Page 92 of The Girl in the Woods

The lift opened, and Ana went straight to the water dispenser and took another Valium.

Matt flicked through a magazine in the waiting area while Ana paced the room. Jesus, how much longer would he be? ‘Have you ever met him?’ she asked.

‘Vaguely, in a pub once when it was DS Harper’s sister’s birthday.’

Ana didn’t think she could take much more. Her stomach was cramping unbearably, and she was about to excuse herself to the loo when a tall, handsome man opened the consulting room door. A young woman followed. They exchanged a few words, and then he turned to Ana and Matt. ‘Come in,’ he said.

Adrenalin rushed through Ana as she entered the room. The cramps in her stomach got worse. Her head swam, and she suddenly became unsteady on her feet.

‘Ana?’ questioned Matt, concerned.

There was a tingling in her chest, and she just wanted to escape. Her eyes fell on the sofa on the other side of the room, and she had to swallow constantly to stop vomiting.

Matt helped her into a chair, and slowly, the Valium began to calm her. ‘Maybe a delayed reaction to your morgue visit,’ suggested Matt.

Shit, she could feel tears pricking her eyelids. Was it relief or ghostly memories?

‘I know I wouldn’t cope with a visit to the morgue.’ Ray smiled.

Ana swiped at her eyes. Before she knew it, Ray was standing in front of her with a plastic cup of water.

‘This might help,’ he said,’

Ana’s whole body shook. ‘No,’ she shouted, slapping the cup from his hand.

Ray, taken aback, just looked at Ana before Matt broke the silence.

‘Shit,’ he said, grabbing several tissues from a box on the coffee table and attempting to soak up the water. ‘Sorry about that.’

‘It’s fine,’ said Ray. ‘I’ll fetch a towel.’

Ana forced herself to take several deep breaths. Hold it together, she told herself firmly.

‘What the hell is the matter, Ana? You look terrible?’ whispered Matt.

‘I’m fine,’ she said tersely.

Ray had mopped the floor and now sat in a chair opposite them. ‘Are you feeling a bit better?’ he asked her.

‘I’ll be fine,’ she said, although her heart was hammering so fast that she held her hands tightly together to stop Matt and Ray from seeing them tremble.

‘I try to avoid the morgue.’ Matt smiled, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

‘We’re here to discuss your sessions with Elaine Lees?’ Ana said bluntly.

Ray frowned. ‘The girl that was attacked at the fair?’ he asked. ‘That was awful.’

Matt nodded and looked down at his notes. ‘Her social worker, Rufus Jones, referred her to you. He found her hard to handle and a bit provocative.’

Ana watched as Ray tapped into his laptop. She noticed he had a bald patch at the top of his scalp.

‘Ah, yes, he did. He thought she had attention-seeking issues and that she was trying to harass him in some way. He’s quite young, if I remember. So I booked her in and arranged for my receptionist to be present. I thought it safer, although the receptionist would have left if the client had refused to have her present in the room.’

‘When was this?’ asked Matt.

‘The 3rd of June at seven. She never attended the appointment. I booked another one for a week later. She arrived for that one. I didn’t expect her to, so I didn’t arrange to have anyone in attendance.’

He scrolled down the screen. ‘I can read my notes, as there is nothing confidential in them. The client arrived, seemingly irritated to be here. She refused to answer questions and was silent most of the session. She spent much of the time biting her nails and checking the time on the clock.’

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