The Girls in the Woods Read online

  ‘Just as well I stole my brother’s pirate copy of The Terminator then; that Schwarzenegger guy is gorgeous even if he is a murdering robot.’

  Wendy began to giggle.

  ‘And how did you manage that?’

  ‘He’s too interested in the Frank Bruno fight that’s on television later. It’s all he keeps talking about.’

  They went into the kitchen where Wendy proved she could turn on the cooker and cook two pizzas. She also managed to turn the radio on. They both squealed and began to dance around the tiny kitchen to ‘I want to see the sunshine after the rain’; picking up a spatula and fish slice they began singing the words to each other down their makeshift microphones. Wendy knew that one day she would be famous for either being a supermodel, although she wasn’t quite tall enough, or a singer in a pop band – it didn’t matter, as long as everyone loved her and her face was plastered all over the latest magazines.

  Chapter 11

  Jo was restless. She had fallen asleep a couple of hours ago but hadn’t been able to get comfortable ever since. She was not quite awake but not asleep either; images kept filling her mind and she had no idea what they meant. As she lay there next to Heath, listening to his heavy breathing, she found herself in his studio – somewhere she hadn’t been since the early days, not long after they’d first met, and she’d got drunk, letting him take those awful photos of her that she’d made him promise to burn.

  In the half-dream, half-vision, she felt like she was waiting for Heath to come in, and began to look around; as she turned to the back of the room she looked into the huge mirror which covered the entire wall and jumped. As well as her reflection staring back at her there was a girl who didn’t look as if she was old enough to be eighteen, although the underwear she was wearing was more suitable for a much older woman. The girl was pouting at herself with the deepest red lips Jo had ever seen, and she had ice blonde long hair. The girl shivered then looked down at her arms. The smooth, tight flesh was now covered in raised bumps which made her look as if she had the skin of a freshly plucked chicken. There was a silk dressing gown on the floor and the girl picked it up, wrapping it around herself to keep her warm. Then she turned back to stare at herself once more, turning from side to side, admiring the view. Jo stepped back, near the door which led from the house into the studio and into the shadows; she hadn’t wanted to be there and knew he would have gone mad with her if he caught her. What was that saying Jo’s mother used to say to her when she was that age? Something about vanity being a sin? It was that long ago she couldn’t remember, but whoever this girl was she loved herself, that much was clear. The door banged, making her jump as he walked in, his camera dangling around his neck. He smiled at the girl and nodded. Jo watched as she slipped the silk gown from her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. She didn’t want to be a part of this but she couldn’t stop thinking about it and instead she had to watch him smile in appreciation at the gorgeous young thing standing in front of him. Lifting his camera he began to click away, walking around her.

  ‘That’s it, don’t pose. You look much sexier when you’re not trying too hard.’

  After a few minutes he crossed the room towards her; grabbing her arm he tugged her towards him. Jo wanted to scream at him to let go of the girl, but she couldn’t find her voice. A spike of dread lodged in the base of her spine, so cold it made her want to pee it was pressing down on her bladder so much. He yanked the girl’s arm and she was standing so close to them she could feel the heat from his body.

  ‘You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever photographed.’

  His hands reached up and he began to tousle her long, blonde hair with his fingertips.

  ‘There, now you look as if you’ve just been taken to bed and shown a good time.’

  He stepped away again, and Jo noted the redness creeping up the girl’s cheeks – she was so young that she might not even be eighteen. What on earth was he doing taking these sorts of photos of a young girl? It wasn’t right; it was indecent.

  ‘Perfect – you are so sexy yet demure. You must drive all the boys mad.’

  The camera continued clicking away for another few minutes and then he stopped.

  ‘I think that’s a wrap; you can get dressed now.’

  Jo felt her whole body relax.

  ‘Really? Wow, that was so fast.’

  ‘It’s easy when you’re working with someone so naturally beautiful. There was no having to work miracles to make you look presentable. You’re a natural at this.’

  The girl smiled, her cheeks burning, and walked across to where she’d folded her clothes into a neat pile. She began to tug on her jeans, not paying any attention to what Heath was doing at the other side of the studio. A door banged as he walked out to where his dark room was and Jo made her move. She knew she had to get out of there before he came back in and caught her, but she couldn’t remember anything else. What happened next? Where was that pretty girl now? She began to drift off to sleep only to begin having the most awful nightmare where someone was choking Jo whilst the girl from her vision was the one in the dark, watching. She felt as if she was choking and began to flail around on the bed. The door flew open and light bathed the room, the invisible grip on her throat relaxed and she could breathe once more. He was standing there, staring.

  ‘What’s the matter with you? Are you having some kind of epileptic fit?’

  She sat up gasping and shook her head.

  ‘I couldn’t breathe. I felt as if...’

  She didn’t finish her sentence. She couldn’t say she thought he was trying to kill her when he hadn’t even been in the same room.

  ‘Never mind – it was just a horrible dream.’

  He nodded and shut the door behind him. Getting out of bed, she went into the small bathroom and turned on the light. Expecting to see red marks around her neck she lifted her fingers to check, but there was nothing there. How could a dream like that be so real? Her mind must be playing tricks on her? She couldn’t shake the feeling that it had been far more than a dream. Was that how that poor woman died out in the woods? Had Heath brutally killed and buried her out there? How did she know about that young girl in the studio? It was the first time Jo had ever thought about it. Had she seen him doing something bad all those years ago or was she letting her imagination run wild? Scolding herself she cupped a handful of water, sipping it to quench the dry feeling in the back of her throat. She didn’t want to speak to him or see him and if she went downstairs it was inevitable. Instead she went back to bed, pulling the covers up because it was freezing cold in the bedroom. So cold that her teeth began to chatter. Afraid to turn off the light, she left it on. She was also afraid to go to sleep but she was so tired; she felt as if she’d been fighting for her life.

  ***

  He went back downstairs, puzzled as to why she had looked at him as if he was a ghost. He knew deep down that she hated him now much more than she loved him and he didn’t care, but he’d never seen her openly show him such contempt. If the police weren’t sniffing around he’d have given her a good slap but the last thing he wanted was that smarmy copper coming back and seeing her with a black eye. It would arouse far too many suspicions; they had to look like they were a happily married couple. He’d heard talk in the village of the police bringing in highly trained sniffer dogs to scour the woods and make sure there were no more bodies buried out there and he was nervous. He had no idea if a dog was clever enough to sniff out a corpse from twenty years ago or not, but if they did find the other grave it wouldn’t look good for him – especially living on the edge of the woods. But surely they would think he wouldn’t be so stupid, and there was no evidence to tie him to the bodies except for his photographs. He had long since burnt the clothes he’d worn when he’d photographed the girls and dug the graves. He’d worn gloves and a hat; the only evidence they would find would all be circumstantial, not forensic. As long as they couldn’t trace those girls to having visited him before they disappea
red off the face of the earth everything would be okay. He would just have to play it by ear, keep his cool and not get worked up by that; his hands involuntarily clenched into tight fists. Just the thought of that policeman, blatantly squeezing Jo’s hand right in front of his eyes, made him feel violent. He punched the wall – fuck – skinning his knuckles in the process before he’d even thought about it.

  Chapter 12

  Will reached out his hand to feel for Annie but the bed was empty. He opened his eyes, squinting at the clock on the wall, and jumped out of bed. He’d thought that he would be plagued by nightmares, but he’d slept all night and as far as he could remember he hadn’t dreamt once. Pulling on a pair of boxers he went to the bathroom; as he opened the door, a whiff of grilled bacon filled his nostrils and his stomach let out a groan. He was starving this morning, which wasn’t surprising considering he’d hardly eaten anything yesterday, relying on cups of strong coffee to keep him going. By the time he went downstairs Annie was plating up his cooked breakfast; he walked behind her, wrapping his arms around her.

  ‘That smells divine, it doesn’t even smell burnt.’

  ‘Cheeky – I can cook a little, just not to your standards.’

  He kissed her cheek then took the plate from her and pulled out a stool from underneath the breakfast bar; he watched as she made a pot of coffee and a bowl of cereal for herself.

  ‘A good old bacon and egg sarnie would do you the world of good, set you up for the day. You look like you need feeding up a bit – that cereal isn’t exactly good for you.’

  ‘Make me throw up for the rest of the day more like; just cooking it makes me feel sick.’

  ‘Aw, you shouldn’t have bothered. Sorry.’

  ‘Don’t be daft – I’m not a complete wimp. You’re going to be busy all day and I wanted to make sure you had a good breakfast in case it’s hours before you get the chance to eat again.’

  He blew her a kiss.

  ‘You’re the best. What would I do without you?’

  ‘Probably have a stress-free life.’

  She winked at him but they both knew she meant it.

  ‘What are you going to do today? Have you got any appointments?’

  ‘Not today. I’m probably going to be bored out of my tiny mind. I know you hate me working, but I can’t stand being at home on my own all day. Can I not at least come with you and do some house-to-house enquiries or paperwork in the office?’

  ‘Annie, as much as I’d love you to come into work and help out, you and me both know that neither Kav nor Cathy would allow it. You’re on the sick for a reason. I don’t want your blood pressure getting any higher – and trust me, a day working with my team and it would be through the roof.’

  ‘Bollocks.’

  ‘Ever the lady… Why don’t you go and see my dad? Get Lily to take you shopping, I’m sure there must be a baby outfit somewhere in the North West of England that she hasn’t already bought.’

  Annie grinned at him. She loved Lily but she didn’t want to talk about babies all day. Soon enough she would have her very own baby and, as much as she couldn’t wait, she would rather spend what little free time she had before its arrival doing the stuff that she enjoyed and that included her police work.

  ‘It’s okay, thanks – I can’t take a day of shopping. I hate it at the best of times and combined with hours of baby talk it might just send me over the edge. I’ll find something to do; did I tell you about the woman I met at the doctor’s?

  He shook his head, not wanting to talk through a mouth full of bacon and egg.

  ‘It was so embarrassing – I actually knocked her over with my humongous stomach, but she was so nice we got chatting and I took her for a coffee to apologise. I might go and see if I can find her this morning. I’m not sure where she lives but it can’t be that hard to find her and I imagine Marge at the post office will know who I’m talking about. She knows everything about everybody.’

  ‘Yep, you should definitely do that – did you check her credentials first, though? I mean you’re not a very good judge of character, are you?’

  He winked at her and she flipped him the finger. Will laughed. He felt bad for her – he knew it was killing her being stuck at home, but it was as if a giant weight had been lifted from his shoulders knowing that she wasn’t out on the streets putting herself at risk. Annie had the worst track record for attracting violent men into her life, worse than anyone else he’d ever known.

  ‘I’m sorry, I’m only joking – I know that you’re fed up. How about you come into the village and see me at dinner time? I’ve asked if we can use the village hall as a temporary base whilst everything is ongoing. I’ll even take you out for your lunch – my treat.’

  She smiled at him. That was something – at least he wouldn’t be working far from her should she need him. In fact, as sad as it was for whoever’s body they had discovered in that grave, it was good for him – no long drive to work and five minutes from home. He mopped up the rest of his egg and shoved the slice of toast in his mouth.

  ‘I’d better get going. The sooner we crack on the better.’

  She nodded, staring at his lack of clothes.

  ‘Are you going to get dressed first? I mean, don’t get me wrong, there is nothing more beautiful than the sight of you dressed only in your tight white boxers, but I don’t know if the rest of the village is ready for such excitement.’

  ‘Of course I am. You don’t think I’d go out looking like this, do you?’

  ‘Nope, probably not, but you just never know.’

  He turned to run upstairs to get dressed. He always wore a suit to work – the suits that he knew she secretly loved to see him in but would never admit it – more often than not teasing him about them.

  He kissed her before he left and she pushed him away laughing. ‘Go before I make you stay with me and finish building that cot.’

  Will decided that skeleton in the woods was a much better option than trying to decipher the instructions that had come with the cot. He knew he should have insisted on buying one ready built, but Annie would not waste money – which was sweet, but on this occasion he really wouldn’t have minded paying the extra. He got into his car and backed out of the drive; every time he left this house he felt as if he was leaving a tiny piece of himself behind, he loved it so much. It struck him that maybe that was how ghosts came to be, leaving so much of themselves behind that when they died they stayed in the place they loved. Then he told himself to man up. Annie being pregnant was turning his brain to mush. Before he knew it he’d be wandering around barefoot writing poetry and hugging trees. Although somehow he didn’t think his tough, funny wife would allow that. Because of the scrapes she’d got into the last couple of years he had also become much tougher; he had been ready to kill Henry Smith with his bare hands and he had felt no regrets, questions or doubts about it. Before he’d stepped into that kitchen at the lake house he’d felt a calmness descend on his entire body like no other. It had been a blanket of white. No rational thoughts could infiltrate it, and he often wondered late at night when he couldn’t sleep thinking about what had happened if this was how all people felt before they committed murder; if the bubble they wrapped themselves up in turned off all of their emotions. Of course his bubble hadn’t lasted long because Megan had literally burst it with a six-inch carving knife that had gone right through his kidney. The calmness had soon been replaced with white hot pain – pain that had seared his entire body, making him collapse before he even got to face Smith. He turned the car into the car park and wondered how the hell he had got there – he had been so deep in thought the car must have driven itself, because he didn’t remember anything other than leaving the drive. Shit, pay attention Will. You could have killed someone or crashed and what good would you have been then?

  He jumped out of the car and strode the short distance across to the village hall; he hoped Stu was not going to act like an idiot all day because he really couldn’t be bothered. He w
anted everyone focused and ready to go out and find some answers. The hall looked like the old major incident room back at the station. The tables had been set up into small workspaces and there were two laptops, a printer and endless coffee cups and scraps of paper strewn across them. He smiled then stopped as soon as he saw the Detective Chief Inspector and the Chief Super come out of the kitchen with mugs of coffee and deep in conversation. A voice whispered in his ear.

  ‘Sarge, I think you might want to come and take a look at this before those two tossers do.’

  He turned to see Stu, who nodded at him.

  ‘They got here ten minutes ago and have done nothing but talk about who is putting in for the Inspector’s exam and moan about the fact that there are no decent biscuits.’

  ‘Wankers.’

  ‘Tell me about it. I’ve been doing some research on missing persons in the area and in 1995 there was a local girl, Sharon Sale, who disappeared off the face of the earth. She was only seventeen, but on her missing person’s report it was written down that most people thought she ran away because her parents were too strict with her. Both parents had no trace on the system and neither of them had ever been in trouble.’

  ‘Brilliant, Stu – it’s possible it could be her. Do her parents still live in the village?’

  ‘I sent Tracy and Sam to go and knock at their old address and see if they did. They should be back soon.’

  Stu pointed to the image on the computer screen of a very pretty teenager who was trying her best not to smile for what could have passed as her passport photograph. Will felt his heart skip a beat; he didn’t know whether he wanted the body to be her so her family could have closure or whether he didn’t want it to be her so they could believe that she was still out there somewhere enjoying the morning sun on her face and living her life to the full. Fuck, he loved his job but at the same time he also hated it.