Vanished Beneath: DS Lasser six (The Lasser series Book 6) (31 page)

'Straight away sir,' Black barked before turning and jogging through rain towards his car.

'Right Lasser I think we should go and give Norvil Mellor an early morning wake up call.'

Lasser shrugged, any interest he had in the case vanished as an image of Medea popped back into his mind a frown on her face as if she couldn't believe that he was standing here in the rain while she was out there still missing. Lasser shook his head and droplets of rain flew from his close-cropped hair, when he opened his eyes Bannister was stalking away through the rain.

'Are you alright Sergeant?' Shannon asked.

Lasser shrugged. 'No not really,' he mumbled before heading off after the DCI.

84

'Med you have to do exactly as he says.'

'But...'

'Exactly as he says,
' Emma repeated her voice high and quivering with emotion.

Medea looked out into the darkness, the moorland stretched out before her lit by a huge hunter’s moon.
She could even see the white cotton wool blobs of the sheep as they munched their way through the heather.

'Medea, I can't talk, just leave the purse, and go.'

Medea looked at the litterbin attached to the wooden stake, the small car park was made of crushed sandstone, to her left she could see the still black mass of the reservoirs, the moon reflected in the water.

'I need to know you're safe, Em.'

Medea heard a male voice mumble something and then Emma gasped in pain, the sound cut through Medea's mind making the flesh on her arms rise in fear.

'Emma!'

'Just leave it and go Med, please!'

Medea could hear the pain in her voice, the fear and anguish and a hint of the inevitable.

'OK, OK I'm getting out of the car now.'

'As soon as you've left it you have to drive away Med and you mustn't contact the police.'

'I...'

'Promise me!'
Emma hissed.

'I promise,'
Medea clicked open the door, a thin breeze seeped into the car carrying the smell of fresh cut grass and dark damp earth. 'Emma are you still there?' Medea looked at the blank screen with disbelieving eyes.

Walking forward, she pulled the leather purse from her pocket, her eyes scanning left and right. She knew this place, remembered coming here with Lasser on a couple of occasions.

It had been the previous summer and they'd still been getting to know one another. She looked out over the fields, in the distance she could see the conical top of the stone tower, moonlight glinting off the gunmetal grey roof tiles.

They'd walked through the forest, Lasser with a backpack thrown over his shoulder laden with sandwiches and drinks.

Placing the purse on top of the litterbin she turned and headed back to the car, the road that led to the bottom of the moors curved its way around the hillside gradually climbing until it dropped down the other side towards Belmont.

Climbing back into the car, she reversed before pulling up to the junction. Medea scanned left and right searching for headlights in the distance. After thirty seconds, she took a deep breath and turned left, all the time flicking her eyes to the rear view mirror. As she rounded a curve in the road, she flicked off the headlight before turning right onto a single-track road.

Finding a small lay-by on the left, she rolled the car into the gap and leapt out, zipping her black hooded fleece up to her chin she set off running back towards the main road. Thirty seconds later, she turned left and began to jog along the pitted tarmac.

When she saw the headlights in the distance, Medea felt her heart lurch, scrambling up the embankment she clambered over the stone wall and crouched down in the long damp grass. She held her breath as the headlights vanished for a few seconds before reappearing, when the car turned onto the small car park, she pulled out her phone and pressed the button.

She could hear the sound of the tyres crunching on the loose gravel as the car came to a halt.

Her hair clung to her neck like wet rats tails.

As soon as Lasser answered, it all came pouring out in one desperate gasp

'Where are you?'
Lasser felt his heart plummet and then rise at the sound of Medea's voice.

'You remember the small car park half way up Black Sheep Lane, the one we used when we went up to the tower?'

'I'm on my way.' Lasser flashed his headlights and saw Bannister in front indicate and pull to the left.

'Lasser listen I'm sorry, Emma called she needed her bankcards and I didn't know what to do...'

'I know.'

'I can see someone getting out of the car,'
Medea whispered like a child who spots the bogeyman slinking in the shadows.

'Listen to me Medea you stay exactly where you are; you
do not approach
the car.'

'But...'

'Promise me.'

'But what if they get away?
'

'They won't,' he saw Bannister leap from the car and come running towards him through the rain.

'But...'

'Medea you have to do the sensible thing, you won't help Emma by barging in there.'

'How long will you be?'

Bannister tapped on the window and Lasser slid it down. 'Medea's up on the moors, she can see Forbes’ car.'

'Jump over,' Bannister hissed and yanked open the door as Lasser scuttled into the passenger seat.

Snapping the seatbelt into place, he turned to the DCI. 'Take the road out to Rivington, I'll direct you.'

Bannister nodded and slapped on the blue lights and siren before hurtling away from the curb, the tyres fighting for grip on the wet surface.

'Listen to me Medea we're on our way, now I need you to tell me which way they go, because there's only that one road that leads on and off the moors.'

'I can see him!'
Medea's voice suddenly filled the small space, Bannister glanced sideways the car swerved alarmingly before he snapped back forward.

'What's he doing?' Lasser could feel the tension go up another notch.

'Emma told me to leave her purse on top of the litterbin he's got it I can see him walking back to the car!'

'Listen Med, do you have wheels?'

'Yeah, I left the car down a small side road.'

'How far away?' Lasser asked as Bannister shot onto the motorway, the car accelerating to a hundred in a matter of seconds.

'Three, four hundred yards,'
she paused,
'do you want me to follow them?'

Lasser glanced at Bannister who raised an eyebrow before giving a shrug as if to say it's your call.

Lasser turned away. 'Get back to the car, Med, but don't turn on the lights.'

'
Understood
.'

He could hear the sound of her feet swishing through what sounded like tall grass.

'You only move when their car is out of sight do you understand?'

'Of course I do I'm not an idiot!'

'Don't try and catch them up...'

'So what's the point in me following them?'
she hissed as she slithered down the embankment, as soon as she hit the tarmac she started to run.

'Just be careful, Medea.'

The car sped past a hundred and twenty, to Lasser it felt as if they were travelling at a snail's pace.

'Don't worry I will.'

Bannister indicated and shot down the slip road, before tearing around the roundabout and heading along the moonlit road.

Lasser listened to Medea's breathing light and quick as she ran.

'I'm here,'
she gasped.

'Right can see you the car from where you are?'

'I can see the headlights.'

Lasser gripped the phone tight. 'OK, which way are they going?'

'Hang on,'
she paused,
'they’re coming this way,'
her voice was suddenly flooded with tension.

'Right get in and wait.'

He heard the sound of the door opening and then Medea gasped a sound fraught with sudden fear

'Med what's the matter?'

'Oh no!'

'Med?'

'The interior light came on,'
her voice fizzled down the phone and Lasser felt the cold knot of fear unravel in the pit of his stomach.

Then he heard her let out a whoosh of pent up tension.
'It's OK they've driven past.'

Lasser gritted his teeth and lowered his head. 'Thank God for that,' he mumbled.

'
Which way
?' Bannister snapped and Lasser looked up as the junction hurtled towards them.

'Left and then first right,' he said as the black bulk of the Pennines rose to meet the stygian sky.

Bannister glanced left and then spun the wheel right; the road seemed to drop away as it moved down the hillside. At the bottom, he shot across the junction, ignoring the red traffic light and trusting to luck. The car lurched as the road levelled out before plunging downwards again.

'
They've gone
,' Medea sounded distraught. '
I'm going to follow
.'

'OK, but if they stick to the main road we should come across them in a few minutes.'

'But what are you going to do?'

'Stop them.'

'Please, Lasser, be careful.'

'Don't worry we'll get Emma out of there.'

'I'm talking about you; I want you to be careful.'

Lasser blinked, he still couldn't get used to the idea that someone gave a toss about his welfare. 'I will.'

'Should I put the headlights on?'

'Do you need to?'

'Not really the moon's out and I can see if anything comes the opposite way.'

'Good keep them off but don't push it.'

'I can see the lights in the distance,'
her voice was suddenly full of hope.

'Turn right at the cenotaph,' Lasser said and Bannister grunted before flying right at the junction. The streetlights ended as they shot out into open countryside, Bannister reached down and flicked off the blue swirling lights.

'Can you still see them Med?' he asked.

'Yeah but they're growing fainter,'
she sounded distressed again her emotions changing by the second.

'Don't worry there's no other way off the moors.'

'There!'
Bannister snapped and Lasser looked up to see headlights flare in the distance.

'I think we've got them Med.'

'Oh thank God!'

Bannister leaned over the steering wheel his face grim with determination. 'Medea whatever happens you stay well back.'

'Alan is that you?'

'It is and I want you to give me your word?'

'But...
'

'This is
police
business Medea,' his voice was stern his eyes locked on the approaching headlights.

'I understand.'

Lasser could picture her face, a flush of anger in her eyes as she listened to Bannister laying down the law.

'Good.'

'Med I'm going to hang up now.' Lasser said.

'Oh right,'
she replied with more than a hint of surprise.

Lasser took a deep breath before ending the call and dropping the phone into his pocket.

'How do you want to handle this?' he asked.

Bannister thought for a moment. 'The roads narrow enough, I'll try and block the gap,' he replied keeping his eyes locked on the approaching car. 'As soon as they stop you get ready to collar the bastard.'

Lasser nodded before unclipping the seat belt and grabbing hold of the door handle.

The two cars drew closer; as Bannister had said the road was narrow, huge gnarled trees grew on the right, a low stone wall to the left. Judging-distance was difficult in the darkness then the lights coming towards them suddenly flicked onto main beam and Bannister hissed and narrowed his eyes against the intense glare.

'Twat!'
he barked before spinning the wheel and slamming on the brakes, the car slewed right and juddered to a stop, thick black smoke poured from the tortured tyres. Bannister snapped his head right, light filled the side window. Lasser threw open the door and leapt out just as the Jaguar tried to swerve past the sudden obstruction, tyres screeched and the car began to slide, the rear of the red car slammed into the rear side panel of the Audi. Bannister was thrown sideways with the impact, the seatbelt bighting deep into his shoulder and neck.

Then the Jaguar spun the other way and Lasser could only watch open mouthed as it hit the curb-side-on and took to the air clearing the low stone wall then the sound of grinding metal and shattering glass filled the air. He bolted across the road and watched as the car ploughed down the hillside heading for the dark water of the reservoir, then he was over the wall and hurtling after it, careering through the trees and bushes, ignoring the branches that lashed at his hands and face.