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

other police officers suddenly arrived on the scene. The police cordoned off the house, while the forensic team got themselves ready. Upon entry, the forensic officer swabbed the blood on the carpet before moving through to the living room while the rest of the team travelled into other rooms. Julia Higgins pulled up outside the police cordon and Barnes rose to his feet to greet her.

'What happened here?' she asked.

'More death and murder,' Barnes explained in one sentence.

'Is it our victim’s parents?'

'I presume so. We've not had confirmation yet.'

'Right. I'll go and get myself ready,' Julia said before walking away.

An hour passed before Julia exited the house and informed Barnes of her first analysis of the bodies.

'They were injected with some kind of substance. I won't know what until the autopsy. There are no lacerations, no signs of torture. This doesn't fit the same profile as our last victim,' Julia explained.

'Whose blood do you think could be in the hallway?'

'Maybe their daughter? This might have been where she was taken.'

'Thanks, Julia. We'll come by your office tomorrow,' Barnes informed her before she went back to her car. 'I'm gonna head home,' he announced to the team. 'We'll pick up from where we left off tomorrow.'

Barnes strolled back to his car, sat inside and sighed loudly. He was exhausted and his eyes were sore. His thoughts drifted from the case to his ex-wife, wondering how she was as he removed his phone from his jacket, placing it to his ear.

'Hi, Vanessa. Sorry to call you so late. I've just been wondering how you are?'

'I'm getting there. I'm just so glad you were there,' she said. 'I don't know what might have happened if you weren't.'

'I'm just happy you're okay and getting better.'

'Joe, why don't you come over?'

'I don't think that's a good idea, V,' he replied, not wanting to say no, but he didn't want to have his heartbroken for a second time. 'I'll speak to you soon.'

Barnes ended the call and started his ignition to start his drive home. He needed a good night sleep, but the nightmares of his torture always stopped that from happening.

Jacob unlocked the door to his dark apartment, wondering if anyone was home. Dropping onto the sofa he flicked the television on and watched the news. The first feature was about the local canal and the graffiti artists, then they began to talk about the murder he was investigating. He'd had enough murder for one day, so he turned it off and picked himself up to go to bed.

As he entered his room, he thought he heard movement coming from outside the bedroom. His initial thought was an intruder, but then remembered he lived with two teenage girls. Opening his bedroom door, he caught a glimpse of a drunken Belle stumbling into the apartment.

'Belle?'

She paused still, squinting her eyes at Jacob to catch a glimpse of him. She began to speak but the words didn't make sense from drunken slur. She stumbled to the sofa and fell on top. Jacob helped her get comfortable and grabbed a blanket to place over her. Belle was asleep within minutes, leaving Jacob to return to bed.

Laying there, thoughts of the case whirled around his mind. Thoughts of the victims, the suspects and their alter-ego's, the horsemen were all he could think about. His eyes began to close as he drifted off into a deep sleep.

Something spooked Jacob, making him sit up and stare into the corner of the room. Movement in the darkness caught his eye, spooking him.

'Is someone there?' he asked.

Nobody answered, but Jacob's eyes caught an outline of someone's body. As he squinted to get a better image, he noticed two eyes staring into his from the shadows.

'Who are you?' Jacob shouted. 'What do you want?'

But the figure never answered, frightening him even more. They leant forward, entering into the light, revealing their true face. Jacob's vision became blurry as the figure's face became more clear, and suddenly Jacob woke from his dream.

The blinding light from the sun, peering between the blinds, warmed Jacob as he awoke from his nightmare. His body was covered and dripping in sweat, so he jumped out of bed and ran straight into the shower. The cold trickling water cooled his overheated body.

Once he cleaned himself, Jacob headed to the kitchen for breakfast, where he was met by Kate. She sat quietly eating her breakfast, not wanting to speak to Jacob. She raised another spoonful of cereal as he entered.

'Good morning, Kate,' he greeted her, but she stayed silent. 'Kate, please talk to me. We need to move past this. I'm sorry for keeping it from you, but you've got to understand why I did it.'

Kate said nothing, just removed herself from her seat, grabbed her coat and bag and headed out the door. Jacob tried to follow her as she exited the apartment but she slammed the door in his face. Belle lifted herself off the sofa in a jumping movement as the door slammed.

'Is everything okay?' she mumbled.

'Just Kate,' he briefly explained, walking back to the kitchen.

Belle followed him. 'Jacob, I've got to tell you something.'

'Okay,' he replied, shuffling about in the fridge.

'She's been speaking with her dad,' she announced to him.

'Belle, she's a grown kid. She can speak to him as much as she likes.'

'I know, but I don't think she should. There must have been a reason why her mother kept him from her.'

'As long as she's safe and happy, so am I. I just hope she can forgive me.'

Barnes entered the station at 8.02 am, and locked himself away in his office, shut the blinds, keeping the world out. He was extremely tired and didn't get much sleep. Julia Higgins called just