The darkness beneath, p.33
The Darkness Beneath, page 33
She was home.
Of course, he couldn’t be certain she was there alone, so he continued down the road, parking the Volvo in a secluded spot hidden behind the trees about half-a-mile away. He would go back to the guesthouse, spend a little time making sure she was by herself, then once he had her subdued he could jog back to fetch the car, get her loaded into the trunk, and be on his way.
Adrenalin pumping through his veins, he hoisted the sports bag over his shoulder and started the short hike back to the guesthouse.
*
It was by chance that Nell found the journal.
She had gone up to the attic to collect her art equipment and had been gathering her paints and brushes, packing them neatly away in a box when she had dropped one of the smaller brushes, swearing under her breath as it rolled across the rickety wooden floor, disappearing between two of the panels. Knowing how expensive it was she was reluctant to leave it.
‘You are such a klutz,’ she muttered to herself, dropping to her knees, wincing as pain shot up through her neck as she bent to try and retrieve it.
The gap between the panels was wide enough for her to slip one finger into. Wiggling around she could touch the tip of the brush, was able to move it slightly, but couldn’t pick it up.
Frustrated she sat back on her haunches. She couldn’t really afford to replace the brush and she couldn’t paint without it.
Twisting her hand at an angle, she forced two fingers into the gap, managed to catch hold of the tip of the brush but dropped it almost immediately. She tried again, this time her fingertips catching the edge of something else. It felt like a book. Both curious and annoyed, she tried to wiggle her fingers further into the gap, realizing too late that her hand was stuck.
Way to go, O’Connor, you damn idiot.
She gave her hand a test yank, feeling a slight edge of panic when it didn’t move, tried again, this time pulling much harder, and the whole panel of wood came away.
Gingerly Nell rubbed at her hand, her momentary feeling of relief quickly replaced by curiosity when she spotted the leather-bound journal lying in the hole beneath the floorboards. She retrieved her brush and dropped it into the box then turned her attention to the book, picking it up and brushing a film of dust off the cover. Carefully she opened the journal, recognizing the handwriting of her cousin. The entries were marked by dates, the first one in January 2005.
So, Clarke had kept a diary. Why, she wondered, had he hidden it away?
She glanced through the first few entries. They were sporadic. He had written every day and some entries were brief, while others took up a whole page. It seemed mostly monotonous stuff, documenting what he had eaten, his school grades and the scores he was achieving on his favorite video games. She flicked randomly through the book, spotted Tommy’s name a handful of times, then she came across an entry that seemed a little deeper, where Clarke seemed to be opening up through the diary and talking about his feelings. It made her feel a little uncomfortable, like she was snooping. This was his private stuff. She was about to close the book, replace it under the floorboards, when she spotted another familiar name.
Sarah.
Sarah, whose name Clarke had written on the wall and whose bones had been discovered under the conservatory floor.
Intrigued Nell studied the entry more carefully. It was tame stuff. It had been Clarke’s birthday and Sarah had made him a chocolate cake. In the evening she and Bella had played video games with him.
Sarah had died in 2005. Did Clarke know what had happened to her? Was that why the journal was hidden? Nell flicked through a few more pages, saw Sarah’s name appearing more frequently. Alex needed to see this. It could be important.
She packed the journal in the box with her paints and brushes; took it downstairs and set it beside the bag of clothes and toiletries she had packed then went back up to the attic for her easel and paper. Satisfied she had everything she opened the front door, surprised to see Tommy’s car was gone. She stepped outside, glanced around, part of her wondering if it was a stupid prank, but he was nowhere in sight.
Had he seriously driven off and left her?
Nell pulled her cellphone out of her pocket, was about to call Alex but faltered.
If he knew Tommy had ditched her he would go nuts. Tommy already had a problem with her and she didn’t want to make things worse between them. She had his cell number from when he had called her earlier. Finding it up she pressed dial, waiting as it rang.
Where the hell are you, Tommy? Pick up, dammit.
The phone rang a dozen times before he answered. ‘Yes?’
‘It’s Nell. Where are you?’
‘I had something I had to do.’
‘Okay, well are you done? I’m ready and waiting.’ She heard him sigh loudly, sounding exasperated. ‘Tommy?’
‘I’ll be there in a bit.’
‘Look, I don’t want to put you out. If it’s that big a deal I can call Alex. I’ve found something he needs to see anyway.’
‘What have you found?’
‘Clarke kept a journal. He talks about Sarah. He might have known what happened to her.’
There was a period of silence. ‘Look, give me ten minutes. I’ll be there as quickly as I can. We’ll go to Alex together, okay? There’s something I need to tell him myself.’
‘Okay, ten minutes.’
*
Tommy slipped his cellphone back in his pocket. ‘This has to end. Right now, it has to end. I’m not doing it anymore.’
‘You think it’s going to end by turning yourself in? You’re crazy.’
‘The truth is going to come out anyway. It’s only a matter of time before they link it back and figure out what happened.’
‘Not necessarily, Tommy. It’s been a secret all this time. We can keep it that way.’
‘And what about Jenna?’ Tommy said her name bitterly, still reeling after finding her in the tub full of blood. He wasn’t sure if he felt sad, guilty or angry. She had taken the easy way out, left him to face this alone. That was why he had driven here. He had nowhere else to go.
‘What about Jenna?’
‘She’s dead, damn it. Does that mean nothing to you?’ Tommy looked at the familiar face, the penny dropping as he suddenly realized the train of thought. ‘You want to let her take the fall, don’t you?’
‘Well, she’s confessed. And she’s already gone. It would be a waste for her to drag us down with her.’
Tommy shook his head in disbelief. ‘You’re an asshole.’
‘No, I’m a survivalist.’
‘You think Jenna’s confession is going to stop them coming after us? Clarke kept a journal. He’s written all about Sarah. Nell has it and plans to give it to Alex. He is going to find out we were involved.’
That brought a satisfying flicker of uncertainty. ‘Nell has the journal?’
‘She said just now on the phone that she has found Clarke’s journal and that Alex needs to see it.’
‘You’re lying.’
‘You know I’m not. It’s over. I’m going to turn myself in, confess about what happened. You should too.’
Tommy turned to walk away, hadn’t reached the front door when the blow struck him hard on the back of the head. He staggered forward, attempted to reach for his sidearm, a second blow knocking him clean off his feet, and he tumbled to the floor in a pool of blood.
*
Michael was getting frustrated being stuck in a hospital bed. He was feeling much better, didn’t understand why he couldn’t recuperate at home. Instead the doctors insisted on keeping him hooked up to stupid machines he was quite certain he no longer needed. Too much was happening. The serial killer case, the discovery of the body at the guesthouse, the incident with Nell on the mainland. He felt like he was losing control; if he was at home he could keep on top of things more easily.
He glanced at his watch, annoyed Nell hadn’t called him. She had said she was going up to the guesthouse in the afternoon and it was after five. He picked up his phone ready to fire off an angry text then reconsidered, deciding he would facetime her instead, his anger ebbing when she answered, her face appearing on the screen. He hadn’t seen her since the accident and was relieved to see she looked okay. Her lip was still a little puffy from where Curtis had hit her, and he could see the darkening bruise on her forehead from the car accident, but other than that she seemed bright eyed and in good spirits.
‘I thought you were going to call me?’
‘I planned to. I was just getting my stuff together.’ He could see she was in the kitchen, could hear the coffee pot hissing in the background.
‘Is Alex there with you?’
‘No, umm, Tommy is.’
Something registered as off. It was the way Nell diverted her eyes away from the camera when she answered him.
‘Is that so? So, where is he? Put him on so I can say hi.’
‘He’s waiting outside.’
‘Nell, where’s Tommy?’
‘I told you he’s – ’
‘He’s not there, is he?’
‘He had to go into town for a bit.’
‘Does Alex know you’re up at the guesthouse alone?’
‘Look, Tommy, he had… a thing. He’s on his way back though, should be here any second now, I promise.’
Michael guessed he must have looked pissed because she continued to babble. Something his sister didn’t do unless she knew she had been caught out.
‘Don’t tell Alex, okay? Things have been a little off with Tommy and I don’t want him getting into trouble over this. It will make it more awkward. I spoke to him a minute ago and he’s on his way back. I am fine. I’ve been packing my stuff and you can stay on the line and keep me company until he gets here if you like.’
Nell gave a bright smile, trying to get things back on a more light-hearted level. She set her phone down on the counter, propped up, so he could see her as she made her coffee.
Michael was still vexed, made a mental note to lay into Tommy Dolan when he saw him, but for the sake of his sister he dropped the subject for now.
‘So, you’re moving in with Alex then?’
‘It’s just temporary. You’re in the hospital and I don’t want to be up here at the moment. I’m sure he’ll want me out of his hair at some point.’ She shrugged, trying to give the impression she was fine with that, picking up her phone and heading back into the hallway towards the main living room.
‘Things okay with you two?’
‘Yeah, they are.’ She sipped at her coffee, smiled, this one full of genuine warmth. ‘In fact they’re more than okay. I know you guys talked. You’re cool… about us, now, right?’
‘Yeah, we’re good.’
‘I’m glad.’ There must have been the slightest hesitancy in his voice, because she added, ‘Don’t screw this up for me, Michael. He makes me happy.’
‘I won’t screw it up. Happy is all I ever want you to be. So what’s happening with my pool?’ he asked, changing the subject. ‘I suppose it’s a crime scene.’
‘To be honest, I’ve avoided going in there. What the hell happened to that poor girl?’
‘Hopefully now she’s been found there’ll be some answers.’
‘She just disappeared and no one even noticed or cared.’ Nell was silent for a moment. ‘You know, Clarke wrote about Sarah in his journal.’
‘He kept a journal?’
‘Yeah, I found it hidden under the floorboards in the attic.’
‘You’ve given it to Alex, right?’
‘I plan to. I only just found it.’
Nell set down her coffee cup and wandered back out into the hallway heading down towards the reception desk, and Michael saw the camera lower as she fished in a box. ‘See,’ she said, holding up a thick leather-bound book in front of her phone. ‘It’s full of diary entries from 2005. It might have some clues as to what happened to her.’
‘Get it to Alex ASAP. This could be important, Nell.’
‘I’m going to. Tommy should be here in a few minutes and we’re going to drive straight into town to see him.’
‘Where the hell did you say Dolan was?’
‘He didn’t say, only it was important. He was on his way back though when I spoke to him.’
Michael glanced at his watch, noted he had been on the phone with Nell over ten minutes. ‘I should call him.’
‘You don’t need to. I’m fine.’
‘I’m gonna kick his ass for leaving you up there alone, when I next see him.’
‘Michael!’ Nell rolled her eyes. ‘You’re being an idiot.’ As she berated him, she wandered back into the kitchen, the camera up high enough for him to see the view behind her and the figure standing in the shadows behind the kitchen door.
Michael’s heart leapt into his mouth, his eyes widening.
Caleb.
Nell was still talking about Tommy, though her attention was distracted. Michael heard the faucet running.
‘Nell!’
She didn’t seem to be able to hear him over the running water.
Michael sat up in the hospital bed, screamed at his phone as he saw Caleb approaching her from behind.
‘NELL! GOD DAMN IT, BEHIND YOU!’
Caleb must have spoken to her, because he saw her face pale, her eyes widen in horror. As she started to turn, the phone slipped out of her hand. He heard and watched as it hit the floor, the screen turning black.
‘NELL!’
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
‘Mr O’Connor, you need to get back into bed.’
The gray-haired nurse was doing her best to stop Michael, who had unhooked himself from the machines and was currently skulking around the room wearing just the skimpy hospital robe and a bandage on his head. ‘Where the hell are my pants?’
Mr O’Connor, please. You’re not well enough to leave.’
‘My sister is in danger. Don’t tell me what the hell I can and can’t do. Now get me my damn clothes.’
Yelling didn’t help and brought on a head rush that left him feeling dizzy, like he was about to pass out. He grabbed the railing at the end of the bed, attempting to steady himself.
Another nurse and two orderlies arrived.
‘Let me go,’ Michael yelled at them, trying to jerk away as they wrestled him down on to the bed. ‘My sister’s in danger. I have to help her.’
The two nurses exchanged a glance, the older one filling a needle. ‘You need to rest, Mr O’Connor. This will help you.’
‘No! You don’t understand.’ He flinched away as the needle came towards him, struggling as the orderlies pinned him down and the nurse looked for a vein. ‘Please, help her. Her name is Nell O’Connor and she’s in Bella Golding’s old guesthouse. She’s in danger. Please call Alex, Chief Cutler, right away and tell him.’
He made eye contact with the younger nurse, the only one who seemed to be listening to what he was saying. ‘His number is on my cell. Alex. Tell him Caleb is there.’
She gave a hesitant smile, nodded.
Michael felt the needle sink into his arm, was aware of the drug starting to take effect. ‘Just help my sister, please.’
*
‘Hello, Nell. Did you miss me?’
Nell recognized the soft deep voice and she froze at the kitchen sink, the hairs on her neck standing on end. Barely daring to breathe, she slowly turned around, vaguely away of Michael calling her name.
Caleb stood before her, his posture relaxed, the hint of a smile touching his lips. In his hand he held a gun that was pointing at her.
She couldn’t speak, was aware of her cellphone slipping from her shaking fingers; it crashed against the floor, the sound slightly muted by the rush of water as the sink filled.
He had found her.
Oh, dear God, he had found her.
They stood facing one another, the only sound coming from the running faucet. Nell’s legs felt leaden, her throat dry as fear clawed inside her. She had built herself up, proud of her independence, her moments of bravery, but in that second it was all undone and she hated herself for how scared and pathetic she suddenly felt, aware of what Caleb was capable of and knowing she didn’t have the guts to stand up to him.
His demeanor suggested he was relaxed, but she knew better than anyone it was a mask, that he wanted to fool her into believing he was being reasonable so she would be unprepared when he decided to strike.
He took a sudden step towards her and she flinched, stepping back into the counter. She gripped it tightly with both hands, her eyes never leaving his – those cold dead eyes she remembered and feared so well. He was mean and he was unpredictable, and that made him dangerous, and she could tell from the way he was looking at her that he wanted to hurt her.
‘Do you have nothing to say to me? After what you have done, what you have put me through these last few weeks, you have nothing?’
‘I… I… How did you…?’
The rest of the words wouldn’t come and those that had sounded pathetic. She’d been so strong and in five seconds he had reduced her to a quivering wreck. Nell couldn’t hate herself anymore if she tried.
‘How did I find you? It took some work, but I guess you’re not as smart as you thought you were. What I don’t understand is why you did it? I gave you everything!’ He raised his voice on the last word, smiling cruelly when she visibly flinched. ‘In return you made me look a fool, completely betrayed my trust.’
He sneered as she started to hyperventilate. ‘You’re not going to pull this shit again, are you?’
‘One-hundred, ninety-nine, ninety –’
He moved before she had time to react, pinning her against the counter, the tip of the gun pressed against her chin forcing her head back, his face inches from hers. ‘One-hundred, ninety-nine, ninety-eight,’ he mocked. ‘Listen to you, for fuck’s sake. Do you have any idea how weak and pitiful you are? I mean, look at you, you’re a thirty-four-year-old woman and you can’t even fucking breathe properly.’
Nell gasped for air, her legs now shaking so badly she was sure she would collapse to the floor if he stopped holding her with his weight. ‘Please,’ she managed.
He traced the gun along her jawline before reaching behind her with his free hand and turning off the faucet. ‘You are going to have to do a lot better than please. This is bad, Nell. I don’t know if I can forgive you this time.’
