‘I wondered if I might . . . pick your brains, as it were, later?’
Her smile wavered and she looked unsure.
‘I’m keen to find out what I can about the history of Mapledon
while I’m here.’
‘Oh, I’m not really sure I’ll be of much use there, lovely. I’ve
only been here six years.’
‘You must know more than me,’ Lizzie said. She made sure
she gave her biggest smile. ‘And you could definitely enlighten
me on the villagers who live in Mapledon now, I’m sure.’
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Chapter Forty-Eight
1989
Mapledon Park
Wednesday 21st June – 4 weeks before
Beams of sun broke through the tall, leafy trees, like shards of
glass. Tina watched as the shimmering lights cast patterns on
her dress. She’d been sitting beneath the large oak, its gnarly
roots digging uncomfortably into her bottom, for twenty
minutes now, waiting patiently for Pat. She knew he’d turn up,
even if it was past the agreed time. He must’ve just got caught
up on some police business. She’d often wondered why he’d
hung around the Mapledon area. He’d had a promising career
in front of him. He’d been keen and ambitious at one time and
had been earmarked for the accelerated promotion scheme, but
then, nothing. He just stayed local. He’d never talked about why.
Although Tina had her suspicions.
Hearing heavy footsteps, Tina jumped up and brushed her
dress down with both hands before straightening.
‘Morning, Tina. Looking lovely and summery.’ His smile
brought one to Tina’s lips too. He wasn’t what she’d consider
good-looking, but his smile always radiated warmth and it was
contagious. And the fact he always complimented her made her
feel good. Mark rarely told her she looked lovely, or even just
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nice. It gave her a boost when Pat looked at her the way he did.
She’d always known he liked her, even back when they’d been
teenagers it’d been obvious. But she’d been into the bad boys
then, the thrill and excitement they could offer. Pat was . . .
comfy. He was quiet and kind. And he’d ended up with the
equally quiet and kind Zoe.
It was only now that it was dawning on Tina that she’d made
an error in judgement by choosing Mark. She wouldn’t do
anything to jeopardise Pat and Zoe’s marriage now, of course,
but she could use his feelings for her to gain some information
– and it was what the others were also counting on. Although
he was very much by the book, if Tina asked him to look into
something – someone – for her, she felt certain he would. For the good of Mapledon.
‘Thanks, Pat – you’re too kind,’ she said, looking down at
herself, then back at him. She returned the broad smile.
‘We having a picnic?’ he asked, casting his eyes around the
empty area of the park Tina had asked him to meet at.
‘Ah, I should’ve brought you something. A doughnut at least.
Sorry.’
‘Watching my waistline anyway,’ he said, both hands jiggling
his belly. He had put a bit of weight on, Tina noted. But she
refrained from saying.
‘Look good to me, Pat,’ she said, instead.
‘Okay, so you have me to yourself in an almost-abandoned
park. If we aren’t having a picnic and we’re not engaging in an
affair—’ he winked at her ‘—then what have you asked me here
for?’
Tina sighed. ‘I’m worried, actually, Pat. About a certain person
in Mapledon.’
‘Oh, let me stop you there, Tina.’ He put his palms up. ‘I’m
not going fishing around making trouble for someone who
should just be left alone to get on with his life.’ He turned and began walking away from her.
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Damn. Tina hadn’t expected him to already know who she was referring to, much less walk away without even listening to her.
‘Wait, Pat. Please wait!’ She ran after him, grabbing his arm.
‘It’s not some whim, nor is it a witch-hunt – I know what the
village men call us behind our backs, you know. It’s for the
safety of our kids. For Jonie, her friends. Your Daisy. Don’t you want them to be safe in their own village – the one we grew up
in happily with not a care in the world? That’s all I want for
them, too.’
Pat blew out a long breath. ‘He’s just lost his wife, Tina. Yes,
he’s a little . . . odd. But it’s not his fault the kids are drawn to him and play those god-awful Knock, Knock games on his
property. It’s not like he’s the one seeking out trouble, is it? He’s in his own bungalow minding his own business. I think it’s the parents of those unruly kids who should be teaching their
offspring some manners and respect. Don’t you?’ Pat’s face was
beetroot red.
Of course, he did have a fair point. But kids would be kids.
They didn’t see the harm, couldn’t foresee any danger in what
they were doing. Hadn’t they played those games too when they
were growing up?
‘Come on, Pat. We’re not so old as to not remember the shit
we got up to. What they do is pretty harmless—’
‘It’s trespass, actually, Tina.’
‘Okay, I understand where you’re coming from. And I will
make sure I disseminate that at the Mapledon Meeting next
week, even though I don’t want to go – they are getting so
tedious. But, in the meantime, please could you just run a quick
search, see if anything comes up. He hasn’t lived here long
enough for us to know him, and the fact he was an outsider is
making everyone uncomfortable when it comes to letting our
kids roam freely. Especially given the way his daughter is.
Something isn’t quite . . . well, right. You understand their . . .
my concern, don’t you?’
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‘I do, of course I do.’ His voice softened. Tina knew she had him now.
‘You’re a good man, Pat. I’m glad we have you. I’m really
grateful for anything you can manage – I know it’s not something
you feel comfortable doing, but if you have suspicions, you do
need to act on them. How bad would you feel if something
happened to one of our own?’
Tina felt a twinge of guilt. She’d laid it on a bit thick. But it worked. Pat moved closer to her, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
‘I’ll do some preliminary searches. And if you can bring me
actual evidence of your suspicions about his little girl being . . .
harmed, or abused, then obviously I’ll report it immediately
and do things through the correct channels.’ He turned again to walk away, then added: ‘But when I say if you can bring me
evidence, I don’t mean you lot should play bloody detective and
go seeking it out. I mean if you come across it, if Eliza tells the school something, stuff lik
e that. Tell me that. Don’t you dare
go snooping and putting me in an awkward position. Promise?’
Tina caught the concerned tone in Pat’s voice. He knew he’d
said the wrong thing about taking evidence to him. He seemed
scared, probably quite rightly, that the women of Mapledon
might take it as a green light to do some of their own digging.
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Chapter Forty-Nine
2019
Anna
Monday 15th July – evening
The revelations, tense conversations and sense of unease had
all taken their toll on Anna and now, slumped on her moth-
er’s ageing, saggy sofa, she felt utterly drained. Numb. And
yet, her mind wouldn’t settle, wouldn’t quieten. Loud,
annoying thoughts and questions swamped her tired brain.
She wouldn’t sleep if she didn’t at least attempt to get rid of
a few of them. Get some of her queries out, maybe even get
some answers.
Strangely, her mother hadn’t quizzed her when she’d
returned from lunch with Lizzie. She’d fully expected to be
given the third degree, but instead she’d been met with indif-
ference; Muriel didn’t even ask what Anna’d assumed to be
the burning question: was it Lizzie who’d left the doll’s head
and arm? Anna hadn’t said much either – if her mother wanted
to know, she’d ask. Perhaps it’d been too much for her, too.
A day filled with unexpected twists. She was probably too tired
to care.
Anna had taken the opportunity to call Carrie. She’d been
excited to share what she’d been up to – James had taken her
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to the cinema, as promised, and then for fish and chips, which they’d eaten on the seafront, guarding them with their lives
while seagulls swooped. It was lovely to hear her upbeat chatter, but it also created a deep ache in Anna’s stomach. She should
be the one spending time with her daughter, enjoying the
school holidays. She shouldn’t be running about the country-
side on some wild goose chase with Muriel and the daughter
of a child murderer – her childhood friend’s killer. It didn’t
seem right, somehow. But Carrie reassured her they would still
have plenty of time – five more blissful weeks without school.
Anna repeated ‘plenty of time’. Would they still have lots of
time to spend together? She supposed it’d only been four days
so far – but there didn’t seem to be an end in sight yet. It
could easily be another four days. More, even, before Anna
felt it was safe to leave Mapledon. Leave Muriel to her own
devices. Or, take her home to Bristol – temporarily at least.
She was beginning to realise this might be the only course of
action. Unless she could get Muriel talking. Dig under the
surface, find out the real story behind Billy Cawley and his
abduction of Jonie Hayes.
‘Fancy a Horlicks, Mum?’ Anna said, pushing herself into a
better position on the sofa. Muriel’s eyes appeared glazed, as
though she’d been asleep with them open.
‘Sorry, what?’ She blinked several times and turned to
Anna.
‘Had you zoned out?’ Anna gave a nervous laugh. The vacant
look had unnerved her a bit.
‘Yes. Yes, I was deep in thought then. Sorry. Now, what did
you say, love?’ Her voice now light and cheery.
‘I was going to make Horlicks, do you want one?’
‘Ooh, have I got any? I don’t think—’
‘I picked some up when I went to the shop on Saturday.
Remembered it was your favourite.’
‘Lovely. Yes. And then maybe we can have a heart-to-heart?’
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Anna’s pulse quickened. Muriel suggesting a heart-to-heart?
What was coming?
They both sipped tentatively from their mugs, facing each other
at the dining-room table, Anna sitting in what used to be her
dad’s chair. It’d been a long while since he’d vacated it, but it was still his. Funny how some things just were; the passage of time didn’t alter everything – despite the fact he’d been gone
for longer than he’d been present, certain things stuck. It was
almost as if he’d died, rather than left of his own accord.
‘How is Carrie? I haven’t seen her for such a long time. I miss
her.’
‘She’s good, thanks. You should come visit during these holi-
days. Perhaps when this is sorted?’
‘I’d love to. I could come back with you tomorrow, and stay
for a few weeks.’ Muriel spoke so quickly and enthusiastically,
Anna thought she was having a funny turn.
Anna nodded her head, slowly. ‘That would be nice. But I
don’t think there’s a big rush. Don’t you want to know who’s
doing this to you, Mum? Make sure it stops?’
‘Don’t you want to make sure I’m safe? You were the one
concerned that these awful . . . these . . . abominations, were
threats. And now you’re acting as though it’s nothing to worry
about again. How come you’ve changed your tune?’
‘I know. I realise I’ve been swinging from one thing to the
other. If I’m totally honest I don’t understand any of it. Speaking with Lizzie today, it’s just confused me further.’
‘What claptrap has she been spewing?’
‘Mum! Why do you dislike Lizzie? She was only eight when
all this happened with her father. Hardly her fault, is it?’
‘No. And I don’t dislike the girl. I merely mistrust her. She
was so damaged, Anna. You won’t remember much, aside from
the dismembered dolls that is. It was the way she looked, the
way she acted. He’d damaged her. It wasn’t enough to lose her
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mother to cancer, more hurt and pain came her way via him.
And it had a terrible consequence. Well, more than one . . .’
‘Oh? What do you mean?’
‘Nothing. Like I said, she was harmed. To such a degree I
think it affected her. Made her moody, nasty and unpredictable.’
‘Didn’t she have help from professional psychiatrists or
anything? Poor girl.’
‘I was trying to help her. I did what I could.’ Muriel’s atten-
tion had drifted again, she seemed lost to another place, her
eyes wide, unblinking. Anna’s mind went back to Lizzie’s earlier
comment about having been taken inside Muriel’s house before
she was removed from her dad’s care.
‘What did you do, Mum?’
Muriel didn’t answer.
‘Mum?’ Anna got up and gave her a gentle shake. ‘Anna to
Muriel,’ she said.
‘Enough for tonight, Anna,’ Muriel said, finally. She rose from
her chair, placed her empty mug in the sink, filled it with water, then walked past Anna and headed to the stairs.
‘I’ll lock up, then.’ Anna called after her.
What a strange exchange. Anna got up and locked and bolted
the back, then front doors. Her mum had been the one to suggest
a heart-to-heart, but had shut down almost immediately. As
Anna turned out the downstairs lights and was about to climb
the stairs, a thought occurred to her.
The letters in the drawer. She’d clean forgotten about them.
They might not be important at all, just letters from a friend
maybe. But the thought they might be from her father, Eric,
intrigued her. Muriel never spoke of him, and Anna hadn’t tried
to contact him herself. But if there were letters, she’d perhaps
learn more about what went on at the time of Jonie’s disap-
pearance.
Retreating, Anna switched the hallway light back on and
walked into the lounge and across to the dresser. She slid the
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top drawer open. The letters weren’t there. She rifled deeper, then tried the other drawers. Not a single one.
Muriel had moved them. She must’ve seen Anna holding the
one she’d found on Saturday morning. They were letters she
clearly didn’t want Anna to read.
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Chapter Fifty
2019
Lizzie
Tuesday 16th July – 1.15 a.m.
It was gone midnight when Lizzie finished speaking to Gwen
and she immediately went to her room and opened her laptop,
clicking on the files icon. At 1.15 a.m. Lizzie pulled on a jumper, grabbed her phone, then tucked her room key in her jeans
pocket. She left through the main door of Bulleigh Barton B&B, reversed her car out of its space in the courtyard and took the
winding lane towards Mapledon. She was wired, her mind too
busy for sleep. Gwen had been more helpful than she realised,
and Lizzie had been able to add to her notes; the further infor-
mation she’d gleaned changed some things.
Lizzie parked directly outside the church gate. No one would
need access at this time of night. She got out of the car, and
quickly checking her mobile for the time – 1.24 a.m. – switched
its torch app on. Her heart rate had doubled, or that’s how it
felt, crashing against her ribs like waves against rocks. She had a feeling – a premonition, almost – that this was where she had
to be. With her mother, Rosie. Even with the torch app, the
graveyard was eerily dark. If she was one to believe in ghosts,
I Dare You (ARC) Page 16