‘I hate to say it’ began Nathan as he joined his friend.
‘Well don’t, please’ Jack stopped him finishing his statement.
They stood side by side as the pandemonium occurred before their eyes, the vigorous searching and the unwanted results. They were presented with an awkward situation. Both men believed that this was the location of the beast they were hunting, but the evidence failed to show them that they were right. Through the back window they spotted two men at the shed. They were in conversation with each other but the words could not be heard. They ushered the hooligan tool over and began wedging it above the lock. Jack moved towards the rear door and Nathan followed, eager to see what was happening. Jack opened his mouth to speak but his words were drowned out by the splitting of the wooden door, the light brown splinters shooting towards the men breaking in. Jack moved closer to observe.
‘Anything?’ he asked
‘Not sure Sir, wait one’ the PC entered the shed, his head rotating as he scanned his new surroundings.
‘What do you see?’ quizzed Jack as he stepped closer to the broken door.
‘There’s a barrel, a large barrel’ came the voice.
‘Barrel?’ whispered Nathan. They moved to the doorway and watched the officer drag the container into view. He rocked it steadily from side to side, pulling each time an end was lifted from the ground.
‘Fuck me it’s heavy’ he spat as he neared the door. The oil drum was sealed by three metal clasps, the teeth bit around the lid. Wiping his brow, the man who retrieved it stepped aside, allowing Jack to take his place.
‘What do you think?’ he asked Nathan without eye contact.
‘Could be anything’
‘Could be a bomb!’ the words faint from behind them. Everybody turned to face the person who issued the statement. The female officer stood with her hands on her hips.
‘Could be!’ she said.
‘She’s right Jack. May be worth getting the EOD team down here to give it a once over’ Nathan concerned by her words. Jack pondered the idea, his eyes closed as the cool wind chilled his sweat soaked body.
‘No. There’s no time….we need to open it now’ his hand reaching for the hooligan. The people watching the scene began to step back cautiously, as if something was going to spring from within the container. The tool was rammed under the first clasp, wedging it up slowly until it pinged free. Nathan felt himself following suit and moving rearwards. The second ping followed…the third close behind.
Jack placed both hands either side of the circular lid and shifted it to one side. The smell hit them instantly. Jack curled over to his side, Nathan threw his arm up under his nose; several observers emptied the contents of their stomachs. The pungent smell burned at their nostrils. They blinked away tears as the smell delivered an instant headache. Coughs spurted in all directions as Jack stood to witness the reason for such a stench. The liquid inside was thick, almost curdled. Chunks floated with green and yellow foam upon the surface. He moved in closer to identify the find. Peeking from under the reeking substance was a greying object; he kicked the side of the drum and watched as the insides wobbled. The object rolled in its place. The eye sockets starring back at him, the dead teeth offering an unwelcome grin.
The barrel was sealed within a sheet of plastic and taped up tight. The contents and smell were hidden, like a gift, all wrapped up for the forensics team to open. Jack sat on a wiry chair in the garden, the cigarette placed between his lips. Nathan strolled over and sat on the grass next to him, the packet was placed in front of him and he pulled a stick from its home. The smell of nicotine helped to clear the previous fowl stench.
‘I believe we just found the real Mr Breen’ stated Jack as he exhaled a puff of smoke.
‘My thoughts exactly’.
They sat in silence, different versions of the last hour and a half repeating in their heads. Their bodies relaxed and began to come down from the adrenalin high they had been suffering from. Jack felt like a wall had been placed in his way, the investigation crept further away from his grasp. They watched as the evidence was lifted and carried into the rear of the Forensic van, the doors slammed shut as they container was secured down with several ratchet straps. Jack extinguished the smoke on the freezing ground and placed the butt in his pocket.
‘Don’t forget to bring your evidence mate’ pointing at Nathans fag. He stood slowly and stretched his arms wide, grunting as his muscles ached. Nathan got to his feet and followed behind. The voice came from behind as they shuffled towards the vehicle. Both men turned to face the calling.
‘Sir’s…….we may have found something of use’ the Constable declared, his eyes wide with a slight tint of excitement. The A4 size books were sealed with several evidence bags, the red print letters warned the holder of the items that they were of importance. Jack turned one over in his hands. The white sticky label, coming free at one corner, sat at the top right of the black book. It offered a date.
‘What are they?’ he quizzed, hoping to tear open the package.
‘We have one yet to be packed Sir’ the book poised before him. He placed a pair of latex gloves onto his hands and gently grasped the item, his fingers moved cautiously as if it were a delicate artefact of great importance. His eyes met a label similar to the last book, a date hand written upon it. He was provided with a list of names, dates and times as it was opened. The words were clear, all joined with a stylish flick or curl in certain letters.
‘It’s a record!’
‘A record of what?’ asked Nathan.
‘It looks like Mr Breen home tutored in his spare time. These must be the records of his students’.
‘Jack……we need to get these back and searched for the names of the victims!’
‘I agree’.
Both men knew that sleep was not an option for them, sleep seemed like a reward that had been taken away since the case began. Nathan didn’t mind, he wanted a night off from the darkness lurking within his mind.
***
Doctor Lime gathered the copies he had printed from the files he viewed. So far roughly twenty sheets had been ejected from the machine, it groaned as more were being produced. He had started with the results of Nathans Psychological tests. His eyes had widened at the words that appeared before him, Mentally Unstable, Unfit to perform an active duty and must receive Trauma counselling, were his most favourable. Hidden inside the folder was an un-named file, the first six pages were blank. William had become bored of searching them until he passed the sixth white sheet. The seventh began with bold lettering displaying, The Golden Boy Case File. He froze stiff; his limbs were numb with shock. Here, before his very eyes, were the secrets hidden away from the prying eyes of the department. The list of in-depth procedures and methods used by Nathan were shown. The names of the victims and details of each kill were also included. But what William failed to see was that the conclusion to the case was missing.
He spun in an anti-clockwise circle, his legs kicking the chair around. The printer spat out the remaining pages and he collected them in a bundle. He noticed that a paper clip or stable would fail to hold the information together as the amount was too large, he began breaking the information down into categories. The staples were fired into the top left corners and he placed the evidence into a brown envelope. He looked upon the package, knowing that what was hidden inside had the potential to make him famous…..very rich and very famous. He kissed it smack bang in the middle.
‘Thank you’ he said aloud, his eyes looking to an imaginary sky above.