The House In the Woods

by Marguerite O'Callaghan

  ‘Honey, I just thought she was having problems with your dad. She’s never told me about mental health issues, or anything like that.’

  Lydia goes straight for it, and tells her aunt that she knows that there’s something in her mother’s past that she’s keeping from everyone, and she needs Jane to be honest with her. But, before her aunt can respond, the front door opens, and a squealing cousin Jenny bounces into the room. Jenny is all hoop earrings and dimples. She reminds Lydia of a cabbage patch doll who’s had too much caffeine. She’s adorable, excitable, and wears her heart on her sleeve, but she’s also the kind of person that Lydia tires of very quickly.

  24

  Kate lies awake. She knows that she’s waited long enough, and needs to make a plan to escape this place. Melvin keeps a couple of dogs outside the house, and she’s pretty sure they aren’t tied up. One is called Ned and the other is called Rascal. Kate’s heard him shouting their names. Their meal times and morning walk are things she’s used to hearing, too, and they’ve become markers in the day. Melvin shouts at them like they’re wild horses he’s trying to tame, yelling ‘Heyah! Heyah!’ every time they go through the gate. Kate thinks that maybe she would be better off trying to escape during their morning walk; that way she won’t have to worry about them barking, or attacking her. At that time, Christine would be the only other person in the house, too, and less likely to be able to stop Kate if she caught her, and hopefully less violent than Melvin would be in that scenario. But, the first thing Kate needs to be able to do is detach herself from the long metal chain that connects her hands to the heavy bed frame. Without the ability to free herself from that, there’s no way she’s going to be able to go anywhere. She’s never been downstairs either, or seen through the windows properly, and she has no idea how difficult it will be to get from the house to a public road. She knows there is a gate with a lock, and an outside space like a garage, but she doesn’t know if there is another perimeter around the house, like trees or a wall. For all she knows, Melvin could have security cameras or motion sensors out there, too. Plus, she has no idea what the windows and doors are like downstairs and how easy it would be to get through them, even if she did manage to free herself from the chains. She needs to convince Melvin and Christine that they can trust her enough to have the chains off for at least a portion of the day. That way, she might have some chance of at least looking around the house and seeing if an escape route is possible. And maybe, just maybe, if she can build up their trust, they might allow her stop wearing them altogether.

  About twenty miles away from where Kate is lying, a woman in her forties by the name of Annie Latter is lying awake too. She’s used to pretending to sleep next to her husband, and doesn’t want to take the tablets the doctor has prescribed; she’d rather have her wits about her as much as possible. Since her daughter, Melanie went missing last year, Annie has been working day and night to find her. Before all of this happened, she had no idea just how many people went missing in the UK every year; the police and media kept it quiet for the most part, but people were going missing all the time, seemingly disappearing into thin air. And good people like Annie Latter and her family were not given answers about where they might be. She had read the statistics about sex trafficking and spoken to some experts in the field, and it seemed that this was the most likely thing that had happened to Melanie. She was fifteen when she went, and it was coming up to her seventeenth birthday soon. Annie still hoped she was alive of course, and still spoke to her every single day. Every time the phone rang, every time someone called out Annie’s name, she imagined it was news of Melanie. Of course, when Kate Stone went missing it was all over the news. Kate was a celebrity, with a massive circle of friends, and a public profile. It made Annie angry that her case was getting all this attention, and she felt bitter that Melanie somehow wasn’t interesting enough for the media to talk about. She had seen photographs of Kate and realised how similar she looked to Melanie; the same long, dark hair, full lips, and large dark eyes. Kate was a little bit taller than Melanie, and thinner than her too, but they were alarmingly alike. Annie met Barbara and Brian Stone at a support meeting in London a few months ago. They reminded her of herself and her husband Rupert in the months after Melanie went missing. They were ghost-like, broken-hearted, and vacant. She had felt connected to them, and wished them luck in finding Kate. Part of her imagined Melanie, Kate, and all of the other missing girls were in the same place. She had to imagine they were alive; the alternative was too devastating. Plus, Annie had two other teenagers at home who needed her to be strong.

  By some cruel coincidence, Kate is thinking about Melanie at that same moment. Of course, she doesn’t know her name. All she knows is what Christine decided to tell her; that a girl was brought here before Kate was, and they beat her to death. Kate has felt sick and haunted by this fact ever since Christine told her, and she had been too scared to bring the subject up again, although part of her longed to know if she had died in the basement where Kate had been kept for all those months. How long she had been in there for? And, what they had done with her body? Kate had started pretending to pray, in order to convince Melvin and Christine that she was a deserving person in their divine plan. But she had actually started to use the time to speak to her parents, Lydia, and the world in general. She knew that she was technically talking to herself, but it brought such relief. She asked the universe for strength. She asked her family and friends to believe in her, and to never stop loving her. This new knowledge about Melanie had scared Kate, and was the catalyst to push her into forming an escape plan herself. The likelihood of ending up like Melanie was high; the only thing keeping Kate alive was the life growing inside of her. Once she had this baby, her baby, inside of her, Melvin wouldn’t be able to harm her. A thought occurs to Kate. She is giving this baby life, and it is giving her life. ‘Symbiosis’ she whispers in the dark, as she remembers learning what that word meant at school. It was when two systems or beings benefited mutually from their interaction.

  ‘Symbiotic mother and baby.’

  She smiles at the memory of the dusty old science lab and her eccentric science teacher, Mr Carr. She had really enjoyed learning about the anatomy of the human body; the kidneys, heart, and eyes. She loved drawing and labelling them. It was therapeutic. What she wouldn’t give to be able to draw now. Kate wonders if she will ever get the chance to teach her baby any of this stuff. She can feel her bond growing for this child every day, and had no idea that you could form something so strong, so sure, so fierce; something so glorious, with someone you had never even met before. Kate smiles to herself, and wonders how much hormones have to play in all of this. This baby was also genetically related to a psychotic rapist and murderer, yet it didn’t feel like it was one bit Melvin’s. It was Kate’s baby, and she had to fight for it.

  25

  Lydia and her cousin Jenny are reminiscing about fun times they had together as kids. Jenny is a very emotional person, and has already cried three or four times about Kate. She tells Lydia that she had to take a week off work when they first found out that she was missing, and she’d been praying for her a lot at their local church. Lydia isn’t sure why, but she finds Jenny really irritating. She had never realised this before, but it seems like her aunt Jane feels the same, even though Jenny is her own daughter. Jane continually tells Jenny to change the subject if she’s asking too many questions, and eventually suggests that she come back in the morning after Lydia has had some rest, and recovered from her flight. Lydia is relieved; all she wants to do is speak to Jane, alone, and as soon as Jenny leaves, she suggests they order some pizza and open a bottle of wine. Lydia hadn’t even planned on saying that; it was as if the words just came out of her mouth, but her aunt is delighted with the suggestion. Her eyes actually light up.

  ‘I’ve been on a goddamn no-carb diet for the past two weeks, so, pizza? Hell yes! Why don’t I order it while you get settled in your room? It’s the front one with the long mirror o
n the door. It’s got an ensuite, so freshen up or whatever, and yell if you need anything, okay?’

  Lydia immediately feels warm around her aunt. She had never really appreciated her before, but she was kind of fun. It was like all the best bits of hanging out with her own mother, but without the emotional baggage.

  Upstairs, Lydia throws her small suitcase on the bed, and takes out her phone. She calls her dad and tells him that everything is great, Aunt Jane is doing okay, and says hi. She tells him that she’s going to do her best to get some answers, and will let him know if she finds out anything. Brian tells Lydia that he’s at the hospital with her mum, but hasn’t said anything about her being in Florida because he doesn’t want her worrying. Lydia agrees, and asks him to say that she’s not feeling well for a couple of days and that’s why she can’t come to visit. Brian is hesitant about lying like that, but eventually agrees. Before they hang up, he tells Lydia he’s proud of her, and loves her very much.

  A few minutes later, Lydia presses the power button on the shower, and takes her t shirt and jeans off, then picks her phone up again and sends a text to Jared. Determined to play it cool this time, she keeps it short; just telling him she arrived safe and sound, is having a nice time with her family, and is free tomorrow if he wants to talk. In the shower, Lydia makes a plan about what she’s going to say to Jane. She feels confident that her aunt trusts her now, and can see that she’s not a little girl anymore. Then, a strange feeling washes over her; she can feel her sister’s presence. Lydia hasn’t felt like this in some time, maybe a month, and it takes her by surprise. She suddenly remembers the night she went to Haven a few weeks after Kate went missing, and thought she saw something in a mirror, and then later that night she saw a figure that looked like Kate in her bedroom by the window. The last thing she wants is to feel scared right now; she’s happy to have Kate with her to give her strength. But something feels wrong. Why is it that being in the water makes her feel like this? There’s something about this element that makes her feel more in tune with the paranormal, and it’s strange because being in Florida means that she’s even further away from Kate than ever. Assuming she’s still alive, and in the UK. Lydia can feel herself shaking, even though the water in the shower is piping hot.

  ‘Get it together, Lydia. Pull yourself together.’

  Then, she does something she hasn’t done in a long time. She talks to her sister. Lydia pretends that Kate is right there with her, and she tells her how much she loves her, misses her, and how sorry she is that they haven’t found her yet. Tears mix with the hot water running down Lydia’s face. The doorbell rings downstairs, and for a second, Lydia thinks Jenny has returned, but then remembers the pizza. It’s probably the delivery guy. She turns the shower off, and grabs a towel just as she hears her aunt calling up the stairs to her.

  ‘Gimme five! Coming!’ she shouts back.

  A few minutes later, Lydia runs down the stairs in fresh clothes. Her hair is still wet, but tied back in a neat bun. She’s ravenous, and grabs a giant slice of pizza and a paper plate from the table in the living room. Her aunt is visible through the double doors in the kitchen, and asks Lydia what she wants to drink.

  ‘I’m having a diet soda. Want one?’

  Lydia nods. God, she loves America. She loves the sheer amount of food that seems to be available at all times. The triple cheese giganticness of the whole thing. The first time she and Kate went to Disneyland as children, she actually cried with happiness; first when she saw Mickey Mouse and Pluto singing ‘Zippidydooda’ and skipping towards her, and secondly when she was handed the biggest cookie she had ever seen in her life. She and Kate asked their parents if they could live in Disneyland, and Kate told them all that she was going to get a job singing with the princesses when she was older. Kate loved having family in America and hoped to one day live there for a while.

  Jane comes back into the room, and smiles as she places the giant red plastic cups of diet coke on the glass table.

  ‘Do you remember when you used to be obsessed with Dr Pepper and M&Ms? It seems crazy now because you can probably get that candy in England, right? I mean it’s not a big deal any more, is it? But you and Kate used to fill your suitcases with the stuff when you went back home, like it was treasure.’

  Lydia can’t help but laugh. She tells her aunt that she has so many happy memories of being here with Kate when she was little. When the pizza is almost gone and Jane tells Lydia she is officially on a carb high, Lydia decides it’s time to change the subject to her mum. She tells Jane about Ida the psychic, and that she believes that her mother’s real name is Margaret. She tells her about the man that turned up outside the house a few months ago asking for someone called Margaret, and then the fact that her dad found a bracelet with the same name in her mum’s jewellery box. And there was the photograph too.

  ‘Jane, why won’t you tell me? What do you have to lose? My sister was kidnapped in the middle of the night from a club, and this might help her....’

  Lydia sees her aunt’s vacant look. It’s the same one that her mother had when she tried to talk to her in the pub that day. Just when Lydia thinks she is never going to say anything, and maybe the whole trip was a mistake, Jane turns her head and looks at her. Her eyes are warm, open, watery with love and sadness. Is she finally going to tell her something?

  ‘Sweetheart. I totally see where you are coming from. All this stuff about someone called Margaret and your mom not wanting you to know about her past... that does seem weird. I would be freaked out too, you know? But what does it have to do with Kate? I don’t see how there’s a connection.’

  Lydia tells her again about the psychic, and her aunt just shakes her head. She seems to think that if a psychic is the only person linking Kate’s disappearance to her mother’s secrecy about her past, it isn’t a good enough reason for all this fuss.

  ‘Honey, I’m going to bed. If you really want to find out about our childhood here in America, take a look in the bureau under the stairs. There’s a whole load of photographs of us when we were kids. You’ll see two happy girls and two normal-looking parents: your grandparents. We were happy, christian folk who just happened to move around a lot. Your granddaddy had travelling feet, and he never settled anywhere.’

  Jane hums to herself and starts to tidy up. Lydia can see that she’s not going to get any answers from her this evening. She wishes her goodnight, and waits for about twenty minutes before taking a look at the bureau in the hall.

  There are about seven photo albums in total, and Lydia flicks through them for a few minutes before having an idea; she needs to find proof that her mother’s real name is Margaret; that’s enough to tie her to the bracelet and the weird man looking for her at the house a few months back. If her aunt catches her she might be mad, but Lydia starts to go through every photograph on every album page, peeling it out, and looking at the back. The first ten or fifteen photographs are blank, then one or two have dates and places on them. Lydia takes photographs of these with her phone. She’s not sure why, but wants them just in case she needs to build a picture of where they moved to over the years. She can see her mother’s features change almost overnight, and she suddenly looks mature. Lydia continues to remove each photograph, check the back for any sign of a name, and then replace it. Eventually, she comes to a few photographs where whatever was written on the back has been covered over with black marker. What’s more interesting though, is the sticky film on those particular album pages isn’t as sticky as some of the others. This was done recently, thinks Lydia, and certainly after the photographs had been placed in the album. Perhaps whoever put them in here didn’t think anyone would ever take them out, or maybe they went in before her mother’s name was changed by deed-pole. Maybe the marker is covering the name ‘Margaret’ on them.

  Lydia takes a look at the time on the clock over the doorway; it’s after midnight. She switches off the lamp and goes into the kitchen to get some water. Out of the corner of her eye she spo
ts a laptop on a chair by the window, puts down the glass, and picks up the laptop. She places it carefully on the table and opens it. It’s already turned on, and doesn’t require a password either, so she immediately clicks on the email icon. Lydia isn’t even sure what she’s looking for, but on the off-chance that there’s something in there that might prove anything, she has to have a look. She scrolls through everything in the inbox for the past few days, and nothing seems out of the ordinary. She goes through page after page of emails to and from family about upcoming trips, emails to co-workers about meetings. There is nothing suspicious at all. Then, Lydia decides to check the sent box. The very first email is to her mother, and the subject is ‘Call me’. Lydia opens it immediately and reads:

  ‘Lydia knows, doesn’t she? How long can you keep this up?’