The Beth Papadakis Thriller Box Set
Page 1
The Beth Papadakis Box Set
Books 1, 2 and 3
Cara Alexander
Contents
Followed
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
The Killing
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
PANIC
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Keep in Touch
About the Author
1
LONDON
Paddington Station
Early September
The bus sways around Marble Arch, then turns left into Edgware Road, I glance at my phone. I’ll never make it, my train leaves in twelve minutes. I wanted to go to Helen’s house, now I probably won’t make it, what a shit day this has turned out to be.
Suddenly the bus gathers speed; it turns into Praed Street, then a few minutes later, squeals to a halt outside Paddington Underground Station.
Leaping off of the bus I sprint across the street, a cyclist curses me; I ignore him and run down the small side street into London Paddington train station.
Which platform is it?
I look around in desperation searching for the overhead information board. Someone nudges me, I turn to see who it is.
There’s a guy who looks about eighteen, grinning at me.
‘The board’s over there!’ He points straight ahead of me, then turns and runs to catch his train.
I quickly scan the board - London to Oxford - leaving in two minutes. Running as fast as I can, I swipe my travel ticket over the automatic barrier, jump on the train and flop down on one of the pale blue seats. The whistle blows, the doors close and the train clanks and groans its way out of the station.
With my face pressed against the window I gaze at the passing warehouses and rows of old terraced houses and close my eyes.
What a terrible interview that was, what a waste of time. All they wanted was someone to dish the dirt, be a newspaper gossip columnist.
‘Mind if I sit here?’
I open my eyes, there’s a scruffy looking guy peering into my face. He points to the seat beside me. I turn and look around. There’s an elderly man at the far end of the carriage reading his newspaper, otherwise the carriage is empty.
I gesture to the rows of empty seats. ‘There are lots of seats over there.’
He just ignores me and plonks himself down. ‘No, I’d rather sit here.’
He stretches out his long thin legs and gives me a sly sideways look. I can feel my cheeks burning. His voice is weird, quite high pitched, he has watery blue eyes, a droopy looking brown moustache and limp, greasy brown hair.
What a shit day now this idiot to deal with, if I was on the Tube, I could understand it, people pressed together like sardines, the stench of body odour, stale breath, unwanted bodily contact, you’re lucky if you can find a seat, but this train is empty.
He sits staring at me, he has a horrible sneer on his face, it’s as if he’s challenging me to say something. I feel like punching him in the face, but I don’t.
Without looking at him, I get up and walk through the train. I’ll find another seat with people nearby.
An hour later the train pulls into Oxford, this is where I get off.
I’m just about to leave the station when I think of Helen, she asked if I could check on her house for her, I said I would go, it’s not far from Mum’s. Her parents were killed in a car accident a year ago, she hasn’t been back to the house since.
Instead of leaving the station at Oxford, I change platforms and wait for the train to Evesly. It’s a lovely day, it will only takes twenty minutes by train to get there, I’ll have enough time to check out the house, then collect Jamie from school.
A few minutes later the train arrives, but unlike the train from London this one is quite busy. I heave a sigh of relief, no more empty carriages for me today.
The fields of corn and honey coloured Cotswold stone houses we pass along the way bring back memories of when I used to live here, it seems a long time ago but nothing’s changed. I went to school here for a couple of years, it’s where I met Helen. After school we used to take the shortcut home through the fields at the back of the station. I wonder if it’s still there.
I sigh and settle down, this won’t take long, a quick look at Helen’s house, check that everything’s okay, then go and collect Jamie.
Twenty minutes later I’m outside Evesly station. Nothing much has changed, everything still looks more of less the same as the last time I was here. It’s a typical sleepy Cotswold village where everyone k
nows each other. When I lived here my parents worked at a college in Oxford, it was only for a couple of years, then Dad’s mum became ill. He wanted to be close to her so we went back to Athens.
Throwing my jacket over my shoulder, I walk around to the back of the station. The path’s still here, it’s a bit overgrown but on a day like this who wants to take the bus, it’s only a ten-minute walk.
As I stroll along the overgrown pathway, I inhale the familiar scent of wildflowers and corn. It’s early September and the blackberry bushes are heavy with fruit. Mum used to make blackberry pies with these. I stop to eat some, they still taste good.
After a few minutes walking I stop, I get the weirdest feeling I’m being followed, I turn to look but nobody’s there. I begin walking a bit faster, I don’t want to be late, it’s Jamie’s second day at his new school.
Soon I can see the top of Helen’s house, not far to go, just a few minutes and I’ll be there.
The sound of a twig snapping makes me freeze. I’m not imagining it, then to my horror I hear someone laugh. I swing round. ‘What’s so damn funny?’
Before I can see who it is, something’s thrown over my head, I try pulling it off but they’re holding it tight. I give them a kick, then another.
‘Fucking bitch.’
I’m thrown facedown onto the ground. My arms are behind me in a vice-like grip. I try to fight him off but he’s strong. One of his hands is up my skirt. His hand is inside my pants. His grip on my arms is not so strong now, he’s too busy trying to pull my pants down.
I quickly turn and kick him. He lets out a shriek of pain and doubles up, clutching his crotch.
‘Bastard,’ I scream, pulling the cloth off of my face. I kick him again, this time in the face. He falls back, blood streaming from his nose. Hauling himself up he makes a run for it, then he turns and shouts. ‘You wait, you bitch, I’ll get you for this.’
I stand transfixed. I know who it is; it’s the guy from the train, the one who sat next to me. I watch as he crawls through a hedge then start running after him. Brambles bite into my flesh and tear at my clothes, but it’s no use, when I get to the other side he’s vanished.
There’s not much I can do so I start walking back to where it happened. On the way I get the feeling he’s watching me, but I can’t see him.
My jacket and bag are still where I dropped them. I pick them up and walk back to the station. I feel so angry. I can’t believe what just happened. My blouse is torn, my skirt’s ripped, my tights are in shreds. As I enter the station a couple of people stop to stare at me.
‘Are you alright, Miss?’
A man with a half-eaten sandwich in his hand walks over to me. ‘What happened?’ he asks, looking at my clothes.
I would have thought it was obvious!
I see his startled expression. Did I say that aloud?
Quickly finishing off his sandwich he takes out his phone and points to a nearby bench. ‘I’m the station manager, sit down, I’ll call the police.’
I go to sit down and stumble. He leaps forward and grabs my arm.
‘Are you okay?’
‘Yes, of course,’ I snap.
He quickly takes his hand from my arm.
‘I’m sorry,’ I mutter. ‘But I’m in a hurry, I have to...’
‘Is everything, alright?’
I look up. A policewoman stands looking at me with a frown on her face. She looks at me then at the station manager. Before I can say anything, the station manager pulls her to one side.
‘She’s been attacked, shall I call an ambulance?’
Brushing him aside she takes out her notebook and walks over to me, he follows. ‘I want to know what happened, but first I need your name and address.’
I garble my name and address and tell her briefly what happened. Then there’s the sound of a train, it’s the next train to Oxford.
‘It’s my train,’ I gasp. ‘I have to go.’
‘Don’t forget to go to your local police station,’ she calls. ‘You’ll need to sign a statement.’
I nod, run to the platform and jump on the train.
Back at home I change, then run to Jamie’s school.
It’s just gone three thirty when I arrive, I can see Jamie in the playground sitting all alone on a bench.
He looks up.
‘Mum!’ he calls, waving to me.
I run over and hug him. ‘How was school?’
His face drops. ‘I hate it. Can I go back to my old school?’
‘But I thought you liked it.’
‘I hate it Mum, I really hate it.’
Grabbing his hand, I pull him along with me. ‘Don’t worry, this is only your second day, when you make some friends, you’ll love it.’
I spot a newsagent’s shop across the road.
‘Come on, let’s get an ice cream.’
We run across the road to the shop, school’s forgotten for the moment, but for how long?
2
BACK AT MUM’S
I’m curled up on the sofa thinking. Jamie's drinking orange juice and eating cake. I sit watching him. He hasn't noticed anything's wrong, why should he? I'll give Helen a call, let her know what's happened.
I stretch and walk over to Jamie. ‘Do you have any homework tonight?’
He shrugs.
‘Why don't you like your new school Jamie, has anything happened?’ I tried talking to him about it on the way home from school, but he kept changing the subject.
He sits scowling. ‘I don't want to talk about it.’
‘Okay, but if you're having a hard time...’
He grunts, crams the rest of the cake into his mouth and looks at me. ‘Can I watch TV?’
‘Yes, I'll give Helen a call then I'll get dinner ready, okay?’
He nods, toddles off to the kitchen for another slice of cake, comes back, switches on the TV and I leave.
As I close the door the Star Wars theme starts playing.
The top of the stairs is the best place to call from, I don’t want him to hear me talking to Helen. Her phone rings a couple of times then she answers.
‘Helen, it's me, I need to talk to you.’
‘Beth,’ she exclaims, sounding surprised. ‘You don't sound good, what's wrong?’
‘I was having a bad day, but then it got worse, much worse.’
‘What happened?’
‘Someone tried to rape me.’
‘What!’
‘Yes, I was attacked, and he got away.’
She gasps. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Yes, I'm just so angry.’
‘Do you know who it was? Did you call the police?’
‘I spoke to a police officer at the station.’
‘But where did it happen?’
‘Oh, it’s a long story.’
‘Tell me Beth, I want to know.’
‘Okay, I was coming back from an interview in London, I was on the train minding my own business, the carriage was practically empty then a guy got on. He insisted on sitting next to me. Well, of course I got pissed off and moved to another seat, further down the train. I got off at Oxford then caught the train to Evesly.’
‘Why were you going to Evesly?’
Oh shit, now she’ll blame herself for asking me to check on her house.
I start pacing around the small landing. There are a few stairs leading to the top floor and in my frustration, I give the stair banister a kick, wishing it was him.
‘Take it easy Beth, calm down, come back here for a few days, you can stay with me, I told you before...’
‘How can I? Jamie just started school.’
‘I knew I shouldn’t have asked you to go,’ she mutters, as if to herself.
‘It’s not your fault, the little shit must have followed me when I changed trains at Oxford. What sort of a person does that?’
Jamie comes out of the living room and looks up at me.
‘What’s for dinner Mum?’
‘Look Helen, I have to
make dinner, I'll call you tomorrow.’
‘When’s your mum coming back from Spain, Beth?’
‘I’m not sure, I’ll call you tomorrow…’
I run downstairs, there’s a bottle of Pinot Noir on the kitchen table, it’s a bit early but I need a drink. Filling a small glass to the top I gulp half of it down.
‘I'm hungry Mum,’ Jamie calls from the living room.
I open the fridge and peer inside. There’s a tub of falafel and another of hummus.
‘One of your favourites,’ I call.