No Turning Back, page 24
‘Yes.’
‘If he saw them, that can twist a kid’s mind.’
She’d seen them. Had it twisted her mind? She thought of the comb plunging into Elliot’s neck again, the rage she’d felt before.
‘My brother is not capable of murder, for God’s sake,’ Anna said. ‘He’s a spiteful little shit but murder? No, no way.’
They glared at each other then Anna stepped into her house. ‘I need to be alone. I’ll let you know if I find out anything else,’ she added, avoiding his gaze.
‘Anna, about what happened between us earlier…’
‘That’s not important,’ she snapped.
His face hardened. ‘Fine. But we’ll need to go to the police about this eventually. I need to get to the bottom of what happened to my brother.’
Anna watched him walk to his van through the glass, her heart thumping. Had they really just kissed? She shook her head. She didn’t have time for that. She needed to figure out how Elliot got her dad’s watch – the same watch her brother had been wearing.
She walked into her living room and paced up and down it. She refused to believe her brother was a killer, there must be another explanation.
She caught sight of some of the boxes she’d got down from the loft the other day with the intent of looking at her dad’s things. She went over to one, opening it, finding what she was looking for: the photo her dad used to carry about in his wallet of her and Leo. It had been taken a few weeks before he died on the very rocks where he’d met his death. Leo was standing over the sea, a fishing net in hand, while Anna watched him. They were both smiling. It was an unguarded moment, brother and sister having fun.
She looked at her brother’s face. Was he really capable of murder?
She sighed and went to put the photo back then noticed an envelope in the box, The Docks Community Foundation’s familiar logo along the top of it. She opened it, finding a compliment slip inside with a message scrawled on it. Simon, I thought you’d appreciate these letters from some of the boys you met. Thanks so much for coming along to the event. Kiara.
She remembered reading these back in June when she’d got the boxes down. She pulled the letters out again. Some were very short, Kiara had clearly ‘encouraged’ the boys to write them. They were all thanking her father for doing a radio workshop at the community centre. Dates were on some: May 1995, four months before her father died…and the same month the Ophelia Killings started.
Anna frowned as she read one from an Alex McDonald. Where did she know that name?
It was one of the Ophelia Killer’s victims.
She ignored the erratic thump of her heart. That wouldn’t be so unusual, all the victims were from The Docks after all. She flicked through the other letters. Another name stood out: Sam Twiselton. Another of the Ophelia Killer’s victims.
She noticed a photo at the bottom of them all. She pulled it out, saw her father standing in front of two rows of boys, a microphone in his hand as he held it up to one of them. Anna looked more closely at the boy he was holding the microphone to. Dark hair. Blue eyes. Alex McDonald again, the Ophelia Killer’s first victim. Her eyes scanned the other boys’ faces. She quickly got her phone out, finding the Wikipedia page about the Ophelia Killer with photos of all his victims. She held it up against the photo, matching some of the boys: Luke Culnane, Matthew Beaman…
Anna put the letters down, a sudden thought occurring to her. Her father had met some of the victims through his volunteering work, maybe all of them. The police said the victims must have trusted the killer as they let him into their gardens, accepted drinks from him.
Is that what her mother had been keeping from Anna? Had she guessed?
‘No,’ Anna said to herself, shaking her head. Her dad was trying to track the killer down, why on earth would he do that if he was the killer?
‘He thought it would make a good cover,’ she said to herself. ‘Give him the chance to get close to the case, get a head start if the police started suspecting him.’
She looked at the photo again, at her father’s smiling face. Maybe Leo even knew? He might have even helped her dad and—
‘No!’ Anna shouted to herself, shoving the photo back in the box.
She would not consider the possibility.
Anna played around with her food that evening, her gran watching her with concerned eyes. She simply couldn’t comprehend the possibility her father and her brother had been hurting boys.
But the thought just wouldn’t stop whirring around her mind.
Anna looked at Florence. She’d known Anna’s father and she knew Leo as well as Anna did. She took her father’s watch from her pocket and put it on the table between them. ‘Elliot Nunn had this in his bag when he was running from whoever poisoned him.’
Florence took the watch, staring at it. ‘Your father’s,’ she said, looking up.
‘Yes. Leo has been wearing it until recently.’
Florence nodded. ‘I did notice at the twins’ birthday. Why would Elliot Nunn have this?’
Anna pushed her plate aside. ‘What if Leo’s the one sending me those threatening messages?’ Anna swallowed. ‘God, this sounds even crazier saying it out loud. But what if Leo’s been copying the Ophelia Killer?’
‘You’re saying your brother killed Ben Miller?’ Florence shook her head in disbelief. ‘I’m sorry, but that’s just ludicrous.’
‘Want to hear something even more ludicrous? What if Leo’s a copycat and Dad was the actual Ophelia Killer?’
‘Anna! Are you being serious?’
Anna shook her head. ‘I know it’s crazy, I know it. But the investigative part of my mind can’t ignore the evidence right in front of me. You knew Dad, do you think he could be capable of killing?’
Florence looked down at her plate, brow creasing.
Anna leaned towards her. ‘Gran?’
Her gran peered up at her. ‘Of course I don’t think he was capable of killing. But—’ She paused. ‘After he died, the killings stopped. Just like that,’ Florence said, clicking her fingers together. ‘The police were suspicious.’
‘So the police thought Dad may have been the Ophelia Killer?’ Anna asked, the horror of it making her feel sick.
Florence sighed. ‘They questioned your mother about your father’s whereabouts before each killing. She was in no fit state really. They could see that. Whatever she said seemed to satisfy the police though, no more questions were asked afterwards.’
Anna raked her fingers through her hair. ‘Jesus.’
Florence put her hand over Anna’s. ‘You look exhausted, poppet.’
Anna examined her gran’s tired eyes, her pale skin. ‘So do you. How are you feeling?’
‘Oh I’m fine,’ she said, waving her hand. ‘Doctor Sekheran said I’m as strong as an ox, the tests showed nothing.’
‘Of course, your check-up.’ Anna inwardly kicked herself. How could she have forgotten? Her gran had been sent for a series of blood tests after she’d fainted. Today was when she was getting the results. Anna had been so wrapped up in herself, it had slipped her mind. She squeezed Florence’s hand. She shouldn’t be bothering her with all this. ‘Look, let’s stop talking about it, it’s not good for either of us. Let’s just enjoy our dinner.’
As Anna forced the rest of her dinner down, she tried not to think of the day’s events. But as darkness fell and she went to bed, they whirred around her mind, combining with the oppressive heat to make it impossible for her to sleep. When her phone buzzed at three in the morning, she was still awake.
She picked it up then froze. It was an email from the Ophelia Killer with the subject line: History repeats itself.
Had her brother sent it?
She opened the email with trembling fingers. There was one line in it: Better hurry before it’s too late. TOK. There was an attachment too. She downloaded it then frowned. It was a gif of someone falling from a lighthouse. Not her family’s lighthouse, but very similar. It must have been a random image pulled from the web. But the implication wasn’t so random: Anna had a horrible feeling the Ophelia Killer was trying to convey a message that someone was about to get hurt.
She instantly thought of Jamie. If her worst fears were true and Leo was sending the emails, killing too, maybe he’d target Jamie after their confrontation? She quickly dialled Jamie’s number, relieved when he picked it up.
‘Thank God,’ she whispered.
‘Everything okay?’
She told him about the email. ‘I’m worried whoever sent it is implying someone is about to fall from the lighthouse. I thought it might be you.’
‘Jesus,’ he whispered.
‘I think I need to call the police.’
‘No,’ Jamie said quickly. ‘I’ll go there first, check it out.’
‘I’m coming too,’ Anna said, getting up and pulling her jeans on. ‘It’s just a few minutes’ walk from me.’
‘Anna…’
‘You said yourself I’m made of grit. I’ll meet you there.’ She quietly finished getting changed then sneaked out of the house through the back, not wanting to wake her gran. The moon above made the pebbles shine like blades as they ran along the beach, the waves eerily calm in the oppressive heat.
When she got to the lighthouse a few minutes later, Jamie was waiting just outside, face filled with concern.
She couldn’t help it, her tummy tilted at the sight of him, the kiss they’d shared earlier searing through her mind.
‘Did you see anything?’ she asked him, pushing the memory away.
‘Just got here,’ he said. ‘Show me the gif.’ She showed it to him and he peered towards the window. ‘It could be a trap.’
She looked at his pocket. ‘Still have that penknife?’
He nodded. ‘I doubt I’ll need it, I’ll easily be able to overpower your brother.’
‘You really think Leo sent the email?’
He nodded. ‘Looks like you’re starting to believe it too.’
Her eyes filled with tears. ‘Maybe.’
‘Let’s go.’
Anna turned her phone torch on and they both walked around the back of the lighthouse.
As they drew closer, something came into view.
Beneath the moonlight, limbs at awkward angles on the rocks, blood pooling beneath their head, was a body.
Anna stopped walking, unable to put one leg in front of the other, flashbacks to her father’s death clashing with fear inside.
‘I think it’s time to call the police,’ Jamie said, his voice trembling slightly. ‘You go home, Anna. You don’t want to be mixed up with this.’
‘No, I need to see.’ She forced one foot in front of the other.
Dark hair came into view, a pale hand.
She exchanged a look with Jamie. Was this another young boy, like Ben Miller? How would it look, her being the one to find the body again?
But despite wanting to stop walking towards the body, she found her legs were taking her closer.
As the face came into view, she let out a scream.
It was her brother.
Anna broke into a run, sinking to her knees beside her brother’s broken body. ‘Oh Leo, oh God, no.’
Jamie sank down beside her, putting his arm around her shoulders. She leant her cheek on his shoulder.
‘We need to call the police,’ he said, digging his phone out. ‘We have no choice.’
After a while, blue lights flashed in the distance, three police cars and an ambulance appearing. They came to a screeching halt and officers ran out, reminding Anna of the day Elliot had died.
Paramedics jogged up to Leo, crouching down over him as Detective Morgan strode towards Anna and Jamie. They both rose.
‘We’ll need to take a statement from you both,’ the detective said.
‘Of course,’ Anna said, wiping her tears away as she looked at her brother. She thought of his children and Trudy.
He was gone, really gone.
As Anna and Jamie gave their statements, police and forensic officers walked up the lighthouse like an army of ants in the moonlight.
After a while, one officer came out and beckoned Detective Morgan over. They whispered, and both glanced at Anna.
Then the detective walked over with the officer. ‘Your brother was pushed,’ he said. ‘There were signs of a struggle up there.’
‘Oh God.’
‘Anna Graves,’ he said, face very serious. ‘I’m arresting you on suspicion of murdering Elliot Nunn, Ben Miller and Leo Fountain.’
Chapter Twenty-One
The Seventh One
I take the first circle of skin, stretching it out and placing tiny pins around its edges. I’ve already scraped the blood and tissue off the back, the flannel I used now in the bin next to me. I carefully do the same with the other circles, gently caressing the skin with my fingers as I think of the boy. He was particularly beautiful, eyes so blue they didn’t look real. I overheard his mother talking about the killings a few days ago in the newsagents, discussing the theory it was a local teacher.
‘Yeah, I know, can you believe it?’ she said to the woman working behind the counter, shaking her head as she chewed some gum.
That’s when I first saw the boy, that day at the newsagents. He looked bored, ignored. I knew he had to be our next one. When I tracked him down, he was stretched out on the plastic sun lounger, naked from the waist up, sweat pooling into the curves around his taut belly button. He said yes to lemonade straight away and didn’t struggle when he realised something was wrong a few moments later. He seemed to almost welcome it. I think he even smiled at me just before he died. Oh I know, I’m probably imagining it. But it’s nice to think that.
I place the pin board upright, admiring my handiwork. After the circles dry, I will colour them and then tomorrow, my masterpiece will be finished.
‘I love watching you work.’ I look up, see you watching me. ‘You’re so artistic, so gentle.’
‘It calms me.’
‘That’s good, you need something to distract you afterwards. It can get overwhelming.’
‘What about you? What distracts you?’
You smile. ‘I have my work, don’t I?’ You gesture towards a bag by your feet. It’s from one of the fancy shops in town. ‘I got you a present.’
‘You didn’t have to.’
‘I did. You’ve been so wonderful the past few weeks. So clever and patient and—’ You laugh. ‘I’m a sentimental old fool, aren’t I? But you don’t know what it means to have someone to share this side of my life with. Not just share it but turn it into something I can keep for ever too,’ you say, gesturing to the circles. ‘Come on then, open it.’
I jump up, walking to the bag. I love it when you’re like this, full of light and laughter. To make things even better, we’re going out for dinner tonight, a proper dinner.
I open the bag and peek inside. ‘Oh, it’s gorgeous,’ I say.
I pull the dress out, putting it against me and twirling around as you laugh, the pieces of skin I’ve shaved away from the circles fluttering in the air like confetti.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Anna sat across from Detective Morgan, her arms wrapped around herself as she stared at the concrete wall ahead.
‘Anna?’
She forced herself to look back down at the table. Nine photos were laid out before her, the same photos she’d been confronted with again and again over the past few hours of questioning. All the same – black hair, blue eyes, pale skin. All dead and lying naked in a pond except two: Elliot, his throat punctured, blood bleaching the pebbles below. Then her brother, his head smashed on the concrete ground, the lighthouse looming above.
She let out a sob, putting her hand to her mouth. Her brother was really dead. Her brother who she’d run around the beach with as a child. Her brother who she’d played hide and seek with.
And now he was gone. Really gone, leaving his twins behind, leaving poor Trudy behind.
‘All these males are connected by one thing,’ Detective Morgan said. He leaned forward, looking into her eyes. She felt the room close in, the unbearable heat making her feel faint. ‘You, Anna.’
Anna shook her head. ‘We’ve gone over this again and again. I had nothing to do with their deaths, apart from Elliot and that was an accident.’
‘Your brother,’ he said, tapping his finger on the photo of Leo’s crushed head. Anna looked away, unable to bear it. ‘Pushed after an argument. Was he getting too close to the truth, Anna?’
‘I have no idea what you’re talking about,’ Anna said through chattering teeth. ‘I was at my gran’s when he fell.’
‘No proof of that. Your grandmother was sleeping.’
‘It was three in the morning! You have to believe me, I wouldn’t kill my brother.’
‘But your neighbours reported the two of you had a fight on the street.’
‘Hardly a fight. We were just arguing.’
‘Over what?’
She swallowed, looking at the photo of her brother again.
‘Anna?’ Detective Morgan pushed. ‘Why did you argue with your brother?’
She took a deep breath. ‘I told you. He had my dad’s watch, the same watch Jamie and I found in Elliot’s bag.’
‘And you thought this proved he poisoned Elliot, killed Ben Miller? Bit of an outlandish theory, Anna,’ the detective said.
‘I see that now.’
‘But your father on the other hand…while you had a break just now, I was told the team have found some other interesting items in the lighthouse, Anna.’
What now? Anna thought.
The detective looked towards the officer standing by the door, who walked over with a plastic bag. Detective Morgan took it, placing it on the table. In it were several shape cutters.
Anna shivered. ‘Where did you find these?’
‘In an art box in a small room at the back of the lighthouse. We found some hair too, and blood. We’re getting it tested, of course. Your father liked to work in the lighthouse, didn’t he? He knew the boys who were killed, there was even a photo of him with some of them in the local paper. You were very close to your father, weren’t you?’
