The Girls in the Woods

by Helen Phifer

  Will pressed the orange bell for the nurse, who appeared within seconds.

  ‘Something’s wrong. She keeps getting pain in her head.’

  The nurse felt her pulse.

  ‘The consultant is on his way. You’re lucky – he was just going home before you arrived. He’s going to scan the baby and then he’ll take a look at your head. He won’t be long. Have you any pain in your stomach?’

  Annie shook her head.

  ‘Good. I’ll go and get everything ready.’

  She watched the nurse disappear behind the faded orange curtain and turned to Will.

  ‘Where is he?’

  ‘Kav’s taken him to Debs for the night until we decide what to do about him.’

  ‘Oh my God, what a day it’s been. Has Tilly turned up?’

  Will didn’t want to upset her any more than she already was, but she wasn’t stupid and would soon find out.

  ‘No, she hasn’t. I spoke to Smithy who went to take the missing person’s details. I’m sorry, Annie, but she’s almost eighteen. I know you’re worried about her but she’ll turn up. What would you be like if you had to live with Lisa?’

  ‘I know she’s a nightmare but it’s not like Tilly not to even tell Ben. They’re really close.’

  The consultant walked in and introduced himself. He was followed by the nurse with a portable scanning machine.

  ‘Now let me check on that baby of yours, just to be on the safe side. Have you had any pain in your stomach?’

  ‘Just the one. It was like cramp but it hasn’t happened since.’

  ‘How long ago was this?’

  ‘Just after I’d fallen down the stairs on my bottom, but that’s okay – there’s plenty of padding on that.’

  The consultant laughed; squirting a large dollop of the cold gel onto her stomach, he began to move the Doppler around until he had a clear picture of the baby. They could see it moving around and its tiny heart was beating away. Will squeezed her fingers. No matter how many times he saw it, he couldn’t believe that the small black and white shape which resembled an alien more than a human was their baby. After a couple of minutes the consultant passed Annie a handful of green paper towels.

  ‘Perfect – your baby doesn’t seem any worse for its tumble. However, it would be really great for the both of you if you could refrain from such strenuous activity. Now, the nurse said your head is hurting – did you bang that on your way down?’

  ‘No, not this time, but I’ve had a few accidents in the last couple of years which have resulted in quite serious head injuries.’

  ‘Now why doesn’t that surprise me?’

  Annie smiled at him as she felt her cheeks begin to burn.

  ‘To be fair neither of them were my fault. My ex husband hit me over the back of the head with an empty champagne bottle which knocked me out and left me needing thirty staples across the back of my head. Then last year my car went off the road and crashed into an oak tree. I was in a coma for a couple of days.’

  ‘Really, is that it? Blimey, your poor head, it must be made of tough stuff. Did you black out earlier?’

  Will answered.

  ‘Yes she did, for fifteen minutes. She regained consciousness just before the ambulance arrived.’

  ‘Yet you didn’t bang your head, is that right?’

  He began shining his torch into the back of her eyes and holding his finger in front of her eye, moving it from side to side.

  ‘I think we’d better admit you and see what’s going on – although there’s nothing I can do tonight. But I can tell you the neurologist, who I work closely with, is on in the morning and she’s excellent. She’ll be able to tell you what’s happening without a shadow of a doubt.’

  ‘How do you know? They might not be able to?’

  ‘Oh, I can vouch for her. She’s my wife and she is very persistent.’

  He winked at Annie and she smiled.

  ‘Do I really have to stay here? I’d rather go home.’

  ‘Well, I can’t stop you from leaving, but then you’ll just get an outpatient’s appointment, which might take weeks. If you stay here and have bed and breakfast, then I’ll tell my wife all about you when I go home – so she’ll come see you first thing in the morning. How does that sound?’

  It was Will who spoke.

  ‘She’s staying. Thank you, we really appreciate it.’

  ‘No problem, it’s the least I can do for our law enforcement officers.’

  Annie shut her eyes. She was quite capable of speaking for herself, but Will was right. She should just stop here; at least that way she’d get seen quicker. If there was a problem with her brain she’d rather know about it now and get it sorted out. The consultant left them alone. He nodded at Will on his way out.

  Will didn’t care if she was angry with him; she wasn’t going anywhere until they knew she didn’t have any life-threatening injuries or diseases.

  ‘Pass me your phone, please?’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘I need to speak to Ben and see if she’s come home. Will, I’m worried. What if something bad has happened to her?’

  ‘Come on, Annie, you know that apart from the disasters which happen to us it’s pretty safe to live around here.’

  ‘Do you really think so?’ Annie pictured Henry Smith, the man who had stalked her then tried to kill her in the cellar of the abandoned mansion in the woods near to Ben’s farmhouse, and again after his escape from the secure mental hospital. In her honest opinion she didn’t think that living in South Cumbria had been particularly safe up to now; she just hoped she hadn’t attracted some other psychopath who had decided to kidnap Tilly just to get to her. What if Henry had more than one helper and they were carrying out his final wishes. She wouldn’t put it past him to have had a backup plan should the worst happen to him. In fact, it would make perfect sense. She was about to tell Will this when Ben answered the phone.

  ‘No, she’s not home. Lisa is in a state. I’m going to drive up to Bowness and see if I can spot her.’

  Annie didn’t tell him it was a waste of his time and effort; that he would be better off at home waiting for her. She knew that she would be doing exactly the same thing.

  ‘Okay, look, I’ve had a bit of an accident. Nothing serious but I’m in the hospital and they want me to stay overnight, otherwise I’d come with you. I’ll be out in the morning so I’ll ring you and hopefully she’ll be home by then and oblivious to the fuss she’s caused.’

  ‘Oh, Annie, please tell me you’re both fine. I can’t believe it. What happened?’

  ‘Nothing – a stupid misunderstanding – and I fell down some stairs. Look, the only thing that hurts is my pride. Don’t worry about me, Ben. Please be careful and ring me as soon as she turns up.’

  ‘Will do, and Annie, just for once, do what the doctors tell you.’

  He hung up and she felt terrible for him; he didn’t need to be worrying about her as well as his daughter.

  Will’s phone began to vibrate in his pocket. He took it out to see who it was.

  ‘You should go; there’s nothing you can do here. I’m fine, and I know you have a lot on at the moment.’

  ‘Are you sure? You have no idea how much I hate walking away from you whenever you’re in hospital.’

  She nodded, her eyes threatening to fill with tears. She wanted to walk out with him, but she needed to rule out what was happening with her head. Tomorrow, if Tilly hadn’t turned up, she could go home with a clean bill of health and begin to try and figure out what was happening. Will bent down and kissed her lips; she inhaled – he smelt so damn good. She kissed him back then pushed him away.

  ‘Go, work some of your magic and make everything right.’

  Will didn’t smile this time. She could almost see the weight of the case and worry about Tilly pressing down on his shoulders. Not to mention wondering what to do about Stu. She felt terrible.

  ‘I truly wish I could, Annie, but sometimes even I just can’t fix
everything.’

  He turned away from her and walked towards the exit; she had to blink back the tears that filled her eyes. Why was her life so bloody complicated? It never used to be like this. A nurse and a porter appeared at her bedside.

  ‘Right, you’re off up to the ward – even got your own little side room so at least you can have a sleep. That will be nice, won’t it?’

  Annie looked at the nurse, who was just trying to be friendly, and wondered if she even had the slightest inkling of what a fucked-up life the woman on the bed in front of her led. A nice peaceful sleep would be wonderful, but it was very unlikely – it would be filled with the strange sounds of patients on the ward and the snatches of sleep would only come between the worry for her niece and trying to figure out who this latest ghostly visitor was. Who was she talking about when she said he was at it again? Annie needed to figure it out, fast.

  ‘Yes, it sounds wonderful.’

  Annie lay back and closed her eyes as they began to wheel her bed out of the cubicle and down towards the corridor which led to the lifts and the wards.

  Chapter 19

  Will walked out of the hospital. He had so much to do he wasn’t sure where he should start and he was so tired of all this. He wanted to speak to Smithy again. Annie was right to be so worried about Tilly. As far as teenagers went she was a good kid; she didn’t go out and get drunk or take drugs. She idolised Annie and there had been a few times she had mentioned joining the police. Will had laughed at her, telling her there was no way he could babysit two Grahams and do his own job, but he had been secretly pleased that she wanted to do something with her life. Tilly even looked a little like Annie; she had the same thick, black curly hair – although she straightened hers to within an inch of its life – and she had Annie’s kind eyes. Oh God, what if somehow Henry had made the connection and had arranged for one of his sick friends to pay her a visit? The thought made his stomach lurch and he tasted stale coffee in the back of his throat. His phone began to ring and he answered it to a breathless Kav.

  ‘The stupid fucker has run off. We can’t find him anywhere.’

  ‘Where are you?’

  ‘At the playground near to Biggar Bank beach. We were taking him home, but he wanted us to pull over. Said he was going to puke, so I got out of the car with him… the next thing I knew, he’d booted me in the balls and was running away.’

  ‘Jesus Christ, maybe he’ll make his way home anyway.’

  ‘I doubt it. He’s never stopped crying the whole way here and mumbling to himself. The tide’s coming in, Will. Cathy and I have looked all over and been shouting him for the last five minutes. It’s so windy I can’t hear a thing. I’ve had to get back inside the car to phone you.’

  ‘Jesus, have you phoned it in?’

  ‘Cathy is on the phone now to call Handling, and officers are on their way. Sorry, Will, I had no choice. What if the stupid bastard runs into the sea?’

  ‘I’m on my way.’

  He put the phone down. No need to ask where exactly they were as the circus of blue and white flashing lights should give it away by the time he could get over there. He started the car and swore.

  ‘Come on, someone give me a break. I’ve had enough of this shit to last me a lifetime. No more, please.’

  He drove way too fast, but he didn’t care; there wouldn’t be anyone to pull him over because hopefully they would all be over at the beach searching for Stu. He made it across town and over the bridge in record time. There were a couple of police vans already parked up. It was so dark – the sky was full of black clouds and there was no sign of the moon; none of the streetlights were working because the council were in the process of replacing all the ancient ones with new ones. Only the bright blue lights illuminated the inky night sky. He got out of his car and ran across to where Cathy was standing with her arms wrapped around herself, talking to the duty sergeant. A couple of officers were down at the shore line, walking along with one of the bright dragon light torches and scanning the beach, shouting Stu’s name. Will cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted.

  ‘Stu, Stu, come out – it’s okay, we can sort this out. It’s just been a misunderstanding. Come and talk to me, buddy.’

  Will’s words were carried away by the wind and he just hoped that wherever Stu was he heard some of it. Sirens and lights filled the air as more patrols drove along to the stretch of road where they were standing, to join in the search. It was cold tonight. If he curled up and fell asleep behind some bushes or a rock he’d get hypothermia and die – that was if he hadn’t already thrown himself into the sea.

  ‘I don’t think he’s chucked himself into the sea – for one thing it’s too cold, and Stu’s a bit of a wimp.’

  Kav took the words from Will’s mouth; Will nodded in agreement.

  ‘I think you may be right; that means he’s probably hiding somewhere. We need a dog.’

  Cathy nodded.

  ‘There’s one on the way. Shite, we should have just locked the stupid bugger up. We try and do him a good turn and this is how he repays us. I sure as hell don’t want him doing any harm to himself, even if he is number one on my hitlist.’

  Will took out his phone; it was almost dead.

  ‘Has anyone phoned Debs? He might be making his way there.’

  There was an almighty screech as the panda car that was driving round the corner at high speed slammed its brakes on. They all turned in time to see Stu, who had stumbled across the road from wherever he had been hiding, as he hit the bonnet of the car. His body flew up into the air and landed with a sickening thud in the middle of the road. Will ran as fast as he could towards the lifeless form, dread forming in the pit of his stomach. All he kept saying under his breath was ‘please God, please God’. He reached the bloody, crumpled mess that was his colleague and knelt down, pressing two fingers against his neck for a pulse. There was a lot of blood but there was also a pulse and he felt a sigh of relief escape his lips. Within no time at all an ambulance arrived and he felt himself being lifted up by Kav’s strong arm and led away.

  ‘Let them do their stuff, Will. He’ll be fine eventually. It might take a little while – but you never know, that knock to the head might just give his brain enough of a shake to do him some good.’

  Will looked up at Kav’s grim face. He wasn’t smiling; in fact he looked grey in the blue-tinged light. Cathy was standing with her arm around the officer who had been driving. He looked as if he was going to pass out.

  ‘I didn’t see him, he just stumbled out. I swear to God I didn’t see him.’

  ‘Son, we all saw him stumble into the road. None of this is your fault, but we have to go through the procedures, you know how it is. There was nothing you could do. Do you understand that?’

  He looked at Cathy.

  ‘I repeat, this isn’t your fault. Stu was the worse for wear; he’s been drinking a lot and was hammered; he wasn’t thinking straight. Say it after me, “This wasn’t my fault.”’

  ‘This wasn’t my fault.’

  ‘See, I told you it wasn’t. It’s a complete mess – I’m not going to deny that – but you can stop blaming yourself right now because it wouldn’t have mattered who was driving; the outcome would have been the same. If some idiot is going to throw themselves in front of a fast-moving car they are going to come off a lot worse than they ever imagined.’

  There was some heavy banging and clattering as the lift was lowered from the ambulance. Will felt guilt begin to weigh heavy in his heart. This was all his fault; if only he hadn’t been so angry with Stu. Kav looked at his friend.

  ‘Will, you’d better stop that now or I’ll set Cathy on you as well.’

  ‘But this is all my fault.’

  ‘How is this your fault? Did you tell Stu to go and get so steaming drunk that he thought it was a good idea to go to your house and assault your wife?’

  ‘No, but...’

  ‘But what? The only person who is at fault here is Stuart, and I�
�m afraid if he makes it then he’s going to have plenty of time in hospital to mull over what a fucking prick he has been.’

  ‘I just feel responsible.’

  ‘Well, stop it. You have enough to worry about. How’s Annie?’

  ‘She’s fine. They’re keeping her in overnight for observations.’

  ‘And she agreed? There’s a first.’

  Will smiled at this. The ambulance drove off with the unconscious Stu and he watched it leave. He wanted to go with it but the duty sergeant had gone instead. A car pulled over and the duty inspector got out; he pulled his cap on, which was immediately blown off by a gust of wind. Will stopped it with his foot then bent down and picked it up, handing it to him.

  ‘Sir.’

  ‘Will, how is he?’

  ‘A mess.’

  ‘Jesus, what a night to pick to swap my shift. I should have known better. There are plenty of witnesses to say that this was all his own fault, is that right?’

  Kav nodded, ‘Yep, there are.’

  ‘Dare I ask what he was doing in a car with you and the inspector?’

  ‘He turned up at Will’s house in Hawkshead very drunk just as we were leaving; we offered him a lift home. He said he was going to be sick so I pulled over and he ran off.’

  The inspector nodded his head.

  ‘Bloody idiot. Has anyone called Debs?’

  Will showed him his phone that was still in his hand.

  ‘I was about to when he ran into the road. I think you’d better send an officer around to be fair. I know they’ve split up but she’s still going to be upset.’

  ‘If I can find an officer that isn’t involved in this mess then I will; crash scene investigation are on their way. We’ll sort something out. Can you all get your witness statements to me by tomorrow night and I’ll pass them on?’

  Will nodded. He walked back to his car, which was inside the perimeter of the cordon of blue and white police tape which was whipping itself into a frenzy with the wind. Thank God he was parked behind where it had happened so he could leave – he needed to get out of here. He felt as if he should be the one to go and speak to Debs. He jogged back to where the inspector was talking to Kav and Cathy.