Bella and Oliver burst through the kitchen door. ‘Where were you, Mum? You were meant to help me with my homework.’ Bella opened the snack cupboard. The ponytail on the top of her head was tufted like a black pineapple top.
Oliver began picking through the shopping bags before pulling his earphones off and looping them around the back of his neck.
‘Hey, you two. It’s late.’ Cherie grabbed the crisps from Bella and threw them back into the drawer. ‘I’m sorry about your homework, kiddo. Maybe I can help tomorrow.’
‘It’s okay. Dad helped me with it. I’m hungry.’
‘No you’re not, we had dinner not long ago.’ This was the chaos Cherie was struggling to cope with. Her face began to heat up and she felt her breath quicken. She was either going to shout at them or cower and cry.
Christian could see her angst. ‘Come on, kids. It’s gone nine. I want you both in bed. Go up and I’ll be there in a minute to say goodnight.’ He smiled at Cherie.
Again, she could see that he was trying so hard.
They all stopped as the security light on the drive flashed on, followed by three loud thuds on the door.
‘Don’t answer it.’
‘What?’ Christian hurried across the kitchen floor and into the hall. After removing the chain, he called back, ‘There’s no one there.’
She ran to the window and stared out. The row of houses opposite were displaying nothing unusual, then three faces clad in green and bloodied make-up appeared at the window. Her heart began to thrum as blood pulsated around her body.
‘Brilliant,’ Christian called out as the teenagers shouted trick or treat. ‘Did you buy any sweets when you were out?
Bella and Oliver ran to the front door.
Cherie almost slid on the floor tiles as she ran and slammed the door closed. ‘Go away! Leave us alone,’ she yelled as she leaned against the closed door.
‘You’re overreacting. They’re just kids having fun.’
‘Mum. I wanted to see their costumes.’ Bella tried to push through to open the door.
‘Get to bed. Get to bed, now.’
‘But, Mum’ Oliver whined, his bottom lip protruding.
The hallway began to sway a little. She undid the buttons of her coat and began to gasp.
‘Mum can’t breathe. Mum.’ Bella pushed through and held her mum’s hand.
‘She’s okay, kids. Just go up. We’ll be there in a minute.’ Christian kissed his children on the head and ushered them away.
Bella let go of her mother’s hand and followed her brother back up the stairs.
‘Come on, love. It’s okay. Just breathe.’
Chants of trick or treat came from the other side of the door. The kids outside opened up the letterbox and began feeding a worm on a piece of paper through the gap.
Cherie gasped as she ran under the stairs and cowered in the corner. ‘Make them go away.’
A moment later, all was silent except for the creaking of Bella’s bed.
Christian picked the worm up, opened the door and threw it out.
‘No. Close it quick.’ Trembling she pulled her coat around her and began to sob.
He calmly closed the door. ‘Come on. I’m going to help you through whatever it is you’re going through, I promise. It was just a few stupid kids playing stupid Halloween pranks. We should have given them a bag of Haribo and that would have been it.’ He held his hand out and helped her up.
‘They’re not just being kids, they were terrorising us.’
‘That’s a bit over the top.’ He smiled and kissed her on the head.
Still shaking, she allowed him to lead her to the kitchen where she continued to breathe in and out. As she sat at the kitchen table, her heart jumped as three eggs were hurled at the window followed by the sound of thudding feet and giggles as the kids ran away.
‘They’re gone now. They’re little tyrants, that’s for sure, but don’t let them get you down. Let’s think about nice things. We’re going on holiday in a couple of months. Your friends are coming to dinner on Saturday. Everything will be okay. Look at me.’
She lifted her head and he kissed her gently on the lips. He hadn’t changed, she had. It had been the week from hell. She always hoped that he’d never come back, but he had and he’d brought something unsettling with him. She needed to go out, but it would have to wait until Christian was asleep. She’d never sleep until she’d dealt with her unfinished business.
Chapter Eight
Gina pulled a wad of paper towels from the dispenser and began to pat her drenched hair. She’d changed into the old pair of shoes she kept in her cupboard and pulled her spare suit jacket around her body before glancing back at her reflection. It was as good as it would get given the circumstances.
DC Paula Wyre peered around the door to the toilets, her dark suit as sharp in style as ever and her black shiny hair straightened to perfection. They were worlds apart. ‘The girls’ parents are asking if they can leave. We need to hurry, guv. I hear it was a bit of a nightmare out there tonight.’
‘It was indeed. I got absolutely drenched. I’m on my way.’ She placed the wet towels into the mesh bin and followed Wyre out. ‘Are you and Jacob okay to interview…’ she glanced at her notebook ‘… Katie? We can compare notes after.’
Wyre nodded and smiled. That’s the first time that Gina noticed the little dimples in Wyre’s cheeks. ‘Definitely. Tilly is with her father in interview room one. I’ll head over to the waiting room and take Katie to interview room two.’
‘Thank you.’ Gina brushed her fingers through her hair as she hurried along the corridor. ‘O’Connor, interview room one.’
He placed the last of a Chelsea bun into his mouth with his chubby fingers, his bald head shiny on top. ‘Ready.’ He wiped his hands on his trousers, leaving a shiny sugary smear. ‘Damn.’
As they entered, the girl was hunched over the table, her gritty fair hair flopping over in a way where Gina could just about see her eyes. The girl’s father removed his hand from her shoulder and fidgeted in the plastic chair. Eventually it stopped squeaking.
‘Thank you so much for waiting. I know it’s late and you’re tired. I’m Detective Inspector Gina Harte.’ The girl looked up. ‘You can call me Gina. It’s Tilly Holden, isn’t it? Can I call you Tilly or do you prefer Matilda?’
‘No one calls me Matilda.’ The teenager yawned, exposing her tonsils.
‘Okay, Tilly it is.’ Gina smiled. ‘I won’t keep you or your father too long but as you know a body was found in the woods tonight after you alerted us to it. You and your friend, Katie, were so brave. You must have been really scared.’
Mr Holden undid the zip on his coat and placed an arm around his daughter. ‘She was meant to get the bus.’
‘We’ve already been through this, Dad.’ Tilly nodded. ‘We decided to walk in the end and when we saw the bell we thought it was a Halloween joke. I scooped a few handfuls of soil away and then I saw a chip in the wood. When I looked in with my phone light, I saw a hand. We still thought it was a joke but decided to call the police anyway, just in case.’