Beast

by Kate Harre

  He nodded gravely, pleased by her observation. ‘It is. After a while running and lifting weights wasn’t enough. I needed a new challenge. So I’ve been training myself in various martial arts, as well as some acrobatics, parkour and free running. You’d be amazed what you can find instruction in on the Internet.’

  Annie had seen YouTube videos of people practicing parkour. It was fascinating to watch and when the time was right she’d ask Alex to demonstrate it for her. But she had absolutely no intention of trying it for herself and hoped he wouldn’t try to make her. ‘Just for the record, I’m not dangling from ropes or any crazy stuff, okay.’

  His lips twisted into a lopsided smile. ‘Don’t panic. We’ll start with the basics, which is going to depend on where your level of fitness is currently at.’ He quirked an enquiring brow.

  ‘I consider a brisk walk good exercise,’ Annie stated matter-of-factly. She did not enjoy exercise and the only reason she was even considering it was because it was the only way she could think of to get to know Alex.

  ‘What about jogging or team sports?’

  ‘Not if I can possibly help it.’

  ‘I see. In that case we’ve got a long road ahead of us and your body is in for the shock of its life,’ he said, a spark of devilment in his eyes.

  Annie groaned. ‘I never should have suggested this. Is it too late to renege?’

  ‘Yes.’ He strode purposefully over to the treadmill. Annie followed reluctantly. ‘The first rule of self-defence is not to get involved in the first place. If you possibly can, run away. So…’ He patted the treadmill’s sturdy frame. ‘We’re going to start your lessons with cardio and build up your fitness. We’ll begin with intervals – walk, run, walk, run – slowly building up until you can run consistently. Did you bring running shoes?’

  Annie’s shoulders slumped. This wasn’t exactly what she’d had in mind. She’d thought he’d teach her a few nifty moves to evade an attacker and she’d spend the rest of the time getting to know him. This was going to be a nightmare! ‘Yes,’ she mumbled dejectedly.

  ‘Right, pull them on. Let’s get this session started.’

  *

  When Annie walked through the kitchen door, Karen’s welcoming smile abruptly dropped. ‘What happened?’

  Her mother’s concern was unsurprising. Annie was literally dripping with sweat despite the cold temperature outside. Her face was bright red and splotchy and wisps of hair were plastered to her forehead. It was not a pretty sight.

  ‘I exercised.’

  ‘Why?’ Karen exclaimed, in complete accord with her daughter’s natural aversion to excessive physical activity.

  ‘I’ve been asking myself the very same question.’ After a heck of a lot more running on the treadmill than she would have liked, Alex had taken her through a weights session where she’d used muscles she didn’t even know existed until today. Then he’d finally finished things off on the padded area, teaching her a few basic self-defence moves, with the promise of more to come.

  Karen smiled. ‘Rather you than me, but I guess it won’t do you any harm.’

  ‘Are you sure about that?’ Annie eased herself down into a kitchen chair with a groan. ‘My legs are literally shaking with fatigue.’

  Pulling open a pre-mixed salad pack and dumping it in a salad bowl on the table, Karen raced back to the oven and pulled out a foil tray with some kind of store-bought tuna bake. That was pretty much Karen’s idea of cooking, which was why Annie cooked most nights, but right now she was so famished she wasn’t going to complain.

  ‘I’ve been back to the crime scene a couple of times,’ Annie said casually, while Karen laid the food out on the table and sat down. Annie immediately dove in and served up a large portion of pasta, scooping a forkful into her mouth before dishing up the salad. Karen raised a brow but didn’t comment.

  ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been so hungry in my life! No wonder the basketball team eats as much as they do.’

  ‘Uh huh.’ Having waited for Annie to finish filling her plate, Karen served herself a much smaller portion. ‘Back to you revisiting the crime scene. I know you want to figure out what happened that night, but there’s a killer wolf out there, honey. I don’t want you going back there again.’

  Annie swallowed her mouthful of salad. ‘You’re not the only one. I have a guardian angel… of a sort.’

  She had decided to tell Karen about Alex. She’d never lied to her mother and she didn’t plan on starting now. Besides, she didn’t want him to be a dirty little secret and while he might not want his former classmates to know he was still around, she figured her Mum knowing wasn’t a big deal.

  Karen rolled her eyes, a forkful of pasta poised halfway to her mouth. ‘More information!’

  ‘His name’s Alex and he’s sort of been keeping an eye on me when I’ve been in the forest, making sure nothing happened to me. He’s agreed to teach me self-defence; hence the new exercising me.’

  Karen’s eyes narrowed. ‘And how old is he?’

  ‘About the same age as me, probably a few months older.’

  Visibly relaxing, Karen nonetheless continued the gentle interrogation. ‘So he’s at school with you, that’s good. I take it you’ve been working out in the school gym then?’

  Annie squirmed. ‘Not exactly. Alex isn’t in school anymore; he does his classes by correspondence. He’s got a massive gym set up in his basement and, uh, that’s where I’ve been.’

  Karen carefully placed her fork down on her plate and linked her hands together on the table. It was a serious gesture Annie didn’t miss. ‘Look, I know in our family you’re probably the most responsible of the three of us,’ Karen said slowly. ‘But this is one of those times where I need to be the parent. Are his parents home?’

  ‘No. His Mum’s dead and his Dad is based in New York. There’s a live-in housekeeper but she’s away for a few days.’

  ‘I’m not comfortable with you spending time alone in a boy’s house, especially when you’ve only just met him.’

  ‘It’s not like that, Mum. I promise. We’re just friends.’

  Karen studied her face carefully. ‘Why doesn’t he go to school?’

  ‘There was some kind of accident. I don’t know the details, but he kind of dropped out of sight.’

  ‘The Hamilton kid?’ Karen asked in surprise.

  So even Karen had heard the stories. ‘Yes. But you’ve got to keep it to yourself that he’s still around. He doesn’t want anyone to know.’

  ‘If you want to continue spending time with him I’m going to need to meet him,’ Karen stated firmly.

  Great! Of all the times for her to step up in the parenting stakes. Annie sighed. ‘I’ll ask him.’

  Karen frowned and started to open her mouth, but Annie beat her to it. ‘Whatever the accident was, it’s left him disfigured… really disfigured. That’s why he stays hidden in his house.’

  ‘Poor kid,’ Karen murmured, picking her fork up again and scooping up a small piece of tuna.

  ‘It’s a really big deal he’s let me into his life. So if he agrees to meet you, you’re going to have to be cool, Mum,’ Annie said passionately, leaning across the table in her desire to impart the importance of this to Karen.

  Karen threw her hands up in the air in surrender, the chunk of tuna that had been attached to her fork flying halfway across the kitchen and landing with a squidgy plop on the fridge door. Karen didn’t even notice. ‘Alright! I promise I’ll be “cool”. What did he look like before the accident?’

  Annie shrugged and returned to her meal. ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘You mean you haven’t looked up old year books?’

  ‘No. If he wants to show me, he will. He is the way he is now; why mourn the loss of what he used to look like? He probably does that enough himself without me doing it too.’

  Karen studied Annie ruefully. ‘Sometimes I wonder how your father and I produced you. You’re certainly wiser and more mature than either of us
. I’d be dying to know what he looked like.’

  ‘I won’t say I’m not curious,’ Annie admitted with a grimace. ‘I just don’t want to do anything to make him feel worse than he already does.’

  Karen didn’t say anything. She hoped this boy was a good kid, because after hearing what he’d gone through she didn’t have the heart to prevent Annie from seeing him. Clearly he needed someone like her in his life.

  ‘So, based on the fact that I haven’t seen you all week, I take it inspiration has struck?’ Annie teased.

  Karen grinned excitedly and proceeded to tell Annie about her latest burst of creativity.

  Chapter 5

  Annie had spent her free period researching wolves in North Carolina, in the hope they were a rarity and therefore might be easier to track. As it turned out that wasn’t the case. In fact, wolves were a common sight in the state. How was she supposed to find one killer wolf amongst so many? In New York a sighting of a wolf in Central Park would have caused a citywide panic and almost immediate capture of the errant creature.

  Frustrated by her lack of progress, when the school bell rang she grabbed her bag and headed laboriously for the Sherriff’s station. She wished she’d had the forethought to drive to school rather than walk, since every step was difficult. After yesterday’s exercise session, her previously unused muscles were telling her in no uncertain terms they weren’t happy! Her body was stiff and sore and every time she tried to sit down her muscles seized up and getting back up again was next to impossible. Which made going to the toilet a whole lot of fun! Guys didn’t know how lucky they were being able to stand.

  Fortunately it was only a short walk to the main street of Ridgeville, which was technically four main streets. The centre of town was dominated by a park-like Square, complete with a central round rotunda. The rotunda was pretty much the mandatory backdrop for any wedding photos taken in the town and was admittedly absolutely gorgeous. Painted a crisp white, every second column was covered in an array of colourful climbing roses, the upkeep of which were a priority for the town groundskeeper, Terry. At each corner of the Square and along the four streets that framed it were old-fashioned street lamps surrounded by flower boxes. Some might consider it small town corny, but after a lifetime of living in the concrete jungles of New York and Los Angeles, Annie loved the quaintness of Ridgeville.

  The police station took up part of one of the four streets, along with the town hall, Mayor’s office and the small courthouse. She duck walked up the steps to the station, trying to bend her knees as little as possible, and pushed the door open, crashing into Sherriff Denton. Not a great entrance and she was less than pleased to see the Sherriff. She’d been hoping for Deputy Fields, who was likely to be a little more malleable.

  ‘Miss Archer,’ the Sherriff acknowledged in surprise, reaching out to steady Annie, who was grimacing uncomfortably. The rapid shuffle to stay upright was murder on her aching leg muscles. ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘Oh, nothing.’ An embarrassed flush spread up her neck to her face.

  ‘It doesn’t look like nothing.’ The Sherriff ushered her over to a chair, where Annie attempted to drop herself into the seat without squatting. ‘Has someone hurt you?’

  ‘No,’ Annie said hurriedly. ‘I deliberately exercised for the first time in my life. Not a good idea!’

  The Sherriff’s lined face cracked into an almost smile. ‘What brought that on?’ she asked dryly.

  ‘After seeing what happened to Danielle, I realised I need to be able to defend myself. I asked a friend to help me, only it turns out he’s a real sadist!’

  Sherriff Denton frowned and Annie realised she shouldn’t be so flippant around a cop. ‘Not really, of course,’ she quickly continued. ‘It just feels like it right now when I can hardly move.’

  Folding her arms over her chest, the Sherriff dropped the concerned front and examined Annie. ‘Since you’re not reporting a crime to your person, what brings you here today, Miss Archer?’

  ‘I can’t get her out of my head, Sherriff. And I was wondering if you’d made any progress finding who did that to her?’

  The Sherriff’s arms loosened slightly. ‘I understand what you saw was traumatic. But I can’t discuss an open case with you. I’m sorry.’

  ‘Okay. I guess I should have known that.’ She did know that, but she’d hoped things might have been a little “looser” in a close-knit small town. She started to struggle to her feet and the Sherriff reached out to pull her up. ‘Thanks.’

  ‘You tell that friend of yours to go easy on you for your next session.’

  ‘I’m not sure there’s going to be a next session,’ Annie muttered as she exited the building.

  ‘Persevere, Miss Archer,’ the Sherriff advised from behind her. ‘You never know when you might have cause to defend yourself.’

  Annie hobbled down the steps and paused on the pavement. She seriously considered calling Karen to come and pick her up, but then decided it might help, at least mentally, to vent some of her pain.

  It took twice the time it usually did to reach her destination and Annie’s press of the buzzer was a little more assertive than strictly necessary. After a long wait the door was flung open.

  ‘Do you have a mobile phone?’ she demanded of Alex, who looked suitably surprised to see her on his doorstep for the second day in a row.

  ‘Of course.’ His forehead pleated in puzzlement.

  ‘Good. I need your number.’ She crossed her arms aggressively across her chest, prepared for an argument. ‘Because I need to be able to abuse you when I’m in the amount of pain I’m currently in. And I shouldn’t have to walk all the way over here to do it in person.’

  ‘Ah.’ His eyes danced with amusement and he stepped back from the door. ‘Would you like to come in so you can abuse me at leisure?’

  ‘You’re a masochist!’ she said as she tried to sweep grandly past him. The effect was ruined by legs too stiff to be graceful.

  Alex’s lips quirked knowingly. ‘Wrong word.’

  ‘Sadist! Sadist, was what I meant to say.’

  ‘Go on,’ he said. He led the way slowly to the kitchen and pulled out a bar stool for her to sit on. It was mercifully high, so she didn’t have to bend too much to get on it. The kitchen was huge, with an island bench that she was sitting at and another long bench under the windows, all of which were in a gorgeous mottled cream marble, interspersed with modern appliances. It was all very clean. She wondered if Alex did the cooking or if the housekeeper did it.

  ‘Well, there’s mean, horrible, nasty… but they all sound a bit juvenile. So I guess that’s it.’

  ‘Seriously? That’s all you’ve got? Give me your phone.’ She handed it to him and he keyed in his name and number before passing it back to her. ‘What about merciless, cruel, callous, inhuman..?’

  ‘All those too,’ she said with a groan as she rubbed one aching thigh.

  ‘Pretty sore, huh?’ he asked sympathetically. ‘Can I get you a drink?’

  ‘A coffee would be great, thanks.’

  ‘If you keep exercising regularly, you’ll never be as sore as this again,’ he promised, ambling over to the coffee machine sitting under the window and dropping in a coffee pod. ‘Although tomorrow’s session is going to hurt, because your muscles are already tender.’

  Annie whimpered. ‘I’ve never been a quitter but now seems like a good time to start.’

  ‘Nope. You enlisted my help and now you’re going to get it, whether you want it or not. Keep doing the stretches I showed you – they’ll help.’

  Alex placed a steaming mug of coffee in front of her and she wrapped her hands around it gratefully, the warmth in her fingers going a small way towards easing her discomfort. ‘Mmm, this smells so good!’

  He pulled himself up on the long bench below the window, one big hand curled around his own mug of coffee. He had beautiful hands – strong and broad, with neatly cut nails, the skin a warm olive brown. ‘So you only came over h
ere to abuse me?’

  ‘Yes. Since you’re the inflictor of my pain, it seemed appropriate you should be the one to bear my wrath.’ She took a sip of the coffee. It was as good as it smelt.

  ‘And such terrifying wrath it is too,’ he teased with a grin.

  ‘Actually there is something else I need to talk to you about,’ she said quietly. She looked at him sideways. He seemed relaxed, which was good. ‘I told my Mum about you, that you’re teaching me self-defence and stuff.’

  ‘And?’ he encouraged, the smile no longer on his face.

  ‘She’s not exactly wild about me hanging out here one on one with someone she doesn’t know. She wants to meet you,’ she blurted out.

  He took a slow sip of his coffee, his eyes downcast. Annie put her mug down and sat on her hands to prevent herself from fidgeting.

  ‘She won’t tell anyone?’ he finally asked, still not looking at her.

  ‘No,’ she said gently. ‘I made her promise and she’s not a gossip anyway.’

  ‘You’ve explained how I look?’

  ‘I had to; she wanted to know why I was so reluctant to introduce you.’

  He took a deep breath and finally looked up, meeting her eyes and letting her see the uncertainty there. ‘I guess it would be okay then.’

  ‘Thank you,’ she said on a relieved breath. ‘I’ll bring her tomorrow before our session. She won’t stay long. I think she just wants to reassure herself you’re not a psycho serial killer or something.’

  His lips twitched. ‘Speaking of psychos, how’s your search for the murderer going?’

  ‘Not well.’ She frowned and filled him in on her interviews with Danielle’s friends and Brad. ‘So I went to see the Sherriff this afternoon – who by the way thinks you should go easier on me next session – and she wouldn’t tell me anything. I’m at a dead end,’ she said gloomily.

  ‘Why are you so obsessed with solving this yourself?’ he asked curiously. ‘Were you two friends?’

  She looked away, ostensibly to study the painting on the far wall. ‘I never got the chance to meet her. I want her to have justice, that’s all.’