Don't Turn Around (25 page)

T
he station car
park had been turned into an ice rink by the overnight freeze, and the elderly caretaker walked with a stoop as he threw handfuls of rock salt from his black plastic bucket. He waved at Jennifer, hastily throwing some in her direction for fear she might slip and fall in the snow.

Jennifer slung the loose strap of her handbag over her shoulder before thanking the caretaker. Her choice of footwear was not the most sensible given the weather, but she loved the feeling of power a good pair of heels gave her. Judging by his steel toe capped footwear, he neither understood nor worried about such things.

S
he pressed
her tag against the back door scanner and a soft buzzing vibration came from the bottom of her bag. ‘Who’s ringing at this hour of the morning? It’s not even eight o clock yet,’ she muttered, as she searched for her phone. Her heart gave a flutter as she glanced at the unknown number lighting up her display. ‘Hello,’ she said, steeling herself for the reply.

‘Hi Jennifer, it's David.’

Jennifer exhaled in relief at hearing a familiar voice. Her sister’s husband did not call very often, but when he did it was normally for something boring, such as borrowing her lawnmower or asking for advice on store shoplifters. 'Oh hello, is everything all right? Your number came up as unknown.'

'Yeah, I'm ringing from work. Listen, I booked Amy and myself a weekend in Paris as a surprise. I'd arranged with Laura to take Joshua, but she's broken down on the motorway with her horsebox and doesn't think she'll be back on time. Could you do me a favour and pick him up this afternoon? I know you're probably working, but if we can't get someone to collect him from nursery, I'll have to cancel the whole thing.'

‘Oh don't do that, I'll be happy to get him. It's the nursery beside the church, isn't it? Two o’clock?’

David exhaled in relief on the other end of the line. ‘Thanks, you're a life saver. If you can drop him over to Laura later that would be great.’

Jennifer rolled her eyes. Heaven forbid she be entrusted with Joshua for a whole day. She swallowed her pride, happy to have him at all.

‘I'm sure Amy will be thrilled with the surprise. What about Lily?’

‘I didn't think Amy would want to leave her behind so she's coming with us. She’s starting to sleep through the night, whereas Josh ...’

‘You don't need to explain. You wouldn't have much of a romantic night with him creeping between the covers, would you?’

David laughed. ‘Yes, you could say that. Anyway, Laura has all the details of where we're going. I'm sure Josh will enjoy seeing you.’

Jennifer responded with a smile in her voice. ‘I'm looking forward to it.’

She expected to have to plead with her sergeant for the time off, but as it turned out, there were enough probationers that day to cover her shift, and she agreed to work until twelve.

Jennifer grimaced as she checked through her emails. Her application to visit Sam Beswick in prison had been turned down. Without a valid case to investigate, he had to agree to her visit. She wasn’t ready to give up yet. She would write to him and explain.

The clock ticked by slowly, and she briefed Will on any outstanding jobs before she left. She was not expecting the call from the nursery, while she was out shopping for pizza, DVDs and popcorn.

‘Hello, is that Jennifer Knight? This is Little Ducklings nursery, we've been given your contact details.’ A shaky young woman's voice spoke on the other end of the phone.

‘Yes, have I got the time wrong? Joshua’s due to be picked up in an hour isn't he?’

‘Yes he is. I don't suppose any member of your family collected him early without telling anyone?’

Jennifer’s heart began to thrum in her chest. ‘No. His parents are away and the only other person is my aunt, who’s been delayed. Please don't tell me he’s gone.’

The sound of a hand over the receiver gave cause for alarm as muffled whispers gave instructions to keep looking. ‘Hello?’ Jennifer said, dropping her shopping basket and hastily returning to her car.

The woman returned to the phone. ‘I’m sorry but he seems to be missing. We've looked everywhere. They were out in the garden playing in the snow and when they all came in, he was nowhere to be found. I'm afraid I'll have to call the police.’

Jennifer felt like screaming that she
was
the police, and how could these idiots be so stupid as to lose a four-year-old child? But it was imperative they moved quickly. There would be time for recriminations later. ‘You do that. I'll look everywhere I know, and if you find him, call me.’

Panic gripped Jennifer like a vice, the realisation that Joshua was in danger causing her stomach to churn. Breathless from searching the local playground, she expanded her search to her home. Her mind ran wild with different scenarios, and none of them ended well. With shaking hands she reached for her mobile phone to call Will. It rang before she dialled the number.

‘Hello?’ she whispered, praying for good news.

‘Jennifer, is that you?’ Father Kelly’s voice echoed down the phone line.

‘Father, I can’t speak right now, Joshua’s missing, and I need to keep the line free.’

‘That’s why I’m calling; he’s with me. I was at the nursery when he disappeared. I remember him saying his aunty Laura promised to bring him to the boathouse this weekend, so I drove over, and there he was, sitting on the doorstep, the little tyke.’

S
he sighed loudly
, tears of relief threatening to brim over. How on earth had he got to the boathouse by himself? The question briefly flashed through Jennifer’s mind, but was replaced by relief. Questions could be answered later. ‘Thank God, I was so scared. I’ll come and get him now.’

‘I've told the nursery and I've found a spare key under a rock so we’ve let ourselves in.’

Jennifer nodded as she grabbed her coat from the hook in the hall. ‘I’ll be with you in a few minutes.’

As she was slamming the door behind her, the phone buzzed again. She ran her hand through the sleeve of her coat and accepted the call.

Will’s cheery voice rang down the phone. ‘Hi Jen, everything OK?’

‘No, as it happens. Josh went missing and it frightened the bloody life out of me. Father Kelly’s just called to say he’s found him at the boathouse. Can you find the incident and update control that he's safe?’

‘Sure. Want me to pop over? I’m not far from there.’

Jennifer was trying to regulate her breathing, but her stomach still felt like it was sat in her throat. ‘No mate, I’m fine. I’ll call you when I get there.’

Will hesitated. ‘Jennifer wait, something doesn’t feel right. Are you sure everything’s OK?’

‘I’m fine, but I really have to go.’

Will hesitated. ‘OK, but call me when you can.’

J
ennifer drove in a trance
, clipping the footpath when she took a corner, and crossing traffic lights blindly as she followed the drivers ahead. How could a four-year-old boy make the two mile journey to the boathouse in half an hour? Turning right, she took the road marked ‘Shady Pines’ and parked at the entrance to walk to the cabin. Looming pine trees flanked the path to the river, their branches bowed with snow. She blinked against the glare as she followed the double set of footprints to the boathouse. Her quickening breath rose in visible puffs as she buttoned her coat against the biting cold. It felt like she was walking in someone’s dream, a snow globe forest frozen in time. The only noise was the fresh snow being crushed underfoot as she walked to the door of the cabin.

She stomped her feet, scattering crumbs of snow across the front decking of the cabin. The cold ice found its way into her shoes and melted between her toes. Father Kelly's voice rose from inside.

'We're in here, Jennifer,' he said.

She slowly walked in, her shadow falling ahead of her. The gloomy wooden walls seemed to breathe with a vibration of negativity, and there was an audible hum in the air. It was as if the boathouse was alive. ‘Hello?’ Jennifer called out, waiting to hear Josh’s footsteps running across the varnished wooden floorboards.

F
ather Kelly stood
by the stone fireplace, his arms folded. ‘Close the door,’ he said stiffly. She glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner, it’s hands frozen at exactly one thirty.

‘Where's Joshua?’ she asked, her eyes darting around the room.

‘They did a good job rebuilding this place after the fire. You’d never imagine it had been burnt to the ground,’ Father Kelly said, as he turned and cracked his knuckles.

‘
J
oshua didn’t come here
by himself, did he, Father?’ Jennifer said, the snowy footprints outside having told her as much already. ‘Now, are you going to tell me where my nephew is, or do I have to find him myself?’

‘Why, he's right here.’ Father Kelly walked to the adjoining bedroom door and opened it slightly, allowing Jennifer to peep inside at the blond-haired boy reading a book. Entranced, his lips moved as he read the words, but he did not appear to hear her.

Jennifer opened her mouth to speak, and the door closed before her. ‘We’ve got some business to take care of first,’ Father Kelly said, taking her by the elbow.

'To hell with you.' Jennifer reached for the door handle to take Joshua home. She pulled back her hand as the hot metal burnt her skin. Her head snapped upwards in surprise and Father Kelly shoved her towards the soft leather chair, his face graced with a cunning smile. With a frantic heart, she stared into the empty hollowness in his eyes, wondering if any part of the gentle priest had been left inside. Calling for Joshua, she was greeted with silence.

‘He can’t hear you. Now sit down before I hurt someone.’ The slick voice confirmed what Jennifer already knew.

‘I know who you are,’ Jennifer hissed, as she was backed towards the chair.

The priest’s clerical attire contrasted strangely with his twisted features, contorted in a sneer. ’So tell me, who am I?’

‘You’re a pathetic coward who used Father Kelly to kill people just to get to me. If you even think of harming Josh I’ll finish you off, do you hear me?’

‘Fighting talk, given that you are a mortal and I am immortal.’

‘I am more than you think and I can end you,’ Jennifer spat, prodding the cold air with her finger. She wanted to stand to deliver the words but Father Kelly loomed over her, his frame married to a graveyard darkness rising from his body.

He jabbed his thumb back at the bedroom door, delivering his words in a fit of rage. ‘And I can end your brat in there, so shut the fuck up before I kill you both.’ Jennifer slumped in the armchair, hope dissipating like sand through her fingers.

‘That’s better. What’s a man got to do to get a little respect around here?’ He tugged on his clerical collar as the room grew dim.

Crippled with the fear of losing Joshua, Jennifer desperately tried to invoke guidance from the other side. She transmitted a tendril of thought, and a bolt of pain ripped through her skull as the entity before her intervened. She clasped her throbbing forehead. ‘Ahh! How can you stand there mimicking a good man? At least show yourself, Grim Reaper, Frank, or whoever you are.’ She sensed something outside her periphery nagging like an unanswered phone.

F
ather Kelly's
ice-cold fingers gripped her hand, infiltrating her thoughts with images of a terror-stricken Joshua being dragged from the room. A knife glinted against his throat. ‘That’s enough!’ she screamed, pulling her hand away. ‘You can have what you want, but only if you release Josh.’

‘All in good time.’

Jennifer felt another tug outside of her consciousness. Someone was coming. But they were not strong enough to protect her from what lay ahead. The best she could hope for was to save the child whom she loved more than her own life. The humming grew louder and she flinched as the priest touched her hair.

‘It was quite a surprise to discover we're both the same. Spawned from loveless parents and rejected by our peers, we never had a chance to be accepted in their world. You're not one of them. But you've never failed to disappoint
me
. Do you want to know something? When your body grows old I can make you immortal. We are destined to be gods. Can’t you feel it?’

‘I am not you, I’m nothing like you,’ Jennifer said, with a tremor in her voice.

‘But you have a touch of death about you, wouldn't you say? Who do you think is responsible for the demise of all those poor people?’

Jennifer whispered the words, ‘Father Kelly.’

The priest threw back his head and laughed. ‘It’s been a long time since I had such a good chuckle. I’d forgotten what it’s like.’ He wiped the corner of his eye. ‘You disappoint me, Jennifer, I really thought you would have worked it out by now. Father Kelly was not my host. I met him when he tried to exorcise me from another of my steeds. Well, you can see how that worked out, can’t you? He proved useful when I visited Sam in prison, but he gives me only a temporary home. Far too much godliness in this body, it makes me sick. No, someone far darker led the executions.’

Jennifer searched her mind for answers. ‘I don’t understand. If Father Kelly isn’t responsible then who is?’

The priest opened his arms, his smile wide as he delivered the news. ‘Why you are, my dear.’

Jennifer recoiled in horror. ‘No, you’re lying. It’s not true!’

Father Kelly leaned over her, gripping the armrests on each side. She shrank back in the chair to avoid his rancid breath, the same rotting smell that accompanied every encounter.

‘Don’t deny the darkness in you, it's beautiful. Remember when you prayed for the death of your father? That’s when I entered your soul. I came here looking for revenge against your mother, but when I heard your sweet prayer, my disappointment at her death soon vanished away. At first I wanted to kill you, but then I discovered you were more of a prize than I could ever imagine.’

Jennifer thought back over the recent weeks. The back door left open, the scratches, how she had known that Joan and Shelley were dead long before she got there. She clasped a hand over her mouth as she retched.

‘Don’t worry, I’ve helped you cover them up. After all, you’re no good to me in prison. No good at all.’ Father Kelly locked his fingers as he stretched. ‘Your manipulation of Johnny was a joy to behold. You even brought the rope from your shed, all knotted in preparation. It's a shame you couldn't have stayed to watch the floor show.’

Jennifer shook her head in disbelief. ‘But you spoke to me in custody.’

‘You weren't going to listen to me any other way. All the others were puppets, but you were always destined to be my true host.’

‘Charlie?’ Jennifer wiped her tears with the back of her hand, as her voice broke into a sob.

‘Of course. By the time Charlie drank the whiskey you bought, he didn't feel a thing. Spontaneous combustion is a trick I learned from a prison friend and you took to it beautifully.’

‘Lies, it’s all lies,’ Jennifer said, watching the half man, half entity as his eyes gleamed fiendishly.

‘Don’t deny what you’ve seen for yourself. Remember walking Shelly to the bridge? It was quite amusing watching you pointing to your image on the CCTV, wondering who it was,’ he cackled, savoring every moment. ‘As for Joan and her annoying dog, she got such a fright when she saw you again, she had a heart attack on the spot. Levitation is an excellent way of breaking the ice, don’t you think?’

Jennifer threaded her fingers through her hair, grasping the tendrils from the roots, as if the pain would summon her from the nightmare. But when she raised her head, the priest was still there, she was still in this godforsaken room, and she was still accountable. ‘I can’t … remember.’

‘I’d love to help you, but this really isn’t the time. Now you know you the truth, perhaps that puts a different slant on things. After all, do you really deserve to live a so-called normal life after killing all those people?’

Jennifer shook her head in response, dry washing her hands, tainted with the blood of the innocent. She jumped as fists pounded at the door from outside, and Will called her name.

‘It's time. Surrender yourself wholly to me or I’ll kill the boy right now and take you in your grief,’ the priest’s words came quick fire, and Jennifer knew she was running out of time.

Her heart hammered so fast she wondered if she would die regardless. She had little choice, and she needed to be sure that her nephew would be spared. She wanted to see Josh one last time, but she was frozen to the spot. The pounding grew louder and Will shouted at her to open the door. What would he think of her when he found out what she was?

The priest gave Jennifer a wintry smile. ‘You think he can help you? The more people you involve, the more people will die. Is that what you want?’ He raised his hand and Will fell through the door, frozen in shock as he stared at the unearthly figure before him. The half man, half priest's eyes glinted with evil intentions as a thick mass swelled from his body, threatening to swallow Will's very being.

The stench was overpowering, and Jennifer screamed, breaking the spell. ‘Get Josh out, now!’ As the entity turned to Will, Jennifer transmitted her guarded thoughts to Joshua like a loaded bullet. Snapping out of his trance, Joshua burst through the bedroom door and ran into Will's open arms. ‘Just get him out, I'm behind you,’ Jennifer screamed as Will scooped up the frightened child and ran through the open door. But Jennifer knew escape was futile, and locked the door firmly shut behind him.

Weakened, she dropped to the floor, her knees hitting the hard wood as she emitted a cry of despair.

The floorboards creaked as Father Kelly stood over her, nudging her body with his black leather shoe. ‘I was going to spare you the pain, but after that little trick, you can have it all.’

‘No,’ Jennifer said, her hair falling limply around her face. ‘Just take me. At least if I know there’s something of me inside, then you won’t hurt Josh.’

The priest chortled. ‘I will go as far to say there could be some truth in that. Yes, I will have you, whole and intact. Your body will live a long and well-fucked life. Sound like a deal?’

Jennifer nodded numbly, picking herself up from the floor. Sobs wracked her body as she stood before him, awaiting his instruction.

‘Now my sweet, give me your hands and lower your guard. Soon we will be taking the same breath.’

Jennifer nodded numbly and lowered the wall of protection from her mind. Will was calling from outside her perimeter and her last tear fell with relief as she sensed Josh was safe. The grasp on her hands tightened as the cold black ink of the entity’s being invaded her fingertips. For a moment she lost her sight, falling into darkness as it drowned her with relentless force. Tendrils of hatred found her blood, now under his ownership.

With rapture, he discarded his old steed, finding her organs and mingling his presence with hers, choking all that was pure. He was no longer a puppet master, but alive inside her body, grounding himself to the earth and savouring every moment.

Jennifer fought the urge to claw her throat as his presence slid upwards. Gasping for breath, black spots appeared in her vision as the darkness filtered through her brain. She saw his childhood, his upbringing. His first fumbled sexual encounter and the murders that followed. His life was her life and her heart pounded against her rib cage as her nightmares took flight. Her hands grew numb and moved without her instruction.

As the last of the entity left the priest, Father Kelly fell to the floor; a marionette whose strings had been cut. Jennifer fought to keep her eyes open. It would have been easier to retreat inside her body and hide. Her natural instinct fought her acceptance and rewarded her with agonising pain.

Blue-lipped and ashen-faced, Father Kelly gripped his fingers against the chair, dragging himself upwards. Pulling a small bible from his inside pocket, he began to recite an exorcism. Jennifer's eyes rolled back into her head as she fought the slithering tentacles of evil with all her might. Numb and heavy, she forced her hands to clutch the silver cross around her neck. Between gasping breaths, she whispered the words, ‘I do not accept you,' because she knew the only way to rid herself of the entity was to reject him when he was naked to her world.

The whispers hidden at the back of her mind grew louder as many voices spoke in Latin, casting the entity out. She sank to her knees as light splintered through her being, and she was lifted to the other place. ‘No!’ The entity screamed a torturous cry. ‘You are mine, I will not let you go!’

Jennifer opened her eyes. Father Kelly, her mother and Charlie stood with their palms outward as they radiated light towards her, commanding the being to leave. Jennifer did not care if she was alive or dead, she just wanted the infection removed forever. A thousand maggots of hatred squirmed from inside her as the black tar fought the expanding light.

Caught in two worlds at once, her earthly life hung by a silken wisp. A warm hand touched her hair and caressed her face. ‘Jennifer, stay with me.’ Will’s voice seeped through the thick mist in her mind. She tried to speak, but the words were foul and contemptuous. She groaned in relief as the pain eased, and Father Kelly’s voice brought her back to the other place. ‘Expel him my child. He is spent now.’ Jennifer opened her mouth to vomit and a dark ball of smoke retched upwards, dissipating in the light. The muffled sounds of an ambulance rang in the background and Will’s hand squeezed hers tightly. Jennifer closed her eyes and exhaled, releasing herself to what would be.