‘That was the year I got married,’ said Mary. ‘And the year Beth Cullen was murdered.’
‘Is it that long ago?’ said Rita, collecting empty glasses from the counter.
‘Yes,’ said Joe. ‘Twenty-five years. Hard to believe, isn’t it? God rest her soul.’ He blessed himself and turned to me. ‘What can I get for you, Jacki?’
‘Er… J-just two packets of crisps, please, Joe,’ I stammered, and handed over some change. I made my way back to our table and I noticed there was a stool next to Colin.
‘Who was Beth Cullen?’ I asked him as we opened our crisps.
‘Jim and Lily Cullen’s daughter. She was best friends with Lydia too, actually. She was murdered in 1986 around Christmastime and her body was found a week later in the forest.’
‘Oh my God…’ I said as a chill crept up my back. ‘How old was she?’
‘She was twenty-two. They had a huge search party out looking for her from the very night she went missing. Her parents found her bike dumped up by the church, and they knew straight away that something was wrong.’
‘But it took a week to find her?’
‘That forest is more than four hundred hectares. They found her not far from your house actually.’
I shivered at the thought of a dead body being discovered near my house, even if it had been twenty-five years ago. ‘Thanks, Colin,’ I said. ‘Did you really need to tell me that? I’m having nightmares as it is!’
‘Don’t worry. All this happened before either of us was born, remember. But I’ve heard lots about it because my mam and dad were part of the search party. Lydia couldn’t face it though. She was in shock because Beth was her best friend and she was afraid of finding her. She said she knew she was already dead. From the day she went missing she knew something terrible had happened.’
‘How?’
‘I don’t know… just an instinct, I guess.’
I didn’t feel like eating my crisps. I just didn’t feel hungry any more. Suddenly, in my head was a vision of Beth Cullen’s body, preserved by the cold December air, hair tangled across her face, hiding her features, her skin as pale as porcelain, her eyes still open, staring straight ahead, frozen in fear.
I couldn’t believe I’d just conjured up an image like that in my head. It wasn’t like anything I’d seen on TV or in movies. I didn’t even know what she looked like, but it was horribly detailed. Horribly real. I had an unsettling sick feeling in my stomach.
‘Who murdered her?’ I asked, pushing my crisps aside.
‘No one knows,’ said Colin. ‘They never caught the psycho.’
‘But they must have had some suspects or at least -’
‘Here, one of these young ones will give us a song!’ shouted Mary, pointing over at our table.
‘No, you’re all right, Mam,’ said Nick.
‘Ah, go on! Don’t be shy,’ said Joe.
‘Sarah, go on and give us a song there,’ said Colin. ‘It’ll be good practice for your pageant.’
‘OK then,’ she said, sitting up straight and fixing her hair. She started to sing softly.
‘
‘God help Nick if she doesn’t win this Miss Avarna thing,’ whispered Colin. ‘She’ll be crying for a fortnight.’
I didn’t like to admit it but Sarah’s voice was very sweet and she seemed to be extremely well prepared – and she was pretty.
There was a round of applause. Sarah smiled.
‘Well done!’ said Nick.
‘Jacki,’ said Lydia. ‘Your mam told me you’re a great singer. Will you sing something for us?’
‘Yeah, go on, Jacki!’ said Mary.
‘Oh, all right… OK,’ I said. I loved singing. I glanced over at Nick. He was still congratulating Sarah.
‘What are you going to sing?’ said Colin.
I thought about it for a moment, then the perfect song came into my head.
‘I think I’ll do “She Moved Through the Fair”.’
‘Oh, I really like that song,’ said Colin.
People were often surprised when they heard me sing. I guess my voice was quite different to how I looked. I closed my eyes and began.
‘
I could feel Nick looking at me as I sang. Thankfully I was used to performing and it didn’t make me too nervous.
When I finished there was a moment of silence and then lots of loud applause.
‘Whoa, you’ve got some voice there,’ said Joe.
‘Thanks,’ I replied, a little embarrassed because everyone in the pub was staring at me.
‘That was brilliant,’ said Colin.
‘It really was,’ agreed Nick.
‘Thanks.’
‘Your voice is so distinctive,’ said Lydia. ‘So effortless.’
I tried not to blush.
‘I’ve heard that song so many times before,’ said Colin. ‘But I never really listened to the words until now. You’re a great singer.’
Then looking at Sarah, he added, ‘Oh… you were great too, Sarah.’
She looked at him blankly.
‘Seriously though,’ said Colin, turning to me. ‘I’m your new number one fan. Can I design your album cover when you’re famous?’
‘Ha, sure,’ I promised.
‘Simon just texted me,’ said Nick. ‘Himself and the lads are having a few cans up in the forest. Will we head up to them?’
‘All right,’ said Colin. ‘You’ll come too, won’t you, Jacki?’
‘Where?’ I asked.
‘The forest. There’s a clearing up behind the mines, just past your house. We hang out there sometimes.’
‘Yeah, sure, I’ll come.’ I couldn’t help thinking back to Beth Cullen. Not that it mattered – I was hardly going to be wandering around there in the dark on my own. Anyway, there was nothing to be afraid of.
Nick’s phone buzzed again. He stared at the screen for a few moments, a look of confusion on his face. Then he turned to Sarah.
‘Babe, what’s this?’ he asked, showing her the phone.
She took a few seconds to answer, and suddenly looked very flustered.
‘Em… I… I can explain; it’s not what -’ She put her hand on his arm.
‘Is it a joke?’ he said, looking at the screen again.
‘Listen, Nick, I was wasted… I didn’t -’
‘So you’re not even denying it?’ he said, pushing her hand away. ‘I don’t believe this.’ Then he stuffed his phone in his pocket and hurried towards the door.
‘Nick, wait!’ shouted Sarah, running after him.
‘What was that all about?’ I said.
‘Dunno,’ said Colin. ‘They’re always fighting. Come on, let’s go to the forest. They’ll catch up.’
Chapter 9
We turned left before the disused Avarna coal mines and followed a path that led to the forest. It was so dark I
