A/N: Greetings!
We are getting to the end of this little tale, I have the end tentatively mapped out. Another four chapters or so, methinks. (Assuming I stick to my plan, which I have done so for the past few chapters.)
Although, this chapter is very revealing, in that we find out the identity of our mystery person. Might not be so much a mystery to some, though I have neither confirmed, nor denied either way!
I'd like to point out that the culprit that caused Naomi to get drugged in the last chapter wasn't the bacon. However, it rhymes a little better with hallucination than "eggs" does, so...
LOL
Ah, dear. Right, where was I? Little bit of keystone coppery, fancy schmancy Stonem sleuthing, and a bit of chase. Sums it up, I suppose.
Right, on with it, then...
Disclaimer: I do not own skins. I'd just like to point out that google is fucking awesome for finding things like license plate formats and SUV makes/models. Cuz ordinarily, I know shit all about cars. Although I have to say, most of the police stuff in this story I conjured up from years of watching shows like CSI and bluffing my way through. Any and all typos were snuck in by the gremlins.
(Emily POV)
It takes us about an hour before we arrive at the last known location of Naomi's mobile. It's a fair way north of Bristol, closer to Gloucester, really, but thankfully still within our jurisdiction. I would really hate to have to deal with another area's department over this. Less red tape and less opportunities for screw ups if you only have to deal with your own colleagues, I've always found.
I can't say I'm not relieved the inspector took this as well as he did, I could just as easily have lost my job and be sitting at home waiting to find out what happens with Naomi, or worse luck, be hearing about it on the six o'clock news as another murder report.
Stop thinking like that, Emily. It's doing neither you, nor Naomi any good.
"Pull up here, Jones." I said, as he pulled the car over. I got out of the car and pulled the flashlight off my utility belt and flicked the switch briefly to flag the other car down that was following not far behind us. The area we were in was dark, with very little street lighting. Both sides of the road were covered with trees, and it didn't look as though there were any houses around, at least not visible from the road, at this time of night.
"Where to now, Detective?" One of the officers said.
"There's a fork up ahead in the road, the road splits into two, and then a third road runs off one of the forks." I said, indicating on the map. "You boys take the right side of the fork, we will take the left. The right one has the extra fork, so you'll have to double back."
"So we're looking for a tall, slim blonde woman, in the middle of virtually nowhere. Do we know what kind of car they were in?" The officer asked.
Oh, bollocks.
I sighed. "That's a good point, no we don't. Let me see if I can find that out." I said, grabbing my mobile, and dialling Effy's number.
"This is Effy..."
"Effy, it's Detective Fitch. Listen, does the Unicorn have external security cameras?" I asked, walking away from the car slightly.
"Of course." Effy replied.
"Right. I need you to check the tapes around the time Naomi went out for a smoke." I explained.
"Ok, I can get there and do that... What am I looking for?" She asked.
"A vehicle. We are here at the last coordinates of Naomi's phone, but the road splits in three directions. I've also realised we don't know what type of vehicle we are looking for."
"Ah. That could be a problem." Effy said, deadpan.
"Indeed. Can you get back to the club and look at the footage?" I asked.
"Sure." Effy replied. "I'm packing up the laptop now, I'll be on my way in about two minutes."
"Thanks, Effy. Call me when you get set up, yeah?"
"Will do. Talk soon." I said, ending the call.
I put my phone back into my pocket and walked back to the car. "Miss Stonem is on her way back to the Unicorn to check the security footage, with any luck she will find something we can go on." I said.
"And if she can't?" The officer asked.
I shrugged. "Then we wait for a sign of a car on any of these roads."
"That could take a while." Said Jones.
"Yes." I said, humourlessly. I really felt like being sarcastic, but I knew Jones wasn't the type to properly understand it, and might take offence. "Take five for the moment, you lot. Just don't stray too far, and keep your eyes open."
I walked over to the nearest tree and leaned against it, pulling the pack of cigarettes from my pocket and sliding one out, placing it between my lips and lighting it. Christ, I don't think I've smoked so much in one night since I was in college, and I was never much of a smoker to begin with. I leaned my head against the tree, closing my eyes as I heard footsteps coming towards me.
"Alright, Emily?" Jones asked.
"We're on duty, Jay." I said.
"I'm aware." He said. "But you look like you could use a friend, and not a subordinate, right now." He added, gently.
I looked at him, to see concerned eyes looking in my direction. Jones might look at me sometimes like a lovesick puppy dog, but he did seem to genuinely care about me at times when I seemed stressed. "I'm worried about her, Jay." I said. "Whoever has her... They've got it in for her."
"That worries you?"
I nodded. "Yeah. I care about her so much, Jay. I didn't expect to, but I do." I said, taking a drag of my cigarette.
"That's a terrible habit, you know." He said.
"Mmhmm." I shrugged. "Don't much care at the moment, Jay."
"Right. Sorry."
"Don't worry about it. You can't help being you, anymore than I can help being worried about Naomi."
My mobile rang at that moment, and I answered it.
"Emily speaking."
"It's Effy. I'm back at the club." Came the reply.
"That was quick, what did you do, speed?"
"Not quite, my flat isn't that far from the club." She said, laughing.
"Right. Have you managed to look at the security footage?" I asked.
"I'm on it now. We have six external cameras, two on the front door, two on the side door, and two on the roof." Effy explained.
"The roof ones are obviously not a concern, because she wasn't on the roof." I said.
"I know. The side door ones are what I'm looking at. She was out there for about ten minutes, and then... There's a person who knocks her over the head with something... A stick maybe... You know one of those truncheon-type things?" Effy explained.
"Right."
"It looks like they dragged her off to the right of frame... They're wearing all black, though, and their face is covered."
"Any vehicles driving off?" I asked, hoping desperately that there was.
There was a short pause. "Yeah. Yeah, there's a dark SUV that drives across the frame about two minutes after. Bit hard to tell with the lighting, but it's definitely dark coloured...black, or dark blue."
Thank Christ!
"Effy, can you see the license plate?" I asked her.
"Hang on...er... Only part of it, and the pictures a bit blurry."
"What does it say?"
"Looks like...B...D...and then...uh...a five, and a one. I think." Effy said.
"Ok, that might be enough. You're definitely sure it's an SUV?" I said, writing the number down on my notepad. I added the words 'trace number plate. Dark coloured SUV' on it, and handed it to Jones, giving him the hand signal to make a phone call. He walked back to the squad car to follow my instructions.
"Oh yeah. It's got 'pretentious wanker' written all over it." Effy smirked.
I smiled at Effy's turn of phrase. "What about Naomi's phone? Can we get a signal on it yet?"
"I'm just turning on the software right now. I had to wait for my laptop to boot up." Effy explained.
"And they never work fast enough."
"No. Ok, here we go, loading the software now..." Effy said, pausing. "Oh, shit! Emily, the SUV is moving again. It's moving north."
"Fuck!" I exclaimed, stubbing out my cigarette and running back to the car. "You boys, get back here, now!" I yelled to the officers who were about fifty metres down the road. They hurried back, luckily for them, and I motioned for them to get into their car. "Follow behind us!" I said, as I got into the car next to Jones, who was on the radio, reading out my notes. "Give me that!" I said, taking the receiver from him.
"Emily, are you alright?" Effy asked.
"Effy, stay by your phone, I'll call you right back, yeah?" I said, ending the call without waiting for a reply. I depressed the button on the radio receiver. "Dispatch, this is Detective Fitch. I require a trace on a partial license plate number: Bravo, Delta, Five, One. Rest of plate unknown, vehicle make is suspected to be a black or dark coloured SUV. Require make, model, and details of registration, over."
"Yes, Detective. That's partial license plate: bravo, delta, five, one? SUV, black or dark in colour, over?"
"Correct. Get that information back to me as quick as you can, over and out." I said, placing the receiver back on its hook. "Jay, we are heading north, apparently the vehicle is moving again. Step on it."
He pulled the car off the side of the road and began to drive quickly, and it dialled Effy's number again.
"This is Effy..." How does she always manage to sound so fucking calm?!
"Detective Fitch again. Sorry to hang up on you earlier." I said, apologetically.
"It's fine." Effy replied.
"So they are travelling north?"
"Yes, going onto the main highway now." Effy said. "It's not exactly real time, it updates every two minutes."
"It doesn't go any faster?" I asked.
"No. That's as close at it gets."
"Perfect!" I spat, irritated. I took a deep breath. "Sorry."
"Emily. You're stressed, and so am I. You show it, I don't." Effy said, calmly. "We both love her, yeah? You don't have to apologise to me for it."
I sighed. "I know. And I'm grateful you are being so helpful."
The car two-way radio crackled into life. "Dispatch to Bristol twenty-two, over."
"Hang on, Effy." I said, putting the phone on the dashboard and picking up the receiver, depressing the button. "Dispatch, this is Bristol twenty-two, Detective Fitch speaking, over."
"Detective, we have information on the vehicle check you requested, over."
"Go ahead, over." I replied.
"There was only one vehicle with that partial registration. Vehicle is a black Land Rover Freelander, 2012 model. Full registration: bravo, delta, five, one, foxtrot, kilo, uniform. Registered to a Sophia Moore. Her address is listed as 16 Gilbert Road, Bristol. That's all, Detective."
"Right. I want a team of officers to search that address for evidence: suspicious clothing, if they find anything like a saw or a large knife, get them to bag it and get it tested for blood. Get onto Brinkley, I don't care if he's in bed, get him out of it, I want him on this case, he's already looked at the preliminary evidence, and if we find a shred of anything, he will know how it links up. Also it's a long shot, get them to look for a sum of cash stashed somewhere. The money stolen from the Rainbow Unicorn was never found and I think all the crimes are linked. Get it done, now! Over." I said. The dispatch officer confirmed all that I wanted done. "Correct. We are working on catching up to the vehicle now. Over and out."
I placed the receiver back in its place and picked up my mobile again. "Right, I'm back."
"Detective, if things ever go south with Naomi, you're welcome in my bed anytime..." Effy said, and I could hear the slyness in her voice.
"Ha. I'll deal with you later. And not how you think." I replied. "Now... Does the name Sophia Moore ring a bell? That's who the vehicle is registered to." There was a short silence in the end of the line. "Effy?"
I heard her sigh. "Unfortunately, it does." She said.
"Who is she?"
"Someone we knew in college. Bit obsessive. Naomi, she..." She said, before hesitating.
"Effy, it's alright, I know Naomi wasn't exactly a saint before she met me, yeah?" I said.
"Right." Effy chuckled. "Erm...well, putting it bluntly, Naomi shagged her once or twice... Possibly three times. Anyway, Sophia got a little...clingy, I guess you could call it? Others might call it possessive." Effy began to explain. "Trouble was, it was around the same time Naomi and I... Well, anyway... Sophia didn't take too kindly to Naomi moving on so quickly. In fact, we both thought Sophia was probably in love with her, in some misguided way... You know, the girl who sees a shag as more than, just that because you make her see stars?"
"Right." I replied.
"Anyway... She didn't take it well when Naoms moved on, hated it even more that she and I moved in together at the time... Strictly platonic, though... Well, the occasional shag, but..."
"Uh...right."
I heard her laugh softly. "Emily... I know I probably warned you off a bit at first... But I see that you're good for her. I'm glad you two found each other, yeah? You have nothing to worry about with me. Her and I mean a lot to each other, yeah... But it's never going to be more than just friendship now. It's been that way for years."
"I know... It's just... Bit odd to hear."
"Sorry to interrupt, Detective..." Jones said from beside me, "...there's a black Land Rover up ahead."
"Shit." I said. "Effy, we've spotted the SUV. I'll call you back soon, I promise."
"Ok. Good luck, Emily. I mean that. You bring her back safe."
"I will, thanks for all your help."
"Anytime." Effy said, before ending the call.
Up ahead, looming along the road was the rear of a black Land Rover, metallic trim shining in the lights like brand new silver, the registration reading BD51-FKU.
Bingo.
"Jay, don't lose that SUV, whatever you do."
(Interior, Black Land Rover.)
"I think we are being followed." The driver said.
"Will you stop being so paranoid? We aren't being followed." The passenger replied. "Jesus, since when did you become so nervous?"
The driver sighed, and kept driving, all the while taking continuous glances at the side mirror. "Where are we going, anyway?"
"Somewhere nice and quiet, densely wooded, and preferably with some ravenous wild animals about." The passenger replied.
"Is it really necessary for us to kill her?" The driver asked. "I mean..."
"YES! It's necessary. She fucked me over, she fucked you over, and countless other girls in the process." The passenger argued. "The boy in the bar was collateral damage, I told those idiots not to kill anyone. The slut I murdered, she was a wicked girl...who in their right mind calls themselves Candy? I mean it literally screams 'I'm a whore'."
"What did she do, though? Besides sleep with Naomi?" The driver asked.
There was silence in the car, until the passenger spoke gruffly. "Just fucking drive."
The driver shrugged, and kept her eyes on the road, occasionally glancing in the mirror again. She could see a car behind them that looked very much like a police car, but couldn't make out much else past the shining headlights. It did look as though there were police lights on the car, though the dark shapes were hard to make out in the continually moving mirror of the SUV. She wondered how she got herself into this in the first place. How the passenger had started stalking the Rainbow Unicorn nightclub three months ago, when they had first come back to Bristol. How she became obsessed with learning the different workings of the place. Night after night she would sit in a café across the road and stare at the club's doors, noting how the security handled the crowd, and also the proximity of the door to the bar.
When the passenger had confessed her plan, the driver had thought she was crazy. But the passenger had put forth a compelling argument, citing revenge for Naomi not giving her the proper time of day in college, and for repeating the same series of circumstances with the driver, not a few weeks later. The passenger had observed the same behaviour from afar, and had felt sympathy for the girl, and got together with her, and showed her something she believed Naomi Campbell wasn't capable of: love. Both driver and passenger were happy in each other's company, and had remained so since.
But the passenger had never forgotten the heartache that befell her, and what she saw as the cruel loveless heart of Naomi Campbell. Little did she know that Naomi did have love, just not for her, not then, not ever. The person she did have love for now was following in the car behind...
The driver chewed on her bottom lip. "Will you stop that?" The passenger asked. "You know I hate it when you do that."
"Stop telling me what to do." The driver said.
"If I don't tell you, who else is going to?" The passenger asked.
"Maybe I'll decide for myself." The driver muttered.
"Ha! Chance would be a fine thing. Listen, darling, we are in this together." She said, taking the driver's hand in her own and kissing the back of it. "Everything will be fine once we kill her and leave her body for the woodland creatures to find. It's what she deserves."
"I don't know... It wasn't all that bad what she did, honestly."
"What?" The passenger asked. "Did she not sleep with you? Was she not your first?"
"Well, yes, but-"
"Didn't she make you come screaming and then never speak to you again?"
"Well...yes, but-"
"Then why are we arguing about it? I've told you. She fucked me, then fucked me over. She fucked you, then fucked you over. She deserves to die because of it. End of." The passenger said, her words clipped.
"But... That was eight years ago, yeah? I've moved on." The driver protested.
"Oh, bollocks you have." The passenger laughed, manically. "I still hear you crying at night over it."
"No, I don't." The driver mumbled.
"What's that? I can't hear your mumbling over the engine."
"No, I don't." The driver repeated. "I don't cry over that at night."
"Well, it must be something... You're always sobbing late at night, I can feel you shaking next to me." The passenger said. The driver mumbled something incoherent, and the passenger couldn't help but notice it sounded sad. "What was that? Speak up, baby."
"It's YOU! You're the one I cry over! Are you happy?" The driver cried out.
The passenger stared at her shocked. "Wha- me? Why?"
The driver thumped the steering wheel. "Because you're so obsessed with this. You're so obsessed about getting back at her, and have been ever since you found out I slept with her too. I don't understand it...you used to pay so much attention to me and treat me like I was special, but now you just are so obsessed with Naomi fucking Campbell! So what if she shagged you and then didn't give you the time of day?! She did it to half the girls in college! You care more about her than you do me!"
The passenger continued to sit in her seat, completely shocked by the outburst. "It was funny at first, and then it was just pathetic. I don't know how I let you drag me into this shit, Sophia... I really don't. I should have bloody known this was your idea all along when you wanted to come back to Bristol instead of going to Switzerland!" The driver continued. "She told me about you, you know. Years ago, Naomi did... She described you as creepy and stalkerish. I thought she was wrong, I...wanted to believe she WAS wrong about you... But now I see she was right all along."
"Shut up." The passenger said, her voice coming out short and hollow.
"Oh, what? Am I getting a little too close to home with the truth, Soph? You're still in love with her, aren't you?"
"Shut up!"
"You are, too! It burns you up that she's so successful with her club and her friends, and she's comfortable with her life, so you have to go and fuck that up because she just wasn't that into you all those years ago!" The driver spat.
"Shut up and keep your eyes on the fucking road!" The passenger shouted. She then looked in the side mirror, to see a police squad car looming closer. "Christ! The police are following us!"
"I TOLD YOU THAT!" The driver argued. "But you wouldn't fucking listen to me! I told you the cop she's been hanging out with is going to get us fucked over, but NO, you never listen to me, after all, what would I know?!"
The passenger pulled a revolver from beside her, pulled the hammer back, and pointed it at the driver, as bright blue and red lights began to flash around them. "Shut the fuck up and drive!" She said, sternly.
The driver put her foot on the accelerator, and the SUV began to move faster, as the body on the back seat began to stir...
A/N#2: Whoever can guess the identity of the driver, I will smother you with...er... Hmm. I'm sure we could work something out?
Reviews, comments? Liked it, hated it? You know what to do with the boxy things over there *points*
Until next time...
~GN~ xo