Page 11 of The Serial Killer's Sister
Our lips are sealed.
I think DI Walker is mistaken. I’m not sure that Henry wants to kill me. He wants to play with me. Taunt me.
This is a game.
And it all started at Finley Hall.
Chapter 6
FINLEY HALL CHILDREN’S HOME
‘Can you help me, Anna?’
‘What’s up, buddy?’ Anna lays a hand softly on Henry’s shoulder, but there’s an edge to her tone that belies her gesture. Kirsty tuts and rolls her eyes, clearly annoyed that they are being bothered by Anna’s pain-in-the-arse brother yet again. Anna turns away from Kirsty’s disapproving glare, her tummy twisting. She’s torn between her love for her brother and her need to please the first real friend she’s ever had. Henry’s eyes plead with her, and she closes hers so she can’t be swayed. It’s been six months, yet he still seeks her support almost every day. He may have grown an inch, but he’s still small in comparison to the other boys his age, and his level of confidence is even smaller.
‘It’s them.’ Henry tilts his head back, indicating to the group of kids behind him. ‘They won’t let me play. They just call me names.’
‘I’m sorry. I know how hard it is to make friends,Henry. It took me weeks to build up the courage to even talk to Kirsty. But look at us now.’ Anna looks to her friend, and Kirsty high-fives her, their identical bead bracelets clanking together. This reassures Anna that she’s said the right thing to please Kirsty, and the resulting warm feeling she gets allows her to be a bit firmer with her brother. ‘You have to try a bit harder,’ she says. Anna’s eyes fill with tears as Henry’s bottom lip wobbles, and she blinks them away quickly before Kirsty spots them.
‘Ihavetried, Anna.’
Henry scuffles off towards the small kids’ playground, his head bent so low it looks like he might topple over.
Kirsty watches him. ‘God, brothers are the worst. Why couldn’t we have sisters.’
Anna’s nostrils flare as she takes a deep breath, then she swallows hard before responding. ‘Yeah, but then we’d have tosharestuff with them. And I don’t mind Henry – he’s sweet.’
Kirsty narrows her eyes and shrugs. ‘Is he? The way he stares …’ She gives a shudder but doesn’t finish her sentence.
‘Maybe you could get Dean to hang out with him, that way we’ll get some peace. They’re the same age, so it’d make sense.’
‘You don’t think I’ve asked?’ Kirsty nudges Anna. ‘But you know he won’t do anything to help me if he thinks someone mightseehim doing it.’
Anna gives a nod to show her agreement. ‘Not long before we have to go out to school. Then we’ll be apart from them.’ Anna says it to make things better with Kirsty, but really the thought makes her tummy tie up in knots. How will Henry cope at Finley without her?
‘Yeah, your brother does need to learn to stand on his own two feet if he’s gonna survive Finley when you’re not here every minute of the day. He’ll only see you after school and in the holidays.’
Anna’s mind drifts, her not-so-distant memories flooding in. ‘It’ll be weird. It’s always been me and him, you know? I don’t like to think of him upset – he’s been through enough. He’s not even nine yet.’ Anna watches as Henry kicks a stone around the playground, keeping a good distance from the infant kids. He wouldn’t want the bigger boys thinking he was playing with them. ‘Look at him,’ Anna says, her voice filled with pity. ‘He’s so sad.’
Kirsty gives an exasperated sigh. ‘Go play with him then. I’ll catch you later.’ She turns to walk away, but Anna pulls her back.
‘Hang on. I’ve got an idea. I know it’s babyish, but we used to play games before we came here to take our minds off stuff. His favourite was called ‘The Hunt’. I could set him a task, and that way he’ll be busy, and we’ll be left alone.’
‘You’re too nice by half, Anna.’
‘Ah, come on. You’d do the same for Dean.’
‘Nope. I really wouldn’t. But then, he’s not likely to want to hang around with me anyway.’
‘So, you up for it?’
‘Oh, go on then. Is it like hide and seek?’
‘Sort of. I hide something – usually stuff it inside something, or maybe bury it – then I leave a trail of clues for him, or sometimes I make up a riddle.’
‘A treasure hunt then.’ Kirsty pouts her lips and looks skyward, distinctly unimpressed. ‘Fine. But make sure they’re hard clues. Don’t want him doing it too quickly, eh?’
‘Yeah, yeah. Right, come on. We need to sneak back inside, go to his dorm and find something to hide.’
