Voices (Whisper Trilogy Book 3) (28 page)

“No,” Dane said, shaking his head. “I don’t. I just want you to understand things from my side. You think it’s easy living with what my brother did? He destroyed the lives of so many people and left my family to deal with the consequences. We lost everything.”

“You still have your life. Your brother still has his. My friends lost theirs. Isaac lost his father.”

“I know. But I can’t do anything about that now.”

“You sound just as cold as your brother.”

“I’m not him. Don’t you dare say I am.”

“Both of you, stop it!” Isaac shouted. “It’s them. The things in the trees, they’re making my head hurt.”

“You alright kid? You don’t look so good,” Dane said.

He was right. Emma could see it too. Isaac was pale, his hair sticking to his forehead with sweat.

“He’s fine. Just scared like the rest of us,” Emma said. “Come on, we need to keep moving.”

They went on in silence. The voices in the wind were easy to ignore after a while. Harder not to acknowledge were the shapes; the shadowy figures that flitted in their peripheral vision, darting between branches. The scratching continued, increasing in ferocity, only Isaac remaining untouched. Their journey felt as if it would last forever, the woods never ending.

“I see the road,” Emma said, lurching ahead, eyes wide and afraid. She’d been stretched to breaking point. Crashing through the undergrowth, she was desperate to put some distance between herself and the torment the trees had inflicted upon her. She escaped the stifling canopy, stumbling and falling onto the hard surface of the road, knocking the wind out of lungs. Isaac and Dane arrived seconds later and helped her up.

“Are you alright?” Isaac asked.

She started to cry. Years of repressed grief had finally found its way to the surface, cracking the cold exterior she’d built for herself. Dane stood awkwardly at the side of the road, kicking his feet in the dirt. He was the first to notice the light approaching them.

“Hey, heads up,” he warned.

The light grew brighter and more intense, banishing the dark. Under ordinary circumstances, they would have run, yet in this case, none of them had any inclination to go back into the trees and subject themselves to the horrors that waited for them in there. It was then they heard the engine piercing the wind.

“Shit, I bet it’s that cop,” Dane said, turning toward the woods but unable to commit himself to entering them. Either way it was too late; they knew they’d been seen. The vehicle skidded to a halt, leaving a great cloud of dust in its wake. Petrov climbed out of the vehicle, gun drawn.

“I wondered if I might stumble across you two. I take it your friend here helped you escape?”

“Detective, please, you have to let us go,” Emma said.

“I don’t think so. If there was any doubt before, let me make this clear. You’re all under arrest. Now get in the car.”

“Detective, please…”

“I wouldn’t test my patience any more than you have already. In case you didn’t know, there’s a madman on the loose and I don’t want any more deaths. You people might think it’s safe to run around in the woods, but I’m not prepared to let you get yourselves killed. Now get in the damn car.”

He pointed the gun at them for emphasis as he opened the door with his free hand.

Emma and Isaac got in, heads hanging low. Dane went to follow, when Petrov closed the door.

“Not you. We’ve met before, haven’t we? Back here when the massacre happened. Dane, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“This day just keeps on giving. Lose one Marshall brother and find another. Hands on the roof of the car please.”

Dane did as he was told, placing his palms on the roof and spreading his feet.

“I see you know the drill. That’s good. Makes things easier. Now, if I search you, am I going to find any weapons?”

“I have a gun in my jacket,” Dane said.

“Alright, I like the honesty. I’m going to reach in and take it. I don’t want you to make any sudden moves that might make me shoot you. Got it?”

“Understood.”

Petrov took the gun then stepped back.

“Okay, now turn around.”

Dane complied, staring at the ground.

“You’d better start talking. What the hell are you doing out here?”

“My brother called me. He told me if I wanted to stop the killings, I had to come here.”

“When did this happen?”

“Last night.”

“And you didn’t think to report it?”

“No. He didn’t stay on the line long enough for me to talk to him. He just said I had to come here. I reacted.”

“So what took you so long to get here?” Petrov asked.

“I got here as quick as I could. I was out of town.”

“You haven’t visited your brother since he was first locked up in Creasefield. Why would he decide to make contact with you now?”

“Because my brother is a manipulative asshole. He thrives on this. On being the center of attention. Whatever he has planned, he wants me to see it.”

“Alright, say I buy that. Why did you free these two from custody?” Petrov said, nodding toward Isaac and Emma.

“He told me I had to. He said he knew you would have them and that I had to bring them. I was trying to do the right thing and save a life.”

“That’s not your job. It’s mine.”

“You sure about that?” Dane said, sneering at Petrov. “The way I see it, my brother might well slaughter you or any of these other people without a second thought. He might not be so quick to do that to me, which I think gives me an advantage.”

Kimmel rolled the window down. “Detective, we don’t have time for this.”

“Come on, all of you. In the car.” Petrov opened the door and waited for Dane to get in, shutting it after him. He turned the key in the ignition, and swung back onto the dirt road, the car bouncing and jostling in the ruts.

“Here’s the deal. When we get to the hotel I’m going to call this in and get some officers up here. You all stay in the car. No exceptions.”

“I thought you said you already had people in the area?” Emma said.

“I don’t have backup, I moved them off to search for Marshall after the car accident. I lied so you wouldn’t run. Right now it’s just me.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Dane said.

“I was about to call it in when you helped these two escape,” Petrov replied. “Trust me, this place will be swarming before you know it.”

“This is crazy,” Dane muttered. “You know how dangerous my brother is.”

“He’s still just a man,” Petrov fired back.

“No he isn’t,” Isaac said from the back. “He’s one of them now.”

“Detective, look out!” Kimmel yelled.

Petrov slammed on the brakes, the car struggling to decelerate on the loose surface.

The scene ahead of them was thrown into harsh light by the car’s headlights. Emma pulled Isaac close to her, shielding him as best she could, but it was too late. He’d already seen it.

Either by design or at the hands of nature, two trees had fallen from opposite sides of the narrow dirt road, meeting in the middle above the car, forming an A-frame of sorts. Hanging from the upper branches in a sick display was a woman, or more accurately, what was left of her. It was tied there with bungee ropes, obviously left for them to find. Only the upper torso remained, skin sheared back to expose white shafts of ribs, stomach cavity hollowed out. Her arms were outstretched on the branches, her intestines wrapped around her like a gruesome scarf, the slick innards glistening in the moonlight. Her head hung to one side, mouth agape in a silent scream. Worst of all were her eyes. They were nothing but bloodied sockets, each containing a single red rose. Around her neck was a cardboard sign, the writing on the front penned in bloody finger smears.

Find me.

The wind pushed the disgusting display back and forth, swaying it provocatively. Emma screamed then, releasing the pent up terror she’d held on to successfully up to that point. The wind rose in a mocking scream of its own, one much louder than hers.

Petrov and Kimmel exchanged glances. Both of them knew who was responsible for the display. If there was any doubt, Dane vocalized it, breaking the silence.

“Henry.”

Petrov put the car into gear, inching forward.

“Nobody look,” he said as they passed under the bloody, broken corpse. Nobody spoke, even as Petrov picked up speed and headed toward the hotel.

CHAPTER 36

The hotel grounds were deserted. Petrov got out of the car, drew his weapon and scanned the landscape. Kimmel followed after him, staring into the trees, aware that in the dark, there were almost limitless places where Henry Marshall could be hiding. Petrov ducked back into the car. “You wait here. I have to go and find the source of that scream.”

“It was my mother,” Isaac said. He was drenched in sweat now, and his eyes were lidded and heavy.

“How do you know that?” Petrov asked.

Isaac shrugged. “I just know.”

“Are you alright, kid?” Dane asked.

“My head hurts. They’re close,” Isaac mumbled.

“Look, just wait here. I’ll be back soon.”

“We need some form of protection,” Dane said. “Let me have my gun back, just in case we need it.”

“No. I can’t do that,” Petrov said.

“Well you can’t just leave us here without any protection at all,” Emma added.

Petrov hesitated, torn as to what to do. “Damn it,” he grunted, opening the car door. “Come with me and stay close. Keep behind me at all times, got it?”

Emma had to help Isaac out of the car. He was holding his head and muttering under his breath.

“What’s wrong with him?” Kimmel asked.

“It’s this place,” Emma replied. “He’s sensitive to it.”

Petrov was on the radio, trying to call in backup. “Goddamn it. Reception is awful up here.”

He eventually managed to get through, and although weak, he was able to call in the backup they urgently needed. He tossed the radio handset on the seat and turned to them. “They’re on their way. As soon as they arrive you’ll be safe.”

“What about my brother?” Dane asked.

“We’ll find him.”

“Detective,” Kimmel said quietly.

Petrov looked in the direction in which Kimmel was staring. The steel shutter covering the door to the hotel had been pried away, exposing the black maw and whatever secrets lay beyond. Penned on the shutter was the same message as was on the sign around the girl’s neck.

Find me.

“Wait here,” Petrov said as he unchecked the safety on his weapon.

“You’re not going in there?” Emma said, hugging Isaac against her.

“I’m not giving him a chance to escape. Not again.”

“You know where he’ll be, don’t you, Detective?” Kimmel said, his face tense and, for the first time, showing signs of fear.

“Yeah, I have a pretty good idea.”

“And what about the rest of us?” Dane asked, walking toward Petrov. “You go in there and leave us out here without any protection?”

“There are officers on the way.”

“And until then? What if my brother isn’t even in there?” Dane said. “What if he’s watching from the trees waiting for you to go inside so he can attack us?”

“I thought you said you’d be safe because he’s your brother.”

“I thought you said I wasn’t,” Dane fired back.

“He’s in there alright,” Kimmel said. “Waiting for us.”

“I don’t know who you are old man, and I don’t care. I sure as shit ain’t gonna take your word for that. Especially after what we just saw on the road.”

Petrov hesitated, before handing Dane the gun he’d confiscated earlier. “Ok, just for protection. Don’t follow us in there.”

Petrov and Kimmel strode over to the hotel’s entrance and looked into the absolute darkness beyond.

“Here,” Kimmel said, handing Petrov a small flashlight from his pocket.

“Thanks.” Petrov shone the beam into the hollowed out foyer, illuminating the dirty floors and boarded up windows.

“Alright,” he said, looking at Kimmel. “Let’s do this.”

He ducked under the steel sheet, closely followed by Kimmel, the two instantly swallowed by the darkness.

Emma and Dane stood outside, unsure of what to do, when they heard a vehicle approaching. They turned toward the road, the dim illumination of headlights piercing the dark, growing brighter by the second.

“I hope that’s the police,” Emma said, glancing at Dane. “You might want to put the gun out of sight just in case.”

Dane looked at it as if he’d forgotten it was there, and tucked it into the back of his waistband before covering it with his hoodie.

Emma’s excitement faded when she saw that the new arrival wasn’t the police after all, but her own car. Truman parked up, and he and Mrs. Alma got out. His eyes were wide and disbelieving. They didn’t have to discuss why. They knew it was because of the awful display hanging above the road.

“Where’s the cop?” Truman said, eying Dane mistrustfully. “And who’s this?”

“It’s a long story. Are you both ok?” Emma said.

“Yeah, we’re okay apart from… coming in here.”

Emma nodded. “We saw. The detective is going after Henry now. He’s in the hotel.”

“Hey, kid, come back!” Dane shouted, but Isaac was already moving. At first, it looked as if he were going to follow Petrov and Kimmel into the hotel, but instead he skirted around it, keeping close to the building before disappearing out of sight around the corner.