The Next Girl: A gripping thriller with a heart-stopping twist

by Carla Kovach

  * * *

  As she sank into a deep sleep, she dreamed she was standing on the landing in her old house. She knew Terry was in the house, but where? Then he ran at her, approaching at high speed. His dilated pupils told her all she needed to know about his current state. There would be no reasoning with him.

  Hannah screamed. She needed to get to Hannah’s cot before Terry did. She tried to duck under his arm but he grabbed her by the hair, yanking her back. She felt her head crash against the wall.

  She smacked the side of Terry’s head, but he didn’t even flinch. A grin spread across his face as he pinned her against the wall and unbuckled his belt. ‘Please, Terry, no. Please,’ she said as she wriggled and twisted.

  His zip became jammed. He let go of her for a second to tackle it. As he looked down, he stumbled at the top of the stairs. Then, with a gentle nudge, Gina shoved him over the edge. As he fell backwards, his eyes locked onto hers and his arms reached forward, as if he were pleading for her to grab him. But she didn’t move. She just remained still and watched as his skull cracked against the wall, then his leg scraped the bannister and he finally landed in a heap by the front door.

  * * *

  Gina jolted up and ran to the bathroom. Acid began to climb up her throat. She turned on the bathroom light and kneeled in front of the toilet. Her heart was whirring. Sweat dripped down her brow as she shivered. As she stared into the bowl, the feel of cold tiles on her legs grounded her and her heart rate began to slow. She grabbed the sink and dragged herself up. She ran the tap and splashed her face with icy water then stared at her reflection.

  Her reddened skin was slowly returning to its normal colour. She shivered until her joints ached. As she leaned over the sink, she allowed herself to quietly sob. Had she shoved Terry down the stairs that night? Even if it was just a little shove, did that make her a murderer? She felt a yearning to hold Hannah as a baby in her arms and tell her everything was going to be alright.

  ‘Are you okay?’ Briggs asked, grabbing his robe from the back of the bathroom door and placing it around her shivering body. ‘Come back to bed. We need to warm you up.’ He led her back to the bedroom and helped her back into bed. ‘Are you ill?’

  ‘I had a bad dream, that’s all,’ she said as she wiped her face and turned away.

  ‘It’s not real. Come here.’ He placed his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him.

  She reached over and grabbed her phone, hoping that Hannah had texted her, but again there was nothing.

  ‘Is there anything I can get you? Water?’ Briggs asked.

  ‘No. I’m fine.’ She pulled away from his embrace. ‘I’m going to head home. I shouldn’t be here, we both know that.’

  ‘It’s the middle of the night.’

  He was right. There was no point in leaving. She turned away from him. He turned off the light and they both lay there in the dark. ‘I’m sorry. That was embarrassing.’

  ‘Don’t be daft.’ He snaked an arm around her waist. ‘Let’s try and get some sleep. It’s going to be a long day.’

  As she closed her eyes, she thought of Hannah again. She owed it to her to be there on Saturday. She was going to attend the service. She’d do it for her daughter. She wiped her face on the sleeve of his robe and enjoyed his warmth as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

  Forty-Four

  Thursday, 7 December 2017

  Luke lay there, half asleep and half awake, thinking about everything that was happening. It had been a long few days, getting to know Isobel. His phone buzzed. He grabbed it and saw that he had a text from Brooke.

  I miss you.

  He stared at the words. His heart ached for Brooke, but he loved Debbie, he’d always loved Debbie. He began to type out a reply, then stopped. He had no idea how he felt. He placed the phone down and stared out of the window, at the stars.

  He thought back to earlier that day. Max had complained that Isobel was noisy and had asked how long she was going to keep visiting for. Heidi didn’t seem as annoyed by her presence and quite enjoyed playing peekaboo with her, but then the questions about Mummy came up. He’d tried to explain what he could, but Heidi wasn’t stupid. He couldn’t gloss over things the same way as he could with Max. She’d gone very quiet, and he’d found her crying into her little jewellery box, which had once belonged to her mother.

  When Debbie had been pregnant with Heidi, he’d cursed himself many a time for thinking that the arrival of their daughter would ruin what they had together. He thought he’d always be second when it came to affection. But his little girl had stolen his heart. She was the most precious thing in the universe. Then Max came along and made their life complete. It broke his heart to see their children so confused and upset. He thought it had been hard when they were little, but any hardship back then was nothing compared to what they were all going through now.

  It hadn’t always been easy, especially in the early days when Debbie was on maternity leave. Babies were expensive and the property market was up and down. One month they’d be celebrating with a bottle of bubbly, the next they’d be eating mostly beans on toast in the run up to payday. They would both laugh through the uncertainty and make light of it. It was part of what he loved so much about Debbie – she was an eternal optimist. She’d originally not wanted to leave the children in day care, but needs must, and Cathy had helped out a lot. The children actually loved it and thrived being around other children.

  Luke smiled as he reminisced about the good times. He would eat nothing but beans on toast for the rest of his life if it meant he could have his Debbie home. He wiped a tear from his cheek as he stared into the darkness of his bedroom. He wondered if Debbie still held on in some small way to her optimism, or if she’d changed beyond repair. Would they be reunited? And if they were, would she reject him? Would the trauma she’d gone through mean the end of what they’d had?

  If she came home, he would make it work. He’d be there in his entirety throughout her recovery. He wasn’t naive to the prospect of what he might have to face, but he loved Debbie more than anything and he wanted her back with him and their children. They would make it work. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. How could he be this exhausted and not be able to nod off?

  Did he just hear a trickle? He held his breath and listened. The letter box clattered and a few seconds later a whooshing sound followed. He jumped out of bed in his pyjama bottoms and T-shirt and ran for the bedroom door.

  ‘Max! Heidi!’ he yelled as he threw their doors open. He ran towards the top of the stairs and watched as the orange flames flickered in front of the main door. The fire spread along the hallway and began licking the wooden bannister of the stairs. The sound of the smoke alarm filled the house.

  ‘What’s happening, Daddy?’ Heidi asked, looking confused, with one eye open. She coughed as she inhaled a lungful of smoke.

  ‘Go to my bedroom and wait by the window.’ He ran into Max’s room and snatched the quilt off his sleeping son’s body.

  ‘Dad?’ Max rubbed his eyes. ‘What’s that noise?’

  ‘We have to go.’ Luke grabbed the little boy’s arm and dragged him to his own bedroom. Debbie and he had carefully planned their escape in the event of a fire. There was a small ledge below his bedroom window, where the kitchen had been slightly extended by the previous owner. He needed to feed Heidi and Max onto the ledge and follow them. From there, they could jump down. As he passed the landing, he saw that the flames were making their way up the stairs.

  He helped Heidi through the window first. Max obediently followed. ‘It’s cold, Daddy, and I haven’t got my shoes or coat,’ Max cried, tears falling down his cheeks.

  ‘Come on Max. We have to get down,’ Heidi said in a calm manner. If he’d had time to stop and talk, he’d have told her how proud he was of her for being such a help amongst the chaos.

  He grabbed his phone from the bedside table and stepped out of the window. ‘Right, kids, I need you to be strong and brave
. Can you be that for me?’ he shouted. Heidi nodded; Max was still crying. She grabbed his hand and hugged her brother.

  ‘I’m going to hold you by the arms and lower you on to the grass. Can you be ready to jump when I say?’ Heidi nodded. ‘You’re going first because you’re the tallest and then I can pass your brother down,’ he said to her. Max let go of his sister and starting bawling. Tears filled the little boy’s eyes as he stared out at the garden, confused as to how he’d got there and what was happening.

  Luke grabbed Heidi’s hands and lay on his stomach as she wiggled over the edge. He lowered her as far as he could. ‘I’m going to have to let you go. Can you land okay?’

  ‘I think so, Daddy?’ she said as she looked up at him with teary eyes.

  ‘Get ready on three,’ he shouted. ‘One, two, three.’ He let go of his daughter and heard her yelp as she landed on the grass below. He looked down. She waved back at him.

  ‘I’m okay, Daddy. My foot just hurts a bit but I’m okay.’

  Luke grabbed Max. ‘Right, I need you to be a big man for me now, son. Can you do that?’

  The boy sobbed into his father’s chest. ‘I’m scared, Daddy. I don’t want to jump.’

  ‘I need you to be a brave boy. Remember, we spoke about what would happen if we had a fire. We have a fire in there and we need to do this.’ Luke heard the roaring of the flames coming ever closer. He grabbed Max’s arm and lowered him over the ledge. ‘Daddy, no. I can’t jump. I’m too short.’

  ‘You can do this. Heidi will be there to lower you down.’

  He lowered the boy as far as his arms would reach. ‘I have your foot, Max. I’m here,’ Heidi shouted.

  ‘After three. One—’

  ‘No, I don’t want to do it. Please, Daddy.’

  ‘Two, three.’ He dropped Max and hoped that Heidi had managed to assist his fall. In the distance, he heard a fire engine approaching. Someone must have called the fire brigade. He looked down and saw Max and Heidi sitting on the grass. Heidi was comforting him as he cried into her neck, but they both looked fine. Smoke began to billow out of the bedroom window. He had to get down, away from the building.

  Within seconds a firefighter had run around the back. Another followed with a portable ladder. ‘We’re coming to get you, just hold tight.’ She placed the ladder against the wall. ‘Is there anyone else in the house?’

  ‘No, it’s just us,’ Luke shouted as he climbed down and ran towards his children, relieved that Isobel was still only with them for short visits ‘I’m so proud of you both, so proud,’ he said as he hugged them closely. They were gently ushered out to the front, where a crowd had gathered. A large hose was pumping water into their hallway. The door had been bashed in. Smoke filled the air as they extinguished the last of the flames.

  ‘You’re very lucky. With your quick thinking and your good fire-resistant carpet, your family is safe and the damage is minimal,’ the firefighter said.

  Pulling his phone out of his pocket, Luke selected Cathy’s number. The children needed somewhere to go for the rest of the night, somewhere safe.

  As he stood to the side of the road to make the call, the drive-by patrol car pulled up. If only they’d been there a bit earlier, they might have caught the person who set the fire and prevented this whole mess. Luke shook his head as the officer got out of the car. ‘I just heard on the radio. We passed here only an hour or so ago.’

  ‘The fire is under control and everyone is accounted for and safe. We’ve checked the house,’ said the firefighter. ‘It looks like the blaze started in the hallway by the letter box, but it’s too early to be sure. However, there is a smell of accelerant hanging in the air. We need to survey the damage more thoroughly, which we’ll begin soon.’

  Luke turned to face them. ‘I was lying in bed and I heard liquid being poured through the letter box. I heard it. Someone tried to kill us. He tried to kill us!’

  Cathy answered his call and he sobbed as he relayed to her what had happened. He needed her to just turn up and take them to her house. As he ended the call, an ambulance pulled up. Heidi started to weep as he led her towards the first paramedic and up the ramp, into the ambulance. With the attempted break-in and now the fire at his house, Luke knew the hooded man would stop at nothing to harm his family.

  Forty-Five

  With closed eyes, Gina reached out in an attempt to grab her phone. It vibrated off the bedside table and landed somewhere on the floor. The ringing stopped. She prised her eyes open and leaned across Briggs to see the time on his radio alarm. Two thirty in the morning. She sat up and leaned over the side of the bed. Eventually, she located her phone. She rubbed her eyes and noticed the missed call from Jacob.

  ‘Is everything alright?’ Briggs asked, as his phone beeped too.

  She fumbled in the dark for her clothes, which she’d left in a folded pile by the door. The moonlight coming through the bathroom window flooded the landing and seeped into the bedroom as she nudged the door further open. Her phone went again, and she jogged towards the bathroom and answered. ‘Jacob.’

  ‘There’s been a fire at the Jenkinses’ house.’

  ‘Are the family okay?’

  ‘All are safe. I don’t know what would’ve happened if it wasn’t for Mr Jenkins’ quick thinking. Apparently, he lowered the two children from the extension ledge off his bedroom. It all sounds very dramatic but everyone is safe. It definitely looks suspicious. And get this, there’s a witness. The witness called the fire brigade. He didn’t see the fire being set but he did see someone suspicious before turning into the road and seeing flames. I don’t know any more than that at the moment.’

  ‘Head straight to the station and interview the witness. I’ll head to Luke’s house.’

  ‘Will do, guv. See you in a bit.’

  Gina began to shake with excitement as she paced the bathroom. A witness was just what they needed. She forced her legs into her trousers and quickly buttoned up her shirt. She dabbed her hair with some water and smiled as she grabbed the new toothbrush that Briggs had left out for her.

  ‘Fire at the Jenkinses’ house. I’m heading over now.’

  Briggs was getting out of bed and battling with his trouser legs while half asleep. ‘See you at the station,’ he said.

  Forty-Six

  As she pulled up on Luke’s road, she spotted the ambulance outside the house. She turned the ignition off and walked over to him. ‘I just heard.’

  ‘We’re all safe, thankfully,’ Luke said, clutching a blanket around his shoulders. Max was sitting on a seat in the ambulance while a paramedic was tending to Heidi’s ankle. ‘Slight sprain but she’s okay, aren’t you, sweetie?’ he said as Heidi looked over and wiped her teary eyes.

  ‘She’s been very brave,’ said the paramedic.

  ‘I jumped out of the bedroom window,’ she said with a slight smile.

  ‘It sounds like you all did really well,’ Gina replied. She lightly pulled Luke away from Heidi’s curious ears. ‘Did you see anything?’

  Luke rubbed his tired eyes. ‘I’ve already spoken to an officer, a few minutes ago, but no, I saw nothing. At approximately half one, I heard a trickle through the letter box and then the fire started. From then on, well, the rest is a blur. My only priority was getting the children out of the house.’ Luke’s hands trembled as he brought them up to his mouth. He let out a sob. ‘He’s trying to kill us. Whoever has Debbie is trying to destroy the rest of my family. Not content with what he’s done to my wife, he’s out to get the rest of us.’ Gina looked down. She’d have loved to reassure him, but she knew he was more than likely correct. This was a vindictive attack by someone intent on burning the house down with the family in it. She watched as forensics carried their kit bags towards the front door and began their work.

  ‘I’m so sorry this is happening to you, Luke. Do you have somewhere to stay tonight?’

  ‘Yes. We’re okay. The kids like staying with their nan anyway. I don’t know how I’m going t
o deal with all of this. I don’t know if I can go back in there with what’s happened.’ He wiped his teary face with the blanket and stared into space.

  ‘Daddy. The lady gave me a sticker for being a brave boy,’ Max shouted as he bounded along the pavement and hugged Luke’s legs. ‘Are you crying, Daddy?’

  Luke smiled. ‘Just a bit.’

  ‘I left my dinosaur in the house.’

  ‘Max,’ Cathy shouted from the other side of the road as she crossed over. She hurried over to Luke and hugged him before bending down and ruffling Max’s hair. ‘Where’s your sister?’

  Luke nodded towards the ambulance, and Cathy bustled off to sit with Heidi. Gina watched as Cathy bent down and kissed her granddaughter on the forehead.

  Gina’s phone beeped. ‘I’m needed at the station,’ she said, reading the text. ‘I have your number and I know where you’ll be staying. Any news or updates at all, I’ll let you know immediately. I really am so sorry this is happening to you.’

  As she turned to go, Luke grabbed her arm with his shaking hands. ‘Please. I can’t live like this. This is too much. I don’t know what to do anymore.’

  She placed her hand on his arm. ‘You can do this. See your children over there, they need you to be strong for them. You are doing the right thing. Tonight, go to your mother-in-law’s house and stay there. You’ll be safe with her and we’ll continue patrolling.’

  Luke nodded and began to weep.

  ‘It’s okay, Daddy. I’ll look after you,’ Max said as he hugged his father. Luke kneeled beside him and wrapped his small frame in his arms.