Within the Shadows by J.D MCG (book recommendations .TXT) 📗

here,' Jacob said, handing him the receipt. 'He recently passed away. While I was clearing out his house, I came across this receipt. He pays annually for a locker here, and I've come to clear it out.'

'Okay, give me a minute and I'll find out what number locker he had.' Billy clicked away on the computer.

'Thank you, Billy. I really appreciate your help,' Jacob replied.

After a few minutes, Billy had found John's locker. But he gave Jacob a worried look like he was about to disappoint him.

'Good news, I've found your father's locker,' he informed them while bowing his head.

'What's the bad news?' Ally asked.

'Do you remember when you came here last month?'

'How could I forget,' replied Jacob with a sorrowful tone.

'Well, her locker was...'

'249,' he interrupted.

'Your father's locker is 250, right next door.'

Jacob's mouth opened wide in shock. Lily had been spying on my father this whole time, but why? Ally placed her hand on his shoulder.

'Are you alright?' she asked.

'I'm just a little confused and shocked,' he answered. 'Can you take us to it?’ he requested.

'Of course. Follow me,' said Billy.

The three of them reached the floor where John's locker had been. A four-digit combination lock kept the locker safe from prying eyes and thieving hands.

Billy spoke up, 'I'll leave you both to it.'

Jacob stared at the lock. What could the number be? He tried his birthday, but the lock didn't release. So he tried his siblings birthdays and when they didn't work, he tried his mother and Maria's. Again, the lock didn't release.

'I give up,' he announced defeat.

'There's got to be something you're not thinking of. Did your father not leave a combination in his office?' Ally tried to get him thinking.

Then something appeared in his thoughts. The letter. That's probably why he added both numbers and letters. He must have known I'd figure it out.

'Let me try something else,' he announced to her while removing the letter from his coat pocket. 'Two, three, one, three,' he spoke out loud while entering the numbers into the combination.

The lock released and Jacob's stomach started to turn. This was the moment he'd waited for. The secrets were about to be revealed. A deafening ringing could be heard as the fire alarms rang throughout the building.

'Jacob, come on. We need to leave,' she shouted at him.

Jacob hesitated, peeping into the locker. He shut the locker and made sure it was completely locked before he accompanied Ally out of the building.

'This isn't a coincidence,' he shared his thoughts with her as they exited the building.

'What do you mean?'

'We finally get into the locker and get to find out what my father had been hiding, then the fire alarm goes off. I don't buy it.'

'I think everything that's happened has made you paranoid,' she joked. 'We'll come back later when we're allowed back inside.'

Jacob wanted to resist but agreed to go with her, knowing she was right, but also worried in case somebody broke in and took what was inside.

When they arrived back at the station, Jacob returned to his desk. He craved an alcoholic drink. He'd become dependent on it since his father's death, and the cravings grew stronger the more he felt the pain and hurt he was feeling inside.

Jacob opened his desk draw. His eyes gazed down at a small bottle of whiskey he had placed in there for the hard times. He placed his coffee cup inside his drawer, unscrewed the lid on the whiskey bottle, and poured it into the cup. He kept peeking around making sure nobody could see what he was doing.

The drink made him feel slightly better. It numbed the pain he was constantly feeling day-to-day. The loss of his father and the life of lies he'd lived with Lily had taken its toll on him. He still had his friends and family by his side, but being alone and having nothing but his thoughts, reminded Jacob of everything that had happened in the past month.

He had the feeling he was being watched by his colleagues. Their beady eyes looking up from their computers, people tip-toeing around him constantly, too afraid to ask him anything, in case he'd get upset or have another breakdown.

He got up from his seat and left the CID. He couldn't cope with everyone gazing at him, and he needed fresh air. Once he got to the car park, he pulled out his keys and got into his car. He peered out of each window, making sure no one was around, before making a move to his glove box.

Inside was another bottle, this time it was vodka. He unscrewed the lid and took a swig. It calmed his nerves. Jacob needed to get out of the office for a while, so he started the ignition and started to drive.

Thoughts of Lily swam around inside his mind. Tears started to stream down his cheeks which he couldn't control. He pulled over by a local pub, craving another drink. He wiped his tears before pulling himself out of the car and walked into the pub. It was dim and smelt like stale booze. He sat at the bar and ordered a pint of lager, hoping it would do the trick, but it didn't. It didn't even touch the sides on making him feel any better.

The TV was tuned in to a news report featuring his current case with Jack Roberts. That's all I need now,' he thought. I can't be doing with listening to this right now.

Jacob yelled at the bartender, 'Can you turn this off, please?'

The grumpy bartender grunted, before switching the channel to sports. Jacob drank his pint and kept himself to himself. He sat there thinking about his father and the visions. The visions had gone once