The Creator Read online

  ‘That sounds like a positive step forward,’ Jess agreed. ‘Let me know when you have something.’

  ‘Will do,’ the man responded.

  Jess turned and headed for the door. I fell into step beside her as we gladly left the morgue.

  In the lift, Jess turned to me.

  ‘What do you think?’ she asked. ‘Have you seen anything else?’

  ‘No,’ I said shaking my head. ‘Don’t you think I would have told you if I had?’

  ‘You don’t need to get shitty with me, I was just asking.’

  ‘Sorry-this case has got me on edge.’

  ‘I know,’ she sighed. ‘Me too. I’ve got to meet with two sets of parents now…this is not going to be fun.’

  ‘I’ll come in with you,’ I offered.

  ‘You don’t have to do that.’

  ‘I know I don’t, but I should. There might be something I can find out from listening to them.’

  She looked at me for a long moment, considering whether this was a good idea or not. I heard her decide yes, it was. It was the easiest possible way of getting a lead.

  Jess and I left the lift and headed down the corridor towards her temporary office. We both still thought of it as Captain Withers office and we always would, I knew. Until he was back, it wouldn’t be quite the same.

  ‘Why don’t you go and wait inside? I’ll go and see if the parents are here yet.’

  ‘Okay,’ I agreed.

  I walked inside and shut the door behind me. The room carried his scent and I breathed it in deeply. I thought of my boss for a long moment, remembering the man and urging him mentally to get well so he could return. It wasn’t right without him here and I wanted him back. When he was, I knew I would feel more secure.

  I walked over to the window and stared at the array of photographs which were displayed. I was still looking at them when the door opened.

  ‘Alex? This is Mr and Mrs Smithers-James Smithers parents. Mr and Mrs Smithers-this is Alex Hope, she works with the police as a criminal profiler.’

  I glanced at Jess briefly, thinking to myself that this was a good title to use for me. I nodded my approval before turning to the couple who stood anxiously, looking on.

  ‘Hello, it’s nice to meet you,’ I said, formally.

  We all took seats and then Jess addressed the couple.

  ‘Can you tell me the last time you saw James?’ she asked.

  ‘It was on Sunday,’ his mother replied tearfully. ‘He always comes for Sunday lunch without fail. We had pork,’ she added, unnecessarily.

  ‘Did he…I mean, was everything as it was normally?’ I asked.

  ‘Yes,’ she replied. ‘He was fine…happy even. He had started a new job as a graphic designer several weeks ago and he was really enjoying this new company. Apparently, he had made lots of friends and was socialising with them in and out of work. He seemed really happy!’

  ‘And you haven’t seen him since Sunday?’

  ‘No…when Sue called us, we had no idea where he could possibly be!’

  ‘Surely it’s possible he’s off with one of these new friends from work?’ I suggested.

  ‘Well, that’s what I said!’ his mother said, becoming agitated, ‘but we contacted his work and no-one there knew anything!’

  ‘I see. Well, if you don’t mind heading down the corridor, two officers are going to go through everything more thoroughly with you and take down all your information. After that, we’ll do a news appeal to try and contact him.’

  The parents agreed, readily and then stood to leave. Before they could vacate the room, I stepped forwards and offered my hand to the mother. She accepted it and shook my hand warmly. She then turned and left.

  Once gone, I looked at Jess. ‘There’s nothing off there,’ I told her.

  ‘No?’

  I shook my head. ‘When I touched her hand, there was only grief…a mother who wants her son back.’

  ‘Do you think she’ll get her wish?’ Jess questioned.

  ‘Honestly? No. I don’t.’

  ‘Why not?’ she frowned.

  I let out the breath I was holding. ‘Because her son is dead,’ I told her.

  Jess stared at me without blinking for a long moment. When she did speak, her words stuttered and came out broken.

  ‘But…what…I thought…’

  ‘I just feel it,’ I told her helplessly.

  ‘How?’

  I shrugged. ‘It hard to explain. It’s like a lifeforce is gone…she’s not connected to him anymore.’

  ‘You’re sure?’

  I nodded, feeling saddened.

  ‘Shall we meet the other family?’

  I nodded again. ‘Yes.’

  Jess left and returned a few moments later with a couple and a young man.

  ‘Alex, this is Mr and Mrs Turner and Jack, a friend…this is Alex Hope, our criminal profiler.’

  ‘It’s nice to meet you,’ I nodded, and shook hands with the father, then the mother and then the young man.

  We all sat but as I did so, I was reeling. The information I gleamed through a handshake was proving worthwhile. I had just received a significant lead to a stagnant case.

  ‘Could you tell us the last time you saw Gareth?’ Jess requested.

  ‘Yes…it was Tuesday morning,’ his mother told us. ‘He left for work as normal and there was nothing different at all!’

  ‘He always went to work on the train,’ his father added. ‘He didn’t have a car.’

  ‘I, uh…I met him at the station to ride in together,’ Jack added in.

  I moved my gaze to his and focused in on the young man intently. He was the one I was getting the most information from presently so I decided to try my luck with him.

  ‘So, Jack…how did you know Gareth?’

  ‘Uh, we uh…we worked together,’ he told me.

  ‘Oh yeah? Is that how you met?’ I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

  ‘Yes,’ he nodded.

  ‘And when did you last see him?’

  The young man blushed. ‘I, uh…well, last time at work…’

  ‘And was everything okay?’ I wondered.

  He nodded, frowning. ‘He was fine…happy. I have no idea where or what has happened to him.’

  I met his eyes, knowing this was true. This young man wasn’t involved with Gareth’s disappearance…what he was involved in was quite different.

  ‘What can we do?’ the father asked then. ‘I’m going mad just waiting!’

  ‘Well,’ Jess sighed, ‘the best thing you can do is be at home-in case he comes to you or tries to contact home.’

  ‘Isn’t that like doing nothing?’ his mother asked.

  ‘You’re doing something by being at home waiting,’ I told her, trying to be gentle. My feeling was that this young man too was gone, but I didn’t want to say anything to make them worry that this was the case.

  The meeting continued for a while longer and then Jess very clearly wrapped it up. As she showed them to the door, I fell into step with Jack. The parents walked ahead with Jess so I had the chance to talk to him.

  ‘So, you didn’t mention the truth in there,’ I said to him quietly.

  ‘What?’ he frowned, looking alarmed, his eyes darting to Gareth’s parents.

  ‘Make an excuse and come back to talk to me. Otherwise I’ll follow you home until I get another opportunity.’

  He looked down at me, trying to gauge how serious I was. When he saw I was deadly serious, he sighed. ‘Fine…I’ll come back.’

  I nodded, satisfied. ‘I’ll see you shortly.’

  Jack turned and followed Jess and Gareth’s parents down the hall.

  I watched from afar as Jess saw them out and then waited for her to re-join me.

  ‘Well that got us precisely nowhere!’ she exclaimed, looking exasperated.

  ‘That’s where you’re wrong,’ I informed her.

  ‘Oh yeah?’

  ‘Yes,’ I nodded. ‘I’ve
asked…well, ordered Jack to come back,’ I revealed.

  ‘Jack? What? Why?’ she questioned.

  ‘He has more information-and for some reason I think it might be important.’

  ‘What kind of information?’ she wondered.

  ‘The real reason why he’s so concerned about Gareth’s whereabouts. Jess, they weren’t just friends,’ I told her. ‘They were lovers.’

  Five minutes later we were sat down in Captain Withers office with the man that Gareth had been in love with-Jack.

  ‘So, Jack. I believe you have more information for us?’ Jess asked him.

  He looked from Jess to me and then back again.

  ‘We know you were in a relationship with Gareth, Jack,’ I told him.

  ‘How could you possibly know that?’ he exploded, shocked. ‘Nobody knows that! We hadn’t told a soul! Well, I hadn’t anyway!’

  ‘He didn’t tell me, Jack. You did,’ I said softly.

  ‘I did no such thing! I haven’t told anyone about this!’

  ‘You did through your mind,’ I said quietly.

  ‘You…what?’ he frowned, looking confused.

  ‘I’m psychic,’ I revealed, sighing. ‘I can hear your thoughts, Jack, and I can see the relationship you had with him in your head. It was very special. You shouldn’t be ashamed of it.’

  ‘I wasn’t ashamed…it was just new,’ he said, blushing scarlet.

  ‘So, was there anything else that you knew that would help us?’

  He shook his head. ‘I don’t think so…I mean, he didn’t say anything. We were in a really happy phase! I didn’t think anything could make it stop. Turned out I was wrong.’

  ‘We don’t know what happened yet,’ Jess said slowly.

  ‘Do you?’ he asked, turning to me. ‘Surely if you’re psychic you can tell?’ he questioned.

  ‘It doesn’t work that way,’ I told him. ‘I mean, I can only hear things or see things from living people around me.’

  His face dropped. ‘You mean you think he’s dead?’ he asked, his face growing ashen.

  ‘That wasn’t what I said…’ I began, regretting my words.

  ‘You do, don’t you?’ he exclaimed. ‘You think he’s dead, don’t you?’

  ‘I…’ I trailed off. ‘I don’t know in all honesty. I can’t ‘feel’ him though…’

  Jack stared at us. ‘I don’t want to lose him,’ he almost whispered.

  ‘I know,’ I replied. ‘And we’re hoping we can find him, Jack. Could you do something to help?’ I wondered, knowing he was strong-willed and could cope with this task even though it would be hard.

  ‘I’ll do anything,’ he nodded.

  ‘Even identify if a dead man’s skinless face is Gareth?’ I asked.

  He visibly gulped. ‘Skinless head?’

  ‘Yes. And it’s been decapitated.’

  ‘You want me to identify if a decapitated, skinless faced head is my boyfriend?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes, that’s right.’

  He met my eyes squarely. ‘I’ll do it,’ he nodded.

  Chapter 5

  Jess turned to me with a fierce look. ‘Alex, what are you doing? We can’t get a young boy in there identifying that car crash!’

  ‘He’s not that young,’ I argued, ‘and I think he can help.’

  ‘That’s not for you to decide!’ she ranted. ‘Who is in charge here?’

  ‘Yeah, you, I know!’ I murmured. ‘I just…well, surely it either eliminates Gareth or identifies that he is dead.’

  ‘There are other ways of doing that!’

  ‘Not that take one minute to do!’ I exclaimed. ‘We could be out searching for him if we know it’s not his head.’

  She frowned at me angrily.

  ‘Uh, excuse me?’ Jack said.

  I turned, having almost forgotten he was there too.

  ‘Don’t you think I should decide whether I do it? I mean, I get it’s going to be pretty gross but I can handle it,’ he told us, ‘I’m in my first year of medical school so I’ve already been coping with corpses. We’ve been working on anatomy you see.’

  ‘You are?’ Jess asked.

  He nodded. ‘I’m working some evenings to help support myself but my future is not working in a supermarket.’

  ‘No, of course not,’ Jess said, and I could hear that she was now considering my suggestion more seriously. ‘Well, it’s up to you Jack. If you think you can handle it, you’re more than welcome to come down to the morgue.’

  He nodded and then stood up. ‘Let’s get this over with then.’

  Jess and I stood and we headed out to the morgue once again.

  When we got there, the team were still working on the head. Jack and I stood back while Jess went in to talk to the medical team and then they dispersed. On the gurney lay a white sheet covering a mound which I knew with a sickening lurch of my stomach was the head.

  Jack looked at me and I met his eyes.

  ‘You okay?’ I asked.

  ‘Do you think it’s him?’ he asked.

  ‘I have no idea,’ I whispered.

  ‘I thought you were psychic,’ he murmured.

  ‘I am…but I don’t control it. It seems to control me. I can sometimes feel more by touching something of the person’s though…do you have anything with you?’ I asked.

  ‘I…’ he lifted his hand and looked down at the ring on his right hand.

  ‘He gave you that ring,’ I said, reaching to lay my hand on it.

  He nodded, swallowing hard.

  I ran my fingers over the ring and his skin. I breathed in the feelings that came to me and closed my eyes to focus on what I was seeing. When I opened them, I looked at him dead in the eye. ‘I don’t think it’s him,’ I told him.

  He held my eyes for a moment and then turned to the white sheet. ‘Let’s do this then.’

  I walked with Jack over to the head and Jess removed the sheet. I heard his sharp intake of breath as I looked away. I then waited while my heart thumped noisily in my chest. I couldn’t look at it again. It had been too much the first time. Even being near it was making me queasy again.

  ‘It’s not him,’ Jack said, his voice shaking slightly.

  ‘No?’ I asked, turning to look at him.

  ‘Definitely not. The face shape, the features…they’re all completely different. It’s not Gareth.’

  I breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Good. Let’s get out of here then.’

  ‘Hang on, Alex,’ Jess said then.

  ‘What?’ I groaned, turning to her with fear as I could hear the direction her thoughts were taking.

  ‘Well, remember the time the Captain was delivered a dead finger…you got a lot of information from touching it.’

  I moaned loudly. ‘I don’t want to touch the head!’

  ‘Alex, please! You asked a young lad to identify it!’

  ‘He didn’t have to touch it though! And he is a trainee doctor and they see this kind of thing as standard practice!’

  ‘Perhaps. Please though? For me?’

  I rubbed at my face in tired motion. ‘Oh Jess…’

  ‘Please?’

  ‘Why do you have to do that face?’ I groaned.

  She stared at me with those clear-green eyes with flecks of brown and I was lost.

  ‘Fine! I’ll touch the skinless head…for you!’

  ‘Thanks,’ she smiled.

  I looked down and felt my stomach pitch forwards. I reached out tentatively and went for the back of the head. I lay my fingers gently on the back of the skull which had a sticky feeling without skin to cover it. I closed my eyes and drifted.

  The night was cold but magical and I waited in bed for the arrival. When it came, I smiled to myself. I knew it was them…I had just known Father Christmas wasn’t real.

  I watched in fascination as my Dad placed my stocking on the end of my bed. I closed my eyes as he turned to glance my way. I closed my eyes tightly. Once he had crept out, I sat up in bed and looked down at the sto
cking. ‘James’ it read, emblazoned on one side. I smiled to myself happily. I couldn’t wait for morning.

  My mind jumped scene.

  The night was cold and I pulled my coat closer against my skin as I walked down the road. My destination was in my mind and I was keen to get there; eager to meet my new lover.

  As I reached the bend in the road, a car slowed to a crawl and I turned as I heard my name called.

  ‘James!’

  ‘What are you doing here?’ I asked, stopping and smiling at the sight of the shadowy figure in the car.

  ‘It’s cold…come on, get in.’

  I climbed in the car and he drove off. I slipped into sleep before I even recognised something was wrong.

  I opened my eyes and gently removed my hand from the sticky flesh. I then walked over to a sink and began scrubbing my hand clean.

  ‘You get anything?’ Jess asked.

  I turned, drying my hands with a paper towel. ‘Yeah,’ I sighed.

  ‘What?’

  ‘It’s James,’ I said sadly. ‘Your victim is James Smithers.’

  ‘What?’ she exclaimed hotly. ‘You’re sure?’

  I nodded, feeling melancholy. ‘It was definitely him. I saw him as a child…his stocking at Christmas read James.’

  ‘It could be any James!’

  ‘No,’ I replied, sure of myself. ‘He saw his Dad putting the presents in the sack. It was the same man I met today.’

  ‘Oh,’ she said slowly.

  ‘Yeah…and he was picked up in a car before he died. He got in happily, glad to be meeting someone. He then began to fade away so something happened from that point in. I think whoever picked him up in the car killed him.’

  Jess stared at me.

  ‘That’s all I have. But I know it’s him, Jess. I’m sure of it.’

  With that, I turned and left the room. I didn’t want to be in the morgue any longer.

  Back upstairs, I sat down at my new desk with a heavy sigh.

  ‘You alright?’

  I looked up in surprise. It was Billy, my new desk mate. ‘Yeah…’

  ‘Saw you headed to the morgue. Everything okay?’