Within the Shadows Read online

  He pushed the paper back inside the envelope and removed his hand from inside. Now is not the time, he thought as he lifted himself off his bed. Jacob placed the envelope inside his bedside drawer.

  As he left the bedroom, Kate and Belle stood watching him from the kitchen.

  'Well?' Kate asked.

  Belle's eyes were fixated on him, wanting to know, as well as Kate, what was written in the letter.

  'I didn't read it,' he confessed.

  'What?' Kate asked with a confused look on her face.

  'I didn't read it,' he repeated. 'I couldn't bring myself to read it.'

  'Then give it here, I'll read it to you.'

  'No. I'll read it when I'm ready,' he started to raise his voice.

  'Okay, calm down.'

  'I just don't get why you and Adam are being so pushy about this bloody letter,' he shouted, losing himself.

  Belle's eyes diverted downwards at her cereal, feeling awkward, while Kate glared at Jacob with an angry face. He grabbed his keys and his coat and left the apartment. Who do they think they are? Pressuring me like that. Work was the only thing that would be able to distract him from the letter.

  * * *

  Jacob arrived at the CID and perched at his desk. The rest of the team tapped away on their keyboards. Jacob pulled his drawer open on his desk, revealing to his eyes a bottle of whiskey he'd been keeping there since his father’s death. The office was far too busy for him to take a swig, despite his craving for it.

  Shutting the drawer, he focused on his computer monitor, not realising another large envelope had been placed on the side of his desk. Minutes passed before he noticed it to his left. His heart sank, knowing the contents of the envelope would be more photos from one of their crime scenes, knowing that somebody had been watching them the entire time.

  Once again, Jacob had his hands inside another envelope, ready to remove the contents. It was what he'd feared. More photos from another crime scene. The crime scene of Ella Morgan. What is this bitch trying to gain from this? he asked himself. Is it not enough that she's out there with Barnes? I've got to let Ally know.

  He got up from his seat and marched over towards Barnes' office where Ally had taken residence. On one hand, his fist was clenched and the other grasped the envelope and its contents tightly.

  He knocked on the door and waited for Ally to invite him inside. Once inside, he threw the photos on the desk.

  'Look at this!' he yelled, but not loud enough for people outside of the office to hear. 'Why's she doing this to me? And why now?'

  'I have no idea, Jacob,' she replied calmly, examining the photos.

  Jacob sat at the desk opposite Ally, placed his head in his hands and began to sob. Ally rose from her seat and leaned in to hug him.

  'It's okay, Jacob,' she comforted him. 'I know you're worried about Barnes. I am too, but don't let her get to you.'

  'I can't help it, Ally,' he sobbed.

  'Whatever I say to you is not going to make any difference, but just know, Jacob...' she placed her hand on his, 'I'm here for you.'

  'Thank you,' he replied, smiling at her but nervous at the same time.

  Jacob's feelings for Ally were progressing and he knew she felt the same way. But he wasn't ready for a new relationship just yet. The only thing he wanted to focus on was finding their boss. Every day they wasted, was another day Barnes would be at risk of being killed.

  As the pair gazed into one another's eyes, Ethan burst in. Jacob pulled his hand away from Ally's before rising to his feet.

  'What is it, Ethan?' he asked.

  'They've found it,' Ethan replied.

  'Found what?'

  'Barnes' car. It's been found outside an old run-down warehouse. Patrol cars are on the scene observing. They're waiting for us,' he explained.

  Ethan headed out of the room in a hurry, leaving Ally staring at Jacob.

  'Jacob. I need to tell you...'

  'It's fine, Ally.'

  'Please, I need to explain...'

  'Ally, I said it doesn't matter,' he snapped. 'We've got work to do.'

  He left Ally alone. She understood why he withdrew his hand from hers, but she wanted to confess how she felt about him. Her feelings had grown for him over the last couple of months and she had a burning desire to tell him.

  Jacob entered wearing his jacket and car keys held firmly in his hands.

  'Are you coming?' he interrupted her from her thoughts.

  'I'll meet you at the car.'

  * * *

  The team arrived at the warehouse around 1.30 pm to find the police car that had been keeping watch, parked up all alone in the distance.

  'Where are the officers?' Jacob asked.

  The team exited their vehicles and strolled over towards the abandoned police car. Jacob placed his face against the window, glaring inside. He pulled the door handle and to his surprise, it was unlocked. Ally made her way to the back of the car and paused. She was about to open up the boot but hesitated. Her hand pressed the button and the door opened revealing nothing but police equipment inside. Ally sighed with relief, fearing what she could've found inside.

  They caught up with the others who had made their way to Barnes' car. They searched the entire car and found nothing but bloodstains inside the boot.

  They stealthily continued their way towards the warehouse, making sure not to make a sound. Jacob pulled the door handle and was surprised once again to find the door unlocked. Nothing but silence could be heard, as the team set foot inside. Whoever was inside the warehouse was gone. No sign of Lily and no sign of Barnes.

  'Damn it!' Jacob yelled in anger.

  Brian stepped over towards a pool of blood where Barnes had been hanging. Surrounding the blood was the two officers, dead on the floor with bullet wounds in their chests.

  'Over here,' Brian cried out, before covering his nose and mouth with his left hand.

  'Shit,' Sarah swore in disbelief as she approached.

  'Looks like we've found the missing officers,' said Ally. 'Let's call this in and get forensics here right away.'

  No words were spoken. She had gotten away again, with more innocent people losing their lives. Jacob felt sick to his stomach as did everyone else. Who is this woman? he asked himself. Jacob thought he knew the real Lily, but she had been hiding her true self from everyone she knew.

  'Forensics will be here within the hour,' Ally announced. 'When back up arrives we need to secure the perimeter. Let’s assume the local news crews will know by now, so please keep them at bay.'

  * * *

  Fifteen minutes passed and the backup officers had arrived and set a perimeter around the warehouse. Another half an hour passed before the forensics team arrived on the scene. Chloe Fisher stepped out of the van and walked over towards Jacob and his team, while the rest of her crew were getting changed into their white suits.

  'Did you get her?' she asked without even greeting them.

  'No,' Jacob replied, not giving her eye contact. 'She got away again.'

  'What about Barnes?'

  'He's still missing,' Ally answered.

  'You'll get him back.' Chloe placed her hand on his shoulder, before heading back towards her team.

  Jacob felt extremely guilty. They were so close but Lily had just gotten away so quickly. It could be days, even months before they could have any scrap of information on Barnes if they get any at all.

  'I'm going to call it a day,' Jacob informed the team.

  'Are you okay?' Ally seemed concerned about him.

  'No, but I'll be fine. I'm just disappointed we missed them,' he admitted. 'I'm tired, Ally. I'm tired of this bitch and her plans. I want my life back the way it was, before all of this.' He started to cry.

  Ally moved him outside, back to his car and comforted him. 'I don't know what you're going through right now, and I'm not going to pretend to kno
w, but I'm here if you need to talk,' she hugged him. 'You need someone to lean on, always know, I'm here.'

  'Thanks, Ally.'

  Jacob got into his car and began his journey home. He wiped the tears from his face, knowing he was not alone in all of this. Ally was a great woman and felt strong feelings towards him, and he wanted to act on his, but couldn't. He needed to trust again before he could get into another relationship.

  Chapter 7

  10.17 am the next morning, Jacob and Adam were trawling through their father’s house. They were trying to organise all of John and Maria's possessions, ready to sell the house. Jacob couldn't bear to enter his father’s office, but it needed to be done. The letter his father left him sat firmly inside his jacket pocket, still waiting to be read.

  'I'm just nipping out to get breakfast. Do you want anything?' Adam offered.

  'No, thank you. I don't think I can stomach any food right now.'

  'Okay. I'll be back soon.'

  Adam left Jacob all alone in the house. Now was a better time than any, he thought while removing the letter from his jacket pocket, and his eyes began to feast upon the words written.

  "My son.

  If you're reading this, then you know I'm gone. You have made me the proudest father in the world along with your brother and sister. There are parts of my life that I have kept secret from you all of these years. You and Adam, my 2 boys. Since your mother died, I am so proud of how you two adapted to carrying the weight of my depression, and helping me and Maria when your little sister arrived. The 3 of you are the best children a father could ask for.

  My secret life I tried to keep well hidden from you, but I fear you will soon learn the truth. Barnes will fill you in. He's 1 of the only people I truly trust.

  I love all 3 of you very much.

  Dad."

  Jacob didn't know what to think. His father had a secret life, one he'd kept hidden from his family, one that could have been partially responsible for his mother’s death. Jacob continued to sit on the sofa, re-reading his father’s letter, before finding the courage to burst into his father’s office.

  The carpet was still stained beneath him. He felt incredibly sick just staring at it. The office was a mess with paperwork and files all over the place. Jacob needed answers and this would be the only place he'd get some until they found Barnes.

  Jacob rummaged through John’s desk drawers, looking for anything that would explain what his father had written in the letter. He came to a locked drawer that required a key, but there was no sign of any key within the messy room.

  'You've got to be kidding me,' he yelled and sighed loudly before placing his head in his hands.

  He rummaged some more until he came across a file with receipts from a storage locker his father had been renting. The payments had been made yearly.

  Why yearly instalments? he pondered. This must have something to do with his secret life. He looked down and analysed the receipts and noticed the address of the storage locker. The same place Lily had her lock up. This better be a coincidence.

  Jacob stood still, processing all the information he had discovered in the last few minutes before his brother entered the house with his hands full of food.

  'Jacob, I'm back,' he yelled out to him.

  Jacob left the office shutting the door quietly behind him, making sure Adam couldn't see that he'd been in there.

  'Surely you're not going to eat all of that?' Jacob said with a look of shock upon his face.

  'No, I thought you could do with some food even though you said you weren't hungry.'

  'Well, I think you made the right decision. I think my appetite has suddenly come back,' he replied, before ushering his brother towards the kitchen.

  Once they demolished the food, it was back to sorting out their father’s things. Adam moved upstairs, giving Jacob time to slip back inside the office. He had so many unanswered questions that were eating away at him, and he thought maybe they were hiding in the locked drawer.

  Jacob searched again for the key but came up short and figured the only thing left he could do was break it. He crept into the hallway, opened the cupboard under the stairs, and searched through the toolbox for a screwdriver.

  A look of delight swept across his face and he quickly tip-toed back into the office, closing the door quietly behind him. It took him no longer than five minutes to break into the drawer. He pulled the drawer out of the desk and dropped it to the floor.

  He didn't understand why his father would have wanted the contents locked away. No valuables, just full of letters addressed to Maria. What have they been hiding? And why lock it away? Jacob opened the envelope, removed the letter and drew his eyes over it. He couldn't believe what he'd just read.

  Jacob heard Adam moving up above him and then his stamping footsteps coming down the stairs. It was too late for Jacob to bolt out of the room, but he was beyond caring now. He couldn't care less if Adam caught him. They had promised to go through this room together, but Jacob's curiosity got the better of him like it always did.

  'What are you doing in here?' he asked after finding Jacob sat at their father’s desk. 'I thought we were going to wait to...' Adam caught sight of the tears forming from Jacob's eyes. 'What's wrong?'

  Jacob said nothing. He looked up, focused his teary eyes upon his brother and handed him the letter. The silence was unnerving, but Adam glanced his eyes down and read what was now in front of him. Jacob analysed his face as he continued reading and then Adam's face turned from confused to shocked within seconds.

  'What does this mean?' he asked Jacob.

  'It means they've been lying to us this whole time,' he replied.

  'What are we going to do?'

  'We're going to carry on as normal as if we hadn't read it.'

  'What if she finds out?'

  Jacob took the letter out of Adam's hand, ripped it up in front of him and placed it inside the bin by the desk.

  'The only way she'll find out is if one of us tell her, and that's not going to happen,' Jacob explained.

  'What if he finds her?'

  'Then we'll deal with it. She doesn't need any more heartbreak, especially now.'

  * * *

  It was almost closing time when Belle discovered the young man still sat inside the cafe. Belle had noticed him earlier that day, mainly because she felt an attraction towards him. His slick blonde hair was just as perfect to her as his flawlessly crafted face.

  'I'm really sorry,' Belle apologised as she approached him, 'but we're closing now.'

  The young man, in his late teens, lifted his head and smiled at her. Belle's knees went weak and butterflies appeared in her stomach.

  'No problem,' he continued smiling. Belle returned the smile before turning around to head back to the counter. 'Aren't you going to ask me why I'm still here?'

  Belle turned back to answer him but instead gave him a flirtatious smile before writing down her phone number. It was now or never and Belle thought it was a risk worth taking.

  'What's this?' he asked.

  'What you've been waiting all day for,' she flirted, before heading back to the counter.

  'What's your name?' he shouted his question.

  'Belle. My name's Belle.'

  He smiled. 'Hi, Belle. I'm Ben.'

  Just at that moment, the bell on the cafe door rang as somebody entered. The smartly dressed man walked up to the counter.

  'So this is where you work?' Jacob asked.

  'Beautiful, isn't it?' she replied.

  'What are you doing here anyway?'

  'Can I not visit you while you're at work?'

  'You're a busy man. You've not got time to visit a cafe,' she joked.

  Belle's eyes drifted from Jacob and on to Ben, who had finally decided to leave. Her heart sank slightly, but the hope he'd call her made her perk back up.

  'So, fancy getting some fo
od on the way home?' Jacob offered.

  'I'll be finished in a few minutes,' she replied excitedly.

  'I'll wait in the car.'

  Jacob walked back to his car and sat inside, thinking about what he'd read inside both the letters he'd read earlier. How could my father have kept all those secrets? Thoughts kept rolling around inside his head, and then Barnes sprung back again. He's still out there, probably dead or dying, and we have no leads no nothing.

  Jacob checked his phone for any messages but there was nothing new. His finger placed on the phone book icon and pressed Ally's name until the phone started ringing.

  'Hello,' she answered on the other end.

  'Hi, Ally. It's Jacob. Do we know anything new? Has Ethan found anything in relation to Barnes' disappearance?'

  'He's trawling through CCTV. We'll let you know if we find anything.'

  'Thanks, Ally,' he replied before hanging up.

  His feelings towards Ally were growing. She was constantly on his mind along with finding Barnes, but he knew he couldn't have a relationship right now. He needed to solve their case, find Lily and rescue Barnes.

  Belle opened the door and jumped in beside him. She could see Jacob was lost in thought, knowing what was probably spinning around inside his head.

  'Jacob, what's wrong?' she asked.

  He turned his head towards her, staring into her eyes. 'Nothing,' he lied.

  'I know it's not nothing, but if you don't want to tell me, you don't have to.'

  'There's just so much going on right now. I don't want to bring you down. You're doing so well at the moment with your new job and all.'

  'You can tell me anything, Jacob. Not right now, but whenever you're ready,' she said.

  Jacob nodded, unsure about what to say. He was glad Belle was a part of his life. She really helped cheer him up after everything that had happened. But he was afraid he'd lose her when she moved out. She was like a little sister to him.