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

'DI Miller,' she answered, but there was a slight pause before the other person spoke.

'Good afternoon, Detective Inspector,' the female voice greeted. 'I hope you find what you are looking for.'

'Who is this?' Ally demanded to know, grabbing the attention of Barnes and Jacob.

'I think you know who this is.'

'Esther?'

'Bingo.'

'What do you want?'

'I think you know everything at this point. The body I've taken hold of, the people I've killed.'

'We know you've been helping Felicity...' Ally said before she was interrupted.

'Ruth, you mean? Please use their real names, DI Miller.'

'No. Their real names are Jack Roberts, Nathan Lawrence and Felicity James. And yours is Jenny Reynolds. I've had enough of this second personality bullshit. It ends now!' she shouted down the phone at her.

'Do you want to know what got Natalie Dixon killed?' Jenny asked.

'Please inform me.'

'Making deals with the devil.'

'I don’t understand what you mean.'

'She was arrogant, thinking lightning couldn't strike in the same place more than once. I hear Jenny's screams every minute of every day. Felicity, Nathan and Jenny wanted her dead for what she did to them.'

'I don't believe you.'

'I don’t care what you believe.'

'Why her parents? Why did you kill them?'

'For fun. They were a test to see how the modifications worked,' Esther chuckled. 'And there's more to come.'

'Why the girls in the farm shack?' she continued trying to get answers.

'They were going to be part of my experiment, but stupid Ruth got in the way.'

'So, starving these girls was not part of your plan?'

'No. Has Ruth not told you who she is?'

'If you mean in your fictitious world, then yes, she has.'

'Then you know that wasn't part of my plan, just her's.'

'Why did you call me?' Ally asked.

'To tell you that you'll have another body on your streets within the next twelve hours. See you soon, DI Miller,' she answered before the phone went quiet.

'What's wrong?' Jacob asked.

'Who was that?' Barnes questioned her.

'That was Jenny Reynolds, or should I say, Esther. There's going to be another body within the next twelve hours,' Ally announced.

Chapter 21

Kate met her father again that afternoon, unaware to Jacob and Belle's knowledge. They sat inside the restaurant, tucking into their dinner when Craig began to stare at her.

'Why are you staring at me?' Kate asked.

'I just can't believe how much you look like your mother,' he explained. 'I'm glad we can do this.'

'So am I,' she smiled, forgetting about everything for a moment.

'You shouldn't be too hard on your family. They don't know me and wanted to protect you and keep you safe.'

'But they lied to me and kept secrets from me. How can I trust them again?'

'Because look at what they've done for you since your mother died. Your brother took you in and kept you safe, gave you a roof over your head. He didn't know you weren't his little sister, but when he did, did he throw you out? No, he didn't. He took care of you like nothing happened.' Kate screwed up her face, not wanting to listen to him, even though she knew he was right. 'All I'm saying is, go easy on him. He still loves you like you're his sister,' he continued.

She nodded as a tear started to form in her eye. Knowing she was wrong about how she treated Jacob and Belle, it was time for her to make amends.

'Can you excuse me for a minute?' she asked her father and he nodded in response.

She removed herself from the table and exited the restaurant to make a quick phone call. Her hand trembled as she didn't know how to apologise to Jacob for how she'd treated him. Kate flicked through her recent contacts and called Jacob's mobile. It rang a couple of times before going to voicemail. She sighed and entered back inside, joining her father back at the table.

'No answer?' Craig asked.

'Straight to voicemail,' she replied.

She tucked back into her food and grabbed her glass, chugging the cocktail down her throat.

'Slow down,' her father laughed.

At that moment, Kate's heart sank as she noticed Belle and Ben walking in through the front door, hoping Belle wouldn't notice her. But it was too late for her as Belle locked eyes with her.

'Come on, Ben,' Kate heard her say. 'We'll find somewhere else.'

Kate rose off her seat and rushed towards her.

'Belle, wait.' She approached her. 'I'm sorry for the way I've treated you. I know I've been a bitch...'

Belle laughed at her. 'A bitch? Kate, you made me so depressed. You told me how we're not family...'

'I know and I'm so sorry. I really am,' she interrupted her. 'I know my words don't do much, but please accept my apology?'

'I'll think about it,' Belle replied before turning around and exiting the restaurant.

For the second time, Kate rejoined her father at the table just as dessert arrived. Craig noticed something was wrong by the change in mood upon her face.

'Is everything alright?'

'I don't know,' she answered keeping her head bowed. 'She's mad at me.'

'Who was that?'

'Her name’s Belle. Jacob took her in when her friend was murdered last year. We've been quite close, up until the secrets anyway.'

'I feel like I've seen her before,' Craig muttered under his breath.

'Well, she does live with me.'

'Anyway...' he said, glancing downwards at his dessert. 'This looks delicious.'

Kate had a burning question to ask while watching him scoop his ice cream into his mouth.

'Why did my mum leave you?'

Craig choked on his dessert, wondering how he was going to answer her question.

'I'm going to be honest with you, Kate,' he started. 'I was an abusive husband. I'd come home drunk and off my face