No Grace, page 8
The atmosphere was eerie and oppressive; she could feel it pressing against her nerves. She had never been to this place before, but from what she had heard, it was known for its violence and crime. She could only hope that this man Gareth Sheerin would have some answers for them about what had happened to James Asper.
The road twisted and turned around sharp bends, leading her deeper into an area filled with rising cliffs and sparsely populated hamlets. Every now and then, she would catch a glimpse of someone hanging around in the shadows or walking quickly away from a vacant looking building, making Valerie's skin crawl.
Finally, after what felt like hours of driving, Valerie spotted Charlie's car as it passed through a rusted old gate towards a huge, sprawling hill. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Valerie parked behind him and got out of the car. With any luck, they'd finally get some answers.
Will stood near the faded sign as Valerie walked up to him.
"Merrilee Coalmine," he said. "Who the hell would live here?"
"Who the hell is right," Charlie said, appearing from the back of his car with a flashlight.
Valerie glanced around. The landscape was barren, the ground littered with broken rocks and debris from the mine that had closed decades ago. The only thing standing was a ramshackle house on the top of a small hill, barely visible in the fading light.
"Gareth Sheerin inherited this mine from his great uncle," Valerie explained to Will and Charlie as she started walking towards the house. "I read in his file that he still lives here, alone."
The air felt heavy around them as they approached; Valerie could sense something dark lurking in the shadows. Her heart raced as they cautiously made their way up a winding path towards the house, expecting something sinister to jump out at any moment.
"I'm not one to pay heed to ghost stories, but this is the sort of place that would be a good home to one," Will said, nervously.
Charlie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, this mine is kind of famous in the local area. There are stories about the ghosts of dead miners haunting the hills here, warning people to stay away."
Valerie smiled. "I remember that story," she said. "There was a cave-in during the ‘20s where nearly 100 men died."
"Neither of you... Believe those stories, do you?" Will said as the light in the sky slowly darkened.
Valerie and Charlie looked at each other and laughed.
"No, Will," Charlie said. "I'm sure you'll be quite safe."
But as they continued to walk, Valerie couldn't help but feel that there was something more to this place than just ghost stories. The mine had a history of violence and death, connecting it to gangsters and organized crime. Bodies of people had been found down mine shafts several times over the years, giving it a reputation as a hideout for criminals and a place for them to make people disappear without a trace.
Valerie shivered at the thought; the darkness around them seemed even deeper now than before. She could only hope that this Gareth Sheerin would have some answers for them about what had happened to James Asper before they encountered anything more sinister in the depths of the Merrilee Coalmine.
"It's here," Charlie said, pointing his flashlight to a small path which led to the crooked house on the hill.
Valerie could make out the ramshackle structure, with its broken windows and peeling paint. She could feel her nerves on edge as she remembered what was written in Gareth Sheerin's police record: he had been accused of assault a few years ago and was known to be a dangerous man.
"It looks like he's home," Valerie said, pointing to a thin shaft of light peeking through a set of blinds. "Let's stay alert, but try not to spook him. I want to see how he responds to our questions."
With that, Valerie cautiously walked up to the house and knocked on the door.
A click was then heard from above. Valerie looked up quickly to see a man standing at a window pointing a gun at them. He was in his forties, wearing a black vest over an unbuttoned white dress shirt, revealing the dark tattoos snaking across his arms and chest. His face was covered in stubble, with deep lines creasing around his eyes and mouth that gave him an air of danger. His gaze was intense as he stared down at them through the barrel of the gun, not saying a word as he waited for their response.
Valerie stepped back, but she could feel Charlie tensing up, getting ready to draw his weapon. She gave him a wink to calm down.
"We're not here to cause trouble," Valerie said to the man, her voice steady and confident as night set in all around them. "We're from the FBI. I'm just here to ask some questions about James Asper."
The man's gaze did not waver. "I don't know any James Asper," he said in a deep, menacing tone.
Valerie and the man stared at each other, neither of them willing to back down. Valerie could feel her heart racing in her chest as the tension built between them, when suddenly a voice called out from inside the house.
"Gareth? Who's at the door?"
Gareth Sheerin lowered his gun and stepped away from the window, disappearing into the shadows of his house. Seconds later he opened the door, revealing a woman standing behind him wearing an old-fashioned dress and nursing a baby in her arms. Gareth gave Valerie a cold look before turning to his wife and nodding towards his guests.
"I don't want any trouble," he said, gruffly. "Those days are behind me."
Valerie stepped forward and introduced herself, then asked Gareth the question she had been waiting to ask. "We believe you've been running stolen goods through James Asper's house," she said. "Is that true?"
Gareth paused for a moment, his gaze flickering from Valerie to Charlie before settling back on her face. "What makes you say that?" he asked coolly.
Valerie met his gaze without flinching. "We have reason to believe it might be true, and a witness," she replied calmly.
Gareth nodded slowly, then turned away from them and walked back into the shadows of his house without another word. Valerie glanced at Charlie, who simply shrugged in response.
Then, the light in the hall went out, and Valerie heard the unmistakable sound of a click.
"Val!" Charlie yelled, jumping forward, and pushing her to the ground. Will moved to the side of the house in a panic.
Valerie felt her body slam against the ground, but she was thankful. The click was followed quickly by a barrage of gunshots. Charlie had saved her life. They both scrambled against the wall of the house.
Valerie quickly drew her gun and ducked down below the nearest window, motioning for Charlie to do the same. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she peered cautiously through the window, searching for any sign of Gareth or his wife. Thankfully, they were nowhere to be seen.
Another gunshot sounded, then nothing, only the silence of night.
Valerie glanced over at Charlie and said, "Remember there's a woman and child in there. We can't just go in all guns blazing."
"I think he's heading out the back," Charlie murmured. "I can hear footsteps."
Valerie nodded and shouted out a warning. "Gareth! Your wife and child are in there! Come out unarmed, with your hands in the air!"
The sound of footsteps stopped abruptly, followed by a few moments of silence. Valerie could barely hear some hushed whispering, followed by the frightened cry of a baby.
Charlie looked at Valerie with his eyes wide. "We've got to get that kid out of here."
Valerie nodded and motioned for Charlie and Will to go around the back of the house and watch for Gareth. "Go," she said, her voice low but firm. "I'll try to get in through the window."
Charlie and Will nodded and disappeared around the corner of the house, leaving Valerie alone in the darkness. She took a deep breath, then climbed into the house through an open window. She drew her gun and slowly made her way down the hall, further into the house.
The creaks and groans of the old house were like a chorus of ghosts in her ears, and Valerie could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Most of the rooms were in darkness, and it looked as if no one had lived in them for an age.
Valerie found a baby's bedroom with a grubby crib, which was in disarray, trash strewn on the floor; she felt terrible for the child living there. She stepped inside and ran her hand over the edge of the wooden frame.
A flash of memory came, of her younger sister in a cot in her family home. Suzie used to cry, and even though a young child herself, Valerie would comfort her with a song whenever her parents weren't there to look after them.
Valerie quickly shook off the feeling and hurried back out into the hall. She knew she needed to find Gareth before he caused any more harm.
She moved further down the hall, looking in each room, apprehensive about the thought of meeting Gareth head on, gun in hand.
Finally, she came across a room stacked with cardboard boxes. She stepped inside and saw that they were filled with appliances and other goods. Valerie theorized that they must be stolen, given that James Asper used to store stolen goods for Gareth Sheerin. Now that James had been murdered, Sheerin was having to do the dirty work himself.
Valerie wondered if that was why Gareth Sheerin killed James, because James wanted no part of it anymore. But those theories would have to wait until she made it out of that house alive.
Suddenly, Valerie heard the creak of a floorboard from the back of the house. She stopped and listened for it again. It sounded like it was coming from nearby. Valerie's pulse quickened as she slowly made her way down the hall towards the sound.
As she crept closer, Valerie could make out voices in hushed tones, then a baby's cry echoing off the walls. She held her gun tightly and stepped into a rundown kitchen, cast in shadow. Pots and pans and used plates were piled up on the worktops, and there was a door leading outside. Valerie could see Charlie and Will out there waiting behind a piece of old mining machinery.
But none of that was at the center of Valerie's attention. Instead, it was something that shocked her deeply.
Gareth Sheerin was standing there with his own wife as his hostage, a gun to her head and their baby screaming in her arms. Valerie saw that she was trembling, and that turned Valerie's stomach. Her husband's face was cast in shadow, but Valerie could see his wide-eyed expression in the gloom. She began to suspect that he was on some sort of stimulant.
Valerie feared the worst outcome as she looked into Gareth's eyes. They were cold and empty, like he had no soul. He was looking directly at Valerie, daring her to make a move.
"Get out of my house and she lives," he said, his voice wavering and sharp.
Valerie kept her gun trained on him, trying to keep calm. She had to talk Gareth down before anyone got hurt. She started talking slowly and calmly, trying to reason with him.
"Gareth, you don't want to do this," she said firmly but softly. "Your wife and baby need you right now. Look at how frightened they are."
Gareth didn't respond at first, just stared at Valerie defiantly.
"We can work through this," Valerie continued. "This can end with everyone happy and healthy."
Suddenly, Gareth let out a sarcastic laugh. "Happy and healthy?" he said mockingly. "You know I'm going to prison don't you? That's the only way this ends."
Valerie was taken aback by his response. She had been expecting some kind of plea or bargain, not such a callous attitude towards his own family's well-being.
Valerie looked at him in disbelief, but then she steeled herself. "It's true," she said finally. "You will go to prison. But at least you'll be alive. Most importantly, so will your wife and child."
"If I'm going down," he said, "they're coming with me."
"No!" Valerie screamed, lunging forward.
Gareth turned the gun on Valerie but she was more concerned for the woman and child than her own safety. In a flash of instinct, she squeezed the trigger of her gun and aimed at the side of Gareth's head. The bullet rattled through the wall, spraying up dust into Gareth's face, momentarily distracting him.
But only for a fraction of a second. Valerie knew in a moment, she or the man's hostages would be dead.
Valerie grabbed Gareth's wife and baby and pulled them through a doorway into the hall with all of her might, falling backwards out of Gareth's line of sight.
Shots sprayed against the door frame, spitting up splinters of wood and plaster, but none of them hit Valerie.
"Charlie!" Valerie shouted from the floor.
She then heard the sound of a door opening and yelling going on at the back of the house as Gareth headed out into the night.
"Stand down!" Charlie yelled, his voice booming.
"Go to hell!" Gareth screamed back.
A barrage of a gunfire then sounded. Valerie could hear bullets ricocheting against metal and dirt.
Valerie looked up to see the woman clutching her baby, tears streaming down her face. Valerie could see in her eyes that she was scared out of her mind.
"Are you and your baby okay?" Valerie asked gently.
The woman nodded through the tears and sniffed. "We'll be okay," she said softly. "As long as we can get away from Gareth."
Valerie's heart sank as she heard those words. She knew she had to act fast if this family was going to get away safe. She rose to her feet, gun in hand, and raced outside into the night.
Shots were ringing out all around.
"Valerie, get down!" Charlie yelled from behind a rusted piece of mining machinery.
Valerie leaped to the ground, kicking up dust as she moved. The shots were coming from her right side and as she turned, she saw Gareth Sheerin standing at the side of the house, his eyes wild and focused on her.
He fired his gun again and Valerie rolled on the ground. Bullets flew over her head into the night sky.
"Gareth! You don't have to do this!" Valerie shouted, raising her own gun towards him.
Gareth's face contorted in rage and he lifted his gun again, but before he could fire off another round a figure stepped out of the darkness behind him.
It was Charlie and he had his gun trained on Gareth's back. "Drop it now," Charlie commanded in a deep voice.
Gareth hesitated for a moment, then let out a guttural scream of frustration as he threw down his gun and collapsed into the dirt at Charlie's feet.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Valerie felt exhausted, but despite it being the middle of the night, she had a job to do.
The interview room of Merrilee Police Station was small but bright, with a table set up right in the middle – four chairs around it and a laptop in one corner. Valerie took a deep breath before sitting down alongside Charlie and Will.
Sitting across from them was Gareth Sheerin, covered in tattoos and sitting in cuffs with a smirk on his face. Valerie wanted to wipe that smile off after what he'd done to his wife and child, but she resisted the temptation to let anger rule.
She was glad at least that his wife and child were safe.
Valerie hoped beyond hope that they had their man. That Gareth was the serial killer responsible for electrocuting three victims across the county.
She cleared her throat and began the questions.
"Gareth Sheerin, why did you murder James Asper?" Valerie asked in a stern voice.
Gareth seemed taken aback by the question and stared at Valerie in confusion. "What? I didn't kill anyone," he said slowly. "The last I knew he was alive and well."
Valerie furrowed her brows and looked at him skeptically "Are you saying that you had nothing to do with his death?" she asked, her tone more demanding than before.
Gareth shook his head vigorously, his face twisted in shock and disbelief. "No! I swear, I didn't lay a single finger on him," he said quickly, looking at each person around the table with wide eyes.
Valerie glanced at Charlie and Will before focusing her attention back on Gareth again. After a long pause, she finally spoke again.
"Then why did you run away when we came to your house tonight? You tried to kill us," Valerie demanded to know. "Those aren't the actions of an innocent man."
Gareth sighed heavily before answering carefully. "I was scared," he shook his head. "I thought you were there about something else. You asked if I knew James."
Valerie narrowed her eyes at him. "Where were you last night?" she asked coldly.
Gareth seemed taken aback by the sudden change in questioning but answered without hesitation. "I was at a local bar near Merrilee called The Dancing Dragon," he said, his voice steady and sure. "I got drunk and got into a fight with the owner there around one in the morning."
"Are there witnesses?" Charlie asked.
"Sure," Gareth said. "Does that mean I have an alibi?" He grinned, knowing full well that it did.
"Maybe," Valerie said. "For one of the murders at least."
Valerie's mood dipped as the reality of the situation sunk in. Gareth was probably not their killer; he had an alibi and seemed genuinely surprised when they confronted him with the accusation.
Looking at him, Valerie could tell that, if not a serial killer, he was still guilty of a lifetime of crime and pain. He would see the inside of a cell for a long time after their gunfight, but Valerie wanted to know more. She needed to see if he had any knowledge about James Asper that might lead to a new line of inquiry.
"If you didn't kill James Asper," she asked, "then who did?"
Gareth shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno. Could have been anyone, I suppose."
Valerie felt her frustration boiling over. She slammed her fist onto the table. "It wasn't anyone. It was a brutal killer who has murdered at least two others, including a county pathologist, and you are the only violent connection we have to James."
"You can't pin that on me," he said. "I've done a lot of stuff, but I won't go down for something I didn't do."
"Perhaps, if you help us," Will said, calmly, "then you might be able to negotiate a lighter sentence."
"How?" he said, but Valerie saw the change in Gareth Sheerin's demeanor. Will's offer had grabbed his interest. That shouldn't have come as a surprise. Valerie had encountered this type of person before. A rat who would do anything to survive.
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