Chapter 25
Laura’s eyes fluttered open, but she immediately closed them again as a wave of pain and nausea overcame her. She waited a moment for it to pass and then, with what seemed to require a superhuman effort, brought her hands up to her face. She touched it gingerly with her fingertips; it felt bruised and swollen and she could taste blood in her mouth.
She heard the dogs whimpering beside her and one of them licked her face with a hot, wet tongue. This made her realize how cold she was. She moved her hands down to her chest and stomach and felt her naked flesh. It was wet and sticky. Puzzled, she tried to draw her shirt together but it, too, felt wet. Slowly, she brought her hands back up to her face and opened her eyes. She gasped when she saw that they were covered in blood. Oh, my God. The man must have stabbed me or something, she thought wildly. He...Jesus! The man? Where was he?
Panicking, she pushed herself up into a sitting position, the dogs nuzzling her and licking her face and hands. Ignoring the dizziness, she looked herself up and down and saw that she was covered in blood. Frightened, she patted herself to feel for wounds, but other than cuts and bruises, she found none. Where had all this blood come from? she wondered.
She looked about her; it was still dark and all she could hear were the crickets and frogs. Using Bruna for support, she managed to stand up, taking comfort in the presence of the dogs, but still extremely wary lest her attacker still be about.
It was when the moon came out that she saw it. A few meters away, a dark shape lay on the ground, right next to the oleander shrubs. She drew her breath in sharply. Surely, it couldn’t be.....?
Mia ran up to the shadow and sniffed at it. It didn’t move. Cautiously, Laura tiptoed closer, Bruna at her side. Then her suspicions were confirmed. It was him! She covered her face in horror and stifled a scream. Bruna left her side and went to inspect the inert figure. Trembling, Laura stepped forward and saw that he was undoubtedly dead, judging by the unnatural angle of his bloody neck. Deep bite wounds were clearly visible on his arms and neck. The dogs had killed him!
She fell to the ground, too weak to stand, and was immediately surrounded by her girls who were intent on comforting her. She held on to their furry necks, sobbing loudly for a long while. Lilly licked her salty tears away while Lola pawed her gently and nudged her with her nose. After the initial shock had worn off, she dragged herself to her feet and tried to think clearly.
What should she do? Call the police, of course. She had been attacked in her own home. She’d almost been raped and killed. And a man was dead. It was definitely a police matter. Her hand reached into her pocket for her cell phone. It wasn’t there. She frowned. Where was it? Then it came to her. She’d left it on the kitchen countertop when she’d taken the torch out of the draw. Damn! And where was David when she needed him most?
***
Answer the phone! Answer the phone! Laura urged David silently as tears of frustration coursed down her cheeks. But it was no use; he obviously wasn’t ready to talk to her. And she wanted him there when the police came; she didn’t want to have to go through this ordeal alone. She glanced anxiously at the door, half expecting to see a shadow looming in the hallway.
She’d double-locked the door and brought Bruna in with her, but still she felt vulnerable. She cursed herself for not having closed the shutters; the glass panes looked so fragile, so accessible. Better still, they should have installed electric roller shutters that would have closed at a click of a button, and traditional architecture be damned.
OK, OK, thought Laura, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Calm down. You can text him and let him know what’s happened. And then as soon as he gets back to you, you can call the police. She fumbled with her phone; texting had never been so difficult. Finally, she managed to tap out the words, hoping that he would see the message and get back to her straight away.
A man attacked me! He’s dead and I need your help!
Sliding down against the kitchen wall, she crouched on the floor, gripping the phone and staring at the screen, willing it to light up and ring. Bruna sat down in front of her, their heads the same height and almost touching. C’mon! C’mon! Why didn’t he answer her? She pressed the dial button again and rested her head against the dog’s neck, taking some comfort from her presence. If it hadn’t been for the dogs, I’d probably be dead now.
My poor little girl. Tears poured down her face again as she imagined her daughter’s heartbreak. And then it dawned on her. She wasn’t out of the woods yet. What would happen to her when the police came? Would they arrest her? Would Vanessa lose her mother after all, albeit in a different fashion? They would probably charge her with manslaughter, or excessive use of force, at the very least.
Her heart hammered as she mentally ran through some of the highly-publicized cases where victims of burglaries had been sued or arrested for trying to defend themselves. A couple of weeks ago, a junkie had shot a café owner in the leg during a botched burglary, only to sue him and two clients who had forcefully detained him until the police arrived. Even worse, multiple cases of homeowners receiving heavy sentences for killing or injuring armed attackers. Just like the Tony Martin case in England.
And then another chilling thought came to her: what if the intruder belonged to one of those Eastern European gangs that had been terrorizing the area the last couple of years? These guys didn’t pussyfoot around when it came to pursuing their objectives. Just a few months ago, shotgun-wielding robbers, who were still at large, had bashed a jeweller, and his daughter, over the head with a hammer.
If she called the police, his death would become public knowledge. Her identity would be revealed to the press, and they’d know where to find her—and her family. What if they wanted payback? She’d never be able to stop looking over her shoulder again, never be able to let Vanessa out of her sight for fear of reprisals.
She rose slowly to her feet, pressing her fingertips against her temples. Oh, my God. What am I going to do? What’s going to happen to us? Why did that man have to invade our home? Despair washed over her. Their life as they knew it was probably over; certainly in the foreseeable future there would be major upheaval. She shuddered to think of the impact it would have on her overly-sensitive daughter.
Unless... unless, she could make it all go away. Dare I even think about it, she wondered, trembling. Do I have the nerve?
But even as these thoughts ricocheted wildly round her head, she knew what she had to do. She slipped her cell phone into her trouser pocket, selected a key from the key cabinet and headed for the front door, Bruna close on her heels.
***
Laura peered out of the door, straining her eyes and ears for any signs of movement. But everything was still. The moon had finally given in to the clouds that promised rain shortly, and the world beyond the circle of light that bathed the courtyard seemed to have been sucked into a black hole. The dogs milled around the doorway and Laura willed herself to step through it.
Silently, she crept to the garage and looked around for the torch that she had dropped. Spotting it shining out from beneath the jasmine vines, she picked it up with a trembling hand and waved it in an arc in the direction of the path. What if he had an accomplice? Maybe she should just turn around and go back in. Call the police and hope for the best.
But she knew there was no one else around—the dogs would have alerted her to their presence. She stood rooted to the spot, unwilling to put into practice the plan that was taking shape in her head.
Shit! Where was David? He probably didn’t believe her, thought it was a ruse to get him to talk to her. What would it take to convince him? Then it hit her. Of course! That would do the trick all right. Feeling encouraged, she bolted down the path, using the torch to light the way. When she reached the body, she paused cautiously, half afraid that, in the fashion of horror movies, the man’s hand would shoot out and grab her ankle. Bile rose up in her throat at the unreal scenario before her. This can’t be happening to me! a voice sc
reamed inside her head. But it is, said another, so get a grip and deal with it before it’s too late.
Using her cell phone, she took a picture of the dead man and sent it to David. Maybe now he’d believe her. She pocketed the phone and, not allowing herself time to waiver, grabbed the man’s ankles and began to drag him back towards the house. It was heavier going than she thought and she began to doubt whether she would be able to go through with her plan. The dogs came sniffing round again and she shouted at them to keep away, her voice cracking under the mounting pressure. She dragged him along the path until the garage was in sight, and then she dropped his legs and ran for the Bobcat that was parked in the driveway.
Taking the key from her pocket, she unlocked the door and started up the engine. It seemed obscenely loud in the still night, and she hoped that no one would hear it. Not being as familiar with the controls as David was, she struggled to manoeuvre it efficiently, but eventually managed to steer it in the right direction. She pulled up to the body, lowered the bucket and jumped down. Gritting her teeth and trying to keep her eyes averted, she rolled the body into the bucket and climbed back into the cab. Just as she had turned on the ignition again, her cell phone rang. She grabbed it and to her relief saw that it was David. Finally!
“Laura, what’s going on?” His voice was sharp.
“David, where are you? Please come home at once. I need your help. He’s dead and we ....”
“Laura! Slow down! Who’s dead? Are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m all right, but a man attacked me in the garden and the dogs killed him, and now I’m...”
“Jesus! Have you called the police? What is that noise I hear?”
“No, I can’t call the police. Just come home? Where are you?”
“I’m at the office. I’ll be there in half an hour. Do you want me to call the police and an ambulance?”
“No! Don’t call anybody! Just come home and meet me by the frog pond.”
“Laura! What the hell are you talking about? Have you taken leave of your senses? And what is that noise?” he asked in bewilderment.
“It’s the Bobcat. I have to go now. It’s starting to rain and I can’t afford to wait. Please hurry!” she pleaded, cutting off his protests. “And for God’s sake don’t call anyone, especially not the police!”
Chapter 26
David skidded to a stop in the driveway. Noticing that the skid-steer loader wasn’t parked in its usual spot, he opened the garage door and leapt onto the quad bike, not bothering with his helmet. He’d tried calling Laura back a couple of times, but she hadn’t answered. He’d been frantic at her incomprehensible babbling. Dead man, frog pond, Bobcat? What the hell was going on?
He became increasingly wet as he made his way along the trail, his headlights bobbing up and down along the bumpy terrain. In his haste and anxiety, he gunned the bike on faster than was advisable, almost running one of the dogs over as they came running towards him. Then he saw her lights up ahead through the trees; she was down by the pond, just as she’d said. But why, in God’s name? And if there had been a break-in, where were the police? Why hadn’t she called them yet? Everything was haywire today. His stomach curled up into a tight ball of dread.
“Laura!” He shouted at her, but she couldn’t hear him over the loader’s engine. He raced over and was astounded to see that the rocks they had painstakingly piled up a couple of weeks before, lay scattered on the ground, and a gaping hole was emerging where they had previously stood. The raindrops sparkled down to the ground in the loader’s headlights as Laura scraped the bucket backwards and forwards. Keeping an eye on the lifting arm, David came up beside the cab and waved to catch her attention. She glanced at him, muttered something and waved him away. Incredulous, he banged on the side of the cab and yelled at her to shut off the engine. Eventually, she did so.
David took her hand as she climbed stiffly out of the cab. “Laura! What’s going on? What are you doing?”
David gripped her by the shoulders and peered into her face. It was battered and bruised and she appeared to be shell-shocked; staring blankly past him and muttering to herself as she tried to walk past him.
“Look at me, Laura! Are you all right?”
“Stand aside. I’ve gotta hurry, it’ll be morning soon,” she said flatly, breaking free and hurrying to the largest boulder that was lying near the edge of the pond.
She bent over, and then, still crouching, shuffled backwards as she dragged something along the ground towards the hole that she had just dug open with the loader. David’s eyes opened wide; surely it couldn’t be...
“Laura! Wait!” he yelled in horror, brushing his wet hair out of his eyes. “Stop, what are you doing?”
Laura rolled the muddy body into the hole. It landed with a sickening plop that churned David’s stomach. “Who is he?” he asked in an incredulous whisper.
“I don’t know. He doesn’t have any ID on him,” replied Laura in a matter-of-fact voice, as though she buried bodies in her backyard all the time. “He’s probably Eastern European, though.”
“Jesus, Laura,” David whispered as he stared at the crumpled body in the hole. “Why are you doing this? Why haven’t you called the police?”
He looked at her poker-face in awe. What had happened to his wife to make her act so strangely? He barely recognized her. Her wet hair clung limply to her battered, mud-smeared face and her shirt front was soaked in what appeared to be blood. But it was the look in her eyes that filled him with dread.
“Baby, listen to me,” David said softly, cupping her face in his hands. Laura winced but he forced her to look at him. “We have to call the police. This is madness. You see that, don’t you?” David asked, seriously worried that she in fact didn’t. His wife seemed to have lost touch with reality; like a sleepwalker mechanically performing actions without consciously being aware of them.
“We have to hurry; we have to do this now. We don’t have a choice,” she muttered, eyes darting to the skid-steer loader.
“Laura! Stop it! Listen to me!” David shook her roughly by the shoulders until her eyes finally focussed on him; seemingly registering his presence for the first time.
“David?”
He held her tightly as sobs racked her body. Her knees buckled and she sank to the ground, head hanging backwards, eyes closed.
And then she howled. A heart-wrenching howl that seemed to go on forever, making David feel powerless to ease her pain.
After what seemed like an eternity, Laura was finally able to relate to her incredulous husband what had happened.
“And that’s why we can’t involve the police.” Her teeth chattered so much that she could barely form the words through her clenched jaw.
Although totally stunned by the events that Laura had haltingly recounted, David felt relieved that his wife seemed to have overcome her state of shock. However, she still shivered violently, as much from cold as from shock, forcing him to make a decision. One that he’d never dreamt that he’d ever be faced with, not in a million years.
“OK, baby. Don’t worry. It’s going to be all right. But now listen to me carefully.” He pulled her gently to her feet. “I want you to go home now, no, don’t argue. Just do as I say.”
He walked her back to the quad back and whistled for the dogs. “I know you’re scared, but you’ll catch your death out here. Take the dogs with you and go straight home. Leave all your clothes in the kitchen and have a hot bath. See to your cuts. I’ll be along as soon as I can.”
“David, I don’t want to be alone.” Her voice cracked.
“I know that, baby; but you’re not alone. You’ve got the girls, right? Take Bruna in with you, she’ll watch over you, OK?” David tried to sound calm and reassuring, and hoped that she wouldn’t see how scared he really was.
Laura nodded stiffly but made no move to get on the bike. “But what about...” Her voice trailed off.
“I’ll take care of it,” David replied, pushing her onto the qu
ad bike. “Off you go now.”
“Bruna, Mia, Lola, casa!” David ordered the dogs home as Laura started up the bike and slowly turned it round, obviously loathe to head off into the starless darkness of the woodland.
***
By the time David got back to the villa, he was physically and emotionally exhausted. Although this extreme incident had put all thoughts of Laura's betrayal out of his mind, the shock brought on by the day's events was beginning to take its toll on him.
"Laura, it's me," he called as he pulled off his muddy shoes in the hallway. "Where are you?" He turned as he heard Bruna’s nails clipping along on the floor. He ruffled her head and let her out. Every single light in the house was on, but there was no sign of Laura. He called out again.
Silence.
With a growing sense of unease, he headed for the master bedroom. He could hear the shower running, and pushed the bathroom door open.
"Laura?" he called softly, peering through the dense cloud of steam that filled the bathroom.
"Oh, my God!" he exclaimed, his heart thudding at a record-breaking rate.
She lay naked on the bathroom floor, curled up into a ball as though trying to disappear into herself.
He reached into the stall and quickly turned off the tap, getting his shirt wetter still. Impatiently, he tore it off and flung it on the floor. Then he knelt down beside her and cradled her in his arms, brushing her wet hair from her face and wrapping her bathrobe around her. In the merciless bathroom light, the injuries to her face and hands were painfully obvious; she looked as if she had just walked away from a plane crash. He cringed when he saw the ugly bruise that was starting to form around her throat.
"Come on, baby, let me help you up."
He sat her down on the toilet and opened the cabinet under the double washbasins. Taking out the hairdryer, some cotton-wool and some ointment, he proceeded to dry her hair and see to her cuts and bruises. The fruity fragrance of her shampoo jarred with her battered appearance. All the while she sat limply, eyes shut, flinching as the ointment stung her flesh.
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