The Girls In The Woods. Helen Phifer

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СКАЧАТЬ face as he had stuck his knife into its strange, grey body. Jake had told her when he came to see her in the hospital that even Matt the pathologist had been horrified to see the mess of blood and limbs. No one had ever seen anything like the strange creature that lived in the drains below Beckett House, and it had been badly injured by Henry because there had been a trail of blood which led to the huge drain in the corner of the cellar – but then it had disappeared. Search teams had been brought in with special infra red and thermal imaging cameras and apart from a trail of blood that stopped suddenly in the sewers there had been no trace of it. Annie suspected that it had gone deep underground to another lair and either died or gone into hibernation. She hoped for Martha Beckett’s sake that it had curled up and died. The last time she had spoken with the elderly woman she had arranged to have the drain filled in with concrete and the cellar door permanently sealed shut. She had told Annie about the long letter she had written detailing the history of the house and everything that had happened there. She had given it to her solicitor with strict instructions that when the day came that someone was eager enough to buy Beckett House they would be given a copy of the letter so they were fully aware of the circumstances. It had made Martha feel much better but Annie knew that the house would be snapped up by some property developer who wouldn’t be remotely interested in the letter or the history of Beckett House. They would turn it into luxury apartments and move on to the next project. Annie just hoped that history wouldn’t repeat itself and no one with small children moved in there. All of this had been kept hush, hush and out of the media for the sake of Martha who had kept the terrible secret of the thing hidden for years. One day they could make a film about what happened at Beckett House; it was that horrific no one would ever believe it was all true.

      She picked up her Kindle. It was amazing how Will could lie there for hours and not get bored. Turning to face her he smiled as his hand reached out for hers and she held it tight. His fingers trailed across the baby bump and he let them rest there.

      ‘I thought you were asleep again.’

      ‘What do you mean, again?’ He opened one eye and winked at her, ‘I’m just making the most of the last day before we have to go back to reality. I’ve been thinking about it, and you know I’ll have to go back to work soon, don’t you?’

      She nodded, wishing they could stay here – cocooned on this island for ever, away from the madness that seemed to take over their lives on a regular basis.

      ‘I know you do, but are you ready to go back? I mean they couldn’t exactly say no if you had a bit longer off, could they? You almost…’

      She couldn’t say the words because it set her heart racing every time she thought about what had happened at the Lake House where she’d almost lost him.

      ‘I think I’m ready, Annie. As much as I love spending time with you I’m getting a bit fidgety, restless. I need to be doing something a bit more challenging with my life than pottering around pretending everything is okay.’

      She knew how he felt – she was on restricted duties because she was six months pregnant and she was bored, bored, bored. Although she was glad to be away from the prying eyes of the public and every weirdo that seemed to be attracted to her, she still liked to do her job.

      ‘If you’re ready that’s fine; I’m just being completely selfish but I love having you around. Although I suppose you’re bound to start getting on my nerves sooner or later.’

      She winked at him and he shoved her arm. Jumping up he bent down and kissed her lips then he moved further down and kissed her swollen stomach.

      ‘I thought I was already getting on your nerves; you were a right grump before we came on holiday.’

      ‘Well, maybe just a little; you know I like my own space and I was getting fed up of doing nothing myself. But I’ve forgiven you because you brought me here.’

      ‘So it was a good choice coming here?’

      ‘Yes, probably the best idea you’ve ever had apart from marrying me. I’d never even thought about Hawaii until you showed it to me on the internet. It’s so perfect, just how I imagined paradise to be. Could you imagine living here? It must be so wonderful.’

      He smiled and she knew that he loved to please her and she also knew she was very lucky that both of them were still alive to be here enjoying this perfect holiday.

      ‘Come on, how about we take a dip then go and get ready for tea?’

      She held her hand out for him to pull her up, tucking her Kindle under her towel.

      ‘I’m starving.’

      Will laughed, ‘Funnily enough I thought you might say that; after all it’s been, what, two hours since you last ate?’

      ‘You know I’m feeding for two; it’s the only time I’ll ever have an excuse to eat what I want without worrying.’

      ‘You could eat for three for all I care; as long as you’re happy then so am I.’

      They walked hand in hand towards the crystal blue ocean which was gently lapping at the sand. She didn’t hear her phone which was at the bottom of her beach bag ringing; she’d switched it to silent – in fact she hadn’t bothered to look at it for days. She wasn’t bothered about telling the whole world on Facebook what she was doing every single second of the day, unlike most of her friends. They walked into the water, which made her yelp at the coldness. Will began to splash around and she sank into the water and began swimming, relishing the sudden change in temperature which cooled her warm skin. Further down she could see the beach was full of people but their hotel had its own private beach which was never busy. Even their ground-floor room had sliding patio doors which looked out onto a lush green lawn, with palm trees towering above to provide shade from the constant heat. It also had the shortest walk to the Pacific Ocean she could imagine. When Will had booked this holiday he had thought about everything, knowing that if it was hot she wouldn’t feel like walking far. Her phone kept on ringing in the bottom of her bag but oblivious to it she began to swim towards the floating sundeck not far from the shore, to work up an appetite before they went back to get ready to go out and make the most of their last evening together in paradise.

       Chapter 2

      Matilda Graham had finally plucked up the courage after dithering for days and told her mum, Lisa, she was going with a friend for a job interview at a hotel in Bowness. She had known she’d object to it because she always did.

      ‘How ridiculous – you can’t drive, Tilly. How on earth do you expect to get up to Bowness day in day out and home again? It’s at least a thirty-minute drive there and back on a good day, without traffic or bad weather.’

      ‘It’s not ridiculous, Mum. They might let me live in – and if not I’m pretty sure Aunty Annie would let me stay with her. She has plenty of room in that big house and I wouldn’t get in her way. She wouldn’t mind at all.’

      ‘No, she might not mind but I certainly would; you never know who’s going to turn up knocking on her door. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Yorkshire bloody Ripper decided to pay her a visit.’

      And so it had continued for the next ten minutes until Tilly had stormed out of the kitchen and up to her bedroom, slamming the door for good measure. They hadn’t spoken for the rest of the afternoon and when Ben arrived home Lisa was drinking her second glass of wine. He walked in, looked at the half-empty bottle of Chardonnay on the table and nodded.

      ‘Rough СКАЧАТЬ