Читать книгу The Girls In The Woods - Helen Phifer - Страница 15

Chapter 4

Will loaded the cases into the back of his car then took the trolley back; it was drizzling in Manchester and the airport behind them looked grey and gloomy. Annie was sitting in the front passenger seat not quite believing that they were back in England after such a perfect holiday. She pulled her phone out of her handbag and rooted around in the glove compartment for the charger. As it vibrated back to life she saw that she had twelve missed calls from her sister-in-law. She also had a message box full of texts saying ‘ring me’ but not what it was about. If it had been urgent then she would have said there was something wrong. Annie liked the woman but she was a bit too tightly wound up for her – she made a huge fuss over everything and insisted on sharing every trial and tribulation over her social media accounts, which drove Annie mad to the point where she had unfriended her. Annie didn’t want to know about every argument that Lisa had with her brother and her niece and neither should anyone else. She pressed the green button to ring her back, hoping this wasn’t going to be a thirty-minute phone call about Ben being late for dinner three times this year. Will got in the car and she mouthed the word ‘Lisa’ to him, and he smiled and turned the key. By the time they got back to Hawkshead the conversation might have finished.

‘Well, I’m sorry, Lisa, but I agree with both Ben and Tilly this time. You don’t know if she’ll even get the job.’

Annie held the phone away from her ear and Will laughed a little too loud, making Annie slam it back against her ear.

‘What no, it was the radio. You know she’s welcome to stop with me and Will if she does get it. I don’t mind driving her to work and picking her up. That’s no problem. Look, if I was you I’d just let her go and see what happens and then I’d start to worry about it. Okay, bye.’

She looked at Will.

‘Bloody hell. Tilly wants to get a job living in at some hotel in Bowness.’

‘And I take it Lisa doesn’t agree.’

‘That’s putting it mildly. I also got the distinct impression that she doesn’t want Tilly to live with us either if she does get the job. You wouldn’t mind, would you? It might stop me dying of boredom.’

Will nudged her in the side.

‘Families, eh? Of course I wouldn’t, although I kind of understand why Lisa wouldn’t want her daughter to live with us.’

Annie looked at him. ‘Why not?’ She paused then nodded.

‘I guess not. She probably thinks she’ll be sending her off to join the “serial killers anonymous” group. Which also reminds me – I don’t want our baby being dragged into that world either. Do you think everything will be okay? Is it definitely all over with him… you don’t think he has any kind of revenge plan organised with someone in the event of his death?’

She didn’t want to think about him but now Lisa had forced her to.

‘I bloody well hope not. Look, he’s dead. We know he’s dead – I even went to his post mortem. I didn’t tell you because I was still in hospital and you had more than enough to worry about, but Matt sent Stu to come for me. I watched as Matt sliced his body open and removed his internal organs. To be honest I was surprised the man had a heart inside there, but he did. They all got shoved in a plastic bag and sewn back up inside him. Then I watched as he was cremated. I had to make sure he wasn’t coming back to get you, to get us. Henry Smith is definitely dead. I promise you, it’s over with him for good.

‘Why did you not tell me about any of this before?’

‘I let you down, Annie. Twice that man got the better of me and twice you almost died. I wasn’t going to wait on the sidelines and pretend it was all okay. I had to make sure it was over, to make sure that I didn’t let it happen a third time.’

She reached over and stroked his arm, feeling terrible that he blamed himself when the only person to blame was finally dead and out of their lives.

‘None of it was your fault, but thank you, Will. I didn’t want to go back to reality just yet – we’ve only been in England for an hour and boom, back in the room. Thanks a lot, Lisa.’

‘I’m afraid so. Never mind, don’t worry about her – let her sort her own mess out for a change. How many missed calls have you got off Jake?’

‘None. He knew we needed that holiday and a break. For once he hasn’t had any dramas that he couldn’t cope with himself. I’m beginning to feel a bit redundant.’

‘I wouldn’t worry about that too much. You know as well as I do Jake will be on fine form. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t waiting for us to get back to the cottage.’

She smiled. She missed Jake – although not quite as much now that she had Will – but her best friend was funny, fiercely loyal and a complete drama queen. She was looking forward to catching up with him, his equally-as-handsome husband, Alex, and their gorgeous little girl, Alice. In fact she was going to invite them up to have a meal and stay over, although she’d better clear it with Will first seeing as how he was the gourmet cook. Her burnt pizza was legend amongst her circle of close friends. They could invite Kav, who was more like her dad than a boss and had been the one to give her away at her wedding, and Cathy. They were now in a steady relationship, thanks to Annie throwing them together. They had even gone public, much to her and Jake’s delight. If it hadn’t been for all of their friendship she and Will might not have been here to tell the tale of what happened at the Lake House six months ago.

‘Penny for them?’

‘Sorry, I was thinking about… you know… everything that happened. It was easier to block it out when we were lying under the tropical sun. It was so far away from here.’

Will reached out, squeezing her fingers.

‘I know, it was much easier to forget the whole nightmare ever happened. Now we’re back here it seems as if it was only yesterday. We need to push it to the back of our minds. It’s over and done, that bloody man is dead and hopefully he went straight to hell because even that place is far too good for him.’

She squeezed his fingers back.

‘Yes, you’re right. It is far too good for him. I agree – no more thinking about him or talking about him. Let’s concentrate on us and the baby. We need to think of names. It can’t come out and be called baby It.’

Will began to chuckle.

‘I’m easy, as long as you don’t want to call it Horatio or Ermentrude – whatever you like, I’m sure that I will.’

‘Don’t you like Horatio? I thought it had a nice ring to it. Horatio Ashworth.’

She began to giggle and Will smiled. It was his favourite sound in the world. The turn off for Newby Bridge came into sight; they were almost home. Twenty minutes of some of the most beautiful, lush, green scenery and then they would reach the small lane which led to Apple Tree Cottage. Annie loved her home. She had dreamt about living in a house like it since she was a small child and knew that she was very fortunate that her dream had come true.

‘I can’t wait to show your dad and Lily the photographs. She’ll definitely want to go when she sees how perfect it was.’

‘I bet she’s already made him book the flights.’

‘I bet she has. Your dad marrying Lily was better than any fountain of youth. She keeps him young, a bit like me and you. I’m much younger than you. I hope I have the same effect.’

She winked at Will who began to laugh.

‘I wish I could say you were, Annie, but somehow you seem to be having the opposite effect on me. Have you seen the grey hairs that have come through, and the worry lines across my forehead? You, my little cupcake, are the complete opposite. But I wouldn’t have you any other way.’