The House In the Woods

by Marguerite O'Callaghan

  Morning came, and Kate waited for Christine to come and take her to the bathroom. She wasn’t in pain and she hadn’t resisted Melvin, but she couldn’t wait to wash his stink from her. She had to lie here all night, for hours, covered in it; his sweat, the smell of alcohol, the semen caked on her thighs. It made her gag worse than she ever had, and she wondered if pregnancy had made her more sensitive to it. He had come in here and asked if she was awake. Terrified that he knew she had opened the door, Kate sat up in the bed and tried to ease his mind. When he saw her hands were untied she quickly explained what had happened and waited as he pieced the story together. He remembered coming home without a key and having to wait for Christine to let him in, and he remembered hitting her for being so lazy and stupid. Yes, he remembered Kate had been tired, and could see that her hands being untied was Christine’s fault, not Kate’s. He would beat her again tomorrow, he thought to himself. He would tell her that he will kill her the next time she did something like that, and threaten with locking her in the basement for a couple of nights. He had laughed as he tied Kate’s hands together again, as he pulled off her leggings and forced himself inside of her. He had tried to kiss her, which he had done from time to time in the first few months, and Kate had found herself frozen and rigid, like she was dead. She couldn’t forgive herself for what was happening in front of her unborn child, and she worried that this sickness would affect the baby, somehow. With every thrust, grunt, and sensation that was forced on her, she imagined she was back on the landing, and instead of running back into bed, to this; instead of allowing this soul-destroying thing to be done to her again, she imagined she had run out the front door, climbed the wall, run through the woods, across the fields, and into the free world.

  This morning, Christine comes into the room with a fresh purple bruise on her cheekbone. Her eyes are bloodshot from the sleepless night, and Kate knows that she knows. She can also sense that the energy has shifted, and Kate is no longer the safe, pregnant mother of what Melvin thinks is the messiah. They are both victims of his violent, evil side. They both know that Christine was beaten and Kate was raped last night. Just yesterday afternoon they had sat on this very bed eating crisps and chatting, and now everything was heavy, slow, and unbearable. Without knowing it, the two women are thinking the same thing: that Melvin has taken a turn, and things might get even worse for everyone, very soon.

  37

  McCarthy and Davies arrive at the Royal Free Hospital early; they want to see Dale Adams as soon as they can. Brian and Lydia Stone had called the day before with information about Dale, and that he said he knew the man who took Kate. But, Dale was kept in for observation overnight after suffering a severe epileptic fit. They had to sit tight.

  They enter the ward now, McCarthy shows his badge to one of the nurses on duty, and tells her that they need to speak to Dale Adams immediately, in conjunction with a missing person case. The nurse says that Dale is stable enough, and leads them to his bed. She stands next to Davies as the men introduce themselves, and then McCarthy asks her for some privacy.

  ‘I’ll be right here, Mr Adams, if you need anything. Alright?’

  She seems concerned about Dale, and waits for him to respond, before moving away from the bed.

  ‘Th-thanks Sophie.’ Dale responds.

  Dale’s face is drooped to one side, and McCarthy wonders if he’s had a stroke. As soon as Dale starts to speak it’s obvious that he is also suffering mentally. He seems confused and disorientated. McCarthy excuses himself for a moment, and quietly asks Davies to stall things by getting them all some tea. He needs to speak to the nurse.

  Nurse Sophie Thurston is happy to speak to McCarthy, and suggests they sit on some chairs in the corridor, while Davies searches for a vending machine downstairs. She seems like a warm, genuine person, and tells McCarthy she believes Dale is virtually homeless, and gets a bed-sit in a sort of charity-run halfway house from time to time.

  ‘He’s got lots of disabilities, and has problems with his speech and hearing. He spent the night crying last night, and I was on duty, so I actually ended up just listening to him and trying to calm him down.’

  ‘Has he been diagnosed with anything that I should know about?’

  ‘No, detective. He’s been in this hospital before, a few times actually, and he’s an epileptic. But other than that... I just think he’s a pretty damaged guy. So, go easy on him?’

  ‘Did he mention anything to you about someone called Kate Stone; a missing girl?’

  ‘No. Nothing like that. He just spoke about his dead wife, and his sons in America.’

  McCarthy nods and stands up, thanks the nurse for her help, then walks back to the ward. Dale seems to be more coherent now with a cup of tea in his hand, and Davies is chatting to him about the recession, and how difficult it is to find work in London. Davies is good at putting people at ease, and as annoying as he can be, some people respond much better to him than they do to McCarthy. McCarthy asks him if he knows where Kate Stone is, or if he has ever met her, and Dale repeats what he told Lydia. He tells them that Barbara Stone, the woman he knows as Margaret Pernot, and her sister Cassie escaped a cult in the US, the same group that Dale and his family were involved in, and he ended up escaping with them. He hadn’t planned on leaving, and was actually in charge of making sure Barbara and her sister were safe and secure when they ran. They essentially tricked him. Then, knowing that he would be killed if he returned to camp without them, he ran too. The three of them left the country, paying for false passports and ID with money the girls had stolen.

  ‘It was a prophecy that the whole thing was built on you see, that Melvin Todd who was the son of the founder of the church, and Margaret, who you know as Barbara Stone, would have a child together. She got away before that could happen, but the group got bigger and stronger, and they did not give up on having that prophecy fulfilled.’

  McCarthy has written a few things down and asks Dale if he would be able to do an official interview with the police later on today. He can see by Dale’s face that he’s not happy about that. He looks scared.

  ‘Mr Adams, we need your help. I promise that your identity will be safe in all this.’

  Dale nods reluctantly and tells McCarthy that he will make his own way to the station when they let him out. Davies and McCarthy glance at one another. It feels wrong, asking a man in his condition to do that, and they offer to send a car for him, instead.

  ‘You just tell the nice nurse over there to make the call, and I’ll give her the correct number for me. Alright? There can be a car here to take you to us at the station in Hendon in about half an hour.’

  Dale seems relieved about the new plan, and tells them he’ll see them later.

  ‘Get some rest today, Mr Adams. Hopefully we will see you later on then.’

  McCarthy and Davies have a quick word with Nurse Thurston, and she agrees to call when Dale is okay to be released; probably this afternoon.

  They go back to the station, and McCarthy wracks his brains about what to do next; he needs to use his US contacts, and calls Jared Cooper. He fills him in about the progress in the Stone case, and says he needs his help.

  Lydia had told Jared everything about Dale and the cult already, as well as what the police had said the evening before, and he guessed that they would be moving quickly this morning. He’s already found a cult expert in the States that he’s worked with before called Lana Nowicki, and he offers to speak to her on the phone and run any names past her. McCarthy tells him about Melvin Todd and asks him to see if Lana knows anything about him. When they say their goodbyes, Jared immediately calls Lana. It’s 6AM in New York, but she answers the phone after two rings. She’s been waiting for this call.

  38

  Lydia, Brian, and Ida are sitting in the Stone’s living room, and a photograph of Melanie Latter is open on a laptop screen in front of them. Jared had shown it to Lydia in private, and now she needs Ida to confirm this is the girl from her visions befor
e they do anything else. She’s clutching her face with one hand, and the other hand is touching the screen. Tears fill her eyes as she traces the outline of Melanie’s smile with her fingertips. Brian looks concerned at how upset she is; over the past months, Lydia had told him all about Ida, her house, her cat, how sweet she was, but he had remained quite cynical about the whole thing, and part of him assumed she was deluded or a con artist. But, today he had met a true lady. Ida was no con artist. Brian trusted his gut, and he trusted her. She was so fragile, open, and softly spoken. Brian felt what Lydia had felt when she first went to Ida’s house; like she was the grandma he never had; that sort of charismatic gentleness and warmth she exuded made you just want to hug her.

  ‘That’s her. That’s the girl from my visions.’ Ida suddenly whispers. She apologises for crying, and tells them that she can’t seem to stop the tears these days. Lydia reassuringly puts a hand on Ida’s arm, and tries to offer some comfort.

  ‘It’s okay to be sad, Ida. Maybe now that you’ve seen her, and know her name is Melanie... maybe now the visions will stop.’

  Ida is thinking the same thing. In fact, she knows in her heart that the visions will stop, and even now, she can feel the dark veil lifting a little. But, she’s got a new heaviness in her mind, the Latter family. Will they want to know what Ida saw, and how she thinks Melanie died?

  ‘I can’t tell them.’ Ida blurts out, shaking her head from side to side.

  ‘I can’t tell her family what I saw in those visions and dreams. It’s too horrific. Nobody should have to hear that about their child.’

  Then, remembering that the Stones have also lost someone, and are fearing the worst, she apologises. She looks from Lydia to Brian, and can see the worry and pain in their eyes.

  ‘I haven’t seen Kate in the same way. You both know that.’

  They nod, and tell Ida that it’s okay, and she can’t worry about them. Brian changes the subject, and asks Lydia if she can find any photographs of Melanie’s family. She’s already found all of them on Facebook, and printed out the details about where Melanie went missing and any clues they had about what had happened to her. There were seven or eight online articles containing interviews with a few of her friends that were there that night, and her parents of course. She shows Brian the photos of Melanie’s parents on the screen, and he looks closely, feeling like he recognises them, somehow. Lydia has already told her dad about Melvin Todd and all of the things that Dale had told her the day before, and she fills Ida in now, too. It’s all in line with the visions that Ida had about the cult, and her mother being part of it, then running away to start a new life with a new name in the UK.

  ‘Ida, it’s all starting to make sense. Like a crazy amount of sense! You knew this. Your gift helped us to uncover all of this!’

  Lydia is actually smiling through her tears. She excuses herself and goes upstairs to make a quick call to Jared. He doesn’t pick up, so she leaves a voice message to say that Melanie is the one from Ida’s visions. She checks her watch as she descends the stairs, and is shocked to see it’s only midday. It’s frustrating not to know what is going on with Dale and the police. They might have found out where Melvin is by now, but no-one has told her. There has to be something she can do in the mean time to move this along. Her thoughts flash to her mother in the psychiatric ward, and a familiar, heavy anger and frustration rises in her chest. What was going to make her break and start telling them the truth? Now, they could go to her and say they knew about Melvin, Dale, and all about her and her sister changing their names. Lydia feels like screaming, like ripping something apart. Her mother is a liar. Lydia was raised by a liar, and her sister isn’t here now because of those lies. She wonders how she will even have the strength to face her mum again. If Barbara continues to hide the truth, Lydia wants nothing to do with her. She doesn’t care if she dies. She almost deserves to, Lydia thinks. If she had told the police about the cult and Melvin months ago, then Kate might have been found by now. How could she be so stupid and selfish? How could she let fear of her past, cloud the present?

  Lydia re-joins Ida and her father and tells them that they have to speak to her mum. Brian gets up and puts his arm around her.

  ‘I’m not sure that will help, darling. We don’t want to push her any more than she’s already been pushed, you know? She’s really not well.’

  Lydia moves away from him, and walks to the sofa. Ida shifts uncomfortably in her seat.

  ‘Dad, she might know where Kate is. Don’t you get that? She knows this Melvin guy, this psychopath, and she might even know where he is right now!’

  Brian crosses one hand over his stomach, and leans on it with the elbow of his other arm, stroking his beard. He thinks, his eyes on the floor, then looks up at Ida, who smiles back kindly. Then his eyes meet Lydia’s. In that moment, he is so proud of her. She has been through so much trauma and pain recently; losing her sister, her mother trying to kill herself, and lying to them, and he hasn’t been much of a father either.

  ‘Lyds. I’m so sorry. You’re right. We have to ask. Let’s go now.’

  Lydia breathes a sigh of relief, and gets up to leave, telling Ida that they can drop her home on the way.

  39

  McCarthy finishes a meeting with his team at Hendon station and returns to his office, sits at the desk, and opens an email from Lydia Stone. It’s only a short paragraph. It says she’s been working with a psychic who believes her sister is alive and is the same man that took Melanie Latter last year from Banbury in Oxfordshire. Lydia’s final sentence reads:

  ‘Melvin Todd, the man that Dale Adams believes took Kate and knows my mother, may have taken Melanie too. Please speak to her family and find out if there is a connection? Please, Detective McCarthy.’

  McCarthy leans back in his chair. He has never worked on a case like this. It just got stranger and stranger. How was it that Lydia Stone found out about Melanie? Was it really via a psychic? And how strange a coincidence that Jared Cooper had mentioned it so recently. He remembers the CCTV footage of the man in the mask that they retrieved from Haven from the night that Kate went missing. Whoever was behind that mask probably knew where Kate was, and whether she was alive or dead. He also knew what he was doing, and as far as McCarthy was concerned, it was highly unlikely that he acted alone. This Dale Adams seemed to appear out of nowhere. Lydia had said that she saw him outside the Stone’s home a couple of months after Kate went missing, and it did seem like he knew Barbara, but what if he was involved in some other way, or without realising it, he had led Melvin Todd to the Stones. They would have to wait until they interviewed him later today before they could put anything into action. Suddenly, there’s a knock on the open door and Jared asks if he can have a word. He’s been speaking to the contact of his in New York, Lana Nowicki, who thinks she can help. Lana is a cult expert and knows who Melvin Todd is. When he hears this, McCarthy closes the door, and invites Jared to have a seat. Jared nods and accepts but continues to talk. Lana looked into the cult that was run by Joseph Todd known as The Church of the Family of the Prophecy, or ‘CFP’, in the late nineties, after the remains of twenty-three females, mostly children, were found in a quarry near where one branch of the group used to live. She had travelled to the area and interviewed a few ex members of the group, trying to pinpoint who was responsible for the deaths and who the children and women were. The case was huge, according to Lana, but they ran out of funding after a year or so, and they were no closer to finding out the truth. The cult lived off-grid, and many of them had changed their names and moved around a lot. They were essentially living like travellers, didn’t register births or deaths, didn’t have any attachment to society outside of the church, and they were extremely secretive. Melvin Todd and a few other core members of the group went missing over ten years ago, and Lana thinks they obtained false identities and moved overseas.

  ‘Do you think Melvin could be here, in the UK?’ McCarthy asks Jared.

  ‘It’s enti
rely possible. This group, church, cult, whatever you want to call it, was very large and had ‘families’ all over the states. These people don’t just disappear overnight, you know? Lana thinks they just moved and became more secretive. They don’t have any sort of online presence and they don’t recruit in obvious ways.’

  McCarthy puts his hand up to stop Jared from speaking.

  ‘Does she have a photograph of this guy? Melvin?’

  Jared nods. Lana has emailed Jared with a few photographs of the Todd family. He pulls his laptop from his bag and when he opens it, they stare into the face of Melvin Todd. It’s dated 1999, and looks like it was taken in some kind of photo booth at a fair. He’s eyes are large and sunken, his cheekbones protruding. He reminds McCarthy of Charles Manson, with the same delirious twinkle in his eye.

  ‘This was an image that a few ex-members actually had on their fridges, or whatever. They worshipped the Todd family like they were directly connected to God himself.’