Maggie: a gripping psychological thriller

by Netta Newbound

  He didn’t appear to notice my attitude and continued chattering away. “Luckily, Evie told me about Claudia, or you may not have found out what had happened. She was discovered by a friend, but she’d been there a while, by all accounts – the dog had left two heaps on the carpet, so it must’ve been a few hours.”

  “Poor Claudia. Who’s got Sandy now?”

  “I’m not sure, sorry. Maybe Claudia’s neighbour?”

  The only person I could think of was Doreen, but I’d find out in the morning. I couldn’t go waking people up so late.

  As Matt drove into my old street, I got a feeling of panic in my chest. Considering I’d lived here my whole life, I hadn’t missed it at all.

  He escorted me from the car, and his snobby girlfriend shouted her goodbyes as though we were best mates. Bitch!

  I nodded and slammed the door behind me.

  “You okay, squirt?” Matt asked, as he got my bag from the boot.

  “I’m fine. Thanks for the lift.”

  “Hang on. Don’t you want me to come inside with you?”

  “For what? To turn on the lights? Check for bogeymen?” I took my bag from his hand. “I’ll be fine, thanks. You get back to your girlfriend.”

  A puzzled expression clouded his face. “Have I done something to upset you?”

  I shrugged. “No. I’m tired, that’s all.”

  “Okay, I’ll call you in the morning and see if you need a ride to the hospital.”

  I unlocked the door and entered, leaving him standing there as I slammed the door behind me. I knew I was being a total bitch, but I couldn’t help myself. He was nothing but my very friendly solicitor, and yet, I had clearly begun to have a crush on him. What the hell was wrong with me?

  Inside, I leaned my back against the door as I breathed in the familiar scents. I squealed at a strange snuffling sound coming from somewhere by my feet. Dropping my bag, I lurched for the light switch.

  Claudia’s little dog looked up at me quizzically and began wagging his tail.

  “Some guard dog you are.” I crouched down and scratched Sandy’s head. “Are you okay, boy? Mummy gave you a nasty fright, didn’t she? She’ll be home soon, you’ll see.”

  16

  Sandy didn’t seem his usual self. It was clear the poor little thing hadn’t recovered from the trauma of Claudia’s fall.

  “Come on, boy.” I ran upstairs to my room and laid my bag on the bed, with the dog right behind me. Then, I headed back down to the kitchen.

  Somebody had been by to fill up Sandy’s bowls, but I wasn’t sure when he’d had his last toilet break, so I took him outside into the back alley.

  Sandy ran off into the darkness to do his business. I wasn’t concerned. I knew he’d be back soon. But I was startled by a deep, throaty growl as Sandy reappeared whimpering.

  “What’s up, boy?” I ruffled his fur. “Oh, you silly boy. What are you making all that noise for?”

  The sound of footsteps approaching made me freak out and step back towards Claudia’s gate, my heart pounding. “Who’s there?” I squeaked.

  Whoever was approaching us, suddenly turned on a torch, illuminating black-booted feet, and dark trousers. I grabbed Sandy’s collar and turned trying to leg it back to Claudia’s. In my panic, I’d misjudged how far I’d gone, and each gate I shoved held firmly. I turned to face the man again.

  The torchlight moved upwards, showing the man wore a shirt and a dark jacket. A familiar tightness in my chest caused me to struggle to take a normal breath, and I began to wheeze. Sandy was still growling, a real guttural sound that made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.

  “What do you want?” My voice was more whisper tinged with squeak. I couldn’t swallow. My ears felt as though they’d filled with something hot and heavy. I froze, my eyes wide with fear.

  The torchlight slowly raised, showing the man’s arm, shoulder then neck. I couldn’t breathe. Then, the eerie beam showed a stubbly chin, a grinning mouth, and suddenly, his whole face was illuminated.

  “Hi, Mags.”

  I let go of Sandy and ran, frantically banging on every single gate until I reached Claudia’s open one. Sandy got there before me and ran whining to the furthest point of the backyard.

  I slammed the gate behind us, but the man was too fast. He had one arm and one leg inside, and his chest was sandwiched between the gate and the brick wall. He pushed hard against me. My strength was no match for his. I let the gate crash back against the opposite wall, and I ran towards the kitchen door, the man close behind.

  “Mags. Stop!” he shouted, then belted out a laugh. “It’s me. Jake.”

  Jake. I froze. Stepping back from the kitchen door, I allowed it to swing open. From the light of the kitchen, I could see it was Detective Jake Stuart. Relief flooded through me, and I clasped my hand to my chest. “What are you doing creeping around so late?”

  “I could ask you the same, young lady.”

  I furiously eyeballed him as I located my inhaler in my pocket and took two deep puffs. “I was walking the dog, for your information.”

  “Since when? Doreen told me nobody was staying here, and I came to investigate when I saw the house lit up like a Belisha beacon.”

  “I just arrived back from London. I’ll be staying for a while until Claudia gets home, at least.”

  “Yeah, nasty business that. I was one of the first on the scene after she was found. Could’ve sworn she’d broken her neck, considering the position she was lying in.”

  I winced, my breathing returning to a more normal rhythm.

  “You going to ask me in?”

  I glanced from him and back to the dark.

  “I just want to walk through to my car on the street, if that’s not too much to ask?”

  Reluctantly, I stepped aside and allowed him to enter. Then, I called Sandy, who skulked in through the door and straight onto his bed.

  “You need guard dog lessons,” I hissed, then went after Jake, who had walked through to the living room.

  He’d taken Claudia’s carriage clock off the mantelpiece and was holding it up to the light. “Landed on your feet, didn’t you, Mags.”

  “I haven’t a clue what you’re on about, but can you put that back, please.” My voice sounded much braver than I felt – this man terrified me almost as much as his friend had.

  “Sure, you do. I mean, a young girl – all alone in the world. You’d expect her to struggle to survive. But not you. Everything fell in your favour didn’t it, Mags?” He bounced the clock on his hand.

  “Can you leave now, please, Jake? My solicitor will be here soon,” I lied.

  “Your solicitor, eh?” Jake replaced the clock on the mantelpiece. In two strides, he stood directly in front of me, gazing down at me with a sneer on his face. “Is that how you got him to bend over backwards for you, Mags? I had wondered if he was dipping his wick.”

  “What are you talking about? Just go! It’s been a long day.”

  “Maybe you should warn your fancy man to steer clear of you. He may be the next one to fall foul of Mag’s curse.”

  “What are you trying to say? What curse?”

  “How many people need to get hurt before you realise everyone who’s tried to help you since you brutally killed dear Kenny has come a cropper? Who do you think that’s down to, Mags?”

  I staggered backwards as though his words had assaulted me somehow. Fumbling in my pocket, I pulled out my inhaler again and took another two deep draws on it.

  “Poor, Donna. She wouldn’t have a wrong word said about you. And then, your Indian friend, Yazz, is it? Mrs Green was lucky to escape with nothing but a cracked skull, by all accounts.”

  “Get out!” I screamed. “Get out – get out – get out!”

  “Keep your hair on, Mags. It was just an observation.” He stepped towards me again, but I’d hit the sideboard and had nowhere else to go.

  He reached out and grabbed my cheeks, squeezing his fingers so hard the inside of my mout
h pressed against my teeth, making my lips squish together. Then, he grinned and leaned forward, kissing me full on the mouth.

  I froze. A rasping sound escaped me.

  “Bad case of bronchitis there, Mags. I’d get that checked out, if I were you.”

  And with that, he was gone.

  Movement slowly returned to my legs, and I staggered to the closest chair and fell into it. What had he meant? Had he caused all those awful accidents? He’d practically confessed to it. But he was a policeman. He couldn’t have – could he? The room was spinning. But the thought he might come back propelled me to my feet. I needed to lock up.

  At the front door, I pulled both bolts across, top and bottom, and then did the same with the back door. My body was still trembling, and I noticed Sandy’s was too.

  “Hey, boy. It’s okay. Did the nasty man frighten you?” I stroked him again. “Was that who hurt your mummy?” I was still reeling from Jake’s words. I picked the dog up and hugged him tightly. “You can sleep in my room tonight. What Claudia doesn’t know, can’t hurt her.”

  17

  I was woken by a loud hammering on the front door. Petrified, I jumped out of bed, certain Jake had come back to finish me off. But whoever it was outside had no intention of going anywhere until I answered. I figured Jake wouldn’t make such a racket if he intended me harm, he wasn’t that stupid.

  Sandy, who had taken hours to calm down from the events of the previous night, scarpered underneath my bed. His high-pitched whine followed me downstairs.

  “Who is it?” I called out.

  “Doreen. Can you open up please?”

  I unfastened the bolts, and the door swung in. “Hi, Doreen. Sorry, I got back last night. I came as soon as I heard about Claudia.”

  “You gave me a fright there, girl. I thought I’d somehow double-locked the door when I came in last night. I’ve come to feed and walk Sandy – unless you’ll take over.”

  “Yeah, of course I will. Come in, I’ll make you a cuppa, and you can tell me all about it.”

  We walked through to the kitchen, and I filled the kettle.

  “There isn’t much to tell really, Maggie. I called ‘round to bring Claudie her Avon order. I could hear the dog whimpering behind the door, but nothing else. When I looked through the letterbox, I saw her lying there.”

  “Oh no. That’s awful.”

  “It was. I honestly thought she was dead. I called the police first and then an ambulance. Luckily, our local detective was two minutes away, and he came right around. He was the one who kicked the door in.”

  “Jake Stuart?” I tried to keep my voice light as I said his name. I poured hot water into the pot and kept my back to her.

  “Yes, that’s right. Lovely, he was. Ooh, if I were twenty years younger…”

  I shuddered. I found the thought of anybody finding Jake attractive hard to believe.

  “Anyway, we rushed inside, and by the looks of her, we were certain poor Claudie was dead, but moments later, the ambulance arrived, and I was blown away when they found a pulse.”

  I placed the teapot and two cups onto the breakfast bar. “What did Jake do?”

  Doreen glanced up at me quizzically. “What do you mean, what did Jake do?”

  “Oh, nothing. I just meant it must have been a shock to him if he’d thought she was dead too.” I poured the steaming tea and pushed one of the cups towards Doreen.

  “Yeah. He was as shocked as me. He left soon after – he had a job to get to.”

  I bet he did, I thought, but I didn’t let on to Doreen about my suspicions. She was such a gossip, and I had no doubt it would get back to Jake within the hour.

  “I’m heading over to the hospital this morning, Doreen. I’ll call in on my way back, if you like, to let you know how she is.”

  “Would you? I was thinking about going myself, but all that air-conditioning plays havoc with my chest.”

  I smiled and nodded.

  We chatted about nothing in particular while we finished our tea, then I got up from my stool and cleared the cups away. “I need to be making a move anyway, Doreen.”

  I saw her out, then went in search of Sandy, who still hadn’t made an appearance. He was on my bed, dithering. He knew he was being naughty as he couldn’t look at me. “You’re pushing it now, mister. Claudia would have a fit if she saw you.” I picked him up and carried him downstairs and out the back door.

  The back gate was still swung open, the way I’d left it when I ran for my life the previous night. When Sandy had done his business, I secured the gate and headed back inside to feed him.

  I showered, dressed, and an hour later was on the bus heading for the hospital.

  I queued up at the reception desk for a few minutes and was soon at the front of the line.

  “How can I help you, miss?” the well-groomed man asked.

  “Hi, there. I’m looking for a friend of mine, Claudia Green.”

  After a minute’s tap-tapping at his keyboard, he smiled. “Follow the purple signs – ward one is on the first floor. You can’t miss it.”

  As I reached the ward, I realised I’d come outside of visiting hours. Three nurses at the front desk were busy. “Excuse me,” I said.

  They all looked up.

  “I’ve come to see a patient, Claudia Green. I didn’t realise I needed to wait for visiting times.”

  “Can I ask your relationship to the patient?” the younger of the three said.

  “I’m kind of her daughter.”

  “Kind of?”

  “I live with her, when I’m not away at school. I’ve only just heard what happened and came right away.”

  That seemed to satisfy the nurse, and she walked out from behind the desk. “How much do you know about Ms Green’s condition?”

  “Just that she’s in a coma after falling down the stairs.”

  “That’s correct. She’s suffered a terrible trauma to her head and there was a substantial brain bleed. We were a little concerned that the pressure inside her skull would be too great, but it seems to have steadied off for now.”

  “How bad is she?”

  “I won’t lie to you, miss, your friend is gravely ill. But she’s holding her own, and that’s all we can hope for at this stage.” She stopped walking and placed her hand on a door handle. “Now, I want you to brace yourself, miss.”

  “Call me Maggie.”

  She nodded. “Your friend is connected to a machine and is being fed by a tube so don’t be alarmed.”

  I took a deep breath and followed the nurse inside the room.

  She stood to the side, and gave me a sad smile, putting her hand on my arm. “We’ll be in and out to check on her, so if you have any questions, just ask.”

  “Can she hear us?”

  She bobbed her head. “Possibly.”

  “How long can I stay?”

  “As long as you like. We don’t mind in these cases. Although we won’t allow a crowd of people at once.”

  “There’s only me.” I smiled weakly. “Thanks.”

  I waited until she left before I glanced around. Claudia was attached to all kinds of gadgets, which made her difficult to recognise. I pulled up a chair beside the bed. “Hi, Claudia. It’s me, Maggie.”

  I don’t know what I’d expected. Even though the nurse had said Claudia was in a deep coma, I truly thought the sound of my voice would rouse her like from a scene in a movie. Yet, she didn’t react. I waffled on for the best part of an hour, but nothing.

  An orderly, with a Polish accent, came in and asked if I wanted a hot drink.

  I nodded gratefully.

  Then, as she came back with a steaming mug, Matt suddenly appeared behind her. “Oh, there you are,” he whispered, glancing apprehensively towards Claudia.

  “I told you I’d be here.” I still felt pissed off he’d flaunted his girlfriend in my face.

  “I’ve been calling you all morning.”

  I shrugged. “My phone’s on silent.”

>   “How is she?”

  “Still out of it. Looks like crap, doesn’t she?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, but we’re not used to seeing her without her makeup on and her hair done to perfection – she’ll be okay.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  We sat in silence while I sipped my milky tea.

  “Matt?” I said after a while. “How did Donna die?” I hadn’t been able to shake what Jake had said to me, but I had no idea what I could do about it.

  His forehead crinkled. “In a car accident. Why?”

  “She crashed?”

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  “Into another car?”

  He shook his head. “No. It appears she swerved to avoid something. There were no witnesses, but she came off the road and crashed into a tree. Killed outright.”

  I acknowledged his words with a nod.

  “What made you ask?” His eyes narrowed.

  “It seems anyone I care about ends up dead or in hospital.”

  “Just a coincidence, squirt.”

  18

  We spent hours together, by Claudia’s bedside. Several medical staff came in and out doing various tests, but there had been no change.

  Just after five, Matt got to his feet and stretched. “Can I drop you off at home? I can shout you a burger, or something on the way.”

  My stomach growled. I nodded. “Okay. I need to get back to feed Sandy anyway – he’ll be cross-legged by now.” I kissed Claudia’s cheek. “I’ll be back in the morning, Claudia. If you can hear me, squeeze my hand.”

  There was no movement.

  Matt put his arm around me as we walked from the room.

  I left my number with the nurse at the front desk and told her to let me know of any changes, no matter how small. Then, we strolled hand in hand to the car. Any onlookers could be forgiven for thinking we were an item. But in truth, he only cared for me like I was his sister.

  We picked up two burger meals from the drive through and took them back to Claudia’s to eat. Sandy seemed a little better as I opened the door. He did his usual happy to see you dance. He wagged his tail so furiously, his entire back end wiggled from side to side. But when he set eyes on Matt, he whimpered and ran off up the stairs.