Finding Scarlet Read online

  “No, she isn’t,” Allister said, as he stepped out into the corridor. “Where the hell is she? You were supposed to be looking after her.”

  “She came here to see you,” I said trying to remain calm, but failing miserably.

  “You should have just let her come back with us earlier,” he shouted at me angrily. “We are her family, not you. This would have never happened if she was here with me.”

  “And did not strike you funny she didn’t want to be with you,” I spat back, knowing I was losing control. I knew I was totally out of line, but I just couldn’t hold it back. “Why didn’t she run back to you with open arms?”

  “If you have something to say, Detective,” he said moving toward me. I knew I had hit a nerve. “Why don’t you just spit it out?”

  “Olly,” Dad said stepping up next to me. “This isn’t going to find her. She is out there somewhere, and possibly in danger. We don’t have time for this.”

  I knew my dad was right. The longer we stood here having a pointless argument, the longer Scarlet was out there in danger.

  “You’re right, we need to get everyone down here ASAP,” I said turning from Allister back to my dad. “I need you to call the station, have the lieutenant put out an APB on Scar…Beth. I am going to head down to the reception. I need to see their security footage. Maybe they can tell us how long ago she left here.”

  I hurried along the corridor to the elevator and once again hit the button. I sighed impatiently as I waited for it to open but it was taking too long, so I decided to take the stairs.

  I had barely made it down half a flight of stairs when something caught my eye on the stairwell. It was a necklace of some description. I bent down to pick it up and immediately recognised it as Scarlet’s locket.

  My stomach tensed as I realised it was pulled from her neck. The chain was snapped in two. I pulled my phone from my pocket and called my dad as I bolted down the stairs as fast as I could.

  “Olly,” Dad said, answering after one ring. “I spoke to Parker; the whole team is on their way here.”

  “Dad,” I said breathlessly, trying to get down the stairs as fast as I could. “It’s too late for all of that. He has her.”

  “You don’t know…”

  “I do,” I stopped him mid-sentence. “I found her locket on the stairwell. He has her, I know it.”

  “Oliver,” he said in a tone I knew all too well. It was the tone he used when he had to say something, he knew I wasn’t going to like.

  “Don’t, Dad,” I said. “Please. I am going to head to the security room. Meet me there.”

  “I’m on my way, Son,” he said and hung up. When I reached the front desk, I could barely breathe. All I could think about was what that sick bastard was doing to Scarlet, but I needed to try and focus on what I needed to do, so I pushed those thoughts out of my head.

  The hotel manager, who was behind the front desk when I reached it, showed me straight to the security office. My dad joined me there.

  It didn’t take long to find Scarlet on the camera. I watched as she knocked on the door, then as she sat on the floor next to her father’s door. She looked sad, lost even.

  She sat at the door for about twenty minutes, before she stood up and made her way back to the elevator.

  My heart almost stopped when I saw her step back from the elevator, afraid to get on with the man, then suddenly Dean appeared behind her. I clenched my fist as I watched him hit her, sending her straight to the floor. He reached down and pulled the chain from her neck then looked up at the camera and smiled.

  “DAMN IT,” I said slamming my fists down on the table in front of me. “He must have been following her all along. Why didn’t she just get on the damn elevator?”

  “Because she was afraid,” Dad said with a sigh. “He did this to her and now it has worked in his favour.”

  We pulled up the cameras in the stairwell, and followed him as he dragged Scarlet down, level after level until they reached the underground parking.

  He made no effort to hide, not even when he put her in the car. The plates were clear and easy to see. This all meant one thing. He was working on his end game.

  We pulled the plates and put an APB on them. Several traffic cameras picked up the plates heading west to the far side of town.

  That was when it hit me. I knew where he was taking her. He was going back to the place it all started.

  “I know where they are,” I said as I hurried towards the door.

  “Oliver,” my dad called after me as he followed me out. “You can’t go alone.”

  “I need you to call the Lieutenant,” I called over my shoulder. “Tell him to meet me at the store where Clea died.”

  “Olly,” he called, as he struggled to catch up with me. “You can’t face him alone.”

  “I can’t wait, Dad,” I said as I reached the front door of the hotel. “She is running out of time.”

  I didn’t wait for my dad to catch up to me. The truth was, I didn’t want him there. I had no idea what Dean was planning, and I didn’t want my dad anywhere near him. I climbed into my truck and started the engine.

  I looked in the rear-view mirror as I pulled away and saw my dad standing on the curb. I felt like a total asshole, but I wanted him safe. I saw him run towards the patrol car and I knew he would follow me.

  I put my foot down. I needed to get there and finish this before my dad got there. It was the only way to keep him safe too. I was not letting Dean Harris take any more people from me.

  Chapter 33

  Scarlet

  I woke slowly and struggled to open my eyes. My head was really hurting. I tried to move but my limbs felt heavy. I slowly reached up and touched my head. It felt wet, the whole side of my face did. I could taste iron in my mouth, and I knew it was from blood. My head was bleeding, but I wasn’t sure if it was where he had struck me, or if I had hit it off something.

  Wherever I was, it was dark and cold, but I noticed it wasn’t outside like the last time. There was a light shining in through a window at the far end and it gave just enough light for me to see that I was in what looked like an old shop.

  “Hey, look who joined the party,” I heard a familiar voice say in the darkness. The same voice that haunted my dreams. I closed my eyes refusing to look at him. “Come on, Beth, or should I call you Scarlet?”

  “My name is Elizabeth Wells,” I said, as I finally opened my eyes and looked at him, I didn’t want him calling me Scarlet. He had already killed Beth; he wasn’t getting Scarlet too. “And I know who you are Dean. You don’t scare me, because I am not afraid to die. If you are waiting for me to beg for my life, you are going to be disappointed. So, you may as well just get it over with.”

  “Oh, it won’t be over that quickly, Beth,” he said as he walked up to me and pulled me up from the ground. My face was now barely inches from his. His breath washed over me and made my stomach heave. He was so close to me; his nose touched my cheek. He took a deep breath and inhaled my perfume. “But I do like a girl with a little fight in her.”

  He licked along my cheek and laughed. I wanted to scream, but I refused to give him the satisfaction.

  “Yes,” he growled against my face. “I am going to enjoy myself with you. By the time your knight in shining armour gets here, there won’t be any part of you that is recognisable. Once he sees what has become of his precious Scarlet, I will put a bullet in his fucking brain too.”

  He pushed me back, and I hit the ground with force once again. I tried to get up, but he was on top of me before I could. In one move he turned me onto my stomach and pulled my hands behind my back. I could feel cold steel against my skin, and I knew he was putting handcuffs on me. I tried to resist, but he was so much stronger than me.

  He got up, just enough to turn me over onto my back, then once again he straddled me, pinning me to the ground.

  “That’s better,” he said with a satisfied grin on his face. He reached back and pulled a knife from be
hind him. As he held it up, the light from the street caught the steel blade, and I thought I was going to vomit. It took everything I had, not to react.

  He pressed the blade against my throat, hard enough to hurt, but not so hard that it cut into me. I held my breath and closed my eyes. He slowly dragged the blade down from my throat and between my breasts, until he reached my stomach.

  His eyes travelled from the knife, up my body to my eyes. He stared at me for a moment. Then, with his free hand, he reached for the hem of my dress and slowly raised it up my body. I could feel the cold steel of the blade against my stomach.

  Suddenly, I could feel the razor edge of the blade, slice across my stomach. The pain was unlike anything I experienced before. I wanted to cry and scream out for help, but I knew there was no point. No one was going to help me now. So, I pushed the pain and fear inside, I was not letting him win.

  “I’m impressed Beth,” he said as he leaned down over me. “You are a lot tougher than I have given you credit for.”

  “You’re a sick son of a bitch,” I spat at him angrily. “You do whatever you want, but you will not make me beg.”

  “Oh, I think I can make you beg,” he breathed against my mouth. Suddenly he kissed me hard, and his tongue invaded my mouth. I tried to pull away, but it was no use, I couldn’t move. So, I did the only other thing I could think of doing. I bit him.

  “ARRGHHH!” He screamed in pain, as I bit down on his tongue as hard as I could. He pulled back and swung out at me, hitting me hard across the face. “You fucking bitch.”

  He leaned back and struck me again with the knife, and this time I knew it was deeper than the last.

  A tiny sob escaped my lips and hot tears clouded my vision. I felt the pain emanate throughout my entire body. I tried to focus, but I felt woozy and I knew it was because I was losing blood.

  I prayed I would pass out from the pain, but he was not going to let that happen.

  “Come on, Beth,” he laughed as he climbed up from me. “The party is just beginning.”

  He disappeared and I had no idea where he had gone. I lay there on the cold floor and the only thought I had was how I was never going to see Oliver again.

  I could picture his face when I closed my eyes and I wished more than anything I could tell him one more time how much I loved him.

  I could feel myself drifting off and I knew I was losing consciousness.

  Suddenly I was lying in the middle of the butterfly field looking up as a million butterflies flew above me.

  “I love it here,” I whispered and turned to find Oliver lying there next to me. “I love you.”

  “I love you too, Scarlet,” he whispered.

  “I feel tired,” I said looking into his eyes.

  “I know you do,” he smiled. “But you need to fight. You need to fight for me.”

  “I just need to sleep,” I said as I drifted further.

  “Scarlet,” he called me, trying to pull me back. “Scarlet!”

  “I’m sorry” I whispered.

  “Scarlet,” he said again, but this time it was different. This time I was not dreaming. I opened my eyes and saw Oliver looking down at me. “That’s it, you stay with me, okay.”

  “Oliver,” I whispered finally unable to hold back the tears. “I’m sorry.”

  “You don’t have to say anything,” he whispered. “Just promise me you won’t fall asleep.”

  “I promise,” I replied in a bear whisper.

  “Where has Dean gone?” he asked, as he slipped off his jacket and covered me with it.

  “I am right here, asshole,” Dean said from behind Oliver and hit him with such force, he knocked him halfway across the room and sent him crashing into a shelving unit.

  “OLIVER!” I cried out in complete terror. Dean walked over to Oliver and kicked him straight into the stomach. “STOP! NO!”

  He kicked him again, then stopped and stepped back. He watched Oliver for a moment as he tried to catch his breath and get up, then once again, he delivered another blow to the stomach.

  He reached back and pulled his gun from the waistband of his jeans, then aimed it directly at Oliver.

  “NO! WAIT! WAIT!” I said stopping him dead as I turned onto my side and winced with the pain. He turned and looked at me expectantly. “You wanted me to beg, then okay, I will beg. I am begging you, please don’t kill him. I am the one you wanted. I am your unfinished business. So, kill me. I am begging, please.”

  “You think I actually care about what you want?” He asked as he walked towards me. He leaned down in front of me and pulled me up, so my face was close to his once more. “You think this is all about you?”

  “It’s not about him,” I replied looking at him defiantly.

  “It’s all about him!” He replied with a sick, twisted laugh. “It always was.”

  “Then why kill those girls?” I asked, trying hard to focus on him but my vision was becoming blurry once more.

  “Because I could,” he laughed as he dropped me back to the ground. “I wanted him to know that this was all his fault.”

  “YOU DID THIS!” I screamed as I fought the overwhelming desire to sleep. I began to shake with the cold. “You did this to me, not Oliver.”

  “AND HE DID THIS TO ME!” He shouted angrily. “And now I get to pay him back, once and for all.”

  I could see Oliver moving slowly behind him and I knew I needed to give him more time.

  “Is that what this has all been about?” I asked trying to keep his focus on me. “Revenge? That just tells me how pathetic you really are.”

  “DON’T YOU JUDGE ME, YOU BITCH!” He screamed as once more he pulled me up from the ground. This time I couldn’t hold back, and I cried out in pain. “She was supposed to be mine. She was supposed to marry me once she was finished her studies. I came back from Afghanistan to marry the girl I loved, but she had moved on. She was marrying him. We had this whole life planned and he took that from me.”

  “So, you took her from him?” I said as suddenly I saw the tiniest glimpse of sadness in his eyes.

  “I had nothing,” he said as he slowly released me, and I slumped back down on the ground. “I was left looking after my mother, who couldn’t even go to the bathroom alone, while they were planning their wedding. So, I followed her, and I…I shot her, and it made me feel…better. He was supposed to fall apart and lose everything, but as always, he landed on his feet. He was made detective instead of me and once again he took my life. I remembered how good it felt when I pulled the trigger and killed her.”

  “So, you did it again,” I said keeping him talking. Even though I couldn’t see Oliver anymore, I knew I needed to give him more time. “To try and feel good.”

  “Don’t act like you care about me,” he said with a bitter laugh. “I did those girls a favour. Being an only child is the biggest curse a person could have. I put them out of their misery.”

  He stood up and picked up his gun once again.

  “And now it’s time to finish this,” he turned around as suddenly, a loud bang rang out and I thought my heart was going to stop. I didn’t know what had happened. Had he just killed the man I loved?

  I watched as slowly, Dean slumped to the ground and fell to the side with Oliver standing in front of him, his gun still drawn. He stood for a moment and watched Dean, making sure he was gone. Then he ran to me as fast as he could and pulled me into his arms

  “It’s over Scarlet,” he whispered as he drew me closer to him. “It’s all over.”

  “OLIVER!” I heard a voice call out in the darkness.

  “We’re here Dad,” Oliver called as he lifted his hand. When he saw the blood, his whole demeanour changed. “Scarlet, you’re hurt.”

  “I feel cold,” I said as he pulled up my dress.

  “Oh God,” he cried as his dad reached us. “She’s been stabbed.”

  “Paramedics are on the way,” Tom said as he leaned down next to us, and he too took off his jacket. “Here, put thi
s on her stomach, put pressure on the wounds to try stop the bleeding.”

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered as I struggled to stay awake. “Oliver, I love you.”

  “No, you don’t, Scarlet!” He cried and he pulled me closer to him. “Don’t you dare give up! Stay with me Scarlet, you stay with me!”

  “Oliver,” I breathed as the darkness washed over me and took me once again.

  Chapter 34

  Oliver

  I paced up and down the hallway, waiting for the doctor who was treating Scarlet to come speak to us. It felt like an eternity since she was brought through the double doors of the treatment room.

  I held her hand tightly the whole way here in the ambulance, but she never opened her eyes.

  “Oliver,” Dad said as he sat and watched me pacing up and down. “Why don’t you go get a coffee?”

  “I am not leaving until I know she is okay.” I said without even looking in his direction. How could I leave? I needed to know she was okay, that I hadn’t let her down completely.

  This was all my fault. I should have never let her sneak out. I took my eye off the ball, and now she was hurt again.

  “Olly!” Caitlin said as she came through the doors at the other end of the corridor, followed closely by Mom, Ella and Harrison. Caitlin rushed up and threw her arms around my neck and held me so tight, I couldn’t help but wince with pain. “I was so worried about you both. How is she?”

  “We still haven’t heard anything yet,” I replied as Mom came up and hugged me too. “Hey, Mom.”

  “Hi, sweetheart,” she said taking my face in her hands. “How are you?”

  “I’m okay,” I sighed, completely ignoring the fact I could barely breathe with the pain in my ribs “Nothing that will kill me anyway.”

  “Have you let the doctors check you out yet?” She asked and I sighed, knowing she was about to freak out at me.

  “I will once I know she is okay,” I said and braced myself for her to go bat shit crazy on me. “I promise.”

  “Oliver Thomas Caldwell,” she began in her usual motherly tone. “You are going to let the doctors check you over, I am not arguing with you about this.”