us down here.’
Cathy led the way and Annie was the last to reach the steps. A sharp scratch against the iron railings made her hair stand on end. She paused, wondering if she was imagining it, but then it happened again and this time it was much louder. She pushed Tracy’s back and shouted, ‘Run.’
Cathy was already out of the door and the other two didn’t need telling twice. They shot up the last few steps closely followed by Annie, who fell out into the corridor. Dawn slammed the cellar door shut, sliding the bolts across. Annie began to help her click the padlocks into place then turned to see her three colleagues, who were all white-faced and wide-eyed.
‘What was it?’
‘I don’t know, boss; I probably just spooked myself.’
Cathy laughed. ‘Jesus, you should have seen your face! That’s the last time I’m coming on a job with you. Scared the shit out of me, and those two look as if they’ve seen a ghost.’
All four of them began to laugh but Dawn didn’t. She shook her head and went back into the kitchen to check on Martha. She nodded at the old woman and Martha crossed herself, thanking the Lord that all four officers had made it out of the cellar alive. The others followed Dawn into the kitchen and Annie smiled at Martha. Inside she was shaking and scared but she wouldn’t let anyone see just how scared she was.
‘We just need to check the grounds now and then we’re done.’
‘Good. Tell me, officer, what did you see or hear down there?’
Everyone stood still, waiting to hear Annie’s reply.
‘I heard a sharp scratching sound, against the metal grating, but I didn’t see anything and it might have been rats.’
Martha nodded her head. ‘I think you and your friends had a very lucky escape. Next time you won’t be so lucky. If you need to come back and go down there you bring big, strong men with guns. And if you have no guns, then bring whatever it is you use to kill animals that are big enough to steal children and grown men.’
***
Henry had the head in a cool box surrounded by bags of frozen ice. Much to Megan’s disgust he’d tried to put it into the freezer in the caravan, but it wouldn’t fit. So after much begging by Megan he’d agreed to dump it somewhere that Annie could find it. He’d made Megan stay at the caravan. They would look far too conspicuous as a pair, walking around at night with a cool box. He’d managed to fob her off by telling her if he got caught it didn’t mean that she would be. He wouldn’t tell a soul where she was hiding, and if he wasn’t back in two hours she was to pack her stuff and leave.
He thought about putting it outside the police station on the steps, but there were bound to be cameras on the doors to the building or looking onto it. As he drove past he looked to see if her bright red Mini was there and was surprised not to see it. He knew she was on duty because he’d phoned the 101 number and asked if she was available. The operator had told him she was on patrol but he could leave her a voicemail if he wanted. Henry had been sorely tempted. What would she think on hearing him speaking to her in the flesh? But he’d decided against it. Far too risky. They might be able to trace it back or something.
He wondered if she’d got a new car. The only one that was worthy of her was the shiny black Mercedes, but he didn’t think her wages would be enough to pay for that. It probably belonged to the inspector. There was a battered old Clio next to the Mercedes and an Astra. He parked up the street and watched the station. There were no police vehicles parked outside so they must all be busy working.
Getting out of his car he pulled his baseball cap down and pulled the hood of his sweatshirt up. He walked up and down a couple of times. There were no cameras. Henry grinned to himself. He was probably going to regret this but he had to see if it was possible. He tried the boot of the Astra, which was locked; he didn’t even touch the Mercedes as it was bound to have a fancy alarm system. Then he tried the Clio and much to his surprise it opened.
After pushing it back down but not quite shutting it, he jogged back to his car and drove down until he was parked directly in front of the boot of the Clio. He walked around to the passenger side of the car. With one hand he pushed the car boot open and with the other he pushed the lid from the cool box off and scanned the area. There was no one around so he pulled out the plastic bag containing the head and unzipped it. He dropped the head into the boot of the car then screwed the bag up and stuffed it into his pocket. If it was her car it would be a massive bonus, but if not it didn’t matter. She would know it was a present meant for her.
Once inside the car he stripped off the latex gloves he had been wearing for the last ten minutes. He hated them. They made his hands sweat too much and they smelt terrible. Checking around to see if anyone had watched his little performance, he was satisfied that they hadn’t. He put his foot down and drove off in the opposite direction, a smile on his face that would be there for at least the next half an hour. He didn’t want to go back to Megan just yet. He needed to find a secluded place so he could park, sit back and enjoy his time alone for a while.
31 December 1930
A sodden James and two policemen came back into the kitchen, with no Joe and solemn faces. The weather had turned nasty outside and if he was out there somewhere he would get hyperthermia. He wasn’t dressed for the torrential rain that was now hammering against the glass windows. Eleanor looked at her husband, who did not want to look her in the eyes.
‘What are we to do now, James? Is that it? You can’t stop looking. None of us can stop looking. I can’t stay here not knowing where he is. Boys don’t just disappear into thin air.’
The policemen looked at each other. Neither of them knew what to say or do because Eleanor Beckett was right.
‘Look, Mrs Beckett, we’ve done an initial search. We are going to send teams of three out to check the rest of the gardens and the lake, but apart from that we are going to be stuck until it’s morning because of the dark and the abysmal weather. These aren’t the best conditions to be out searching for your son.’
‘So what are you saying? That we just leave him out there on his own to die because it’s dark and wet? Well, I’m sorry, but that’s not good enough. If I have to search on my hands and knees then I will. To hell with you all.’
She stood up but her knees wouldn’t support her body weight and she felt her legs collapse. James rushed forward to catch his wife. Scooping her into his arms he held her close.
‘I’m not giving in; I will search all night. I want you to stay here with Martha and watch her, make sure she’s safe. I will find him, I promise.’
He excused both policemen and helped his wife down, then gently led her upstairs to their daughter’s room, where Eleanor got onto the bed and lay next to Martha.
‘I’m scared, James. What if Martha is right? What if Joe went down into the cellar? Where can he be?’
He bent down and kissed her forehead, guilt and horror filling his heart. He needed to tell her about the missing Windigo but he couldn’t do it to her. Her heart was filled with enough horror without adding anything to it.
‘Davey searched in the drain and crawled as far along as he could and there was no sign of Joe being down there. If we don’t find him tonight, then tomorrow I will search it myself.’
Eleanor nodded. ‘You have to find him.’
‘I know I do, sweetheart. Don’t you think I know that?’
He turned and left his wife and daughter and thought that, if it came to that, he would spend the rest of his life searching for his son.
***
Some hours later Eleanor opened her eyes and for a moment had no idea where she was. She reached out for her husband but instead found her daughter, who was burning hot and clutching a teddy bear in one hand. It all came rushing back to her and the crushing pain inside her chest took her breath away. After carefully getting out of the bed she tiptoed out into the hallway to Joe’s room, pushing open the door and praying to God he was tucked up under his covers and she’d just woken from the worst nightmare of her life.
She saw a figure on the bed and began to cry, but as she got nearer she realised that it was much too big to be her nine-year-old son. She bent down to see James fully clothed and lying on top of the covers, and she thought that her heart might actually stop beating. She reached out for him and he turned to face her. Unable to say the words, she let out a sob and he pulled her close. She lay on the bed in her husband’s arms and cried once more. This time she could feel the hot, wet tears from his eyes falling into her soft hair and it made her sob even louder.
They stayed that way until neither of them could cry any more and James, exhausted, began to snore ever so softly. Eleanor couldn’t go back to sleep. Instead she got up and went out into the hall. The clock chimed four as she made her way downstairs and into the kitchen to make herself a warm drink. She was chilled to the bone. As she passed the cellar she heard a faint scratching noise. Pausing to listen at the door, she waited to see if it would happen again. After several minutes she heard it once more. This time it was louder and sounded much closer.
Her heart racing, she slid back the lock and pulled the door open. ‘Joe, is that you? Are you down there, sweetheart?’ She was greeted by silence but every hair on her body stood on end and a peculiar feeling spread over her, making her fingers tingle. She listened and got the impression that whatever it was that was down there was waiting and listening back. Her hand reached out and tugged on the light-pull. As the light flooded the dark below there was a scurry of clacking and scratching that made Eleanor almost slam the door shut and bolt it. Instead she forced herself to step forward.
‘Who’s down there? Answer me now. What have you done with my son?’
Anger taking over her fear, she began to walk down the steps into the cellar, determined to find out what was going on in her own house. She reached the bottom and picked up the nearest thing to her, which was a rusted lantern. Armed with that she stepped into the cellar.
‘Joseph, it’s me, Mummy. Where are you, darling? Tell me and I’ll come and get you, I promise.’
Movement from one corner of the cellar made her whip around to see something the size of a tall man crouched on all fours scurry back into the darkness. Eleanor stared in horror, realising that whatever it was couldn’t be human because she saw one sharp claw reach out of the shadows and drag itself along the floor in front of her eyes.
She stood her ground, determined that she wouldn’t be scared away by something that was quite clearly a freak of nature. Unable to speak, she waited for it to move again, and after a painfully long time it did. It began to move forward. She lifted the lantern but realised that it was no match for the razor-sharp claws the thing had instead of fingers. As its body moved into the light she saw the red glow in its eyes and remembered the last time she had seen something so horrific. It moved again, this time much faster, and she screamed and threw the lantern at it. There was a squeal and a clatter of claws as whatever it was came rushing towards her. Without thinking she turned and ran as fast as she could up the cellar steps. Stumbling on the last one she felt a whoosh as one of those claws grabbed for her foot, and then she was outside.
She slammed the door shut using her whole weight. She pushed the bolt across with hands that were shaking, and then she ran to the kitchen and pulled a chair along. Ramming the back of it under the doorknob, she began to cry and knew that whatever it was had taken her little boy and he wasn’t coming back.
Tomorrow she would send for the rat catchers, a hunter, anyone who had a rifle and could shoot whatever it was dead. Petrified, she waited by the door for someone to come down and make the cellar safe. When she had first seen that thing in the freak show it had somehow held her fascinated, as horrified as she was to look at it. The fire had pushed all thoughts of the creature from her mind, but now here it was, alive and in her cellar, and now her baby boy was missing. The pain in her chest took her breath away. She was terrified of whatever it was and wanted to run away upstairs to tell James…no, to demand that James explain how the thing had come to be in their house. But she couldn’t go back upstairs in case whatever it was escaped, because she knew if it did it would kill them all.
Chapter Thirteen
They said goodbye and climbed back into the van. Annie began the drive back to the station. As soon as they were out of sight, Cathy let out a huge sigh of relief.
‘What the hell do you make of that? I totally got sucked into it. I was actually terrified the Creature from the Black Lagoon was going to come out of the cellar and eat us all like some fairy tale monster.’
‘I know you did; we all did.’
Sam and Tracy nodded in agreement; for once they were unusually quiet.
‘I think that Miss Martha Beckett has a monster in her cellar that eats people.’
