The Girls in the Woods (11 page)
‘No, we should not have a party, as much as I would like to – if anything was to get broken or wrecked my parents would go mad and never let me stay at home on my own again. Besides, I’m not in the mood for a party. I’d rather watch a film.’
‘Just as well I stole my brother’s pirate copy of
The Terminator
then; that Schwarzenegger guy is gorgeous even if he is a murdering robot.’
Wendy began to giggle.
‘And how did you manage that?’
‘He’s too interested in the Frank Bruno fight that’s on television later. It’s all he keeps talking about.’
They went into the kitchen where Wendy proved she could turn on the cooker and cook two pizzas. She also managed to turn the radio on. They both squealed and began to dance around the tiny kitchen to ‘I want to see the sunshine after the rain’; picking up a spatula and fish slice they began singing the words to each other down their makeshift microphones. Wendy knew that one day she would be famous for either being a supermodel, although she wasn’t quite tall enough, or a singer in a pop band – it didn’t matter, as long as everyone loved her and her face was plastered all over the latest magazines.
Jo was restless. She had fallen asleep a couple of hours ago but hadn’t been able to get comfortable ever since. She was not quite awake but not asleep either; images kept filling her mind and she had no idea what they meant. As she lay there next to Heath, listening to his heavy breathing, she found herself in his studio – somewhere she hadn’t been since the early days, not long after they’d first met, and she’d got drunk, letting him take those awful photos of her that she’d made him promise to burn.
In the half-dream, half-vision, she felt like she was waiting for Heath to come in, and began to look around; as she turned to the back of the room she looked into the huge mirror which covered the entire wall and jumped. As well as her reflection staring back at her there was a girl who didn’t look as if she was old enough to be eighteen, although the underwear she was wearing was more suitable for a much older woman. The girl was pouting at herself with the deepest red lips Jo had ever seen, and she had ice blonde long hair. The girl shivered then looked down at her arms. The smooth, tight flesh was now covered in raised bumps which made her look as if she had the skin of a freshly plucked chicken. There was a silk dressing gown on the floor and the girl picked it up, wrapping it around herself to keep her warm. Then she turned back to stare at herself once more, turning from side to side, admiring the view. Jo stepped back, near the door which led from the house into the studio and into the shadows; she hadn’t wanted to be there and knew he would have gone mad with her if he caught her. What was that saying Jo’s mother used to say to her when she was that age? Something about vanity being a sin? It was that long ago she couldn’t remember, but whoever this girl was she loved herself, that much was clear. The door banged, making her jump as he walked in, his camera dangling around his neck. He smiled at the girl and nodded. Jo watched as she slipped the silk gown from her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. She didn’t want to be a part of this but she couldn’t stop thinking about it and instead she had to watch him smile in appreciation at the gorgeous young thing standing in front of him. Lifting his camera he began to click away, walking around her.
‘That’s it, don’t pose. You look much sexier when you’re not trying too hard.’
After a few minutes he crossed the room towards her; grabbing her arm he tugged her towards him. Jo wanted to scream at him to let go of the girl, but she couldn’t find her voice. A spike of dread lodged in the base of her spine, so cold it made her want to pee it was pressing down on her bladder so much. He yanked the girl’s arm and she was standing so close to them she could feel the heat from his body.
‘You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever photographed.’
His hands reached up and he began to tousle her long, blonde hair with his fingertips.
‘There, now you look as if you’ve just been taken to bed and shown a good time.’
He stepped away again, and Jo noted the redness creeping up the girl’s cheeks – she was so young that she might not even be eighteen. What on earth was he doing taking these sorts of photos of a young girl? It wasn’t right; it was indecent.
‘Perfect – you are so sexy yet demure. You must drive all the boys mad.’
The camera continued clicking away for another few minutes and then he stopped.
‘I think that’s a wrap; you can get dressed now.’
Jo felt her whole body relax.
‘Really? Wow, that was so fast.’
‘It’s easy when you’re working with someone so naturally beautiful. There was no having to work miracles to make you look presentable. You’re a natural at this.’
The girl smiled, her cheeks burning, and walked across to where she’d folded her clothes into a neat pile. She began to tug on her jeans, not paying any attention to what Heath was doing at the other side of the studio. A door banged as he walked out to where his dark room was and Jo made her move. She knew she had to get out of there before he came back in and caught her, but she couldn’t remember anything else. What happened next? Where was that pretty girl now? She began to drift off to sleep only to begin having the most awful nightmare where someone was choking Jo whilst the girl from her vision was the one in the dark, watching. She felt as if she was choking and began to flail around on the bed. The door flew open and light bathed the room, the invisible grip on her throat relaxed and she could breathe once more. He was standing there, staring.
‘What’s the matter with you? Are you having some kind of epileptic fit?’
She sat up gasping and shook her head.
‘I couldn’t breathe. I felt as if...’
She didn’t finish her sentence. She couldn’t say she thought he was trying to kill her when he hadn’t even been in the same room.
‘Never mind – it was just a horrible dream.’
He nodded and shut the door behind him. Getting out of bed, she went into the small bathroom and turned on the light. Expecting to see red marks around her neck she lifted her fingers to check, but there was nothing there. How could a dream like that be so real? Her mind must be playing tricks on her? She couldn’t shake the feeling that it had been far more than a dream. Was that how that poor woman died out in the woods? Had Heath brutally killed and buried her out there? How did she know about that young girl in the studio? It was the first time Jo had ever thought about it. Had she seen him doing something bad all those years ago or was she letting her imagination run wild? Scolding herself she cupped a handful of water, sipping it to quench the dry feeling in the back of her throat. She didn’t want to speak to him or see him and if she went downstairs it was inevitable. Instead she went back to bed, pulling the covers up because it was freezing cold in the bedroom. So cold that her teeth began to chatter. Afraid to turn off the light, she left it on. She was also afraid to go to sleep but she was so tired; she felt as if she’d been fighting for her life.
***
He went back downstairs, puzzled as to why she had looked at him as if he was a ghost. He knew deep down that she hated him now much more than she loved him and he didn’t care, but he’d never seen her openly show him such contempt. If the police weren’t sniffing around he’d have given her a good slap but the last thing he wanted was that smarmy copper coming back and seeing her with a black eye. It would arouse far too many suspicions; they had to look like they were a happily married couple. He’d heard talk in the village of the police bringing in highly trained sniffer dogs to scour the woods and make sure there were no more bodies buried out there and he was nervous. He had no idea if a dog was clever enough to sniff out a corpse from twenty years ago or not, but if they did find the other grave it wouldn’t look good for him – especially living on the edge of the woods. But surely they would think he wouldn’t be so stupid, and there was no evidence to tie him to the bodies except for his photographs. He had long since burnt the clothes he’d worn when he’d photographed the girls and dug the graves. He’d worn gloves and a hat; the only evidence they would find would all be circumstantial, not forensic. As long as they couldn’t trace those girls to having visited him before they disappeared off the face of the earth everything would be okay. He would just have to play it by ear, keep his cool and not get worked up by that; his hands involuntarily clenched into tight fists. Just the thought of that policeman, blatantly squeezing Jo’s hand right in front of his eyes, made him feel violent. He punched the wall –
fuck
– skinning his knuckles in the process before he’d even thought about it
.
Will reached out his hand to feel for Annie but the bed was empty. He opened his eyes, squinting at the clock on the wall, and jumped out of bed. He’d thought that he would be plagued by nightmares, but he’d slept all night and as far as he could remember he hadn’t dreamt once. Pulling on a pair of boxers he went to the bathroom; as he opened the door, a whiff of grilled bacon filled his nostrils and his stomach let out a groan. He was starving this morning, which wasn’t surprising considering he’d hardly eaten anything yesterday, relying on cups of strong coffee to keep him going. By the time he went downstairs Annie was plating up his cooked breakfast; he walked behind her, wrapping his arms around her.
‘That smells divine, it doesn’t even smell burnt.’
‘Cheeky – I can cook a little, just not to your standards.’
He kissed her cheek then took the plate from her and pulled out a stool from underneath the breakfast bar; he watched as she made a pot of coffee and a bowl of cereal for herself.
‘A good old bacon and egg sarnie would do you the world of good, set you up for the day. You look like you need feeding up a bit – that cereal isn’t exactly good for you.’
‘Make me throw up for the rest of the day more like; just cooking it makes me feel sick.’
‘Aw, you shouldn’t have bothered. Sorry.’
‘Don’t be daft – I’m not a complete wimp. You’re going to be busy all day and I wanted to make sure you had a good breakfast in case it’s hours before you get the chance to eat again.’
He blew her a kiss.
‘You’re the best. What would I do without you?’
‘Probably have a stress-free life.’
She winked at him but they both knew she meant it.
‘What are you going to do today? Have you got any appointments?’
‘Not today. I’m probably going to be bored out of my tiny mind. I know you hate me working, but I can’t stand being at home on my own all day. Can I not at least come with you and do some house-to-house enquiries or paperwork in the office?’
‘Annie, as much as I’d love you to come into work and help out, you and me both know that neither Kav nor Cathy would allow it. You’re on the sick for a reason. I don’t want your blood pressure getting any higher – and trust me, a day working with my team and it would be through the roof.’
‘Bollocks.’
‘Ever the lady… Why don’t you go and see my dad? Get Lily to take you shopping, I’m sure there must be a baby outfit somewhere in the North West of England that she hasn’t already bought.’
Annie grinned at him. She loved Lily but she didn’t want to talk about babies all day. Soon enough she would have her very own baby and, as much as she couldn’t wait, she would rather spend what little free time she had before its arrival doing the stuff that she enjoyed and that included her police work.
‘It’s okay, thanks – I can’t take a day of shopping. I hate it at the best of times and combined with hours of baby talk it might just send me over the edge. I’ll find something to do; did I tell you about the woman I met at the doctor’s?
He shook his head, not wanting to talk through a mouth full of bacon and egg.
‘It was so embarrassing – I actually knocked her over with my humongous stomach, but she was so nice we got chatting and I took her for a coffee to apologise. I might go and see if I can find her this morning. I’m not sure where she lives but it can’t be that hard to find her and I imagine Marge at the post office will know who I’m talking about. She knows everything about everybody.’
‘Yep, you should definitely do that – did you check her credentials first, though? I mean you’re not a very good judge of character, are you?’
He winked at her and she flipped him the finger. Will laughed. He felt bad for her – he knew it was killing her being stuck at home, but it was as if a giant weight had been lifted from his shoulders knowing that she wasn’t out on the streets putting herself at risk. Annie had the worst track record for attracting violent men into her life, worse than anyone else he’d ever known.
‘I’m sorry, I’m only joking – I know that you’re fed up. How about you come into the village and see me at dinner time? I’ve asked if we can use the village hall as a temporary base whilst everything is ongoing. I’ll even take you out for your lunch – my treat.’
She smiled at him. That was something – at least he wouldn’t be working far from her should she need him. In fact, as sad as it was for whoever’s body they had discovered in that grave, it was good for him – no long drive to work and five minutes from home. He mopped up the rest of his egg and shoved the slice of toast in his mouth.
‘I’d better get going. The sooner we crack on the better.’
She nodded, staring at his lack of clothes.
‘Are you going to get dressed first? I mean, don’t get me wrong, there is nothing more beautiful than the sight of you dressed only in your tight white boxers, but I don’t know if the rest of the village is ready for such excitement.’
‘Of course I am. You don’t think I’d go out looking like this, do you?’
‘Nope, probably not, but you just never know.’
He turned to run upstairs to get dressed. He always wore a suit to work – the suits that he knew she secretly loved to see him in but would never admit it – more often than not teasing him about them.
He kissed her before he left and she pushed him away laughing. ‘Go before I make you stay with me and finish building that cot.’
