The Escape (Detective Jane Sparrow Book 2) by Claire Merrington Page A

opening the envelope the tension in the station was at an all time high, she figured nobody else had forgotten how Thaddeus had sent her letters before. As Jane slid out the contents of the envelope she had to fight to keep the contents of her stomach down as her eyes caught sight of what were photos. Jane pulled out a total number of five photographs. Each one displayed and depicted a different view of a woman being murdered. She was roughly the same age and had the same physical attributes as Jane. From the photos Jane could tell that the woman was suspended from a tree by ropes that were tied round both her arms and her neck. Thaddeus as it seemed then depicted in his photos, carved the word Jane into the ladies abdomen, while she was alive. He then subjected the poor lady to having both her eyelids cut and torn off. So she could do nothing but stare into the mad face of Thaddeus. The next photos showed him cutting the ropes from around her arms so she was left suspended from the tree by the rope at her neck. She was literally hung. Jane couldn’t believe it. Thaddeus had only been escaped from police custody a day and he had already murdered and tortured a poor woman. The next problem they had was where was the body. No body had been reported so what had he done with it. They needed the body to examine for evidence. Hopefully it would yield something to reveal his location. And the family would want it to lay the poor woman to rest. For two hours none of them could concentrate on any other work that needed doing. All they could think about was finding the body. They tried scanning the background of the photos hoping to find some distinguishable landmark or building, but to no prevail. What Jane wasn’t expecting was to receive a phone call from her neighbour John who lived two doors up. Jane had never really spoken to him much but her whole floor had her private number for emergencies. So she was highly concerned when she first saw the caller ID. He had actually phoned to ask if she wanted him to take the big parcel that was on her doorstep in to keep it safe. And because it looked quite heavy. Jane instantly had the horrifying thought as to what it was, as she hadn’t ordered anything.
     
    “No John leave it where it is and don’t touch it. If anyone else comes along before I get back make sure they don’t either. I am on my way now.”
     
    Jane couldn’t believe it but she was pretty sure that Thaddeus had delivered the body they were looking for right to her doorstep.
     
     
    Chapter 6
     
    Jane couldn’t believe it she was fighting the urge to be sick . Not only were the images of the woman being murdered still playing around in her head. She now had the horrifying thought that the body of that victim was sitting on her apartments doorstep. The sick way that he had intricately carved her name into the woman’s abdomen. The way he had cut and tore of her eyelids made Jane’s insides rot and twist with guilt and apprehension. He had pretty much addressed the body and the death to her. And left it at her home. It was all a message for Jane a sick little note of Thaddeus mind. If it was a message from Thaddeus Jane didn’t understand it yet. All Jane could get from the removal of the eyelids was the fact that the lady seemed more able to stare through the camera lens. Straight through to Jane as if to say why would you let this happen to me it’s you he wants. Thaddeus knew the guilt that would manifest in Jane at that thought. He had seen it first hand when Jane had to watch Layla being tortured and there was nothing she could do about it. Jane had to remember Thaddeus was all about the mind games; he wanted to throw Jane off balance, to cause as much fear as possible. And tearing off a woman’s eyelids while she is still alive is definitely an extreme form of causing fear and pain. Thaddeus was all about the dance and the hunt between the two of them. He loved being able to show that he was in control, he