Within the Shadows Page 13

  'So you did that? With my body?' Jack started to wake up and realise that the police would know it was him.

  'Yes. Then that detective got in the way...'

  'What did you do to him?' Jack interrupted.

  'I didn't kill him, don't worry.'

  'So every time I blacked out, was that when you...'

  'You're becoming quite the detective, Jack. Yes. Every time you fazed out, that's when I struck,' he laughed.

  'Oh my god,' he cried out. 'The police are going to be all over me.'

  Jack sprinted out of the bathroom, flicked open the blinds that hung over the window, and glanced down at the street below. He was nervous and unsure of when the police would show up to arrest him. It was quiet, not a sound could be heard, not a person in sight. He was safe for now.

  * * *

  Jacob had been helping with the search for Jack Roberts, but ran out of luck. Nobody had seen him for days. Jack had last been spotted withdrawing money from an ATM in the Birmingham city centre. Since then, he'd vanished into thin air and Jacob and the team had trouble trying to locate him.

  Barnes and Ally were sat inside the briefing room with Jacob, updating each other on the very little information they had finding Jack.

  'Have you got any new leads on our friend?' Barnes inquired.

  'Nothing since the withdrawal. We've tried tracing his phone, but it's coming back empty,' Jacob updated him.

  'Officers are keeping an eye out for anyone matching his description. I've also contacted other county police and shared with them his description,' Ally voiced her input.

  'It's just frustrating that this guy has done a runner and we can't find him,' Barnes shook his head.

  'It's okay, boss,' Jacob replied. 'We found you and caught Lily. We'll find Jack Roberts too.'

  Ally's phone started to ring from inside her pocket. Her eyes caught sight of the screen, displaying a name in which she never expected to see again.

  'Sorry,' she said to them both as she left the briefing room to answer it.

  'You're right, Jacob.'

  'I know,' he smirked at Barnes.

  'Have you had any more envelopes?' Barnes asked him.

  'Nothing yet. I thought it was Lily, but when I received that last lot of photos, she was in custody.'

  'Maybe she posted it just before and it took a while to get here,' he told Jacob his theory.

  'Maybe she did.'

  Ally suddenly returned to the room as the pair turned to face her. She carried on while the pair of them, being nosy, waited for an explanation on her phone call.

  'What?' she replied to their stares.

  'What was the phone call about?' Barnes questioned her.

  'Can't a girl keep anything private around here?'

  'I think that's too much to ask. Nothing stays private, look at our investigations for example,' Jacob laughed.

  'I think you may be right there, Jacob,' Barnes joked along with him.

  Ally got fed up with the laughter, 'If you must know, that was an old...,' she paused. '... a friend of mine. He wants me to join his new team.'

  Jacob's heart sank. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard. Does Ally really hate it here that much, that she'll leave the team? Barnes' face was just as shocked as Jacob's.

  'What new team?' Barnes demanded answers. 'Are you thinking of leaving us already?'

  'I told him I'd have to think about it. I'm not ready to leave the team yet. As you said, I've not long joined you guy's but it's a fantastic opportunity,' she explained in not too much detail.

  'Is it in Birmingham? Or will you be leaving the city too?' Jacob started to raise more questions.

  'It's in Hawaii,' she answered.

  'Hawaii,' both Jacob and Barnes yelled at precisely the same time.

  'There's a lot to consider before I make a decision anyway.'

  She turned her attention to Jacob, trying to see what his reaction was like. Her feelings for him were the main contributor to her answer, knowing she'd be leaving him behind.

  'I think you should do what your heart tells you,' Jacob advised her.

  She didn't know if he meant he wanted her to stay, or that the opportunity was too good to miss. After all, the weather was much nicer in Hawaii.

  'Does that mean you'll have to go back to school to learn how different the policing is over there?' Barnes seemed interested but also disappointed that she was considering leaving.

  'More than likely. Look, I'd prefer it if we could keep this between us three for the moment until I've made a decision.'

  They both agreed and the three of them left the briefing room. Ethan approached them eagerly with new information as they came out of the room.

  'I've just had a phone call. Someone has seen our social media post and have called to say they've seen Jack Roberts at the Premier Inn by the airport.'

  'That's a good half-hour drive from here,' Jacob raised his concern. 'He might be gone before we even get there.'

  'You're right,' Barnes said, thinking of what else he could do before they arrived. 'Send the closest police cars in the area to that location and tell them to make sure he doesn't leave until we get there,' he barked his orders at Ethan.

  'Yes, boss,' he responded before heading back to his desk and picking up the phone.

  Barnes, Ally and Jacob grabbed their coats and ran to the car park. The three of them leapt into Barnes' car and sped off towards the airport.

  * * *

  Kate had been working since she'd finished school for the day. It had been the same shift as it had been for the last few days. The same man had been sitting at the same table every day, as usual, for hours. He gave Kate the creeps so much she hated going over to the table to ask if he wanted anything else, even though she knew the answer.

  'No, thank you.'

  Kate scurried back to the counter as quick as she could, letting Belle know her thoughts on the man. Belle kept quiet about her encounter with the man, knowing the reason he was sat inside the cafe was to see Kate.

  When Kate's back was turned, Belle whacked out her phone and text Jacob one sentence;

  "He's here."

  Kate was getting impatient as the man still slurped away at his coffee, unaware of their closing time. Her face began to blow up like a red balloon before she chose to confront him.

  'Excuse me, mate. We're closing soon. Can you hurry up and finish your two-hour long coffee.'

  He chuckled while raising the mug up to his lips, angering Kate even more.

  'What's so funny?' she shouted.

  Belle ran up to her, trying to pull her away. 'Kate, come on.'

  'You've got a fiery temper, Kate,' he continued laughing. 'You are so much like your mother.'

  Belle stopped pulling at Kate's arm. Kate stood still when Belle noticed she’d started to restrain less.

  'What do you mean by that?' she demanded answers.

  'Kate, come on,' Belle pulled at her arm again.

  'No, Belle,' she replied, pulling her arm out of Belle's grasp. 'What did you mean? Who are you?'

  The man turned his attention off his cup of coffee and on to Kate.

  'Did your mother never tell you about me?' he asked.

  'Who are you?' she continued demanding he answered.

  'If you haven't figured it out already, I'm your father,' he finally answered her questions.

  Kate felt a mix of emotions. She wanted to cry, refusing that her parents had lied to her all along, and she also wanted to smash the man's face in with her fist.

  'Get out of here,' she calmly asked, pointing to the door.

  'Come on...'

  'I said get out!' she shouted in his face.

  The man rose to his feet slowly, looking Kate directly in the eyes, before having the last word.

  'I'll be seeing you soon, Kate.'

  Kate watched as the man, who
claimed to be her father, strolled out of the cafe. She sighed as she collapsed, gripping the back of a chair. Silence flooded the room before Belle placed her hand on Kate's back.

  'Kate, are you...'

  Kate brushed Belle's hand off her back and pushed her away.

  'You knew, didn't you?' she cut Belle off. 'You kept trying to pull me away from him. It's like you knew what he was going to say.'

  'Kate, I'm sorry...'

  'Don't you talk to me. I don't want to hear your excuses,' she yelled as she stormed out of the cafe, leaving Belle to lock up on her own.

  I can't believe she knew all along! Kate continued on her journey home, making sure he wasn't following her. Her pocket began to buzz and as she removed the phone from her pocket, she saw Belle's name. She ignored the call and continued onward.

  * * *

  Jack Roberts awoke on the floor of his hotel room covered in blood. His t-shirt was stained. He checked himself over, making sure it wasn't his blood. What happened? But deep down he realised what had happened.

  'What have you done?' he demanded the voice answer.

  But it stayed silent. Panic set in, as Jack frantically ripped off his t-shirt and jumped in the shower to rid himself of the blood he was covered in. As the water poured down his body, the shower floor turned red. His body started to shake, not from being cold, but from fear. He was terrified. Jack knew nothing of what his counterpart had done, who he had killed.

  Once he turned her shower off, Jack put on a fresh set of clothes and tried to figure a way of disposing of his blood-drenched clothes. The voice inside his head was still quiet, making him believe he'd gone insane. He tried to provoke it.

  'Who's blood is this?'

  But still no answer. He grabbed a bin sack and chucked his dirty clothes inside, sealing it by tying the handles together. Jack lifted the bag, opened the hotel door and stuck out his head, peering from left to right, making sure nobody was about. Once he thought the coast was clear, Jack flew out and down the corridor, running towards the exit.

  Once he found an industrial bin, he swung the bag over his head and launched it inside. Running back to his room, he packed his belongings into his bag. He needed to get out of Birmingham. Knowing he'd be the police's number one priority, he wanted to skip out of the country but knew he'd be blacklisted as a flight risk.

  Jack exited the hotel and tried to catch a bus from the National Exhibition Centre. As he sat at the bus stop, he could hear sirens roaring in the distance. They've come for me.

  * * *

  Barnes' car raced around the roundabout and straight into the car park of the Premier Inn. The three of them shot out of the car, along with the other officers who'd arrived at the same time. The building was surrounded as they made their way inside. There's no way he's getting out of here, Jacob thought.

  Barnes entered first, followed by Jacob and Ally. It was nearly impossible for the officers outside to distinguish the appearance of the hotel’s guests. Barnes informed the staff at reception about one of their guests and asked which room he'd been staying in.

  'So, I spoke to the lady at reception and nobody under Jack Roberts had booked a room here. I showed her the photo and she told me he'd been staying in room nineteen,' Barnes repeated to Ally and Jacob.

  The three of them stealthily made their way across the hallway until they came to room nineteen.

  'Mr Roberts, this is DS Wright. Open the door, we need to talk,' Jacob shouted, making his presence known.

  But there was no answer, nobody was home. Barnes placed the spare key card into the door’s locking system and opened the door, revealing nothing but a ransacked room.

  'Looks like our guy's made a quick getaway,' Barnes observed the mess surrounding them.

  Cupboard doors wide open, hangers on the floor. The room was a mess and it looked as if someone was in a hurry to leave.

  'He was definitely here,' Jacob said while investigating the room.

  'No doubt about that,' Ally agreed.

  'We've got officers patrolling the area. He can't have gone far,' said Barnes.

  Ally rushed out of the room to give orders to the police officers outside. She widened the search area, hoping they weren't too late and he hadn't gotten away.

  'I've called forensics,' Jacob notified her as she returned to the room.

  'Good. I've widened the search. He's been gone a while, that gives him enough time to get a bus or find a new hiding spot,' she informed them.

  Barnes was still snooping, trying to get a little more information from the scene as he could. Then he entered the en-suite, before realising something.

  'He's not long left.'

  'What makes you say that?' Jacob asked.

  'The steam on the bathroom mirror. The humidity of the room. He's recently showered. I'd say he's been gone about ten to fifteen minutes. We need to get out there. I want every bus that's been in this area around that time, grounded.'

  'What if he'd taken a taxi?' Ally threw her question out there.

  'Good point, but he's trying to lay low. He knows his face is plastered everywhere and a taxi driver would notice him right away as it's up close and personal. A bus has more of a way to hide in plain sight,' Barnes explained.

  The three of them joined the search along with their colleagues, traipsing throughout the busy Resorts World area. Sarah, Brian and Ethan arrived tackling all the grounded buses and their passengers, making sure Jack Roberts wasn't hiding among them. Each bus had been searched and each one had no sign of Jack on board.

  'That was Sarah,' Barnes informed them while removing the phone from his ear. 'They've checked the last of the buses and he's not on board.'

  'So that means he's gotta be close by,' said Jacob.

  The three of them started to turn their heads, trying to get a better glimpse of the crowd that surrounded them. There were too many people and too much ground to cover. None of them knew what he was wearing or where he was hiding.

  'I think we're going to need to split up,' Barnes insisted. 'The area's too big for us to cover as a group. If you find him, don't approach, just call and we'll meet as a team and take him. Do you both understand?'

  Ally and Jacob nodded and they all split up. Barnes took the NEC, Ally took the surrounding grassland, while Jacob took the Resorts World building. Something stood out to Jacob about the building. If he was going to hide anywhere, it would be inside a small building full of people.

  Shops, restaurants, another hotel, even a cinema. There were plenty of places for Jack to hide in there. As Jacob entered the building he could already see crowds gathered all over the place. He needed to reach higher ground if he was to get a good view of their suspect.

  Jacob ran up the stairs, running out of breath as he neared the top. People were everywhere and he found it nearly impossible to spot his target, also having no clue of what he was wearing. The only thing Jacob could do was lookout for someone acting strange and erratic. Then he caught sight of him.

  On the bottom floor was Jack Roberts, flicking his head side to side, making sure nobody was following him. Jacob flew down the stairs while dialling Barnes' number.

  'Boss, I'm in pursuit,' he puffed as he jumped down the stairs. 'He's inside the complex, wearing blue jeans and a red t-shirt.'

  'We're on our way.'

  Jacob reached the bottom floor and tried to remain out of Jack's sight, but keeping a close watch on him. He watched as Jack started to move out of the open area and towards the toilets. Barnes and Ally burst through the entrance, and Jacob waved them over to him.

  'He's just gone in the toilets,' Jacob informed them.

  Barnes and Ally stood either side of the toilet door, while Jacob prepped himself to enter, unsure of the situation he'd find himself in. Ally began to alert the rest of the officers of Jack's whereabouts, in case the situation escalated. Jacob breathed deep breaths before entering the toilet.
>
  Upon entry, he discovered the room to be empty. Jacob scouted around and looked underneath the cubicle doors to see any feet standing inside. One of the doors opened, revealing a man staring directly at him on the floor. The man gave a concerning glare before Jacob put his finger to his lip, signalling the man to be silent. He moved past Jacob, washed his hands and left. Silence entered the toilet once more. Jacob remained on the floor, even though he couldn't see any more feet, but he remained silent, hoping Jack would think he was safe.

  A minute had passed since the toilet door had been closed, and Jack slowly placed his feet on the floor after standing on top of the toilet. The door slowly creaked open, and Jacob caught sight of a red t-shirt. Picking himself off the floor, Jacob quickly moved out of sight of Jack, wanting to take him down stealthily. Jack left the cubicle, unaware that Jacob was standing a few centimetres away from him.

  'Jack Roberts. You're under arrest,' he announced his presence.

  Jack hesitated before running for the exit, not realising Jacob wasn't here on his own. Barnes stuck his arm out from around the corner as Jack flew out of the toilet door, knocking him to the floor.

  Barnes smiled at him on the floor. 'Don't bother getting up. Guessing you had trouble hearing my colleague in there. You're under arrest.'

  * * *

  Belle arrived at their apartment building. She grabbed the post from their lockup on the ground floor, before heading upstairs. Once she arrived inside the apartment, she flicked on the lights, placed the post of the kitchen counter and called out for Kate. But there was no answer. She knew Kate would still be upset, remembering she didn't want to talk to her, so she entered their bedroom.

  It was dark and no sign of Kate. Where is she? Belle phoned Jacob, but it went straight to voicemail.

  'Jacob. I need you to call me as soon as you can. It's urgent,' she left a message.