The Girls In The Woods. Helen Phifer
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skeleton! Oh, my God – that’s awful. Has it been there a long time?’
She was thinking that it might be really old, maybe even a couple of hundred years old.
‘We can’t really say, to tell you the truth. It’s not our field of expertise. But it looks as if it’s been buried out there for quite a few years. We’re just waiting on the pathologist and a forensic anthropologist who will be able to tell us a lot more. Can you tell me how long you’ve lived here?’
Heath spoke before his wife could open her mouth.
‘Twenty-three years.’
‘Have you ever noticed anyone or anything suspicious in the woods out the back?’
‘No, nothing at all – but then again, we do have a very limited view. Would you like to come and take a look?’
Heath stood up and Will nodded at Stu to go with him; Will didn’t miss the look he gave to his wife. He waited until they had left the room.
‘I can imagine that this must be a bit of a shock for you. It’s not the sort of thing you want to happen near your house, is it?’
‘It is… I mean, it’s terrible. You don’t expect things like that to happen right on your own doorstep. The poor thing. How awful being buried out there in the middle of nowhere and left for years. What must the family be going through?’
‘It is horrible, isn’t it, but whoever it is could have been there a very long time. Do you go out there much?’
‘No, not really. I love living here but I don’t go into the woods on my own. To be honest I find them a little bit creepy. They’re far too quiet for me.’
Will smiled, encouraging her.
‘What about your husband. Does he spend much time out there?’
‘Oh no, he’s far too busy with his work to think about going out and actually relaxing. He spends all his time in his studio.’
Heath walked back in, followed by Stu, and she shut up, not even looking at him – instead she lowered her head. Will had picked up on the body language as soon as he’d walked in but this just confirmed it, that and the fear that had crept into her eyes. He felt his knuckles begin to clench. He looked at the man, who was well built but not fat and would make a good rugby player. He took an instant dislike to him. Will hated men who hit their partners with a passion and he would bet a full month’s wages that this prick hit the much smaller woman sitting opposite him.
‘I’m a photographer so I work long hours; I do a lot of wedding photographs, portraits, proms, school photos… that sort of thing. I like to develop them all myself. I much prefer using film than digital, although it does have its uses. Neither of us really goes out into the woods, which is a shame because they really are beautiful and right on our doorstep.’
‘Do you remember who you bought the house from? We might need to speak to them, providing we find out how long our body has been buried out there.’
‘It was an elderly couple, I’m not even sure if they’ll still be alive now but I do have their names and address somewhere. The only thing is it might take me some time to locate them.
‘That’s fine. If you could have a look and give me a call when you do I’d really appreciate it.’
Will was looking at the woman the whole time he was speaking; he pulled a business card from his pocket. The man stepped forward to take it from him but Will pushed it into the woman’s hands before her husband could reach it. He let his hand linger on hers for a touch longer than he normally would and then he looked into her eyes.
‘That’s my mobile number. You can call me when you find them. Any time, day or night, don’t worry about it. If you remember anything or need to tell me something and I don’t answer just leave me a message and I’ll get straight back to you.’
Stu frowned at Will, not sure what was happening. Then Will stood up and Stu followed; Will turned to the man, whose face was a touch redder than it had been moments ago.
‘Thank you for your time. I’m sorry to have bothered you. We won’t know for some time yet who it is or how long they’ve been buried out there but we’ll keep in touch.’
The man nodded and led them to the front door; as they left the room Jo rushed across to the sideboard. Scribbling the number off the card onto a bright pink Post-it note, she then tucked it as far down into the inside of her jeans pocket as it would go. Rushing back, she threw herself onto the sofa, still clutching the business card in her hand. He stormed back in; snatching it off her, he crumpled it up then pitched it at the fire and she watched as it began to smoulder and then burst into a tiny ball of flames.
‘What a smarmy bastard he was. I hate nosy coppers. If he wants to speak to us he can bloody well come here. I’m not wasting my breath or my money phoning him… and what did he think he was doing holding your hand like that? I’ve a good mind to go out there and knock his head off.’
She flinched at his outburst, waiting for the open-handed slap that would normally accompany such behaviour… but it never came. He was far too distracted and stomped out of the living room back to his workshop, leaving her cowering on the sofa, her hand tucked into her pocket protecting the small piece of paper which might just have the answer to all her prayers written across it. That nice detective had sensed something was wrong and he might be able to help her should she need to escape.
***
As they got outside Stu looked at Will.
‘I hope I’m not speaking out of turn, boss, or overstepping my mark – but just what exactly was that? That lingering touch and “you can call me any time you like”. I thought you were a happily married man.’
Will stopped dead in his tracks and turned to dead-eye Stu.
‘Don’t be an idiot, Stu. I can’t believe you just said that – in fact, don’t even go there. Can’t you see the facts when they’re right in front of your eyes?’
‘What, what facts are you talking about?’
‘I don’t know what the hell is going on with the skeleton – for all we know that could have been there a hundred years – but I do know that it’s pretty obvious that the bloke back there likes to show how much of a man he is by beating his wife.’
‘What? How could you know that from the whole ten-minute conversation we had back there? Don’t tell me you’re a psychic genius as well as your wife.’
‘Because of her body language. She practically shrivelled into herself when he walked in the room. Then there was the fact that she had pale blue bruising under her eye which she’d tried to cover with face powder and she was terrified of him. When he came back in the room you could almost feel the fear which radiated from her, and she never looked up once when he was in the room or made eye contact with either of us.’
‘Really? I never noticed.’
‘If there is one thing I hate more than anything in this world, it’s weak, pathetic men who feel they have to take their problems out on their wives with their fists. Do me a favour Stu and go find someone else to irritate for an hour because I can’t be bothered with you right now.’
Will walked away from him, leaving Stu staring after him, shocked at his boss’s tantrum. Then, realising he’d been a complete idiot and so wrong it would be hard to put it right, he hurried after Will – trying his best to think of all the ways he could make it up to him.
Annie walked down the lane towards Apple Tree Cottage and felt her heart fill with joy to see Jake and his adorable baby girl, Alice, playing in her front garden. It never failed to melt her heart – the sight of huge, tough, gorgeous Jake playing with Alice. She opened the gate and Alice began to squeal with delight