by Helen Phifer
He looked at his wife, hoping she hadn’t noticed the change in his demeanour. She shook her head, no doubt relieved to be rid of him for the couple of hours it would take him to get to Barrow and back, which was at least forty minutes each way – depending upon the traffic.
‘Nice to meet you, Annie, I’ll see you later, Jo.’
He walked out; the phone in his pocket was feeling heavier by the minute. He couldn’t breathe and when he got outside and into his car he wound the window down and sucked in a huge gulp of air. He’d totally screwed up and he knew it. Then he realised that the girl had left her handbag on the chair. Damn it, it was too late now – he couldn’t go back in. He was acting like a complete head case and Jo was sure to notice something. He knew that she wouldn’t say a thing to him, but there was nothing stopping her talking to that copper from the other day. He started the car and drove towards the village; he had no intention of driving to Barrow. Instead he would get the ferry over to Bowness, park up and think about where he was going to dispose of a phone in broad daylight without attracting any attention. As he turned into the village the sight of the many police cars and uniformed officers made his stomach lurch and he had to force down the vomit that was threatening to rise up his throat. He smiled at two female officers who were standing outside the village hall and they smiled back, then he turned and drove towards the ferry, wondering if by the time he came back they would all be waiting outside his house to arrest him.
Chapter 15
Annie finished her coffee and stood up to leave.
‘I’d better let you get on. Sorry, Jo, I’ve taken up quite enough of your time today.’
‘Don’t be daft. You have no idea how good it is to be able to talk to someone else. Let me know about the photos and I’ll see if Heath has a slot available to book you in.’
‘I will, as soon as I’ve spoken with my husband. Thanks.’
Annie walked to the front door and let herself out. She waved at Jo and began the trudge back to the village hall to see if Will was still around. She was still mad at him, but if he offered to cook for everyone on Saturday night she’d forgive him – as long as he told her what was happening.
She couldn’t make her mind up about Jo’s husband; he hadn’t looked a bit like the ogre she had imagined him to be; in fact he had been quite the opposite. But – and it was a big but – there was no discounting the bruising under Jo’s eyes and the way she seemed to get all fretful whenever she talked about him. Which in a way made it even worse. Mike had looked like a thug but Heath didn’t, which made it harder to believe. Now she knew where Jo lived she would keep popping in and checking on her, let him know that she knew without saying anything. It might make him stop, or at least think about it. There was one thing, though; she didn’t think she’d be having her photograph taken any time soon.
She rounded the corner and walked towards the hall; as she walked in, she sighed – the air was much cooler inside. She saw Will sitting in the corner typing away on a laptop. Stu was on the one next to him and they both looked as if they were on a mission. Will looked up and smiled at her and she felt the last bitter pieces of anger from earlier disperse. Damn it, how did he manage to do that? She could never stay mad at him for long, even when she wanted to. He stopped what he was doing, locked the computer and strode across the hall to kiss her on the cheek.
‘I’ve been waiting for you. I’m starving.’
‘Sorry, I got carried away.’
‘Come on. Stu – I’ll be back in an hour. I’m taking my beautiful wife for lunch.’
Annie punched him half-heartedly on the arm.
‘Stop that, you idiot, you’re so embarrassing at times.’
He began rubbing his arm, but didn’t stop smiling as he reached out for her hand and pulled her towards the exit. Once they got outside he turned to her.
‘But you are my beautiful wife, and I’m just winding Stu up. He’s in a right funny mood. Every time I speak to another woman he keeps staring at my wedding ring and reminding me I’m a married man. It’s really odd.’
‘Well, would you be flirting with these other women?’
She arched one eyebrow and looked him in the eye.
‘No, of course not… well, not the sort of flirting that you mean. You know how much of a charmer I am naturally; I’m afraid it’s something I can’t help. Well, he seems to have taken a big objection to it all of a sudden.’
Annie began to laugh.
‘It’s a bloody good job I trust you, Will Ashworth – and love you – but no wonder you’re getting on his nerves if you’re always so full of yourself and talk that much crap. You can tell me what you meant about Jo earlier on. What was that all about? Pretending that you didn’t know who I was – that wasn’t very nice, you know. And by the way, she’s the woman I met yesterday at the doctor’s. How long have you known her?’
‘Sorry about that. I just wanted to see if you could get anything out of her – and if she’d known you were my wife she might have clammed up. I only met her yesterday. We went to her house because it backs directly onto the grave in the woods and I wanted to speak to them. Did you notice the bruising under her eye? She was terrified when her husband walked in and I knew then that he was too handy with his fists for his own good. All I did was pass her a card with my number on in case she wanted to talk when he wasn’t around – about the grave or her situation – and Stu thought I was asking her out on a date.’
She began to laugh.
‘What are you like? You’re such a gentleman at times and I think it’s really sweet that you tried to help in your own little way. You’re a good man, Will, even though you’re slightly vain and delusional –but I’d never hold it against you. You’ll be pleased to know that she thinks you’re really quite dreamy. As if your head needs to swell any more than it already has, but I do agree with her. You are dreamy, and I also think that you are a complete sweetie for caring about her. I’ve just been to her house and met her husband – he seemed very nice, and he wasn’t what I was expecting at all, but you can’t judge a book by its cover. I should know that better than anyone.’
‘Really? He was nice to you? Because he was a complete cock when we were there yesterday.’
‘Yes, but you are a man, stepping into his world and with a badge of authority. He would perceive you as a threat and it’s pretty obvious he’s going to be wary of the police, especially if he’s beating the crap out of his wife.’
They went into the pub, which was full outside, and Annie went and sat down on the last empty table that was tucked into a corner. She was glad to be out of the sun and into the shade; this being pregnant business was much harder than she’d ever imagined and she was tired now. After lunch she was going home to lie down for a couple of hours to recover from all her exertions. Will came over with two glasses filled with ice, lime and lemonade and she took one off him, drinking half of it in one go.
‘Thirsty?’
‘Yes, but I’m starving even more.’
‘I’ve ordered two jacket potatoes with tuna and salad – is that enough or did you want a bowl of chips?’
Annie ran her hand over her bump.
‘Nope, that sounds fine. He doesn’t need any extra today after all the coffee and cake.’
Will sat next to her and she inhaled his aftershave, which wasn’t as strong as when he’d left this morning, but still smelt good. She leant her head against his shoulder.
‘I wish you could come home with me and we could go back to bed.’
He spat the mouthful of cold lemonade all over the front of his suit.
‘Steady on, I thought pregnant women were supposed to go off sex? You’re turning into a nymphomaniac. Not that I’m complaining.’
She nudged his side, forgetting about the scar until she’d done it.
‘Oh God, I’m so sorry. Did I hurt you?’
‘No, I’m good. You know how tough and brave I am.’
‘I didn’t mean I want sex; I jus
t want you. You know, at home with me bored out of your head as well. The last few years have been so hectic I’m not used to living a completely normal, sane life and I have no idea what to do with myself.’
‘Well, you’d better get used to it, because I love it – knowing that the worst thing you can do is hit your thumb with a hammer or drop a paint brush on your toe. You have no idea how stressful it’s been watching you get hurt over and over again.’
The waitress brought their cutlery over and Annie lifted her head and smiled at her. She was the same age as Tilly, which reminded her that Tilly was going for that interview today. She pulled out her phone and saw that she’d missed a call from Tilly; phoning back it went straight to voicemail. Bugger, she’d wanted to wish her good luck. At least if she got the job she could come and stop with her and Will for a bit and give her some company.
She typed, ‘Good luck, you’ll be fine. Ring me when you’re done. Xxx’ and sent the message, hoping she would get it before the interview. The food came moments later and she forgot all about her niece and Jo, and even the relentless boredom, as she tucked in.
Heath drove to the car ferry and joined the queue, hoping he would get on it this time. It held eighteen cars and took ten minutes to cross the lake – he didn’t want to be stuck here hanging around. He looked at the clock on the dashboard; it had only been an hour since she’d knocked at his door. It was highly unlikely anyone would be missing her so soon; hopefully he had a few hours yet before any alarm bells began ringing. He’d felt sick when he saw the number of police milling around outside the village hall. He was pretty sure they didn’t have a clue – or so he hoped – but it was him they were all looking for, after all. What the hell was he thinking, drugging that girl when the village was full of more coppers than Japanese tourists? He was cracking up. Still, it was done now and the only thing he could do was damage limitation. He was confident they wouldn’t be able to trace the bodies – if and when they found the other one – back to him, but it all depended upon how good Mr Smarmy really was and for all he knew he could be shit hot.
The cars began to load onto the ferry, until the one in front of him stopped. Groaning, Heath turned his engine off – it would be another twenty minutes now. He thought about launching the phone into the lake whilst he was waiting, but a car pulled up behind him, followed by another, and some cyclists rounded the bend. So that put paid to that idea. He didn’t have a clue where to dump the phone. He pulled it from his pocket to take a look; he had no idea how to get the battery out or even if you could. Taking a chamois leather from the glove compartment he began to wipe it down, getting rid of his fingerprints. When he was happy it was clean he wrapped it in the leather cloth and put it on the seat. He might dump it in the church grounds; it was the only place he could think of that might be pretty quiet this time of day. It was tourist season, though, and they were bloody everywhere, like swarms of flies. He wiped the sweat from his brow. What was he going to do with the girl when he got back? He might have to toss a coin: heads she lives, tails she dies. He couldn’t let her live, though, could he? Not now. She would go straight to the police and it would all be over. She would have to die.
***
They left the pub hand in hand. Annie was stuffed and could hardly walk now that she’d been sitting for a while. Will looked at her. She was worn out.
‘You’re tired. Did you come in your car?’
She shook her head.
‘Right, well, I’m going to drive you home – no arguing. I can even take you up to bed and tuck you in. I don’t want you tiring my daughter out too much.’
He winked at her and for once she didn’t argue with him. She felt exhausted. They walked past Stu who was outside the hall having a heated conversation on his phone, which reminded Will he needed to speak to him and see if everything was okay back home. By the sound of his raised voice it clearly wasn’t. They reached Will’s car and he opened the door for her to climb in. He ran around to his side of the car and jumped in with a bit more energy than Annie had.
‘What’s up with Stu?’
‘I don’t know but he doesn’t sound too happy.’
‘I’ll ask Jake. He’ll know if there’s any gossip on the home front – you know what he’s like.’
He drove the short distance to their house and she waited for him to open the door and haul her out, which he did without even thinking about it.
‘Do you want me to come and tuck you in?’
She thought about it for a split second – yes, she bloody well did, but she also wanted him to stay with her. These hormones better do one when the baby is born or I’ll be a gibbering wreck, she thought. His phone began to ring; as he lifted it to his ear it didn’t take a genius to figure out what this conversation was about.
‘How far from the other grave? Is the dog sure – I mean, we’ve been here before, haven’t we?’
She watched him nodding his head.
‘Right, well, you’d better call everyone out and have Dr Matt on standby. I’ll be there in ten minutes. Have you cleared the area?’
He ended his call.
‘Have they found another body?’
‘The dog handler thinks so.’
‘Do you think it’s those two girls who went missing?’
‘Your guess is as good as mine, but probably. At the moment I haven’t got a clue what’s going on. When you’ve had a rest, do you want to do some digging around on the internet for me, see what you can come up with? I need you to look for any info on a Wendy Cook or a Sharon Sale. Stu’s good but his mind isn’t on it today.’
‘I’d love to. Do you think that’s who the bodies belong to? Who are they?’
‘A couple of teenagers who went missing in 1995. Because they were from different towns nobody seems to have made any connections, but they were both friends. The waitress in that coffee shop knew them and was friends with them. She thought they’d both run off together to find fame and fortune.
‘Really, that’s so sad. Thank God for the technology we have – it would be flagged up now, wouldn’t it? It’s such a shame. If it is them they had their whole lives ahead of them until some sick bastard decided to take it all away. I’ll have a look and see what I can find; at least it will give me something to do for a couple of hours. I’ll phone you later.’
He kissed her cheek and grinned.
‘I love you, Annie.’
‘I love you more, Will. Be careful. I have a bad feeling about this.’
He chuckled.
‘You always have a bad feeling – and besides, this is an old case. Whoever was responsible probably moved away or could even have died years ago, and to top it all off you are not involved in the investigation on a professional level so what could possibly go wrong?’
He got into his car and drove away, leaving her watching until she couldn’t see him through the trees.
Annie finally went inside. She kicked off her shoes then went upstairs to put her pyjamas on. She might as well be comfortable and she wasn’t expecting any visitors. The house was silent, peaceful and it was heaven. No one was there who shouldn’t be. She came back downstairs to get the laptop and thought about sitting at the desk but it wasn’t comfy. Taking a bottle of water from the fridge she went upstairs to her bedroom and the bed which Will had picked – and boy had he picked the right one. Positioning the pillows she lay down and opened the laptop, beginning a search of the two names the waitress had given Will.
***
When Heath finally got to the other side of the lake, he decided to drive around for a bit and see how busy it was. He’d already put his baseball cap and sunglasses on, and he was wearing a black T-shirt and black cut-off cargo shorts. He looked so nondescript not even his own mother would have noticed him. All the usual places were busy: the coffee shops, pubs, cafés. He carried on driving up the main street until he reached the church, which was past the police station. There weren’t any police cars outside which he took as a good omen. Ther
e was no one around by the church; in fact it was perfect. Parking his car on the opposite side of the road he took the phone and slid it into his pocket. There were lots of old graves and bushes; he wandered around pretending to be interested in them, reading a couple of headstones, and after five minutes of no one coming into the church grounds he walked across to some bushes behind a grave and shook the phone from the cloth he’d wrapped it in, letting it fall underneath them. He stayed another couple of minutes just in case anyone had been watching, but no one came. So then he casually strolled across to his car. He didn’t look strange or out of place but his hands were so slick with sweat that he couldn’t grip the handle of his car without wiping them on the side of his shorts first. He drove off in the opposite direction, not sure where the town’s CCTV cameras were, continued up through Windermere then on to Ambleside where he would go around the lake and make his way slowly back home.
Chapter 16
Tilly tried to open her eyes but they felt as if they had been glued shut; in fact she felt as if she’d been drinking shots all night and was absolutely hammered. The vodka – she remembered him passing her a shot glass of vodka and they’d both drunk them down in one, but he wasn’t lying here almost comatose, or was he? She wondered why she couldn’t move her hands to feel around then realised they were tied together. Opening her mouth to scream she felt the thick material of whatever it was that was wrapped around her mouth stopping her and she gagged. Trying to roll to one side her head began to swim and she sank back into the darkness.
***
Stu was still outside the hall when Will got back; he was no longer on his phone but he was pacing up and down, looking so angry that even Will felt uncomfortable just watching him. Will parked the car and walked across the road to him.
‘What’s up, Stu?’
‘Nothing.’
‘Nothing? Sorry, I’m not buying that. You haven’t been yourself and I couldn’t miss the shouting down your phone before. Look at the state of you. What’s got into you? You’re scaring all the nice tourists.’
