The Eyes of the Accused: A dark disturbing mystery thriller (The Ben Whittle Investigation Series Book 2) (17 page)

Maddie tried to keep her breathing even. To relax. She didn’t want to panic and waste what little energy she had left. Her chest felt as if someone was sitting on top of it. Darkness crept into her head and played tricks with her mind. Shapes formed behind her eyes. One turned into Tweezer, her chief tormentor at Penghilly’s Farm. Tweezer had tried to rape her when she’d been chained to a bed. In her mind, Tweezer grinned. He then whispered something in her ear. ‘I knew you’d come to no good.’

Maddie kicked out and stubbed her toe. A shaft of pain lanced her foot and travelled up to her knee. She cried out and tried to sit up. She banged her head on the boot lid and slumped back down. Something jabbed into her back. Something metal. Perhaps it would make a good weapon.

There you go again. Not thinking things through. How are you going to overpower anyone? The woman’s got a gun, in case you’ve forgotten.

Footsteps walked around the side of the car and stopped. The boot lid creaked open to reveal the leather-clad woman. She reached in and ripped the tape off Maddie’s mouth. Maddie’s lips felt as if they’d been torn from her face.

‘Get out.’

‘Can you take the tape off my hands?’

‘No.’

Maddie sat up slowly. ‘My arms are dead.’

‘My heart bleeds for you, whore. Now get out of the boot. Move. I haven’t got all night.’

It took Maddie several attempts to get out of the boot with her hands taped behind her back. She stood on the gravel driveway and tried to adjust her eyes to the glow of the security lights. The place looked remarkably similar to the bungalow Crowley had taken her to.

The woman aimed the gun at Maddie. ‘You look smart enough to me. Smart enough to listen. Am I right, whore?’

I’m not a whore.
‘Yes.’

‘Smarter than that useless idiot chained to the bench, I hope?’

‘I—’

‘He must have paid you a king’s ransom for your services.’

Maddie looked at the ground. Away from the woman’s eyes. There was something disconcerting about those eyes. Familiar, even. ‘Why are you doing this?’

‘It’s nothing personal. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. If you do as you're told, we’ll get along fine.’

‘Why don’t you just let me go? I don’t know who you are. I don’t care what your problem is with Crowley. I don’t even like him. I won’t tell anyone about—’

‘Shut up. You’re not in any position to bargain. If you want to stay alive, you’ll do as I say. Now walk along the side of the bungalow to the back door. Nice and slow. Don’t get any ideas that this is the movies. Wannabe heroes die in real life. Do you understand?’

Maddie did. She had no intention of trying anything stupid. It was as much as she could do to put one foot in front of the other. She stopped outside the back door.

‘Open the door and go inside.’

Maddie stepped inside. She stood near a large pine table and looked around the kitchen. She was immediately struck by the neatness of the room. There wasn’t a single item on the worktops. No kettle. No toaster. No tea, coffee and sugar jars. No biscuit barrel. No washing up in the sink. No blood up the walls! Nothing. It was like a show home.

The woman closed the back door and pointed the gun at Maddie. ‘I still find it hard to believe anyone would go anywhere near Crowley. Even a whore.’

Maddie didn’t answer.

‘What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?’

‘No.’

‘Do you know what the Wolf says?’

Who the hell’s the Wolf?
‘No.’

‘Crowley might have been telling the truth when he said you was a cop.’

Maddie’s knees weakened. ‘I’m not a cop.’

‘No, I don’t think you are. You aren’t carrying any cop stuff, for starters. Not so much as a whistle or a pair of handcuffs. But here’s the problem I’ve got with the whore story. You don’t have any whore stuff in your bag, either. No makeup, no phone, no condoms, no money, no drugs. That strikes me as strange.’

Maddie shrugged.

‘How much do you charge?’

‘I don’t want to discuss that with you.’

‘Come on. How much for sex?’

Maddie looked at the floor. What the hell was she supposed to say?

‘How much did you charge Crowley for tonight?’

‘It’s private.’

‘Shall I go into the garage and ask him?’

Maddie’s whole body started shaking. ‘If you want.’

‘You don’t even sound like a whore.’

‘And what exactly
is
a whore supposed to sound like?’

‘A bit more tarty than you do.’

‘Thank you. I’m touched.’

‘So who are you really?’

‘I’m his girlfriend.’

‘Rubbish. You wouldn’t look twice at him. An absolutely desperate woman, with only one chance left to save the human race from extinction, wouldn’t look twice at him.’

‘Do you think all relationships are based on looks? People fall in love for all sorts of reasons.’

‘Yes; they do. But Crowley hasn’t even got a personality. Not unless you want to call sexual deviancy a worthy trait.’

‘Perhaps you’re jealous.’

‘Don’t get smart with me. Unless you want the Wolf to get his claws into you?’

Maddie didn’t.

‘No, you don’t. Anyway, I’m bushed. We can talk about this another time when my mind is in a better state to tolerate your lies and fabrications. See that door over there?’

‘Yes.’

‘There’s a key in the lock. I want you to unlock the door and go inside. But leave the key in the lock. Clear?’

Maddie nodded.

‘Once inside, I want you to walk down the steps. Go!’

Maddie opened the door and stepped inside. The room was lit by a single lightbulb hanging from a short length of flex. The stench of damp and excrement was overbearing. The door suddenly slammed shut behind her, followed by a loud click. Maddie spun around. The door had no handle on the inside. All the strength drained out of her legs.

Now look what you’ve done. Why do you never listen to anyone else? Why? Why? Why?

But here was the million-dollar question: why hadn’t the woman just killed her?

Perhaps she’s saving you for the Wolf.

Who the bloody hell was the Wolf? How did he fit in with Crowley? The more Maddie thought about it, the more confusing it became. She peered into the dimly lit basement. A black bucket sat at the bottom of the steep stone steps. There was a table supporting a microwave pushed against the far wall, and an airbed covered by a duvet next to a two-bar electric fire. There appeared to be someone beneath the duvet.

The mound beneath the duvet moved. A head appeared, the face partially obscured by a mop of tangled brown hair.

‘Hello?’ Maddie called.

She watched a woman free herself from the bedding and prop herself up on one elbow. ‘Who the hell are you?’

‘Maddie. Maddie White.’

‘Don’t tell me: you’re pregnant as well?’

‘I’m a private investigator.’

The woman struggled to her feet. ‘You’re a what?’

‘Oh my God! Hannah? Is that you?’

‘How do you know my name?’

‘I—’

‘Did Connie send you?’

‘Connie?’ The name tasted like broken glass on her lips. ‘Connie Sykes?’

Hannah nodded. ‘The one and only.’

Maddie hobbled down the steps. ‘Your mother hired us to find you.’

Hannah grinned, revealing a huge gap between her two front teeth. ‘My mother hired you? When?’

‘A few weeks ago.’

Tears shimmered in Hannah’s eyes. ‘Really?’

‘Yes.’

‘Turn around. I’ll get that tape off your wrists.’

‘I can’t believe I’ve actually found you. I thought you were…’

‘Dead?’

Maddie nodded. ‘It didn’t look too good. Not after four months.’

Hannah released the tape. ‘How’s my mother?’

Maddie massaged her aching wrists. She thought long and hard before answering. ‘She’s coping.’

‘And Robert?’

‘As well as can be expected.’

Hannah’s bottom lip trembled. Tears spilled onto her cheeks. ‘I miss them all so much.’

Maddie reached out and pulled her close. Well, as close as a heavily pregnant stomach would allow. They remained that way for several minutes as Hannah spilled a tidal wave of grief onto Maddie’s shoulder.

When she was spent, Hannah broke away and looked deep into Maddie’s eyes. ‘I can’t believe you’re actually here. This must be a dream.’

‘It’s not a dream. And we’re going to get out of here.’

‘I’d love to know how.’

Maddie decided not to elaborate. Truth to tell, she didn’t have a clue. ‘Why did Connie Sykes kidnap you?’

Hannah wiped her nose on the back of her sleeve. ‘The crazy bitch wants my baby.’

‘Why?’

Hannah shrugged. ‘Who knows what goes on in her fucking head? She reckons she’ll let me go once the baby’s born. But she’s lying. Why would she let me go? She knows full well I’d go straight to the cops.’

Maddie felt as if she’d fallen down the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland. ‘But why on earth would she want your baby?’

‘Like I said, she’s fucking crazy.’

‘I won’t let her take your baby. I promise.’

‘And how do you plan to stop her?’

‘I don’t know yet.’

‘Appeal to her better nature?’

‘No, I—’

‘Use some good old-fashioned detective work?’

Maddie had no answers. ‘Maybe.’

‘Hasn’t got you very far up to now, has it?’

‘I need time to think. Try to get my head straight.’

‘So, how come you wound up here?’

Maddie told her the story. How they’d zoned in on Crowley. How Connie Sykes had turned up at the mobile home, demanding he hand over a film.

‘What film?’

‘I don’t know. But he’s been blackmailing her.’

‘Where’s Crowley now?’

‘I think she shot him and locked him in the garage. At least that’s what it sounded like when I was shut in the car boot.’

Hannah shook her head. ‘Jesus Christ! What a bloody mess. Does she know you’re a private investigator?’

‘No. She thinks I’m a prostitute. She couldn’t see any other reason why I’d be with Crowley.’

Hannah hacked a small, humourless laugh. ‘The bitch has a point.’

‘She said some guy called the Wolf reckons I’m a cop. Who’s he?’

‘Haven’t got a clue. She talks about him all the time. He’s like some sort of imaginary friend.’

‘Perhaps he’s the bogeyman.’

Hannah laughed and then stifled a sob. ‘What’s the date?’

‘December twenty-first – I think.’

‘Jesus Christ. Time sure flies when you’re having fun. The baby’s due in two weeks.’

They sat in silence for a while. Maddie tried to imagine what it must have been like for Hannah to spend so much time locked away in this stinking basement. Locked away with a tiny life growing inside her. A life she was responsible for. A life she could do nothing to protect.

‘Connie told my partner you fell ill and left work early the day you went missing.’

Hannah took a deep breath and let it out between clenched teeth. ‘She did, did she? I suppose that’s one way of describing it.’

‘We believed her. I’m so sorry.’

‘Don’t be. Anyway, it’s partially true. I felt like crap. I’d already been sick twice after lunch, and my tummy was hurting like hell. I went to Connie’s office, and she let me sit there for a while. She was being nice, which was odd, because she’s never nice to anyone. Apart from her precious dad and the relatives of paying guests. She certainly knows how to suck up, the two-faced cow.’

‘My partner met her dad. He kept going on about whizz-bangs.’

‘Oh, yes, the famous whizz-bangs.’

‘What are they?’

‘I think they’re just headaches. When he gets really stressed about something.’

‘He talked about a blue baby as well. Does that mean anything to you?’

‘He usually goes on about the blue baby after the whizz-bangs. I don’t think it means anything. The poor sod’s got dementia.’

Maddie wondered if it had anything to do with why Connie wanted Hannah’s baby. ‘So, you went to the office...’

‘Yeah. A while later, she brought me a drink. It looked like orange juice and it smelled like orange juice. She told me it was good for sickness and stomach cramps. To be honest, I’d have swallowed anything to make me feel better. After about ten minutes, I felt light-headed. And I needed the loo. Really bad. Like a bloody river about to burst its banks. But she told me I had to wait. I reckon she was waiting for the staff to do the shift change. That way she could get me to the loo with no one seeing.’