Axe to Grind Read online

  AXE TO GRIND

  A DCI PILGRIM CRIME THRILLER

  By

  A L Fraine

  The book is Copyright © to Andrew Dobell, Creative Edge Studios Ltd, 2019.

  No part of this book may be reproduced without prior permission of the copyright holder.

  All locations, events, and characters within this book are either fictitious, or have been fictionalised for the purposes of this book.

  Book List

  www.alfraineauthor.co.uk/books

  Acknowledgements

  Thank you to my wife Louise for her tireless support, my kids for being amazing, and my family for believing in me.

  Thank you to my amazing editor Hanna Elizabeth for her critical eye and suggestions, they’re always on point.

  Thank you to my fellow authors for their continued inspiration.

  And finally, thank you to you, the readers, for reading my crazy stories.

  Table of Contents

  Book List

  Acknowledgements

  Table of Contents

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  17

  18

  19

  20

  21

  22

  23

  24

  25

  26

  27

  28

  Author Note

  1

  “Oh, just shut up! I might as well be dead for all you care!”

  Slamming the door behind her, Harper strode out onto the street and turned left. She made a point of not looking back at the house, just in case her mother was watching her through the window. She didn’t want to give her the satisfaction.

  She pulled her jacket a little closer, stuffing her hands in the pockets to protect them against the cool evening air.

  The streets were already descending into darkness, lit by the sickly glow from the street lamps as they flickered into life. The occasional car drove past, but there weren’t many people out and about tonight. Just a couple of cars and a van parked up the road. But that suited her just fine.

  She wanted to be alone anyway. She needed some time with her thoughts, time to think things through and decide what she wanted to do.

  As she pounded the concrete, not really thinking about where she was going and letting her feet go where they would, she sighed. After everything she’d been through, she’d come back here, to her mother’s. All she’d wanted was some comfort, and maybe a little understanding, but clearly, that had been too much to ask for.

  Instead, she just got judgement and a bloody lecture—something she really did not need right now.

  Shaking her head, she realised she probably should have known better. When had her mum ever taken her side on things or backed her up? She was forever judging her and making her feel bad.

  Maybe this had been a mistake.

  A mistake! Ha. She smirked. Her whole bloody life seemed to be one mistake after another right now, and it looked like Seth might be the latest lousy choice.

  What a pissing idiot. How dare he treat her like that. She’d hoped that, out of everyone, her mother would have understood her boyfriend troubles. But no, she took it as another opportunity to berate her and make her feel bad.

  Freaking typical.

  It wasn’t as if her mother had a leg to stand on in that regard either. Her love life was an unmitigated disaster which had eventually left her bitter and alone. It was one of the reasons that Harper had moved out in the first place. When her father left, it hadn’t taken long before Harper realised she needed to get away from her mum.

  She’d never really approved of Seth, but Harper didn’t see what business it was of her mother’s, who she spent her time with. Getting a lecture on that from her mother was the height of hypocrisy as far as she was concerned.

  In anger, she kicked a stone into the hedgerow beside her.

  Why couldn’t she just be nice? All she had to do was hug her, say a few nice things, and not get all high and mighty.

  Was that so difficult?

  Apparently.

  Coming to a stop at a junction, Harper looked along the various branching roads, and decided to head towards town. She wasn’t far from Epsom Town Centre, and she wondered if it would be busy. Part of her wanted to go and get a drink, maybe find someone she could hook up with for the night. That would serve Seth right for what he’d done to her.

  As she contemplated her route, a shiver passed up her spine, and on instinct, she turned, looking behind her, half-expecting to see someone.

  It felt like she was being watched, but she couldn’t see anyone.

  As she was about to dismiss it, she remembered having felt the same sensation a few times these last few days. Was it related, or was she finally going mad? Thinking back to Seth, and what he’d done, she figured that it wasn’t unexpected that she should feel a little jumpy.

  Was Seth out there somewhere, watching her, following her?

  Well, screw him! I’ll give him something to watch, she thought striding towards town.

  Where the hell did he get off being so horrible to her? It wasn’t right, and she wouldn’t put up with it. As she stormed along the pavement, her head down and her jacket pulled tight, a car slowed as it passed her.

  “Oi, oi!” someone shouted to her. “What’s a pretty thing like you doing out here then, aye?” It was followed by a wolf-whistle.

  Harper rolled her eyes and caught a glimpse of the car rolling past her with a leering man leaning out of the passenger-side window. She made a point of not looking at him and put up some mental shutters as she pretended she wasn’t being cat-called.

  “Give us a smile love, it can’t be that bad,” the man shouted.

  Piss off, she thought. Where the hell did these idiots get off thinking that she owed them a smile or any kind of friendly gesture?

  “Forget her,” another voice from the car called out. “She’s clearly a frigid bitch.”

  Laughter broke out in the car as it accelerated away. Looking up, she pulled a hand from her pocket and gave them the finger.

  Bastards.

  Closing in on the town centre, she started to see other people walking about in small groups, laughing and joking. Their jovial attitudes and smiles irritated her. She didn’t want to see that. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

  Going into one of these bars and being surrounded by loads of happy faces sounded like hell to her, so she veered off, feeling like she had her own personal little black cloud following her around.

  In her back pocket, her phone vibrated. Pulling it out, she saw the word ‘Mum’ glowing brightly in the night as the device buzzed again.

  She did not want to talk to her right now.

  Swiping the answer icon away, she cancelled the call before stuffing it back into her pocket. Maybe she should go and see a friend?

  Maybe Vicky would help her… But the thought died just as quickly as it appeared. Vicky always seemed to take Seth’s side in things. She’d be no help.

  Walking further up the road, she started to pass a park and briefly considered going through it, but then that sinking feeling returned, as if there were hidden eyes in the darkness, watching her, following her.

  Her phone buzzed once in her back pocket. For a moment, she thought about ignoring it, but the feeling of being watched made her long to be home again, inside, somewhere safe.

  She pulled her mobile from her pocket and placed her finger against the fingerprint reader, bringing the device to life
.

  “I’m sorry,” her mum had written. “Come home, let’s talk. I’ll just listen. Promise.”

  Harper sighed and suddenly felt terrible that she’d stormed out. Her mother only wanted the best for her. That’s all she wanted. She knew that, and yet, there was no one else on earth who could push her buttons as well as her mother could. She just had a funny way of expressing herself, she guessed.

  Looking into the grim darkness of the park, and the shadowed branches against the inky blue sky, she knew where she’d rather be.

  She’d give her one more chance.

  Crossing the road, Harper set off back in the direction of her mother’s house, leaving the feeling of being watched behind as she wondered what would happen when she walked back into the house.

  Would she listen? Would she hold back from expressing her unsolicited opinions about her life choices?

  Only time would tell.

  She’d just have to put up with any unwanted comments.

  As she walked up the street, she noticed the side door of a white van on her left had been left wide open with no one was in sight. The darkness inside it hid whatever secrets it held, so Harper gave it a wide berth.

  As she passed it a shadow shifted. Sudden movement off to her right caught her attention. Something grabbed her. An arm wrapped around her neck as a hand clamped over her mouth.

  She could hear the man—she was sure it was a man—grunt from the effort of holding onto her. Harper struggled as he hauled her into the van. She clawed at the arm and hand as she fought for breath. Kicked wildly as the world around her begin to pull away. The street she’d been stood on seemed distant. Darkness crept in. Her vision tunnelled. Until it finally slipped away as she descended into nothingness. The last thing she heard before oblivion took her was the van’s side door rolling shut, ending with a final slam.

  When she started to come to, she found herself sat on a chair in a shadowy room. Her wrists hurt. She tried to move, but couldn’t. She seemed attached to the chair, and it went with her whenever she tried to get up.

  “Wha…?” She shook her head, fighting to bring herself out of the funk her mind was still mired in. She needed to be alert and sharp. “What the hell?”

  She wasn’t alone. She saw feet ahead of her and sat back with a jerk, nearly tipping the chair over. “Shit.”

  A man stood before her in a hoody with something covering part of his face. She couldn’t make out any details. Who was he? It was so dark.

  Did she know this man?

  “What the hell? Let me out of here. What are you doing?”

  The man didn’t answer, but shifted his pose, revealing a large pair of bolt cutters hanging from his right hand. Harper’s breath caught in her throat as she stared at the cutting edges at the end of the tool. She felt sick.

  “What… What do you want? Money? What? We can talk about this. I can help you. Please.”

  The man didn’t reply, he just cocked his head sideways slightly, as if he didn’t understand her, or was maybe mulling over what she’d said.

  “Please. I’ll do anything. You can do whatever you like, just please, don’t hurt me. Let me go, I won’t tell anyone, I promise.”

  She heard a buzzing noise and looked over to see her phone on the floor nearby, beside her purse. It was her mother calling her again. She was probably wondering where she was.

  “Mum…” she whimpered, choking back a lump in her throat. “Please, don’t hurt me. Just let me go. I’ll do whatever you want. Please.”

  A sob racked her body as the phone stopped buzzing. She looked at it longingly, but it was silent.

  She turned back to the man. Pain exploded across her face as his fist caught her on the cheek and nose. It felt like she’d been hit by a brick or something. Had she cried out or yelped? Probably, but she couldn’t really remember. The man was behind her now. She jumped as she felt him grab her right hand.

  “No, please. Stop,” she said, flexing her fingers and trying to slip her hand from his. He tried to manoeuvre her hand again, but she struggled and frustrated his attempts.

  Something hard hit her in the side of the head. Lights burst in her vision, and she felt sure he’d just caved her head in. For a few moments, she felt dazed and had trouble focusing.

  He was doing something behind her, but it took her a few moments to work out what it was.

  She could feel something cold gripping the little finger on her right hand. Something hard, unyielding, and…Oh, God.

  The man grunted. Pain bloomed and Harper screamed as he closed the bolt cutters on her finger.

  2

  “Jon.”

  He could see her, off in the distance, moving into the fog, not much more than a shadow, running towards the light.

  “Charlotte, wait!” he called out to her. But she kept going. He ran, but it felt like he was running through treacle. The very world was holding him back.

  “Jon?”

  “Charlotte!”

  She was so far off. He just couldn’t get close. He’d never reach her.

  “Jon!” The voice was right by his ear. Close. He turned. She was right there, right behind him. Blood fell in runnels over her face as she stared at him with dead eyes. “Save me, Jon.”

  An ear-splitting buzz shattered the dream, and Jon sat bolt upright in bed. Light spilt through the thin hotel drapes, lighting the room with a golden haze.

  Grunting, Jon swung his legs over the side of the bed and tapped his phone, turning the alarm off. He thought back to the dream, which was slowly fading. Her face receded into darkness, pulling away from him, returning to memory. That’s where she lived now, apart from on those odd nights when she’d intrude on his dreams, reminding him of the reasons for doing what he did. Reminding him of his mission.

  “I’m sorry, Charlotte,” he muttered. “I can’t save you, but I can save others.”

  Jon rubbed his face with his hands and yawned. It was early, but he was keen to be on time—no need to make a bad impression on the first day.

  Standing up, he moved to the curtains and pulled them wide, letting the light into the room as he looked out over the hotel car park and the Surrey countryside beyond.

  “What the hell are you doing down here, Jon?” he muttered shaking his head. Now that he was here, and just hours away from his first day on his new team, he wasn’t sure if he’d done the right thing.

  First day nerves, he guessed. He felt sure he’d get over it soon enough. Running his hand through his hair, he stumbled through the room like a zombie, stubbing his toe on the bed, before eventually finding his way into the shower. Afterwards, feeling just a little more like one of the living, he got dressed as he watched the local news.

  “Yesterday saw the continuation of the Devlin case, during which Mr Devlin’s wife, Faye, made an appearance with her son and spoke with the press outside the Guildford courthouse,” the news anchor said, as the visuals cut to footage.

  “This is a setup,” the woman on the screen ranted. Abban is a good man! He’d never do what they say he did. It’s because he’s Irish, isn’t it? That’s what it is.”

  “Mother, please, not now,” her son said, trying to pull her away from the cameras as she held up her hand in a V-for-victory sign.

  “My husband is innocent! It’s that Terry Sims that did it, not Abban. I know it.”

  “If he’s as crazy as you are, love…” Jon commented with a wry smile while he finished dressing and then made his way downstairs. There was no way he was missing the complimentary breakfast that came with the room hire.

  Everything was so bloody expensive down here, he was keen to get the most out of everything.

  The breakfast was pretty good, although there was no black pudding to go with the otherwise top drawer Full English. He felt quite sure that he could get used to that every morning and felt doubly sure that his waistline would never forgive him for it.

  Feeling satisfied and full, he was soon on the road in his Vauxhall Astra, head
ing east out of Guildford. He’d driven past Horsley Station yesterday to make sure he knew where it was, and backtracked his way over there, navigating through the morning traffic that was mostly heading into the city. He felt glad he was heading away from Guilford, judging by the lines of cars that were queuing on the other side of the road.

  He was early but thought it right that he started as he meant to go on, and wanted to show the officers that would be working under his command what he would expect from them.

  The countryside around here was leafy, green, and in places, reminded Jon of Nottinghamshire. There wasn’t much else to remind him of home, though. It was in many ways, a world away from the life he’d known.

  He’d already seen countless large houses. Mansions really. Huge places with gated entrances and fountains in the driveway between collections of gleaming cars.

  It was sickening to see such wealth on display, but then, he guessed that was Surrey. Commuter belt. Home of the wealthy and the famous. But also, strangely, the home of a unit of officers with a very specific mission.

  He was keen to get into the office and find out a little more about them and the people he would be working with. It was the unit’s focus that had caught his attention. Mainly because it was the same goal that he’d personally chosen five years ago, and he was keen to see where it might take him.

  He’d done as much as he could with the CID team in Nottingham and knew he’d pushed his superiors as far as they were willing to bend. They’d warned him about his obsession, and how it was starting to damage the unit. He’d done his best to hide his continuing quest, but it was just a matter of time before he went too far.

  Damon’s call had come at just the right time, it seemed. It was almost serendipitous. Moving away from Nottingham had been hard. Leaving behind everything that he knew, and the few friends that he still had to take this job had not been easy. Not least of which because it meant him leaving behind a place that was filled with so many memories, including his memories with Charlotte.