Legacy of Darkness Read online

  Legacy of Darkness

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  @Dark_Summer2013

  Contents

  Cover

  Acknowledgements

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Epilouge

  Acknowledgements

  Special thanks to my best friends Kelly, Paul little Evelyn and Baby Annie

  Congratulations!

  Big Thank you must go to Rod and Sophie D, as without your advice, input, encouragement and enthusiasm for my work this book would not have been possible.

  I will also take the time to thank my parents for being the best Mum and Dad a person could hope for and to all my true friends, you know who you are

  PROLOGUE

  Jessica Folds walked home briskly that night or as briskly as a girl could in six inch stilettos. The midnight air was cold and sharp and Jessica cursed herself for not bringing a coat. Still it had been a great night; the party had been so much fun even without copious amounts of alcohol. Her friend Charlotte had been right about the figure hugging little black dress. From the moment she had walked into the room the boys had been unable to take their eyes off her! The dress was also impossibly short and she found herself tugging it down on more than one occasion as she danced and flirted with the guys on the dance floor.

  But of all the guys Jess kissed and danced with, it was Jason Ryder who she really had eyes for. The hot captain of the football team was the guy that all the girls wanted to be with, but on this night he only had eyes for Jessica.

  As the cold air really started to bite, Jess was thankful she didn

  ’t have much further to walk, a couple more blocks and she would be home. Once more Jessica allowed her mind to wonder back to that sexy dance with Jason, his hands gently caressing her curves, his sweet lips pressed against hers as they shared a long lingering kiss, a smile crept across her face as she recalled him cheekily grabbing her backside. But a strange feeling brought Jessica back from her memories, a feeling that tied her stomach into knots; it was the feeling that she was being followed. Jess quickly composed herself, telling herself that she was being foolish and that she was almost home.

  But just to be safe Jessica decided to pick up her pace and started to walk much faster, glancing behind her to see if anyone was perusing her. As she turned round she couldn

  ’t see anyone behind her, but wait a second, Jess strained her eyes looking down the street, she could have sworn she saw movement in the shadows up ahead. She shook her head must have been a cat or something she told herself as she carried on walking. Moments later Jessica was convinced she could hear footsteps closing in on her, the sound seemed to getting closer with every step as if someone was gaining on her. Jess was now gripped with fear and did the only thing she could do in her situation, run! Jessica ran as fast as her six inch Stilettos would allow her to, she really wanted to take the damn things off but she knew if she stopped now her stalker would have her. Jessica

  ’s mind started to run away with her now imaging all the things her stalker could be, was he just a thief after money and her mobile, or was he a rapist or possibly a serial killer? The thoughts weren’t exactly comforting and Jess started to panic, tears began streaming down her pretty face smearing her makeup Then as if in tune with Jessica herself the heavens wept, heavy rain began pouring from the night sky, almost instantly saturating Jess

  ’s little black dress, forcing the material to cling to her skin, restricting her movement even further and increasing the difficulty of running for her life. As the ground became rain soaked, with large puddles forming in the tarmac pavements and roads, Jessica’s legs suddenly started to feel extremely tiered and her feet were becoming sore from the stilettos, her mind wanted to push on harder and faster but her legs were just unable to respond, Jessica began to slow down., when out of nowhere she felt a slight chill in the night air, a light breeze blowing past her just for the briefest of moments. Bemused by the strange sensation Jessica turned around to once again find that nobody was behind her, was it the fear of walking home alone late at night that had her mind playing tricks on her? All the same the rain was getting heavier and Jess was getting drenched, she kept up a reasonably quick pace as she continued on homewards. Jessica came to a sudden stop as she inadvertently ran into something or as she quickly realised someone!

  “

  I’m so sorry” she started to apologise as she stumbled back and looked up to see who she had run into. Jessica gasped in horror as she saw the mans hideously disfigured face! She had never seen anything like it, but it was the mans eyes that spooked her most of all, he had strange yellow eyes that were so bright they seemed to glow in the darkness piercing straight through Jessica. Jessica tried desperately to run but her legs wouldn

  ’t respond, she was paralysed by fear and strangely transfixed by the mans yellow eyes, as she looked deep into those hideous eyes she knew she was staring directly into death. The Reaper had come for her and she would embrace him willingly.

  Chapter One

  Summer Richards stood on the balcony outside her tenth floor apartment, her long red hair blowing in the autumn breeze. It was still early in the morning and just before the hustle and bustle of human life began on the street below, when people began their morning commute to work and escorted their children to school, hopelessly unaware of the danger

  ’s each day potentially presented. Summer often wondered if ignorance was indeed bliss, as Detective Inspector for the Metropolitan Police, summer could never switch off, she saw danger lurking behind every corner on every street and it was her duty to ensure that danger was dealt with or better yet never transpired at all. As the first signs of people started to appear on the street Summer left the balcony and walked back inside her apartment, sliding the French doors shut behind her. Summer took out her favourite red lip stick and painted her lips before pulling her long red hair and tying it back into a tight pony tale. She was about to make her way to the kitchen and grab a coffee, maybe rustle up some breakfast when she was rudely disturbed by the ringing of her phone. “

  Arrrhhhh” she grumbled to herself “who in the bleeding hell is calling me at this time?” Summer picked up the phone that was still ringing to the sound of Katy Perry’s latest single and saw that the caller was none other than her boss, Detective Chief Inspector Adam Greenhorn. “

  Sorry to call like this” the man’s apology sounding anything but sincere, “But there has been an in incident on Bridge Street and I need you to check it out immediately” “

  What sort of incident?” Summer asked fearing the worst, her boss didn’t call her this early very often. “

  A Code Red” DCI Greenhorn told her gravely “

  Ok I understand” summer replied before ending the call, Code Red was the departments code for serious incident, most notably murder. A murder in Bridge Street Summer thought as she hurried to her closet taking out her knee high brown boots and trademark full length rain coat. Bridge Street was regarded as one of the safest streets in the City, there had only ever been one other murder on that street in the last ten years and that was a crime of passion, a jealous husband stabbing his wife whom he was convinced was cheating on him. Of course said suspect was still inside serving
a twenty year stretch. Summer wrapped her long black rain coat around her before leaving the apartment, making sure to lock the door behind her. With no patience to wait for the elevator that always seemed to be painfully slow Summer took the stairs, running down them two steps at a time. She went down to the underground car park where her silver Audi TT was safely parked, Summer walked to the car, jumped inside and started up the engine. As Summer arrived at the crime scene she instantly saw the whole street had been cordoned off with blue and white Police tape. Summer parked her car on the pavement close to the cordoned off area and climbed out. Taking out her badge as she made her way to the crime scene she showed it to the hefty looking police officer who was standing guard. He took a quick glance of her badge, smiled and greeted Summer as she walked past and stooped under the hazard tape, making her way to the crime scene. As she walked over to where the body lay, Summer could feel the eyes of the male officer checking her out, it was something she was becoming more and more accustomed to. She often over heard the male officers talking about her down at the station, often so deep in conversation they didn

  ’t notice her walk into the room until it was too late. At first the talk made her embarrassed especially when she overheard them talk about her body and legs, but she found it flattering when they mentioned her striking green eyes and luscious red hair and as more and more of her male colleagues fell over themselves to assist her at every turn she found herself starting to rather enjoy the attention. “

  Morning Ma’am” Greeted a second uniformed Officer who was guarding the body greeted her. “

  Has the body been disturbed at all” Summer asked the Officer. “

  No one has touched the body as far as I‘m aware Ma‘am” the tall Police Officer replied “Forensics haven’t arrived yet so you’ll be the first person to examine body” “

  Good” Summer said as she pulled on a pair of latex gloves, before walking over to the body. Her heart bleed for the pretty young girl who now lay motionless beside her. It was such a waste for one so young to be killed in such a way, she had her whole life in front of her, so much to do and so much to give. Summer knelt beside the corpse and began examining the body determined in her mind that she would catch the monster responsible for this heinous crime. “

  What do we know about our Jane Doe?” Summer asked the Officer who was now watching Summer work “

  Not much” the Officer offered as he shook his head. “A call come in just under an hour ago about missing teenager who’s description matches our victim” “

  Did we get a name?” “

  Jessica Folds Ma am, a nineteen year old grad student, but obviously we hav eno confirmation that our Victim is the missing girl” Unconfirmed it may be, but Summer couldn

  ’t ignore such a coincidence, with what the uniformed Cop was telling her there was a high probability that this victim was indeed missing girl Jessica Folds. Another family’s lives destroyed be the actions of one sick individual. Shaking those thoughts aside Summer continued with the task at hand, checking the body for the course of death. But she couldn’t find anything, no obvious bruising, cuts or contusions, there didn

  ’t seem to be any broken bones, no stab wounds, there wasn’t even any blood on the body or around the crime scene. “Every thing ok Ma’am?” The Officer asked seeing the confused look on his superiors face.

  “Fine. I think” Summer responded as she shook her head. “It’s just, well I’m not sure this is a murder investigation”

  “How so?” The Officer asked looking a little lost himself

  “Well there’s just no sign of an attack, no bruises, marks or anything. If I had to guess I would say the course of death was a medical issue. Heart attack, aneurism, or maybe something drug related. I will have to wait for the coroner to perform a full autopsy before I know any more” Summer sighed as she climbed to her feet, she looked as her watch and then gave the uniformed officer a grave look.

  “When forensics get here tell them that DI Richards wants a full report on her desk Asap.” she told him sternly

  “Yes Ma’am” the Officer replied without hesitation.

  “Thank you” Summer said as she gave him a flirtatious smile before turning on her heels and walking back to her car.

  It had been a long forty eight hours and Summer was still waiting for the coroners report on her dead victim, who had now been confirmed as missing teenager Jessica Folds. It was a distracting and pressured time as there were so many people demanding answers, the poor girls family, the media and not to mention her boss. With nothing to go on the case couldn’t proceed until she had a course of death and hopefully some kind of evidence in the form of some DNA.

  Summer was just about to go and get a another coffee her third of the day and it was still only nine thirty, when the phone at her desk began ringing.

  As Summer answered the phone she heard the distinctive German tones of head coroner Dr Eric Von Wolf.

  “Hello, Eric Von Wolf here” The Doctor greeted in his thick German accent. The man had lived in England for over three decades yet he still retained a heavy German accent

  “Is this the desk of DI Summer Richards”

  “It certainly is” Replied a cheery Summer.

  “You may not sound so enthusiastic when you hear what I have to tell you”

  The Doctor said all too gravely.

  “What did you find” Summer queried as all the energy drained from her voice.

  “I think its best you come down to my office, I need to show you something and speak to you in person.”

  “Ok that’s no problem” Summer told the Doctor “I will be down there right away”

  “Very well” The Doctor responded as Summer hung up, she was in no mood to wait she wanted answers and she wanted them now.

  Chapter Two

  Death is an art we make it with our hands. So his master had told him. But he had never bought into that. Nonsense he called it, arrogant ramblings of a narcissistic mad man trying to justify his need to murder and his ever evolving God complex.

  But after killing the young student he had started to see his masters point. The power it gave him holding the young girls life in his hands, knowing he could end her existence whenever he chose. It felt magnificent. He also shuddered with pleasure as he thought about the young girls white flesh, how it felt so silky and smooth when he ran his hands over her dieing body. Her sweet red lip

  ’s and large green eyes. Curves and long legs that would drive a man wild, but most potent of all was her innocence, she had yet to be violated by a man and now thanks to him that beauty, that innocence was preserved for all eternity, she would never grow old, never have the indignity of losing the colour from her rich brown locks, have wrinkles blemish her perfect face or lose the shape of her curvaceous body. Yes he had delivered her from mediocrity and saved her from a fate far worse than death, the ancient curse of ageing.

  Summer arrived at the coroner

  ’s office within the hour desperate to hear what Von Wolf had found out during his autopsy and what was so pressing that he had to talk to her in person. Standard procedure was to file a report and have it on the detectives desk as soon a humanly possible. But for some unknown reason Doctor Eric Von Wolf had insisted that Summer come and see him at his office. As Summer entered the building she could see the tall well dressed figure of Eric Von Wolf waiting for her in the lobby.

  “

  Detective Richards” The Doctor greeted with a warm smile as he held out a hand. “

  Dr Von Wolf” Summer returned as she gave the man a firm handshake. The sixty three year old mortician looked extremely dapper and much younger than his years suggested in a grey Italian suit, black designer shoes and his greying hair slicked back with product.

  “

  Please call me Eric” he insisted “

  In that case you can call me Summer” she smiled “

  Well then Summer if you would follow me, I have some very interesting things I need to
share with you” Dr Von Wolf led Summer down a cold and empty grey corridor to a heavy metal door, the Doctor took out a huge set of key

  ’s instantly finding the right one and unlocked the door, he grunted as he heaved the heavy door open before striding into the room, closely followed by the young Detective. As they entered the room the doctor took off his suit jacket and hung it up on an old fashioned looking wooden coat rack, he then loosened his tie and undid the top button of his shirt before grabbing a white lab coat that hung on the same coat rack and putting it on. “What did you want to show me” asked a bemused Summer as she scanned the room realising she was in Dr Von Wolfs autopsy room. The room was a steel grey colour with tables and desks all adorned with various medical equipment. Some of which Summer recognised like scalpels and scissors and some implements that she had never seen before. Von Wolf walked over to one of his desks and pulled out two pairs of surgical gloves from a small rectangle box, handing one pair to Summer and placing the other pair on his own hands. Summer pulled the tight latex gloves over her hands as she followed the pathologist to his metal autopsy table, where a body covered by a single white sheet lay in wait. The Doctor didn’t say a word as he walked over to the table and slowly pulled the sheet off the body.

  “There are a number of interesting things that I discovered during my examination” Von Wolf started to explain. “The most notable of which was the fact the victim had been drained of over eighty percent of her blood.”

  “But how?” Summer interjected “There was no blood at all at the crime scene and the body was clean there were not cuts or wounds at all let alone one large enough for such blood loss.”

  “No wounds apart from the ones on the victims neck” Von Wolf explained

  “On her neck” Summer said as she furrowed her brow in confusion

  “Yes, they are small wounds easy to miss for the untrained eye, but if you look here along the jugular you will see two small puncture wounds”