Legacy (17 page)

So, I closed my eyes and waited for the impact.

But it never came – instead of the pain and agony of my body quickly meeting the ground below, I felt what could only be described as a cushion behind placed under me which now seemed to be lifting me up.

I opened my eyes and found myself in the arms of Lucius.

Was this a dream?

Had I already died from the fall?

But Lucius’s grip around me was indeed real – and when he placed me back on the rooftop, I could instantly feel the coldness of the concrete.

I just lay there completely in shock, but Lucius finally broke the silence.

              “How could you know about my time at Zephal’s house?”

But I continued my silence, determined not to tell Lucius about the visions I had been experiencing – but I now knew that no matter how weird they seem at the time, judging by his reaction right now, they were most definitely true.

Lucius continued speaking.

              “There was indeed a time when he and I were good friends, but even friendship must come to an end sometimes when one of you has done something so bad that forgiveness is not even an option. The danger that you see around you and the hatred that we have for each other is most definitely real.”

Lucius’s words may have sounded sincere, but I was not letting my guard down for one second and I broke my silence.

              “How do I really know that you are not working together to trap me?” I asked.

              “You don’t!” Lucius replied, “But right now I’m your best and only hope of getting through this alive!”

              “But why is everyone suddenly so interested in me? What’s so special about me?”

              “Because you are the key to our people’s future. You don’t realize how powerful you really are. You have to believe me.”

              “Right now I don’t know what to believe!” I answered sternly, “And I don’t know what I’m doing putting my life in the hands of a total stranger while someone’s out there looking for me so they can do God knows what to me because they think I’m some kind of chosen one! Maybe you shouldn’t have saved me a few moments ago - maybe you should stay as far away from me seeing as anyone who tries to stop Zephal ends up getting killed. For your own safety, go back to wherever you came from.”

              “Which is – where you came from too!” Lucius answered softly.

“I know the legacy that you hold and I made a promise to make sure you remain alive!”

I was about to say something, but Lucius signaled for me to stay silent and true enough, the sound of footsteps could be heard below us.

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

Detective Inspector Harran was pleased to see the sight of Short driving towards him outside the hospital’s main entrance and as the car came to a halt, he didn’t waste any time whatsoever in getting into the passenger seat.

He gave out a sigh which indicated how much pressure he was under right now and Short knew it would be wise to let him have a few moments to regain his composure before starting a conversation with him.

The best thing Short could do right now was drive the two of them off the hospital grounds.

As they made their way onto the main road, Harran turned to Short and spoke.

              “Have you heard anything about the injured officer’s condition at all, Short?”

Short shook his head and once again Harran spoke.

              “I hope you’re prepared for a long night, Short – because you and I are going to hunt down that Gallagher woman and put an end to all this shit as soon as possible! We can’t continue like this – nobody is safe and I’m sick to the stomach with all this death around us. My mobile hasn’t stopped while I was waiting for you to come and the Chief Constable seems to think that I am some kind of miracle worker who can solve this case and end all the murders at the drop of a bastard hat! They’re even talking about drafting officers from other forces to help us! They’ve cancelled all leave and asked everyone to return to duties immediately.”

Short could see how frustrated Harran was becoming and started indicating left to turn into a petrol station.

              “Why are we stopping?” Harran asked.

Short switched off the engine and opened the driver door to step out – and as he did, he turned to Harran and answered him.

              “If we’re in for a long night, Sir, then I need to make sure the car has enough petrol and we had better get some supplies in for ourselves! I don’t know about you, but I am that hungry I could eat my own arm!”

And with that, Harran shut the driver door and began filling up the petrol tank.

Harran smiled to himself as he realized how far Short had gone in since he had started working alongside him – the young quiet newly promoted Detective Sergeant was now growing in confidence and as he had just displayed, not showing any fear of Harran.

So, Harran knew he had lost for the moment and had to admit that Short was right – they did need some food as neither of them had eaten since early morning.

So, as Short headed for the counter to pay for the petrol, Harran joined him and together they chose an endless array of junk food and fizzy drinks to supply them with the energy they would need for the night ahead.

But as soon as everything was packed and paid for, Harran wasn’t going to waste any more time in his pursuit for Naomi.

              “Short,” Harran said as the two men reached the car, “I want you to take me as close to the Gallagher woman’s flat as possible without us being spotted by any of the police that may be hanging around the crime scene. I want the two of us to stay as inconspicuous as we possibly can – even to the point of radio silence, got me?”

Short instantly knew Harran meant business and as they both got into the car, Short started the engine and drove out of the courtyard and rejoined the main road.

As he drove, Short noticed Harran looking out of every window possible in the hope of spotting Naomi walking along one of the streets, but they both knew the chances of her being discovered that easily were almost impossible.

They had driven for a little while and were soon turning into the street before Naomi’s flat and Harran told Short to stop.

              “We can go a little further without being spotted, sir.” Short said as they came to a halt.

But he was met by silence as Harran’s eyes were fixed at something he had seen out of the passenger door – and when Harran spoke, it became clear why.

              “I spent a bit of time around here before you were even on the force Short and there had been a massive spate of burglaries in the area – and one thing I remembered about this place was the never ending maze of alleys that were behind the houses. One night we chased a guy who had been acting suspiciously and we chased him, but the little shit led us down alley after alley and we lost him. You could easily move around this area without being spotted.”

              “And that’s why there’s been no sightings of anyone leaving the flat!” Short realized.

              “Exactly!” Harran exclaimed. “There’s your perfect escape route.”

              “Well, she certainly would have been running away from the flat rather than towards it if she was scared.” Short said.

Harran nodded his head.

              “And we need to work out which route she took, Short.”

Short knew that would be looking for a needle in a haystack, but that was his and Harran’s job and they would have to do it no matter how impossible it sounded.

And with it being night, darkness had taken over and the alleyways were completely pitch black, mainly due to the fact that no lampposts had been put in any of them.

The only way they could illuminate the alleyways would be by using their headlights as they drove down each one searching for clues.

The alleyway that ran alongside Naomi’s flat came out exactly where Harran and Short were right now – so they could both see any other routes that could have been used to escape unnoticed.

To their right, Short spotted a much smaller and quieter lane that looked like the prime candidate and Harran agreed that they should continue their search down it – so Short drove down it to see where it led.

But their way was suddenly blocked by old rusty metal railings, but as the headlights shone on them, Short noticed that a couple of the railings looked loose.

So, he got out of the car to take a closer look and his instincts were right as he discovered that he could move a couple of them aside, making a gap big enough for someone to step through to what looked like a very thin pathway.

Short took his mobile phone out of his pocket and switched the torch on it and sure enough, a secret route appeared before him.

There was only one way they would be able to tell where this hidden path led to and that was by one of them physically walking along it with only a mobile phone to light his way – and Short instantly knew who that someone would be.

Besides, Harran would never be able to fit through the railings in the first place.

So, Short reluctantly volunteered while Harran continued the search of the other alleyways and if either came across anything of great importance, they would contact each other by mobile phone.

As Harran reversed out of the small lane, Short became a little more apprehensive as the headlights went further and further until they were out of sight, leaving him alone in near darkness.

Short kept his wits about him as he followed the path – there were a large amount of trees both sides and this would be the perfect place to hide out or get up to no good.

Short noticed empty cider bottles and beer cans strewn along the ground and he became incredibly cautious in case there were any kind of needles laying about too.

But inanimate objects were not his greatest concern right now – if Short did happen to come across Naomi, then there would be a good chance that the killer could be lurking somewhere in the shadows close behind.

Even if he managed to get hold of Harran by mobile phone, Short knew that it would be a while before help did arrive.

But on he went, checking every gap to see if Naomi was hiding there, but there was no sign whatsoever of life – and Short had a sudden moment of relief as he spotted a way out onto a quiet side street.

As Short stepped out of the trees, he immediately noticed a small row of shops just ahead that were all closed up and secured for the night and walked over to them to check if anyone was hiding in the doorways.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

Harran was continuing with his search for Naomi through every alleyway and street in the comfort of the car while Short was doing his on foot.

Short had checked the doorways to four of the shops and as he approached the last one, he suddenly heard a loud cracking noise from behind the buildings, followed by what sounded like heavy plastic being thrown from a distance.

Whatever it was, he had to investigate it.

So behind the shops he went with his trusty light emitting from his mobile phone and he found himself in one of the narrowest lanes that he had ever seen in his life.

The noise he heard a moment ago reminded him of the sound a plastic drainpipe would make if it fell on concrete, so he instinctively began looking at the backs of the buildings to see if one of them had a damaged drainpipe on its wall.