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

'You do?'

'Yes. Her family have been on our watch list for a while,' Dan continued.

'What do you mean?'

'Her mother went missing when she was younger, am I correct?'

'Yes,' Jacob answered, unsure of where this conversation was going.

'Her sister started a cult and began ritual killings when your father was an active police officer. Your father was given the order to kill her.'

'So, he did kill her,' Jacob said, beginning to get angry, banging a clenched fist on the table.

'No. He disobeyed his orders.'

'Why?'

'He couldn't go through with it. He kept saying something about trying to bring her in for questioning, but it was too dangerous. She was too dangerous.'

'Was my father working for S.T.O.R.M?' Jacob kept the questions coming.

'Yes, on the side.'

'What about my boss?'

'Joe Barnes? He doesn't work with S.T.O.R.M but knows of us because of John. Your father told him all about me and about our operation. I think it was him that stopped your father from completing his orders on Daisy Blackwood,' Dan explained.

'What about Lily? If her sister was so dangerous, then why is Lily still alive? She completed her sister’s plan, so why is she still in prison and not on the slab?'

'Because we might need her. The night you caught her accomplices, did you notice any lights flicker?' Jacob thought for a moment. 'What about the slight earthquake? You ignored the signs of her plan completing.'

'When I went to see Lily earlier today, she mentioned something about diamonds. She mentioned Barnes had put them somewhere safe, but not in evidence. Do you have these diamonds?' Jacob asked as he began to piece things together.

'That's confidential,' Dan answered.

'I take that as a yes then,' Jacob smiled, knowing he'd got the answer he wanted.

'Jacob, there's another reason I asked to meet you. I want you to be a part of our operation at S.T.O.R.M.'

'What? Do what my father was doing? No, thank you,' he replied.

'Just have a think about it. We're on the same team, and after all, we are family.' Dan got up off his seat after finishing the last of his coffee. 'Just sleep on it, okay?' He tapped Jacob on the shoulder before leaving the cafe.

Jacob didn't know what to do. His uncle had another motive, but he'd come away with more questions than answers. Something positive had come out of this meeting. At least he knew he wasn't going insane and what he saw could be real. But if the supernatural exists, that means our suspects could be telling the truth, and Barnes would know that, he thought.

He wanted to phone Barnes and shout at him. He knew more than he said about everything. Why'd he stay silent? Jacob decided to speak to him face to face. He left the cafe, entered his vehicle and drove back to the CID.

Chapter 23

Barnes' office was surrounded by phones ringing, people talking and busybodies running all over the place. His head was pounding with an ungodly pain. He opened his desk drawer and grabbed the paracetamol that lay beside his bottle of vodka. He popped two tablets out of the plastic wrap, chucked them inside his mouth, then washed them down with the half bottle of vodka. His head rested on the back of the chair as he closed his eyes, trying his best to block out the constant ringing in the background.

There was nothing but silence as he sat resting with his eyes closed, nearly drifting off to sleep. Then a sudden knock on the door brought him out of his slumber and back to the annoying ringing of phones. Goddamn it, he thought silently.

'Come in,' he shouted above the noise. Jacob entered and sat opposite him, red-faced, staring at him angrily. 'I thought I told you to take some time off?'

'Oh, I am. Guess who I've had the pleasure of meeting today?'

'I knew this was coming,' Barnes sighed, knowing his headache was about to become much worse.

'Why'd you keep it all from me? You knew about Elizabeth Blackwood this whole time. Why didn't you say something?'

'I didn't know she was Lily, plus I didn't know about Elizabeth Blackwood until we discovered that information. I don't work for S.T.O.R.M, only your father did,' he explained.

'But you knew about my uncle. Why did you never say anything about him to me?'

'That was your father’s place to tell you. Remember, I'm your DCI, a family friend. I'm not a part of your family, so it was up to them to tell you, not me.'

Jacob thought about his words for a moment. He's right. I expect too much from him.

'What about the diamonds?' he continued his line of questioning.

'What are you talking about?'

'The diamonds from the crime scene. They're not in evidence, are they? Lily kidnapped and interrogated you because she wanted to know what you'd done with them.'

'You already know where they are, don't you? That's why you've come in here asking me all these questions.'

'Well, I wasn't going to get the answers from you. You're just as bad as my father.' Jacob rose from the chair. 'Just tell me one thing.' Barnes nodded. 'You know about S.T.O.R.M and that they deal with the supernatural. Do you believe our suspects are who they say they are?' Jacob asked.

'A part of me does, but so many people get out of jail time by pleading insanity. I've seen it loads of times, whether or not they're telling the truth,' Barnes answered.

Jacob gave a slight disconcerting smile, before leaving his office. He had a choice to make. Join S.T.O.R.M and have joint intel on his case, or carry on as normal, always knowing that his cases might not always be normal. It was a hard decision for him to make.

Barnes remained seated,