The Chalet: the most exciting new debut crime thriller of 2020 to race through this Christmas

by Catherine Cooper

  After I washed up I went back into our room and got dressed. My clothes from the day before were still on the floor so I put those back on. Then I went into the living room and watched TV, but the programmes were not very interesting and there were no cartoons. Sometimes I was not allowed to watch TV because Mama had a headache and she would say the TV was too noisy.

  I watched for ages. I was hungry again. Mama was still not back. I had some more Weetabix and watched some more TV. And then some more. Then there was no more milk left so I climbed up on a chair again and put water from the tap on the Weetabix instead. Even with extra sugar, they weren’t very nice but I ate them anyway because I was very hungry.

  Then it was dark, so I changed into my nightie and got back into bed.

  Mama still wasn’t back. Even with the light on and Teddy with me, I was scared.

  My tummy was rumbling when I woke up. Mama still wasn’t there. I called out and checked all the rooms but there was no reply.

  The Weetabix box was on the table, but it was empty. I opened the fridge and saw a box of cheese triangles. Normally I would have that on some bread, but Mama would spread it because I was not allowed to touch the knives. But I was very hungry now, so I thought that as long as I was really careful maybe this time she wouldn’t mind too much. I opened the box where she kept the bread but there was only the end bit, the crust. It was hard but there was nothing else in there. I took a knife from the drawer really, really carefully and spread one triangle cheese onto it. I was not allowed to spread more than one because that would be wasteful and money didn’t grow on trees, Mama was always saying. I ate the bread and the cheese triangle and it was nice even though the bread was hard but I was still hungry afterwards. So I peeled the wrappers off the other two cheese triangles and ate them without any bread or anything. I was definitely not allowed to do that but I thought maybe Mama wouldn’t mind this time.

  ‘Mama!’ I shouted as loud as I could. ‘Mama!’ But she wasn’t there.

  I put the TV on again and sat on the sofa, cuddling Teddy.

  Mama still wasn’t back by bedtime and I had eaten everything in the fridge and cupboards. Some things were very yukky, like the bowl of baked beans which I found in the fridge and ate cold because I was definitely not allowed to use the cooker because it was hot and could burn me. I ate some other cheese which was there and a yoghurt which tasted a bit fizzy like lemonade. I was still hungry but it was dark and probably bedtime so I got into bed and sang to Teddy until I fell asleep.

  Next morning Mama still wasn’t there. I was so hungry that my tummy hurt and I had eaten all the food. Normally when we had no food, Mama would go to the shop. Because I had no food and Mama wasn’t here, I thought I should go to the shop and get some. But to go to the shop I needed money – Mama was always saying that everything in the shops cost too much money. But then I remembered – I did have some money! Sometimes when I was very good Mama would give me some coins to say thank you for being very good. They were small and brown and I kept them in a special jar.

  I got dressed and tipped all the money out on to my bed. I didn’t know how to count so I didn’t know how much money there was, but it looked like a lot, so I thought I would be able to get plenty of food and wouldn’t need to be hungry any more. I put the money in my pockets – it took up a lot of room because there were a lot of coins – and then went to the kitchen to get a special shopping bag like Mama did when we went to the shops. I was excited about how proud of me she would be when she got back. She would be really pleased that I had gone to the shop and got some more food so that she wouldn’t have to go when she was so tired.

  I went to the door but the handle was too high and I couldn’t reach it. So I got a chair to stand on and turned the handle. It was hard to turn the handle so I did it with two hands. But the door didn’t open. Sometimes there would be a key in a hole in the door which Mama turned to keep us safe at night and I looked to see if it was there so I could turn it but it wasn’t there and I didn’t know where it was and I couldn’t get out.

  My tummy rumbled and I started to cry. I couldn’t get out and go to the shops and get the food for Mama. She would be sad that I had eaten all the food until there was none left and made a mess on the floor which was still there because the cloth didn’t work properly when I tried to clean it.

  I started to bang on the door. ‘Mama! Mama! Mama!’

  31

  Daily Mail Online

  10 January 2020

  A body found in the early hours of the morning in the French Alpine resort La Madière is believed to be that of Will Cassiobury, who went missing in a skiing accident in 1998.

  The gruesome discovery was made by the driver of a piste-grooming machine returning from his night’s work.

  It is believed that the recent bad weather has caused several minor avalanches which may have dislodged the body from its original resting place.

  A full post-mortem will be carried out. Mr Cassiobury’s next of kin, his brother who was skiing with the deceased before he disappeared, is travelling to the resort to formally identify the body.

  32

  January 2020, La Madière, France

  Hugo

  ‘Terrible business,’ Simon is saying. ‘Poor sod. Out there all alone in the snow for all that time. What a way to go.’

  ‘Awful,’ Cass agrees.

  The atmosphere in the chalet is subdued. Nothing is official yet, but everyone seems pretty sure that the body is this guy Will who died in an accident years ago.

  ‘His brother’s on the way over, apparently,’ Matt says. ‘But his age, sex, and even where he was found, given the recent avalanches compared to where he disappeared, indicate it’s him, as far as I understand. Though nothing will be official until he is formally identified.’

  ‘Better for the family to have finally found him,’ Cass adds. ‘It doesn’t bear thinking about.’ She shudders, and then leans down to kiss the top of Inigo’s head. He gives a contented sigh of delight and I feel a pang of loss for the baby Ria has so far made sure isn’t going to come into being.

  Ria is upstairs in our room, lying down; she says she doesn’t feel well. I’m all out of sympathy. She shouldn’t drink so much. Or lie to me.

  33

  January 2020, Phuket, Thailand

  Adam

  It was the last thing I was expecting.

  Impressive how they found me so quickly, on the other side of the world and after all these years.

  It probably sounds terribly callous of me, but for the last couple of decades, I’ve barely thought about Will. Or about what happened that day on the mountain, and the things that went on in the run-up to it.

  I was in the press a bit at the time, the miracle survivor who’d made it through a stormy night alone on the mountain. I wasn’t lying when I told the papers the accident changed me – it did. It made me realize we only have one life. I didn’t want to waste it all on a City job I wasn’t that enamoured with – however much money I was making.

  So I quit my job and went travelling with my end-of-year bonus – with Nell, to start with. We volunteered in orphanages in Africa, helped pick grapes in France, were part of a yacht crew around the Caribbean for a while. To start with, it was blissful. I couldn’t have been happier.

  And it was true what I’d said initially; when I woke up, I didn’t remember anything about how Will had died. Or the holiday. All I knew was that I had two black fingertips where the snow had frozen them off, and the things that people had told me about that day and my rescue. I’d been found huddled in a snow hole I’d made for myself by a rock. I’d been out there all night – they were amazed I’d survived the storm, so high up on the mountain. Once I was well enough to think about it, I was amazed I’d survived too – Will had always been the practical one, and yet somehow I’d built myself a shelter which had kept me alive, while he had seemingly disappeared into thin air.

  But over time, I started to remember more about what had happen
ed. Guilt gnawed away at me. Nell and I split up when my regular black moods, and occasional violent outbursts, became too much for her. Living my free and easy life out in the sunshine while my brother’s body was on a frozen mountain became difficult for me to cope with. I ended up in therapy, which was next to useless, but eventually I built a life – not a particularly exceptional one, but a comfortable one. I tried to keep thoughts of Will out of my mind – it was easier that way. Indeed, it was the only way I could deal with it. I’ve come to terms with what happened – it was over twenty years ago, after all – and I’ve found that I can live with it.

  And now this.

  I have to go. I can see that. But I’m not interested in digging up the past. What’s gone is gone. I can’t see how any good’s going to come of this, for anyone.

  34

  BEFORE

  ‘Hello? Hello? Are you OK in there?’ Someone was pushing the letterbox open, looking in.

  I was sitting on the floor by the door with Teddy, crying and shouting for Mama. I’d been shouting for so long that my throat hurt. I fell silent as I heard the voice. It sounded kind. But Mama always told me that almost no one was kind, that even people who seemed nice and friendly could change in an instant, and that I had to be very careful about who I trusted.

  I stood up. ‘I’m hungry,’ I wailed. ‘And I haven’t got any food.’

  ‘Oh dear,’ said the voice. It was a lady’s voice. ‘Is your mummy there?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Your daddy?’

  ‘A long way away.’

  ‘I see. Where’s your mummy?’

  ‘I don’t know. Maybe she went to the shops, but she didn’t come back.’

  ‘OK, dear. Don’t worry, we’re going to sort this out. You and me together. How long have you been there on your own?’

  ‘I don’t know. Quite long.’

  ‘Can you open the door for me?’

  ‘I’m not allowed. There might be bad people. And it’s stuck. I wanted to go to the shops to get some food because I haven’t got any left, but I couldn’t make the door open and now my tummy hurts and …’

  It was hard to speak I was crying so much.

  ‘Shhh dear, don’t cry. I’m going to help you. We’ll get you out and get you some food and find your mummy. I’m going to call someone now who can help us open the door and then I’m going to stay and talk to you until they arrive. Does that sound OK?’

  I nodded, forgetting that the nice lady couldn’t see me.

  ‘Does that sound OK, dear?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘You stay there while I pop back into my house to call someone. I’ll be straight back, I promise. Can you do that for me? Be a brave girl for two minutes?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Good girl. I promise I’ll be back as quick as I can.’

  The lady went away and I sat by the door clutching Teddy tight. I hoped the lady would come back soon. My tummy was really hurting. I didn’t have to wait very long though until the letterbox opened again and the lady was back.

  ‘OK, dear, the police are coming. They’ll be able to open the door to let you out and help you find your mummy.’

  ‘Can I have something to eat?’

  ‘Of course, poppet. They’ll give you some food as soon as they can once they get you out – they said on the phone that they don’t want me to give you anything yet. A doctor needs to take a little look at you first. But I’m sure that won’t take long. Now, would you like to play a game while we wait?’

  ‘Yes please. Or we could sing a song?’

  ‘That would be lovely. What would you like to sing first?’

  It was nice singing with the lady. She knew all the songs I knew, but I didn’t know very many. Mama didn’t normally sing with me, which is why I always sang with Teddy. Mama said it made her head hurt, so I had to sing quietly. But Sheila (that was the lady’s name, she told me) said I should sing nice and loud to keep my spirits up (I didn’t know what that meant but thought it sounded fun) so I did. It was nice to sing loud but it felt naughty too. Sheila had propped the letterbox open so that we could hear each other better. I liked Sheila. I didn’t often meet new people. Usually it was just me and Mama, and most of the time Mama was too tired or not feeling well enough to play, so it was just me and Teddy.

  There were two green bottles left hanging on the wall and I was singing as loud as I could when there was a lot of noise outside and Sheila stopped singing. ‘Ah. We’ll have to stop singing for now, poppet,’ Sheila said. ‘The police are here. I’m going to stay right here and wait for you so I can say hello once you’re out, but they’re going to talk to you now, OK? There’s nothing to be scared of and you’re not in any trouble. You’re being a really brave girl and I’ve enjoyed singing with you. Perhaps we can do some more singing another time?’

  ‘Yes, please,’ I said.

  ‘Hello?’ said a voice, another lady. ‘My name’s Anna. I’m a social worker, here to make sure you’re safe. Are you OK at the moment? You’re not hurt? And there’s no one in there with you?’

  ‘My tummy hurts, I’m hungry and Mama’s not here,’ I said.

  ‘OK. We’re going to get you something to eat very soon. Now what I want you to do is go and stand by the window in the next room – I think it might be your living room – where we can see you. Sheila is standing outside it, so you can wave to her through the window. Can you do that for me? Once you’re there, there’ll be a big bang as the police are going to have to break the door so we can get you out, get you something to eat, and help you find your mummy.’

  ‘But Mama will be cross if you break the door.’

  ‘Don’t worry about that, we will fix it. Now, will you go to the window? I’m going there too so you can wave to me and Sheila. Does that sound OK?’

  I nodded.

  ‘Are you there, my darling? Is that OK?’

  ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘OK. I’m going to bring Teddy and I’m going now.’

  I stood up and walked over to the window. I pulled back the curtain and waved at the two ladies there. They smiled and waved back. They looked nice. They didn’t look bad or scary at all.

  A man shouted something and then there was a bang and the door flew open. It was so loud I put my hands over my ears and started crying. A man and a lady dressed in green clothes came in and the man picked me up and said, ‘It’s OK, duckie, you’re safe now.’ He carried me outside and put me on a chair on wheels, which seemed silly because I could walk, but I let him do it because it was comfy and I was hungry and the blanket he put over me was soft and I was suddenly very tired. Teddy was with me and I cuddled him tight.

  We went down in the lift and I was carried into the back of a big yellow van which looked like an ambulance but I thought couldn’t be because I wasn’t ill. Anna stayed with me and asked me things like how long I’d been on my own and had Mama ever left me on my own before. I said I didn’t know how long and sometimes she had left me on my own before but never for so long that I had to eat all the food so that was why I had to bang on the door because I couldn’t get out to go to the shops.

  I was taken to a hospital which was exciting because I’d never been to a hospital before. There was even a blue light and a siren on the ambulance. At the hospital I had my own room which was a treat because I’d never had my own room before and lots of kind people came in and out asking me things and looking at different bits of me. I had to do a wee in a cup which was tricky even though a nurse helped me. They put a bit of paper in my mouth to see if I was too hot, though I told them I was not. The only bit I didn’t like was when they put something around the top of my arm which squeezed it, but only for a second so even that wasn’t too bad. Anna stayed with me all the time and after lots of people had looked at me and asked me things and I felt like my tummy would turn inside out I was so hungry a nice lady brought me a tray of food – it was mashed potato and fish fingers, which were both my favourite foods.

  ‘Don’t eat too f
ast,’ the lady said. ‘If you haven’t eaten for a while it might make you feel sick.’

  She also gave me a cup of purple water which didn’t taste nice but Anna said I had to try to be a brave girl and drink it because I was a word that I didn’t understand which she told me meant I hadn’t drunk enough water.

  The lady was wrong because I ate very quickly and it didn’t make me feel sick at all. I told Anna I was still hungry so she pulled a string which was hanging from the ceiling and asked if I could have something else to eat as well so the lady said she would see what she could do and brought me in a doughnut with sugar on.

  After that I was very tired and told Anna I would like to go to sleep.

  ‘Will Mama come and get me tomorrow?’ I asked. ‘And will the door be fixed? She will be very cross if the door is broken.’ I remembered her sitting on the floor crying and suddenly I felt very sad even though I’d just had fish fingers and a doughnut. If the door was still broken when she got back she would probably cry again.

  ‘The door has already been made secure … I mean, made so that no one can get in, and will be fixed properly very soon, hopefully tomorrow. And we’re trying hard to find your mummy. You’re sure you don’t have a granny or grandpa? Or aunties or uncles maybe? Cousins?’

  ‘No. Granny is in heaven. There’s only Mama.’

  ‘And no daddy?’

  ‘He lives a long way away, Mama said.’

  ‘You don’t see him? Or know where he lives?’

  I shook my head.

  ‘I see,’ she said. ‘Well, we’ll do our best to find your mummy.’

  ‘But what if you can’t? There’s no food at home and the door is broken so I can’t go to the shops.’ Suddenly I felt scared again.

  ‘You go to the shops by yourself?’ Anna asked.

  ‘No. Me and Mama go. But this time I wanted to go because there was no food.’