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

the recent string of murders had stopped. He kept telling himself the visions were due to lack of sleep and stress, but deep down, Jacob knew it was something else. His father had even told him, he'd experienced the same thing when he was a detective.

Stumbling out of his seat, Jacob headed back to his car. Outside he scrambled for his keys inside his pocket, almost falling over. He'd hit rock bottom and he knew it, though he didn't care. He had lost everything. His whole family had been torn to shreds.

Jacob looked over the road and caught a glimpse of a man, standing and staring directly at him. He recognised the man very well and thought he'd never see him again. That man was his father, John Wright. Is this another hallucination? he thought.

'Hey,' he yelled at the man. 'Wait.'

Jacob pushed his way through the crowd of people in front of him and tried to cross the street. He stepped off the curb in a hurry, making cars swerve to avoid hitting him. Car horns beeped ferociously, with drivers yelling obscene words towards him. But Jacob didn't care, he just focused on the man who resembled his father, who was currently walking away.

Once Jacob reached the other side, he continued to tail the man, not taking his eyes off him, until he bumped into a lady.

'Watch where you're going,' she yelled angrily at him, making him lose sight of the man.

'Sorry,' he apologised, giving her direct eye contact.

By the time Jacob looked back towards the man, he was gone. Was it my father? Did he cause the distraction earlier with the fire alarm? Jacob stood motionless for an instant, before making his way back towards his car.

Jacob arrived back at the CID and aimed straight for Ally, who was inside Barnes' office. He shut the door behind him, making sure his colleagues couldn't hear the conversation that was about to take place.

'Ally, I've got to talk to you,' he stuttered.

She noticed his head was sweating and he seemed panicked. 'Jacob, is everything alright?'

'No.' He started pacing. 'I've seen him. I reckon it was him who set the fire alarm off in the lock-up earlier.'

'Who? Barnes?' she questioned him.

'No, my father.'

Ally was shocked and worried that Jacob was having a mental breakdown. Then she caught a whiff of alcohol on his breath.

'Jacob, have you been drinking?' she asked quietly, trying not to have prying ears hear what was being said.

'Yes, well, a little.' he admitted.

'What are you playing at? You know you can't be drinking on the job, especially driving. I'm going to have to send you home, you can't stay here.'

'But you need to listen,' he tried to explain, but she was having none of it.

'No. You need to listen to me,' she tried to show her frustration quietly. 'You need to go home and sleep it off, then I'll come and pick you up in the morning. Now come on, let's get you home.'

The pair of them left the office and headed for the exit, as the team stared at them. Jacob's head was spinning and he had no idea how he'd made it to the CID safely.

Out in the car park, Ally held the door open for him to enter. His drunk body dropped in the passenger seat and she shut the door. The pain he was feeling, felt like he'd been ripped apart, and now everybody he worked with, knew he was an alcoholic mess.

Back inside the CID, Brian and Sarah were chatting about their dating life. Brian had confessed he'd gone on a date the night before after Sarah and Ethan had dragged it out of him.

'What about you then, Sarah? Is there a new lucky man in your life yet?' he asked.

'Man? Who’s to say I'm interested in men, Brian?'

Brian blushed, not knowing how to reply and stayed quiet at his desk. Ethan just laughed along with Sarah.

'What about you, Ethan? How's it going with Ruby?' She turned her attention to him.

'Good, actually. We're planning a holiday for the summer.'

The double doors flew open as a woman entered the office. Brian stood on his feet immediately.

'Who's that?' Sarah asked him.

'That would be Barnes' ex-wife, Vanessa,' he informed them, as he walked over to her. 'Vanessa, how are you?'

She was in hysterics, tears streaming down her face. 'Brian, where is he?'

'Look, Vanessa...'

'Something's happened, hasn't it?' she interrupted.

'Come with me and I'll explain,' he said while ushering her into Barnes' office. 'Take a seat.' He shut the door.

'What's happened to Joe? I know some things happened. He usually calls the girls every couple of days, but he hasn't.'

Brian sighed. 'Look, Vanessa, I'm going to tell it to you straight. He's been kidnapped.'

'Kidnapped?'

He nodded and continued, 'We are trying our best to find him.'

'Do you know who's kidnapped him?'

'We have an idea, but no evidence to prove it.'

She burst into tears. She still loved him but felt increasingly left second best to his job, which was the main reason for their split. But she still had feelings for him.

'Will you keep me informed?' she asked Brian kindly.

'Of course I will,' he promised as he lifted his heavy, weighted body off the seat and towards the door.

'Thank you,' she said as she left the CID.

Brian headed back towards his desk and plumped himself down. Sarah's eager eyes focused on Brian, wanting information from him.

'What did she want?' she questioned.

'She knew something had happened to Barnes, so came to confirm it,' he explained.

Ethan strolled back over to his desk. He'd been flicking through CCTV images of the surrounding area of the warehouse, where Barnes had been held hostage. He sat perched, glaring at his monitor, when