Page 124 of The Girl in the Woods

Ana scrambled around for the syringe and leapt at him, screaming, ‘You fucking asked for it.’

Ana would never know if she would have gone through with it. Another dose so soon after the first would most certainly have caused him serious breathing issues if not death.

‘Life2live,’ he yelled. ‘It’s Life2live.’

The look of satisfaction on her face made him want to kill her.

‘It had better be,’ she said, backing away from him. Her knees were weak from the shock, and her head felt muzzy. She felt his eyes scrutinising hers as she typed in the password. Watched in fascination first as her eyes flinched away, then as the colour drained from her face, and finally, the small whimper that came from her lips before she turned from him and retched onto the dusty floor of the cabin. When she’d finished, she wiped her hand across her mouth and forced herself to look at him.

‘You buggered her, you buggered Elaine Lees,’ she said, her tone strangled.

He’d videoed it all. There were seven, some even younger than she’d been. He’d even made them perform oral sex on him. Thank God, she couldn’t remember everything he’d done to her. Without even being aware of what she was doing, she picked up the Stanley knife and walked towards him.

‘You killed Elaine Lees. You injected her with Rohypnol and left her to die.’

‘It wasn’t like that. You have to listen to me.’

‘Why the fuck should I listen to you?’ she spat.

‘If you kill me, the truth will never come out.’

‘What makes you think I’m going to kill you? Maybe I’m just going to chop off your perverted prick, you fucking bastard.’

His head was fuzzy. He was struggling to keep his eyes open. He could feel a throbbing in his forehead where he’d head-butted her. He just needed time, time to think his way out of this.

‘So, just what was it like, Ray?’ she asked, emphasising his name.

‘She was blackmailing me dry. I never meant for it to happen. It was an accident.’ It was true. He’d never intended to hurt Laine, let alone kill her. If only she hadn’t been so difficult. ‘I tried to reason with her.’

He could remember it all as if it had happened only yesterday. ‘I told her, “Don’t you understand, Laine? You can’t just keep demanding money. You said it was a one-off”.

‘“Yeah, well, I lied,” she said flippantly. “Give me the money, else I’ll tell the police and your wife”.’ He paused, and then continued. ‘I’d looked at her then. At her over-made-up face and slinky dress. She was a narcissistic little bitch who probably never gave anyone else’s life another thought.’

He’d forgotten by now how he’d raped and buggered her.

He looked at Ana. ‘She wasn’t like you,’ he said, almost affectionately, making Ana want to puke. ‘She was a selfish, uneducated piece of scum who used people for her own means. I told her no one would believe her, but she’d laughed straight in my face. “I’m not a stupid kid, you know,” she said, smiling. “I recorded the second time. I have it on my phone. Your groaning and everything”.’

His expression turned angry. ‘She had no right to record anything. I panicked and demanded her phone, but she wouldn’t hand it over. In the end, I tried to grab her bag off her.’

‘She shouted, “Get off me! My boyfriend will be here soon.” But I had her boyfriend’s phone,’ he said proudly. ‘That shut her up.’

He was getting carried away with the story, almost boasting now. He was so immersed that he’d forgotten where he was. ‘You should have seen her face when I held it up.’

Ana fought the urge to slap him.

‘I was in control again, and she knew it. I could tell by the fear on her face. Then the stupid bitch began to run, but in her drunkenness, she lost her footing.’

He suddenly seemed to remember that Ana was there. ‘It wasn’t my fault she knocked her head on the ground, you know that, don’t you?’

He was breathing heavily now as he remembered looking down at Laine, layers of pine needles sticking into her face. He could remember the earthy smell of decomposing leaves and the sight of her sticky, bloody face. He’d watched as she’d scrambled in the dirt, trying to crawl away from him while in a weak voice, begging, ‘No, please,’ as she felt her bag pulled roughly from her shoulder.

‘She should have given me the phone. It was that simple. I felt her pulse. It was too weak. Jesus, why did she have to run? It was her fault she slipped and smashed her head on a rock. It wasn’t as though I’d pushed her. If anything, she’d pushed me with her threats. Pushed me to the limit.’

Sweat was pouring off him. The heat and anxiety of what Ana would do next were taking their toll, and he was feeling light-headed.

‘It wasn’t supposed to be like that,’ he said, tears running down his cheeks. ‘It was to frighten her. Just slap her around a little. Hand her the card and run off. I just wanted her to back off. She’d become a vampire, draining me of emotion and money. I couldn’t concentrate. I’d lie awake at night, worrying that the police would knock on our door.’

‘My heart bleeds for you,’ said Ana caustically.

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