Laura could hear the raised voices as she descended the stairs. She could hear her daughter Shannon speak and then Paul angrily tell her to shut up. She wondered what the hell was going on?
“Shannon?”
The girl hurled round and rushed into her mother’s arms. It was the first time she had seen any emotion in the girl or had any physical interaction with her in the longest time. It must have been serious.
“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Laura’s eyes widened when she saw Bob, Carla and Casey Miller all standing round her kitchen bar. She looked at her husband whose face was a collaborative death mask of rage and fear.
“It was her who took little Archie from the Wilson’s. She took him to play a prank on that Mary’s girl.”
Casey began to cry again.
“Mum, it was only meant to be a prank. We didn’t mean for it to go this far.” Shannon looked up at her mum who couldn’t decide if the heat that washed over her was from her hangover or the menopause.
“That can’t be right. The police have the picture of that Greg Burns lurking outside the Wilson’s house yesterday. I gave them it when they were here last night.” She looked around the room and saw that nobody’s face had cracked. It wouldn’t have been a very funny joke, but it would have been preferable to the realisation that they were being deadly serious.
“What are you talking about? I’m not talking about Greg Burns coming into the neighbourhood and raiding through the bins. This is real Laura. Shannon and Casey took that baby out of his bed, and now she,” Paul wagged his finger angrily at his daughter, “is refusing to tell us where she took him.”
“Wait! I don’t understand. So, you two took Archie. Why?” Laura felt as if somebody had hit her with a sledgehammer and she was still vibrating back into her own body. She lifted her hand to nurse her banging head and then leaned towards the bar.
The warning stare from Shannon wasn’t lost on Casey who now turned to her dad. “Shannon was jealous. She thought that Samantha was trying to muscle in on her boyfriend.” She scowled at Shannon. “Except it wasn’t her boyfriend.” Casey had taken all she was going to take. She had been bullied and pushed around by her so called best friend for long enough. She wasn’t taking the blame for this one.
“That’s a lie.” Shannon pulled away from her mother. “You don’t know anything because you’re a sad little virgin. He is my boyfriend. Anyway, you agreed to do it so stop trying to pretend that you didn’t.”
Casey’s face contorted so much that even Carla didn’t recognise her. “That’s not true. You said you were taking something that belonged to Samantha and hiding it in that house so that she’d have to go and find it. You said she thought it was an initiation game so that she could hang out with us. You never said anything about taking a baby.”
Shannon bared her teeth and hissed. “What difference did it make?”
“Wait, wait. What house?” Laura held her hand up before recoiling in horror. She knew Shannon could be vicious, but the words that tumbled out of her mouth didn’t seem like her 15-year-old daughter. The face she saw now, as she leered menacingly at Casey, was that of a vindictive predator.
Shannon still hadn’t answered the question.
“I’m calling the police.” It was Carla who broke the silence.
Paul quickly sprang into action and snatched the phone from Carla. “Oh, no you don’t. We’ll get to the bottom of this. Shannon,” he grinded his teeth together, “is going to tell me exactly where that baby is and I’m going to go and collect him. If you put him somewhere safe and warm, he’ll be just fine. Nobody’s getting arrested here.”
Carla looked at him in disgust. “What about Samantha Bradley? Is she just wiped off as collateral damage?” She knew the Gilfeather’s would protect their daughter. They couldn’t take responsibility for their own fractured lives, how could they force their daughter to take responsibility for hers?
“Samantha Bradley is a big girl. She’ll have to fight her own battle.” He handed Carla her mobile back and sidled up to Bob. “Keep her mouth shut. My daughter’s not going to jail for this.”
“Are you threatening my daughter?” Bob stepped between Paul and Carla.
“No, just stating the facts. Those two are as guilty as each other.” Paul smirked, and it became clear just how far he would go to protect his girl.
“Not by my reckoning. But even if they are as guilty as each other, Casey will take her punishment. Just not alone.” Bob could be walked over in many ways, but not when it came to his two girls.
“Listen, let’s see what happens when the Bradley girl comes home.” Paul’s voice had softened as he took centre stage. “We can speak to Joanne and Dan and see what they say.”
“I don’t reckon they’ll be too keen on letting the girls off.” Laura stated the obvious and then took a deep breath. Shannon had always been just enough to incite her panic attacks, but even this was off the chart for her.
“No, but we can appeal as friends and allow them to dole out the punishment. They might see what a stupid prank it was. There might be no need to involve the police.”
Bob wasn’t sure. He didn’t think Rosie would approve either. Yet, in his heart, he wanted to protect his daughter. He hesitated.
“You’ve got to be kidding.” Carla fiddled with her phone. “They kidnapped a baby. They framed another girl out of jealousy. Are you all mad? We must tell the police. They’ll be looking for Samantha who, by the way, is probably too bloody frightened to come home.”
Bob rested his hand on Carla’s arm. “Hang fire, love. Wait until your mother gets home and we’ll speak to her. Let’s not make any rash decisions.”
Carla gasped in horror and pulled her arm away from her dad. Was she the only person seeing the full picture of what they had done? She tried not to imagine Samantha hiding out in the woods, terrorised by every breaking twig and frozen half to death. She couldn’t get the girl’s face out of her mind. Yet, she also wanted to protect Casey. If she could find a way of putting the blame firmly where it belonged, on Shannon and keeping Casey out of it she would. She just didn’t know how. She had never felt this torn. Even her father was putting her in an unspeakable position. It was sad for her to recall all the times her father had spoken to her about telling the truth, doing the right thing and taking responsibility for her actions. At this moment, he had never looked more humanly flawed to her. The disappointment drained her and she no longer felt compelled to fight against the human tide. Carla relented and nodded her head in agreement. As she realised that everybody in the room was staring at her, she felt her face flush. She moved to leave and hoped that her conscience would allow her to keep the promise she had just made.
TWENTY-FOUR
There was something serene about the cemetery as a sliver of sunlight broke through the whitened clouds. Wallace longed for rain because it would wash away some of the thick snow that had fallen. Not that it wasn’t pleasing to the eye. It just brought with it a burst of cold that was uncomfortable to be outdoors in.
Wallace nodded at Irving as he left the car and thumped on the side entrance of the cottage. All the windows were covered by drawn blinds so it was difficult to even know if there was a light on in the house. There was certainly no response at the door.
“There’s no vehicle’s here. He must be out.” Irving almost slid on an ice patch as he walked back towards the bonnet of the car.
“He drives? It’s amazing what they can do nowadays.” Wallace stood back and eyed the cottage.
“They?” Irving had caught Wallace throwing a few snide comments about disabled people now. “He’s probably no different to you or I.” He threw open the passenger door and slipped back inside.
A moment later Wallace joined him. “There is one difference. We don’t hang about people’s houses terrorising them and stealing their kids.”
Irving had heard enough. “We don’t even know the guy’s done anything yet. As for hanging about people’s houses, the people
who live in those houses weren’t even aware that he was there.”
Wallace snickered. “Oh well that’s alright then. So what you’re saying is it’s okay to stalk somebody if they don’t know anything about it?” He slammed his seatbelt into place and reversed back into the road.
Irving wasn’t in the mood to get into this conversation. He knew Wallace could be cantankerous and moody. He had never been on the receiving end of it before. He was tempted to get out of the car and walk but that wouldn’t get the job done, so he bit his tongue and let Wallace have the final word.
As the car pulled out onto the main road, they saw a truck come towards them. The truck slowed down just as Wallace was about to drive off.
“Wait,” insisted Irving. “I think that’s him.”
Wallace slammed on the brakes and turned to see Greg staring across the dashboard at him. His eyes were every bit as dark as they looked in his photo. Wallace lifted his hand and gestured for Greg to pull over. Perhaps he hadn’t seen him because he continued to drive past. Wallace slammed the palm of his hand onto the horn and threw open his door. He saw that Greg continued towards the cemetery gate before slowing down. Wallace was about to walk towards the truck when Greg suddenly slammed on the accelerator. The back wheels of the truck gave up an explosion of black slush as it raced off in the direction of the woods.
TWENTY-FIVE
“All this over a boy.” Laura shook her head. Not in judgement, but in acknowledgement, because she had been there herself too many times. Before she had married Paul, she had gone through her fair share of toxic relationships. Her marriage to Paul had been the most toxic of them all. In the early years, she had put up with things from Paul that she never thought possible. She had also doled it out. Laura knew all too well just how crazy a person could make you.
Shannon looked round the table guiltily. There wasn’t a person there who wouldn’t be looking at Laura and thinking that she was a hypocrite. Her sexual behaviour was the worst kept secret on the street. Shannon loathed and loved her mother in equal droves. If only they weren’t so damn alike.
“So, who is it? Who’s this boy who is worth all of this?”
Paul jumped in as bullish as he always was. “Stop filling her head with crap. Nobody’s worth this and I’m not having my daughter taking the fall because you can’t teach her right from wrong.”
Laura rose from her seat and whacked her mug away so that it crashed onto the floor with a clatter. “She knows right from wrong. She behaves like this because you contradict everything I tell her. You don’t care what she does as long as it lets you dump on me.” She paused to catch her breath and to calm herself down because her heart was beginning to race. “Why don’t you take some bloody responsibility for once in your miserable life. She’s your daughter. You’re here as much as I am. You could start by showing her how men respect women. Maybe then she won’t feel that she’s a pawn in a man’s game.”
“Oh, shut up, you silly bitch. Have you heard yourself? Everything you own is because of the blood and sweat from my hands. I’ve looked after you since you the day we met. What have you ever needed?” Paul’s face had gone red with anger.
“Love, Paul,” she screamed. Laura turned to Bob Miller. “You love your wife, don’t you Bob? Do you speak to her like this?”
Bob and Casey had stayed completely quiet since this latest row had erupted. They did not want to get involved in the Gilfeather’s latest squabble. The couple were notorious in the small community for their bloodcurdling fights. Bob suspected this one would end with the same cruel recriminations as the rest of them.
Casey dipped her head as her father stumbled over an awkward affirmation. If she hoped it would make her invisible to the Gilfeathers, she would be sadly mistaken.
“And what do you know about all of this, Casey?” Laura’s voice had softened almost as quickly as it had risen.
Casey looked up at Shannon who looked as if she was on the verge of exploding. “Erm, about what?”
“Who is this boy that Shannon is so secretive about but is willing to steal somebody’s baby for? And why the hell did it have to be Joanne and Dan’s baby?”
Casey dropped her eyes again and wished that Carla hadn’t chosen to leave.
Laura rested her arms on the breakfast bar. “You had better start speaking. The two of you aren’t usually short of words. I want to know why you did what you did before I call the police myself.”
Paul cringed. “Over my dead body.”
Laura snapped her head round, so that she was staring him squarely in the face. “Be careful what you wish for. Right now, I could quite happily kill somebody and you’d be as good a starting place as any.”
“It was Dan.” Shannon’s voice was so small and unusual that Laura and Paul both had to check that it was her speaking.
“What?” Laura squirmed because she wasn’t sure that she heard right.
“Samantha wanted him, but she couldn’t have him because he already belonged to me,” continued Shannon, pouting her lips and enjoying that she had just shocked her parents into complete silence.
Casey’s eyes tightened, and the shock spread across her face as she heard what her friend was saying.
“You’ve been having it off with Dan Wilson?” Laura’s voice was rising again.
Bob stood from his chair. “We’ll get going and let you sort this out. It’s a family matter.”
Laura, who could no longer conceal her rage, looked as if she would swing for him. “Sit down Bob. Your daughter’s in this up to her brass neck too.”
Casey began to sob again.
“You better tell me this is a joke Shannon,” said Paul, almost too calmly, “or I’m going to go across there and rip him from limb to limb.”
“Please don’t dad. I love him and he loves me. Samantha was jealous. That’s why I had to do what I did.” Shannon reached for her father’s arm.
“Even if that were true, you stupid, gullible girl, he’s never going to love you now. What you did was stupid and dangerous and no man is going to forgive that. Archie could be dead.” Laura didn’t know where to start. Sure, she had made mistakes in her life but this was a corker even by her standards.
“He’ll understand that I did it because Samantha was starting to come on heavy. He didn’t want me bringing her round to the house anymore. He can’t stand her. I had to let her know that she wasn’t welcome and that he would never be interested in her.” Her tone was so cruel with jealousy and bitterness that she was almost unrecognisable.
Neither Laura nor Paul could believe what they were hearing. For one second, they were united in horror as they listened to the words tumble out of Shannon’s mouth.
Paul could only whisper to his wife. “He’s a dead man.”
Casey continued to stare at Shannon in disbelief. She couldn’t believe how Shannon could lie so easily. The true nature of her best friend had finally fully emerged. She had always known that Shannon erred on the side of danger. She had little regard for her own, or anybody else’s, safety. She had often put them in positions of danger. Many was the time that Bob and Rosie Miller had ordered Casey to stay away. She had never listened. Now, as she mired in the pit of Shannon’s ugly truth, Casey realised her parents had been right. She wished she had listened sooner. It didn’t matter now because the damage was done. Casey suspected that their advice was irrelevant now because they would never look at her the same way. More importantly though, Shannon had decided to take her down with her. She would need a small miracle to get out of this one.
TWENTY-SIX
Greg didn’t have a second to waste. He had seen the car pull out of the cemetery gate. Then it screeched to a halt and the driver started to wave at him. It was only when he seen the passenger he realised they were the police. He remembered him from when his mother was killed. Those around him at the time were not faces he was likely to forget.
He reached over and rubbed the baby’s stomach. He didn’t like it when the baby crie
d. He’d made a promise but when he heard the baby scream, he realised just how difficult it would be to keep that promise. There was no time now for him to fuss over the boy. He had to get away as quickly as he could.
The roads were quiet as he approached the centre of the Bluebell Woods. If he drove far enough, he would eventually find himself in Stirlingshire. Surely he would have lost them by then. He had strapped the box into the passenger seat but now he thought about whether it was safe to have the baby in there. The police were gaining on him so fast. He pushed down harder on the accelerator until he was doing almost 80 m.p.h. and then checked the rear-view mirror. Why wouldn’t they leave him alone?
#
“I hope your old bird knows what she’s talking about. We don’t have time to be pissing in the wind.” Wallace wasn’t in the mood to be dragged off on a wild good chase.
“If he didn’t have anything to hide, why would he have sped off like that? Innocent people don’t run.”
It didn’t take long for Wallace’s car to gain on the truck. The obstacle now was not catching up to Greg, but getting him to stop before he killed the baby. As they found themselves deeper in the woods, the road became narrower and steeper. The chase continued for quarter of a mile with Wallace using the wider parts of the road to pull up beside Greg. He had tried to peer into the passenger’s seat, but all he could see was a box before Greg would pull off again.
They were disturbed by the sound of an oncoming van. There wasn’t enough room on the road for one lane going each way. There certainly wouldn’t be enough for the two cars to squeeze by. Wallace felt frustrated as he had to pull the car back. The van driver hooted his horn as both Greg and Wallace continued to race towards him.
A moment later a biker came out from behind the oncoming van. Nobody could have seen it until the motorcycle was almost underneath Greg’s wheels. It caused Greg to slam his left foot on the clutch and the right one on his brake. The truck spun and he watched in horror as the box tipped over. The baby came hurtling towards the seatbelt strap. Greg lunged to the side to catch Archie as they screeched to a halt. He was just in the nick of time to catch the baby before he sprung through the two straps.
The Dead Of Winter Page 7