Bert shook his head. ‘I saw your past, I read your cards. What’s the saying? What comes around goes around. Well today destiny is paying out.’
‘What?’ George said, craning forward in his seat as the car slowed to a halt. As he gazed at the landscape ahead, it all became clear. The earlier drizzle began to thicken, as black clouds blotted the landscape. A low rumble of thunder echoed from far away.
‘I’m not going in there,’ George said, as Bert opened his passenger door from the outside.
Bert leaned across and clicked the stiffened seatbelt free, pulling back his hand from the snapping muzzle. ‘Fine. Then we’ll do this the hard way, because I always get what I want.’
Bert ripped the blanket from George’s arms and threw it over the dog’s head.
‘What are ya doing to Tinker?’ George yelped, slapping away his hands. ‘Don’t hurt me little dog.’
‘I’m not going to hurt him, I’m just bringing him for a walk,’ Bert said as a sheet of drizzle showered his face. Wrenching the dog from George’s arms, he strode to the building ahead. George caterwauled in despair, shuffling and limping behind Bert, his black coat flapping in the rising wind. In the distance, a flash of light followed the boom of thunder.
The corners of Bert’s mouth cranked upwards as a flock of ravens cut through the evening air. One, two, three … there was no stopping the prophecy now.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Jennifer nursed her cappuccino as she inhaled the delicious aroma of freshly ground coffee beans in the small cosy cafe. While most police officers frequented pubs in their leisure time, Jennifer could usually be found in one of Haven’s coffee shops. Although she was not averse to going out for a drink, the smell of alcohol reminded her too much of her father, and the nights she had to pull on her coat to walk through the dimly lit streets to bring him home. Heads would turn as she entered each of the local boozers, full of drunken patrons elbowing each other to warn of the presence of a child. Their father had become an expert at dealing with the occasional visits from social services. Lying was a natural talent, and he used his charm to ease any lingering doubts.
Jennifer forced herself to snap out of it. Without work to occupy her, her thoughts often returned to the past. Only now could she comprehend how much danger she and Amy had been in. And yet her father was back, raking up old wounds.
She liked the coffee shop because she was always left alone to ponder. Nobody took your cup before you finished, or wiped your table to subtly pressure you into leaving. It was usually filled with young girls, admirers of the David Beckham lookalike barista who ran it. Jennifer turned her thoughts to Will, who had made the journey home to chat to his mum about their relationship. She didn’t know what worried her the most, the fact he deemed their relationship serious enough to involve his parents, or their reaction when they found out how smitten he was. He didn’t need to say he loved her, it was evident every moment they spent together. But it was no secret they wanted him to return to his remorseful wife, who was yet to sign the divorce papers citing her infidelities. Jennifer’s fingers found the nape of her neck as a cold breeze danced on her skin. She shook off the feeling, telling herself she was being silly. But as she gripped her mug, a ball of dread dropped like a stone inside her.
Students giggled as they waited to be served, toddlers whined in their pushchairs, and the man across from her rustled the pages of the Financial Times. But it was all lost to Jennifer as she sat stiffly in her chair, oblivious to the outside world. Something was wrong. It chilled her bones and filled her soul with dread, detaching her from reality until the only sound she could hear was the beating of her own heart.
She jumped out of her trance as her telephone rang, bringing up her knee and spilling the contents of her coffee cup across the table. Jennifer mopped the cold liquid with serviettes. Just how long had she been sitting there? Grabbing her handbag she squeezed past a queue of customers to the front door. Of all the places for that to happen, she thought. I must have looked like a shop dummy sitting next to the window in a trance. But the feelings of misgivings had not relinquished their hold, and her heart skipped a beat as her phone rang a second time.
It was not Will’s name that lit the screen but Christian’s. ‘Hello?’ Jennifer whispered, fiddling with her car keys as she strode down the path.
Christian’s voice was breathy. ‘I’m glad I caught you. Bert’s called my mobile. He said he was going to pay me a visit, but he had some business to take care of first. I’ve had a bad feeling all morning, I just knew something was going to happen.’
Jennifer’s heart flickered. ‘Did you hear any background noises? Anything to tell you his location?’
‘He said something about being in the highest point in Haven. I could hear someone shouting in the background, something about letting go of a tinker. That’s when the call ended. You need to arrest him, Jenny, please. I’m terrified he might come around and harm the children.’
Tinker? Jennifer searched the corridors of her brain as she tried to extract the information she needed. She stared at the cracks in the rain-dappled pavement, her forehead knotted in a frown. Tinker … ‘The voice, did it have an accent?’
‘It wasn’t local. He just kept shouting something about Tinker, and then the phone went dead. I didn’t even know Bert had a phone.’
Jennifer nodded, even though Christian could not see her. ‘OK. I’ll call this through to control and send somebody over to keep an eye on the place. Keep the line free and call me if you hear any more.’
Jennifer tapped her fingers against her lips, pushing back her anxiety. The Raven must have taken George and his dog. But why would he want to hurt them? Membership of The Reborners came with a hefty price tag and Jennifer couldn’t imagine him attending. And where the hell was the highest point in Haven? She alerted control to carry out a local search, and organised a unit to attend Christian’s address for safeguarding. The wind whistled as the dark clouds whipped into a storm, sending loose leaves in a circular dance as the breeze picked up momentum.
The thoughts of the Raven hurting George filled her with trepid determination. She had to find the Raven before he killed again. A sense of déjà vu swept over her as she recalled her last big case, attending the boathouse to save her young nephew Joshua. In her eyes, George Butler was every bit as vulnerable. A small frail man with a trusting nature, she struggled to understand why the Raven would hurt him … unless it was solely to get to her. She thought of the last time they spoke, the raven glaring down at them from the branches of the tree. Was it an omen? Jennifer’s heart pounded in her chest at the thought of George making his way to the highest point in Haven. But where was the bloody highest point? Haven was relatively flat. There was a river, woodlands, and acres of unkempt land, but no mountains or hills to be explored. Frustration pushed the breath out of her body and she fought to calm herself in short gasps. She couldn’t keep driving aimlessly around, waiting for answers. She had to stop the prophecy.
She dialled her sergeant’s number and patched it through to hands free. It was picked up on the first ring. ‘Sarge, give me some answers please, where’s the highest point in Haven?’
‘I’m looking. There are several blocks of flats, or the radio station, but I don’t think anyone can get in there. We don’t even know if he means a building or land, do we?’
Jennifer could hear a keyboard tapping in the background. She was about to reply that she didn’t know, when she was interrupted by Claire’s voice.
‘Hang on, I’ve got it on Google. The highest point in Haven is the radio station, it’s located on the old industrial estate. I’ll update control and get some units to meet you there. And Jennifer … you don’t need to look for Bert’s van. Officers picked it up down a side alley half an hour ago.’