“Superintendent, you’re not going to believe what I’ve got on this Maddison Gray!” Oliver yells as he runs to Gleeson’s side, his outstretched arm holding a datapad.

“What’s so damned exciting?” Gleeson asks as he grabs the datapad from Oliver and his mouth drops.

“I was watching Channel Thirty-One, when I saw the news report on the latest killing, and there she was, just standing there.”

“Maddison ‘Fucking’ Gray,” Gleeson mutters in amazement.

“Correct, so I contacted Thirty-One, and they sent me all the footage from the reports they had done on the murder scenes, and you’re not going to believe who I saw at each of them?”

“I bet I could take a guess,” Gleeson replies as he looks at the photos on the datapad.

“I tried Gary’s commline again but he’s still not answering, I even tried his phone and still nothing. Sir it’s a trap, Maddison Gray is the killer and Gary’s been set up, but not in the way he expected.”

“Damn it, get a trace on his bike and let’s get our arses downtown before it’s too late.”

 

#

 

Maddison stands over Gary, slowly walking around him like a shark preparing to move in for the kill. All the while a pool of blood continues to grow underneath him.

“You know I had a feeling I couldn’t put my finger on, the way the note was written. You weren’t telling me this was your next victim, you were showing me who you were. Guess I pushed all the right buttons, even made you kill your girlfriend Kessler.”

“Fuck you, she was always going to end up on the table, you just brought the end game on quicker,” Maddison says as she drives a boot into Gary’s stomach. “You may have got a reaction out of me, but I pushed your buttons right back, you piece of shit. I knew the great Gary Jackson would go it alone, would charge through all of downtown looking for me, trying to save another innocent life, when in reality all you were doing was setting yourself up for my table, where you’ve always belonged,” Maddison replies with a laugh and continues to circle like a shark, Gary begins to feel faint as the blood continues to escape his body.

“Why this game?”

“I suppose you deserve to know why you’re going to die, as you still seem unable to remember me,” Maddison says. “We have met before, you and I, although you might not remember. It was some years ago, I had been raped by a group of scum, and you promised you would find them and make sure they paid. But you never did make them pay did you, it was I who made them pay in the end. I made them suffer as they slowly bled to death, I did that and you, the great Gary Jackson, did nothing to keep his promise!”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Gary says as he tries to stop the blood flow from his arm, but his strength slowly begins to grow weaker.

“You made me a promise, you swore they would pay, and you never did anything, not you, not the officer who dealt with me after you, not one of you helped, you just moved me on to someone else,” Maddison yells. “So I decided the only way to get your attention was to kill and eventually you would see me, eventually you would have to face your broken promises.”

“You’re unhinged Maddison, let me help you?”

“There you go again, promising help that you do not intend to keep, do you think I am a fool?” Maddison says as she places the shotgun to Gary’s head. “No more lies, it’s time for you to face your judgement,” she says, drawing up all the energy he can Gary smacks the shotgun away as Maddison pulls the trigger, the blast narrowly misses his head. Frantically he grabs her by the wrist and forces her to the ground, and they both struggle back and forth for a few moments. Gary is amazed at her strength and how little he has right now, but he continues to try and force her to let go of the shotgun, but she pulls it between them and a shot fires off. For a few moments they both stare blankly at each other as the smell of burning flesh fills the air, and smoke rises from between them, in the distance the sounds of approaching sirens can be heard.

 

#

 

Caroline Hallowthorpe stares at the photos of her newly resurfaced sister, and they have left her more of an emotional wreck than she was before.

“I told you it was her,” Caroline says as she throws the photos at Christopher.

“I just can’t believe it’s really Rebecca, its just not possible.”

“I told you it was her, and these photos prove it,” Caroline says, the distress in her voice more apparent than before.

“I’m sorry I doubted you, but one thing that worries me is how quickly our private investigator found her.”

“It’s because she wants me to know she’s out there, coming for me.”

“We’ll resolve this Caroline, I promise.”

“It’s clear what she wants, but no ghost is taking this company from me, I’ve worked too hard to make it what it is now,” Caroline says. “We only have one option, and that is to get some professional assistance, with my contacts in Divisional I should be able to find the right person for the job.”

“Are you sure that’s wise? Surely we could find someone in the private sector who could perform the task more adequately.”

“No, I’ve already begun to place the wheels in motion,” Caroline replies as she throws a newspad onto Christopher’s lap, “This is who I want to remove my problem.”

Christopher stares at the image on the screen and then back to Caroline, “You cannot be serious?”

“I’m very serious Christopher, he is the one who will remove Rebecca from my life once and for all.”

 

#

 

Gary sits on the side of his bed staring at the ground, lost within his head as he tries to make sense of the last few days, and his short stay at Bay Side Memorial has not helped. With nothing to distract him from his thoughts, Gary is like a prisoner in his own mind. Superintendent Gleeson knocks on the open door as he makes his way in.

“How are you son?” Gleeson asks.

Gary holds up his new bioengineered hand, “Good as new, the hand feels weird, but it’s not as weird as it was the first time I lost one. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a projectile weapon up close, I’d forgotten how much they fucking hurt, shit shards of metal everywhere. The doc said he removed eighty-five separate shards from my side, still it’s not the worst thing that came out of all this, at least I’m still alive.” Gleeson places a hand on Gary’s shoulder.

“It was touch and go for a little while son, but you’re a stubborn son of a bitch from time to time.”

“This has all been one crazy ride, the last few weeks make less sense now I know why she did, what she did. I mean, she took out the first four guys because they gang rapped her and then she just kept on going, taking down more scum. I guess that’s where Kessler came into it, she must have provided her with a list of the ones who got away, but why not just come after me? Why wait? She obviously blamed me as much as the guys who actually raped her, sitting here it’s just been doing my head in.”

“Don’t beat yourself up about this one son, there was nothing you could’ve done to stop any of this from happening, sometimes people are who they are, if it wasn’t you, she would’ve set her sights on someone else.”

“You didn’t come here to give me life’s answers Bill, what do you want?”

Gleeson laughs, “Am I that transparent?”

“Yes, remember, I’ve known you my whole life, and you only give these sort of speeches when you’ve got an ulterior motive, are you busting my arse down the sergeant because of the shit with the media?”

“No, no, you got the result we were hoping for, it’s of no value to anyone higher up for you to be reprimanded over that.”

“It must be something big that you want from me then, because you’re stroking my ego as well, why don’t you just get on with it.”

Gleeson laughs again, ”OK, I want you to do me a favour, and, you do this, and I’ll turn a blind eye to you bringing in Fontaine to help with the leg work from time to time.”

“Cut the shit Bill, just tell me what you want me to do?”

“Not what but who, and that who is Caroline Hallowthorpe.”

 

END OF CHAPTER TWO