Lies after death, p.1
Lies After Death, page 1
Lies After Death
K.J. Dando
Cahill Davis Publishing
Copyright © 2023 K.J. Dando
The moral right of K.J. Dando to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright
First published in Great Britain in 2023 by Cahill Davis Publishing Limited.
First published in paperback in Great Britain in 2023 by Cahill Davis Publishing Limited.
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Clays Ltd, Elcograf S.p.A
Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licencing Agency.#
All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
ISBN 978-1-915307-06-4 (eBook)
ISBN 978-1-915307-05-7 (Paperback)
Cahill Davis Publishing Limited
www.cahilldavispublishing.co.uk
Contents
Dedication
Prologue
1. Chapter One
2. Chapter Two
3. Chapter Three
4. Chapter Four
5. Chapter Five
6. Chapter Six
7. Chapter Seven
8. Chapter Eight
9. Chapter Nine
10. Chapter Ten
11. Chapter Eleven
12. Chapter Twelve
13. Chapter Thirteen
14. Chapter Fourteen
15. Chapter Fifteen
16. Chapter Sixteen
17. Chapter Seventeen
18. Chapter Eighteen
19. Chapter Nineteen
20. Chapter Twenty
21. Chapter Twenty-One
22. Chapter Twenty-Two
23. Chapter Twenty-Three
24. Chapter Twenty-Four
25. Chapter Twenty-Five
26. Chapter Twenty-Six
27. Chapter Twenty-Seven
28. Chapter Twenty-Eight
29. Chapter Twenty-Nine
30. Chapter Thirty
31. Chapter Thirty-One
32. Chapter Thirty-Two
33. Chapter Thirty-Three
34. Chapter Thirty-Four
35. Chapter Thirty-Five
36. Chapter Thirty-Six
37. Chapter Thirty-Seven
Acknowledgements
About the Author
For my wife Jo and daughters, Holly and Summer.
Prologue
It was a few minutes after eight and almost four hours since the sun had set, on a cold and wet mid-November evening in South Wales. Beth Crane selected the phone symbol on the car’s touch screen. She was driving through a narrow but well-lit street with cars parked on both sides of the road. Her recent call list appeared on the screen, and she selected the third option from the top labelled “Hubby”. The music stopped playing and was replaced with the unmistakable long dial tone when making a call overseas.
As the second ring began, Beth’s car approached the entrance of a country lane. Even though most of the leaves had fallen off the trees, the thick tangle of branches that extended over the road created a dense canopy. This, combined with the lack of any lighting in the lane, made it look as if she were heading towards a dark tunnel. Beth eased off the accelerator and slowed slightly. She even subconsciously ducked her head a little as the car passed beneath the branches and into the blackness. She flicked the stalk next to the steering wheel to activate her main beam headlights, illuminating the road in front of her. The ground was wet from earlier rain, with only a few small patches of black asphalt visible amongst the sodden mush of dead leaves.
Her husband’s voice came through the speakers at the end of the fourth ring. “Hello, you.”
“Hi, honey,” Beth replied, relieved to hear his voice.
“Is everything okay?” Tom asked, his tone laced with concern.
“Oh no, sorry. I’ve woken you, haven’t I?” She could just imagine Tom now, sat up in a four-poster bed in a fancy hotel room, or maybe even his own suite. He was currently away on a close protection detail for some wealthy business owners visiting Abu Dhabi. “I keep forgetting the time difference. What time is it there now?”
Tom chuckled. “Don’t worry, it’s fine. It’s a little after midnight. Anyway, it’s always good to hear your voice. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m just on my way home, and I wanted to tell you how much I love you. You mean so much to me.” Her voice broke slightly, and she blinked away the tears that sprang to her eyes. “I don’t deserve you,” she added, hoping that Tom wouldn’t notice how emotional she was.
“That’s sweet, and you, baby. It’s just a couple more days and then I’ll be back home with you.”
“I really can’t wait,” she choked.
“Me neither. Where have you been tonight?”
Beth cleared her throat in an attempt to keep her emotions in check. “Oh, just out for dinner with a friend from work.”
“A friend from work? Do I need to be jealous?”
Beth forced a laugh. “Yeah, right. I was with Ella.”
“Now I’m definitely starting to get jealous,” Tom joked. “You two have been inseparable these last few months.”
Beth noticed a pair of headlights appear in her rear-view mirror, around a hundred yards or so behind. “Stop it. She’s lovely, and we get on really well. You should be happy she’s looking after me while you’re away.”
Tom chuckled. “I am, you know I’m just messing with you.”
The headlights in the rear-view mirror became bigger a lot quicker than Beth had anticipated. Her heart rate quickened, and she felt an instant hit of adrenalin enter her system. She tried to focus on the winding road ahead but struggled to keep her eyes away from the golden globes growing in the mirror.
“Oh no,” she uttered, her grip tightening on the steering wheel. “I think he’s following me.”
“Who’s following you?” Concern was creeping into Tom’s voice.
Beth was busy watching the headlights in the mirror. They weren’t showing any signs of slowing, and she braced herself for impact. Thankfully, it didn’t materialise. The driver applied the brakes at the last second and slowed.
“Beth, who’s following you?”
The headlights quickly closed the gap again so that they appeared to be just a few inches from her rear window. She could hear the roar of the vehicle’s engine. It was some kind of large SUV, and it dwarfed her little hatchback.
“Oh, nobody,” she replied. “Just some guy with a bit of road rage. I think I may have cut in front of him on the roundabout earlier.”
“Is he getting close to you?”
Beth was temporarily blinded when the SUV flashed its headlights just as she was looking directly into the rear-view mirror at them. She squinted and strained her eyes to look ahead and concentrate on the road. The headlights continued to flash behind her, filling her little hatchback with blinding light each time.
She grunted in frustration. “Yes, and now he’s flashing me. I can’t see properly.”
“What an arsehole,” Tom fumed over the speakers. “Listen, whatever you do, don’t speed up and obviously don’t stop. It sounds like he’s trying to intimidate you. Just concentrate on the road and keep moving slowly. Is he still flashing?”
“Yes. What is he doing? He’s an absolute psycho.” Fear was beginning to seep into Beth’s angry tone.
“Can you see the number plate? Or at least make out what make, model, or colour it is?”
“No. Nothing. It’s pitch black. I think it’s some kind of SUV. It looks big.”
“Just try and stay calm. He can’t do anything if you keep moving. He’s not going to hit you and risk damaging his car. He’s just trying to scare you. Don’t let him. Just stay calm.”
Another set of headlights appeared around two hundred yards in front, heading towards them. The flashing behind stopped. The country lane was extremely narrow; there was only enough space for one vehicle to pass at a time. Every fifty yards or so, it would widen on one side so that one of the cars could pull in to allow others to pass.
“A car’s coming towards me. I might have to stop.”
“Don’t panic,” Tom instructed. “Even if you do, it’ll just be for a few seconds and then you’ll be back on the move. He won’t be able to do anything.”
Beth watched as the SUV backed off slightly behind her. An area to her left opened up, and she pulled in as the headlights in front approached them. The SUV followed suit and stopped a few feet behind. In her peripheral vision, she noticed the car in front flash their headlights as a “thank you” when they passed by, and she naturally raised a hand to say “you’re welcome”, her eyes still fixed on the SUV behind.
The driver’s door opened as soon as the car passed it, and the dark silhouette of a man got out, framed by the red glow coming from the taillights of the car that had just passed them as it continued down the lane. She immediately hit the accelerator and, after a few spins on the greasy surface, the tyres finally found some traction, and her small hatchback took off. The man was shouting, but she couldn’t make out any words.
“What’s happening?” Tom asked fervently.
Beth was too busy concentrating on the road ahead to answer. She just wanted to gain as much distance as possible.< br />
“Beth, talk to me. What’s happening?”
“He got out and started shouting at me,” she blurted. The country lane curved to the right, and the SUV’s headlights disappeared from view. “I’m just trying to get away from him.”
“Is he still behind you?”
Beth was about to answer but stopped herself when the two globes reappeared in the rear-view mirror and sped towards her, even quicker than they had before. They started flashing from dipped to the main beam over and over again. Then, when he got to within a few feet of her rear bumper, the horn started blasting in short bursts.
“Is that him beeping his horn?”
“Yes.” Beth’s voice was shaky. “I’m scared, Tom.”
“Listen to me carefully, Beth. Just keep driving slowly, don’t speed up. Get through the lane and obviously don’t turn into our house. Just keep driving and head to the police station. When you reach a main road with streetlights, try to take in as many details about the car as possible. If you get a view of the plate, try to memorise it. If he follows you to the station, great, the police can sort him out. If he doesn’t, hopefully you’ll have enough details so they can find him. Or better still, I can find him when I get back.”
Beth could hear Tom’s voice, but none of the words were going in. Her heart was pumping so hard it felt as if it were going to burst out of her chest. Her breaths were quick and shallow. The SUV was so close, she couldn’t understand how it could get so close without actually hitting her. The sound of both engines racing, combined with the blasting horn, was beginning to reach deafening levels. Consciously, she knew that speeding up was the wrong thing to do, but subconsciously her foot applied more pressure onto the accelerator. She desperately wanted to get away, but the SUV wasn’t letting up. Not even an inch. It stayed right on her rear bumper, lights still flashing, horn still blaring.
“Beth,” Tom shouted. “Speak to me. What’s going on?”
But Beth was completely oblivious to his voice. She was peering through the windscreen, trying not to be distracted by the flashing lights and the roaring noise. She focused solely on the road ahead, applying even more pressure onto the accelerator.
“Beth.” There was desperation in Tom’s voice. “Please. Tell me what’s happening.”
Suddenly, the flashing seemed to stop for a few seconds. Beth risked a glance in the mirror and then her eyes were hit with the full force of the main beams. It felt as if the light had scorched holes in the back of her eyes. She blinked frantically, trying to regain her vision, but all she could see was a big black circle ahead. She could just about make out the tree trunks rushing past on either side of the car in her peripheral vision, but there was a dark empty hole straight ahead. She had no idea that the lane was starting to curve to the left.
By the time she realised the hatchback was travelling off the road and up the embankment, it was too late. She stamped on the brake pedal, but the front wheels were already airborne and the rear tyres were on a mixture of dead, rotting leaves and wet grass. There was no traction to slow the momentum down. A drop on the other side of the embankment meant that the whole car eventually became airborne. Beth screamed as she sensed the weightlessness. The car twisted and began to turn on its side. Time itself seemed to almost stand still. She closed her eyes, tensed, and braced herself for impact.
They say in moments like this your whole life flashes before your eyes. But that wasn’t the case for Beth. She didn’t have time to think, she just felt a combination of regret and pure dread fill her entire being.
The hatchback was completely upside down when it struck the base of a giant beech tree. It was the classic case of the unstoppable force versus the immovable object. Unfortunately, in this scenario, the immovable object won effortlessly. The beech tree stood strong and gallantly as the small hatchback crumpled into its trunk like an aluminium can being crushed against a wall. An eruption of exploding airbags, shattering glass, and the excruciating sound of metal being torn apart resonated around the woods. It was abruptly followed by a chilling silence.
The engine was no longer running; in fact, it was no longer in the engine bay. The impact had forced it back into the cabin. The wheels were no longer spinning, and all the electrics were ruined, leaving the wreckage in total darkness. If someone were to drive past, they would have no idea it was even there. No one would know the absolute carnage that had just taken place.
But one person knew.
That person stopped his SUV and stepped out onto the road. He ran back to where he’d seen the hatchback leave the road and scrambled up the embankment, slipping on the slimy surface. He looked down but could only see black. His eyes strained to adjust to the darkness, but their efforts were futile. No light reached the forest floor.
He took out a bunch of keys from his pocket. There was a small LED torch keyring attached to the bunch. He switched it on and used the small yet powerful beam of light to guide him as he clambered down the other side of the embankment. He could faintly smell petrol in the damp, cold air. It was getting stronger with each step closer. He focused the light on the wreckage and took a sharp intake of breath. It was difficult to imagine that this distorted lump of broken glass and metal had been a nice little hatchback driving on the road just a few moments ago.
He stepped around the left side. Now that the car was upside down, this was the driver’s side. He crouched down and aimed the beam from the torch into the car, then immediately turned away, clamping his eyes shut and sucking in a breath through gritted teeth. With just a glance, it was obvious the driver had sustained catastrophic injuries that no human could have possibly survived. The man rubbed his eyes, trying to erase the grotesque image.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered.
He stood and moved to step away when something caught his eye. It was a glimmer of light obscured by a couple of leaves a few yards away, just past the beech tree. He stepped towards it and started to hear a strange noise. It sounded faint and tinny. A little like a man’s voice shouting from the bottom of a well. As he stepped closer and bent down, he realised it was a phone. He brushed the leaves off and picked it up. Now he could clearly hear a man’s voice shouting.
“Beth.” There was absolute despair in the man’s voice. “Beth.”
Remarkably, the phone had survived the crash and seemed to be fully functional. Somehow, it must have been thrown from the car during the impact and landed on the sodden dead leaves that carpeted the forest floor.
The man tapped the red icon on the screen to end the call. He proceeded to depress and hold down the power button on the side to switch the phone off, then shoved it into his pocket. He hastily made his way back up the embankment and sprinted to his SUV. He jumped in and, before his door was even fully closed, the chunky tyres bit through the layer of dead leaves and down into the asphalt. The SUV sped away up the lane with one final roar of its powerful engine.
Beth’s heart had stopped beating the moment her hatchback struck the tree. The other smaller heart inside her continued to beat a little longer. A tiny heart that fought valiantly for its own survival but unfortunately faced a losing battle. Without its mother’s support, the little heartbeat weakened until it eventually faded away.
Chapter One
Almost five years later...
Tom Crane hardly took notice of the impressive properties lining both sides of the road as he drove his dark grey pickup truck through one of the most affluent areas of Cardiff. He was only paying attention to the property numbers. Some were on the front doors, and others, typically where the house was set further back from the road, were displayed on plaques on the front wall. And even though the street was well-lit, most of the plaques were further illuminated with LEDs.
Crane was peering out of the driver’s window at the even numbers, ignoring the odds ones on the left. He slowed the truck and flicked the stalk to indicate before turning into the driveway of number sixty-two. The home of the Welsh first minister. The first minister of Wales was the elected leader of the Welsh Government. Not that this meant or changed anything; a client was a client. Nothing more, nothing less.
