Penshaw_A DCI Ryan Mystery by LJ Ross

Author:LJ Ross [Ross, LJ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2019-07-26T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 19

It was after ten when Lowerson felt his eyelids begin to droop.

His body was in desperate need of sleep, the deficit now running so high he was almost hysterical, but his fear outweighed every other bodily need. Sleep could wait, when his own mortality was in question.

Images of Rochelle invaded his mind, playing like an endless showreel in a horror movie. In his mind, he imagined her skull shattering all over the bed, the life dying in her eyes as her fingers reached towards him for help. He wanted to spit out the awful taste in his mouth, the remaining bile he couldn’t quite divest himself of.

He dragged himself off the sofa to do another round of checks; first, the doors, then all the windows. They were all locked but, by the time he returned to the living room, he felt the need to check them all over again. He stumbled to the fridge and sought out an energy drink, which he forced himself to swallow. He needed to think clearly and stay awake, just a little while longer.

The man sitting in a parked car across the street watched Lowerson’s front door for almost thirty minutes before he finally got out of the car and crossed the street, wanting to be sure there was no surveillance detail. The road was badly lit, so it was hard to be sure, but he was reasonably certain nobody would see his approach.

He had a job to do.

Inside the house, Lowerson took up his usual position sitting in the hallway, and waited.

It took longer than he would have thought, but then he heard the soft tread of a man’s footsteps on the path outside. His heart began to hammer against the wall of his chest as the man’s body was silhouetted against the glow of the streetlamps, and his breathing stopped completely when the figure raised a hand to the front door handle.

It turned, left and right, but would not open.

Then came a soft tap.

Lowerson rose on shaking legs and made his way towards the door, breathing quickly, the air coming in short gasps through his open mouth.

“Open the door, Jack.”

* * *

When Lowerson unlocked the front door, he found Ryan standing on the porch step, his face in shadow.

“Thanks for coming,” he said, and Ryan gave a brief nod before stepping inside.

“You said it was urgent.”

Lowerson nodded, and led the way through to the living room, where the curtains had already been drawn. He tried to pull himself together, to grasp at the threads of his sanity, before facing the man who had been his living idol as a younger man and remained the person he most admired.

Ryan was studying his face, searching it for clues.

“I’m here now, Jack. What’s going on?”

Lowerson swallowed painfully, trying to find the words.

I’m sorry.

I’ve let you down. I’ve let the team down, not to mention myself.

“I’m out of my depth,” he said, and was proud that his voice didn’t waver too badly. “I’ve got myself into a situation I thought I could handle, but I can’t.

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