Page 122 of The Girl in the Woods

‘Do you remember me?’

His expression told her everything. Beads of sweat had built up on his forehead.

‘Of course you do. I was a virgin when you raped me. A fifteen-year-old virgin. That must have been a thrill, or have they all been virgins?’

‘You’re delusional,’ he scoffed. ‘Always have been. I never raped anyone.’

‘You said no one would believe a low life like me over a professional man like you, that I was nothing. But I’m not a nothing now, am I?’

His expression showed his fear, although she knew he was trying to hide it.

‘You can’t use evidence you’ve obtained under duress,’ he said triumphantly. ‘So, if you’re recording this, you’re wasting your time.’

She continued talking as if he hadn’t spoken. ‘How many before me?’

‘Like I said, you’re delusional.’

Ana laughed. Her revenge had finally come to fruition, and she was enjoying it. Maybe that made her as bad as him.

‘I’m not recording this,’ she lied. ‘There’s no point. This is my revenge. I want you to know what you did to me. I was fifteen. I suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder afterwards. You see, I had no one to turn to. You abused your position of trust in an environment that should have been safe for me. My mother died before I had time to tell her what a perverted psycho had done to me. Do you know how alone I felt?’

Something changed in his expression. Was it shame, guilt, sadness? Ana couldn’t tell.

‘You thought you could change your name and come to Oxford and just forget scum like me, didn’t you? Or did you realise I was stronger than the others?’

She stared into his face. ‘You were clever, though. I stupidly looked for a Richard Stephens, but you changed your name, didn’t you? I nearly gave up and went home, and then Elaine Lees got attacked, and I interviewed you. In a warped way, I’ve got Elaine to thank for that.’

She laughed then.

‘I used a cheap detective. Cheap as chips, as we say back home. I was so fucking angry. He’d found a Doctor Raymond Stephens in Oxford, and he presumed that was the right one. I only recently discovered he found another Dr Stephens who’d changed his name before starting work in Oxford, but he didn’t think it worth telling me about him, and apparently, I hadn’t paid for two names. So it must have been fate that I found you.’

Ray Grace looked at the attractive woman before him and wanted to say, ‘Yes, I remember you. You were the best I ever had.’

CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE

Ray’s life had become a living hell after receiving Ana’s WhatsApp message. Looking back, if he’d noticed her enough, he would have seen that the resemblance to Laurie had been obvious. He’d struggled to think how she’d managed to find him. It had been seven years. He had a different name. Every day, after the barbeque, he’d expected the police to knock at his door. When they didn’t, he presumed it was money she wanted. That would be easy enough. No, it had to be more than that.

He’d tried so hard, too. After the last girl in York, he’d promised himself he would control it. He’d been lucky. They’d all been too frightened to tell anybody, but it was risky to stay there. He could start again. All he had to do was find a new position and move. So he went to Liverpool, and life had been perfect. He’d met Sandy, who was studying there, and they had become engaged.

He’d vowed to himself it would never happen again, and it hadn’t until Laurie. What did these girls expect when they walked half-undressed through the streets at night?

The sight and smell of her in his consulting room that day had been too much. Visions of her in that skimpy skirt and low-cut top had haunted him for days. He was so overcome with lust for her and the power to control her that he knew he had to do it, no matter how wrong it was. He had to dominate her and make her his. Teach her a lesson for flaunting herself. But she’d been different from the rest. Stronger. There was no fear in her. Her anger had been tangible. He’d felt scared. Worrying she would go to the police.

Finally, he’d told Sandy. ‘She’s accusing me of rape,’ he’d lied to her. ‘She’s delusional. She threatened to go to the police if I didn’t pay her.’

‘You must go to the police,’ Sandy had insisted.

‘I can’t. I panicked and stupidly paid her,’ he lied. ‘That will go against me, won’t it?’

Sandy had been distraught. She’d loved their life in Liverpool, but when he told her he had been offered a position in Oxford, she jumped at the thought of being where her family was.

Then his stepfather died, and Ray felt guilty. He’d promised to take his name. After all, he’d always been more of a father than his real dad, but he had a massive heart attack before they could sign the legal adoption papers. Before leaving Liverpool, Ray changed his name by deed poll and explained the delicate situation of his stepfather to the university. They were more than happy to change his name on his qualifications.

Now, he was completely safe. Life had been perfect, too, and he’d controlled himself until that bitch Elaine Lees. She’d deliberately flirted with him. It wasn’t fair to do that, so he’d had her. After that, she’d hounded him every day, wanting more and more money. It wasn’t like she’d even been worth it, not like Ana.

Needles was on his way home when he saw Sajid ahead of him on his cycle. He was about to call out to him when Sajid stopped and seemed to puncture his tyre deliberately. Needles was puzzled as to why Sajid would do something like that. He was about to hurry forward and offer to help when Sajid wheeled it towards Tim’s garage.

Needles kept his distance. He didn’t want Tim to recognise his voice. Sajid seemed to be in there forever, but finally, he came out and pedalled so fast down the road that even if Needles had called out to him, he would never have heard. Instead, he hurried to Tim’s garage, where the door was still open.

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