Eyes of the Wicked Read online

She got no response other than a frightened stare.

  Reaching out her hand to the girl, she said, “Come on. No one is going to hurt you.”

  The girl whimpered and tried to press herself even further into the opposite door.

  Melissa sighed and shut the door before climbing into the front. “I’ve rung an ambulance and the Land Rover that just pulled away was someone going to get a policewoman who lives nearby,” she told Jeff. “We’ll just have to wait in here.”

  He nodded. “Well at least I’ve got a signal on my phone now, even if it’s a weak one. I can call my parents and let them know we’ve been delayed.”

  Melissa took out her phone and saw that she also had a weak signal. She brought up the Internet and typed Missing Girl UK into the search box.

  A photo of a dark-haired girl appeared on the screen with a headline beneath it that read, Abigail Newton Still Missing.

  Turning in her seat, she looked closely at the cowering girl’s face and then at the picture on her phone. There was no doubt about it; this girl was Abigail Newton. She was no longer missing; she was in their car.

  But where had she been all this time? What had she been through?

  Someone would find the answers to those questions. Seeing the look on the girl’s face, Melissa realised that she didn’t envy the person who would eventually discover this poor girl’s story.

  Chapter Two

  Detective Inspector Danica Summers hated the wintertime. For too many years, the arrival of the season had heralded the discovery of dead bodies on the moors, all victims of a murderer the media had dubbed the Snow Killer.

  This was the first year when there would be no such discoveries--the Snow Killer had been dealt with and wouldn’t strike again--but her mind still seemed to be on edge, waiting for a call that would take her out into the snow to find a dead girl encased in ice.

  Even now, when she should be relaxing in front of the telly or reading a book, she was sitting in the window seat and watching the snow fall over the bleak landscape. Barney and Jack, her German Shepherds, were stretched out in front of the fireplace, basking in the warmth there. They had the right idea, but Dani couldn’t hope to achieve that level of relaxation while her thoughts whirled like snowflakes in a storm.

  This was the first Christmas she’d be spending alone. Her daughter Charlotte was spending the day with her boyfriend’s parents. She’d assured Dani that she’d come to the cottage if Dani really wanted her to but Dani didn’t need to be a Detective Inspector to see that Charlie wanted to spend the holidays with the boyfriend she’d met at Birmingham Uni so she’d said she was working over Christmas anyway. That had been a lie. She’d booked Christmas day off ages ago when she’d thought Charlie would be visiting.

  She couldn’t blame Charlie for not wanting to come to North Yorkshire for the holidays; the last time she’d been here, there had been reporters everywhere, all of them trying to get an exclusive story with the woman who’d caught the Snow Killer, or the Red Ribbon Killer as some of them had called him. They’d followed Dani everywhere as she went about her job, rung her in the middle of the night, and called at the cottage at all hours, although Barney and Jack had put a stop to that when they’d gone berserk every time someone came to the door. The dogs had detected Dani’s frustration with the media and acted accordingly.

  The number of reporters had eventually dwindled as more exciting stories had grabbed their attention and drawn them away like flies attracted to a cow pat. Dani still got the odd call but other than that, her life had settled down and become quiet again.

  Then the damn snow had arrived.

  The weather had brought with it memories of death and tragedy. When Dani closed her eyes, she could clearly see the faces of the girls she’d been called to on the moors. She remembered them all year round--their faces would never leave her--but the snow made the memories more vivid. It reminded her of the coldness she’d felt while walking across the frozen ground to each girl’s final resting place, a coldness that was just as much internal as it was external as she steeled herself against the scene she was about to witness.

  “It won’t happen again,” she told herself. “It’s over.”

  Lights in the distance caught her attention, almost indistinguishable from the white landscape at first but getting brighter as they approached.

  Barney lifted his head, ears pricked. Jack did the same and made a light chuffing sound through his teeth.

  “Calm down,” Dani told them. “I don’t think any reporter would brave this weather just to get a story.”

  But if not a reporter, then who?

  When the Land Rover pulled up outside the cottage, she realised she knew the vehicle. It belonged to someone in Tollby , didn’t it? She searched her mind for the name of the owner. It was a woman, wasn’t it? Deborah? No, Deirdre. Deirdre Murray.

  She went to the front door and opened it as Deirdre climbed out of the vehicle. Barney and Jack, realising the visitor was friendly and not one of those pesky reporters, stood by Dani’s legs with their tails wagging.

  Deirdre approached the door and now Dani could see a worried look on her face.

  “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  “Someone found a girl wandering on the moors. They’ve called an ambulance, but I thought we should get you.” She paused and then added, “It’s that girl who went missing.”

  Abigail Newton. The name came to Dani immediately. Abigail’s name and photo had been on the News and in the papers almost every day since she’d gone missing. The latest reports had simply said that since she hadn’t been found, the police feared the worst. But now Deirdre was saying she was here?

  “Are you sure it’s Abigail?” she said as she grabbed her coat and boots. “She went missing over a hundred miles away from here, in Derbyshire.”

  “I’m not sure,” Deirdre admitted. “But they’ve found someone. She was wandering on the moors alone.”

  Once she’d laced her boots, Dani stepped out into the cold night air with her coat under her arm. She could put it on later. She locked the front door of the cottage and asked Deirdre, “Where is she now?”

  “At my house.”

  “I’ll follow you.” Dani climbed into her silver Land Rover Discovery and gunned the engine. She dialled the heating up to full blast and turned on the windscreen wipers.

  Deirdre climbed back into her own vehicle and pulled out onto the road. Dani followed, reminding herself that the road was treacherous in this weather and she had to keep her speed down and stay a good distance from the vehicle in front, even though she was anxious to attend to the girl who’d been found on the moors.

  Found alive on the moors. That was a hell of a lot better than winters past.

  The village of Tollby wasn’t far from her cottage and when they arrived, she noticed a Volvo parked outside Deirdre Murrays’ house with its lights on. As she got out of the Discovery, the Volvo’s passenger door opened and a woman got out, pointing Dani to the backseat of the vehicle.

  She grabbed her coat and hurried over to the Volvo. “Are you the person who found her?” she asked the woman.

  “Me and my husband.”

  “And what were you doing on the moors?”

  “We were going to see my husband’s parents. I’m Melissa Wood. My husband’s name is Jeff.”

  Dani could check all this later. Right now, she had to see the girl. She opened the Volvo’s rear door and peered inside.

  The girl was dressed in a bloodstained white nightgown. She had nothing on her feet and even though the air in the Volvo felt like the heaters had been turned to Tropical, she was shivering. That was probably shock. Dani offered the girl a gentle smile and placed her coat over her bare feet.

  In return, the girl regarded her with eyes full of fear.

  There was no doubt about it; this was the face Dani had seen on the News and in the tabloids. This was Abigail Newton.

  “Do you mind if I sit next to you?” Dani asked. “It’s cold out
here.”

  The girl didn’t say anything, but she moved her legs slightly, tucking them tighter to her chest, leaving room for Dani to get into the car.

  “Thanks,” she said, getting into the Volvo. “Sir,” she said to the man in the driver’s seat, “Would you leave the vehicle, please?”

  “Okay,” the man said before getting out and closing the door.

  “There,” Dani said, turning to the girl. “Now it’s just us. Your name’s Abigail, isn’t it? I’m Dani. “

  Abigail simply stared at her.

  Dani cast her mind back to the News reports she’d seen about Abigail and remembered the girl’s parents putting out a heartfelt appeal for their daughter’s safe return.

  “Abigail, your mum and dad are going to be so happy to know that you’re okay. Shall we see what we can do about letting them know you’re here?”

  The girl looked into Dani’s eyes for the briefest of moments and gave the tiniest of nods.

  “Okay. I’m going to use the phone in the house just there.” She pointed at the Murray residence. “Because my mobile doesn’t work that great in the village and I want to make sure I have a good, clear line when I talk to someone who can help us get in contact with your parents.” She made to open the door, but Abigail grabbed her arm.

  “Do you want to come with me?”

  Abigail nodded decisively.

  “Okay. Why don’t you put my coat on first? It’s cold out there.” She pressed the button to open the window and it buzzed down slowly. Deirdre was standing no more than a couple of feet away with Melissa Wood and her husband. “Do you have a spare pair of boots?” Dani asked.

  Deirdre nodded and rushed into the house.

  Dani closed the window again and turned to Abigail. “We want to keep your feet nice and warm.” The girl had put on the coat. It swamped her, making her appear even more vulnerable and fragile.

  Deirdre knocked on the window and Dani opened the door to accept the pair of Karrimoor boots that were passed to her. She held them up so Abigail could see them. “Do you want to put these on?”

  Abigail took them from her and slipped her feet into them.

  “There,” Dani said. “Now let’s get to that phone and let your mum and dad know you’re okay.” She climbed out of the Volvo and Abigail followed, sliding across the backseat and getting out of the same door. To Dani’s surprise, the girl reached out and held her hand as they walked towards the house.

  Once they were inside, along with Deirdre, Melissa, and Jeff, Dani closed the front door.

  Trevor Murray, Deirdre’s dad, emerged from the kitchen. He looked at the group of people gathered in the hallway. “Is everything all right?”

  “Everything’s fine, Mr Murray,” Dani said. “If you could take everyone into the living room while I make a phone call, that would be great.”

  Deidre took him by the arm. “Come on, Dad, let’s put the kettle on.” She pointed out the living room to the Woods and they went through, leaving Dani and Abigail in the hallway.

  Dani picked up the phone and dialled the headquarters of the North Yorkshire Police--her own force--at Northallerton. She got through to the automated menu and keyed in the extension for DS Matt Flowers, her work colleague who she knew was on a late shift tonight. Matt answered after a couple of rings.

  “Detective Sergeant Matt Flowers.”

  “Matt, it’s Dani.”

  His tone became serious when he realised it was his boss on the line. “Everything all right, guv?”

  “Yeah, I need you to do me a favour. Find out who’s in charge of the Abigail Newton case in Derbyshire. I need a phone number.”

  “No problem. I think there’s an incident room number.”

  “No, not the incident room. I want the person in charge.”

  “Okay, just a second.”

  She heard him typing on his keyboard. There was a pause and then he said, “That would be DCI Stewart Battle.” He read out a phone number. “That’s his work number. His mobile is also listed here.”

  “Give me his mobile.”

  He read out the digits and Dani committed them to memory. “Thanks, Matt.”

  “Has something happened, guv?”

  “I’ll tell you all about it later.” She hung up and dialled the number Matt had given her.

  The man who answered sounded gruff. “Hello?”

  “DCI Battle?”

  “Yes.”

  “This is DI Danica Summers of the North Yorkshire Police. I’m calling you because I believe you’re in charge of the Abigail Newton missing person case.”

  “That’s right. If you have some information, there’s an incident room--“

  “I have Abigail Newton here with me, sir.”

  “What?”

  “She was found earlier tonight on the North Yorkshire moors.”

  “Do you mean...she’s alive?”

  “Yes, she is, sir. Very much so.”

  His tone brightened. “North Yorkshire, you say? I’ll get up there immediately. Which station are you based at?”

  “There’s an ambulance on the way,” Dani told him. “We’ll be at the Whitby hospital.”

  “Is she hurt?” he asked.

  That was a question Dani couldn’t truly answer if it included mental damage as well as physical. God only knew what Abigail had endured for the past three weeks. It was obvious that the blood on the nightgown wasn’t hers, but it was someone’s. What had this poor girl witnessed?

  “She’s in shock,” she said to Battle.

  “Of course she is. I’ll let her parents know she’s alive and get them up to Whitby along with my team. They’ll be as surprised as I am. They’d given up all hope of seeing her alive again.”

  “Well they needn’t worry,” Dani assured him. She heard a vehicle in the street outside and saw flashing lights through the frosted glass in the door. “The ambulance is here. I have to go. I’ll see you when you get to Whitby, sir.”

  “Yes, and thank you, DI Summers.” He hung up.

  Dani did the same and rang DS Flowers again. When he answered, she said, “Matt, I need a couple of uniforms at Rosemoor House in Tollby. There’s a couple here who found Abigail Newton on the moors tonight. We need to get statements.”

  “Abigail Newton? The missing girl from Derbyshire?”

  “That’s her. Get these people’s statements so they can be on their way. We can hand the paperwork over to the Derbyshire police later.”

  “Of course. I’m on it.”

  “Thanks. I’ll be at the Whitby hospital if anyone needs me.”

  The hospital? Is she...?”

  “She’s all right,” Dani told him. “Just in shock.” Remembering how long it was going to take Battle and his team to get here, she added, “And get a SOCO to the hospital. There’s some blood we need analysed. Might as well do it in our lab to save time.”

  “Okay, guv. One Scenes of Crime Officer will be at the hospital shortly.”

  “Thanks, Matt.” She hung up and turned to Abigail. “The policeman I just spoke to is going to tell your parents that you’re okay and bring them up here to see you. Now, we just need to go to the hospital to get you checked over while they’re on their way. Is that okay with you?”

  Abigail nodded.

  Dani popped her head into the living room where Melissa and Jeff Wood were sitting together on the settee. “There’s an officer on the way to take a statement from you and then you can continue on to your destination.”

  They looked at her and nodded. Dani wondered if they were suffering from mild shock themselves. It wasn’t every day a missing girl in bloodied clothes ran in front of your car. But they’d soon get over whatever negative effects they were experiencing and the story of this night and how they’d found Abigail Newton would eventually become one they told to anyone who would listen, including the press most likely.

  Deirdre appeared at the kitchen doorway. “The ambulance is here.”

  “I know,” Dani sai
d. “I’ve asked for officers to come and interview the Woods. They’ll want to get a statement from you as well.”

  “That’s fine,” Deirdre said.

  “Thanks for coming to get me. You did the right thing.”

  Deirdre smiled. “I know.”

  Dani took Abigail’s hand. “Okay, let’s go.” She led the girl outside, where the ambulance waited. The rear doors were open, and a female paramedic stood in the light spilling from the vehicle’s interior. The snow was falling thick and fast now, covering the village in a thick white blanket.

  It would also be covering any evidence on the moors that might have told them exactly where Abigail had come from.

  Dani looked up at the snow-laden night sky and silently cursed the weather.

  Chapter Three

  Battle ended the call with DI Summers and looked across the table at Rowena. “I’ve got to go.”

  Her face fell as she regarded him and the dinner he’d hardly touched. They were eating late because he’d been held up at work and she’d waited for him to arrive home before cooking a spaghetti bolognese. “Right now?” she asked. “This moment?”

  He nodded. “I’m afraid so. They’ve found her.”

  Her disappointed expression became one of surprise. “Abigail Newton? Where?”

  “North Yorkshire, of all places,” he said, pushing back his chair and getting up. “I’ve got to go up there.”

  “I’ll make you a sandwich to take with you. You can’t drive all that way and not eat anything.” She got up from the table and disappeared into the kitchen.

  Battle went upstairs and splashed some cold water on his face in the bathroom before changing into a fresh shirt and tie, trousers, and tweed jacket. He’d already worked a full shift and he didn’t fancy driving all the way to Whitby but if that was where Abigail was, then that was where he had to go. How she’d travelled more than a hundred miles since being abducted from a country lane here in Derbyshire, he had no idea but hopefully that question would be answered by Abigail herself.

  She’d obviously escaped her captor or been released. Either way, she could more than likely give the police some information which would help them catch the bastard.