But I must eat. Starving to death is a painful way to die.
I lie back on the pillow, my mind swimming. There’s no way out of this, I know that now.
My eyelids fall heavy over my eyes, and Misty curls beside me, warm and comforting.
Another day in hell is over.
Chapter 27
Present Day
Amelia
I flash my phone torch towards the macabre sight – smears of blood on floral wallpaper below the window, smudges of red on the painted frame, bloody fingerprints on glass.
‘Someone got out this way,’ I say, as Dad reaches my side. I fling open the window and a gust of snow swoops into the room. ‘Someone covered in blood,’ I go on, as the wind grabs the frame from my hand, and it slams against the side of the cottage, cracking the glass. I bring my torch closer to the open window. It’s a sharp drop down to snow-covered bushes. There’s something down there.
‘We need to look outside.’ I turn from the window.
‘Do you really want to go out there tonight, love?’ There’s doubt in his voice. Is he afraid? Or maybe he’s having flashbacks to a year ago, as I am. But for me those memories only make me more determined to find Ruth and Elise.
‘We have to, Dad. The snow will cover every trace of what happened by morning. There could be footprints – drops of blood leading into the wood like breadcrumbs.’
We head out of the room and onto the landing. The wood burner is ablaze now, its glow lighting the open tread of the staircase as we hurry down. I’m on a mission, and I dive across the room and throw open the front door. ‘Damn,’ I whisper. The wind is deadly, the snowfall heavy, and my face stings within seconds of stepping outside. I pull my scarf high around my face. Although the sky is charcoal black, the moon is bright, reflecting off the snow. I look towards the ruins, and then scan the area. There’s no sign of anyone.
I turn to see Dad pulling on his gloves. He shrugs as though reluctant, but steps out behind me anyway. The door clicks closed behind him.
‘We should go around the back,’ I say, the wind whistling human-like as we make our way down the side of the house, towards the forest.
It’s darker behind the cottage, and as we push through the twisted hedgerow we can barely see in front of us, despite my phone torch. The wind is less fierce here, where tall trees shelter us, but the open window still bangs rhythmically against the cottage wall sending a chill down my spine. I wave my torch in the general area below the window. There’s something on the ground.
‘Oh God … no … that’s not … it can’t be,’ I cry.
Dad pushes past me. ‘Jesus.’
I take in the body lying face down in the snow, my heart thudding. I can’t move from the spot, and my teeth start to chatter. Dad crouches down, and my whole body shakes, as I hover the torch over the darkness, picking out the crumpled heap, flashes of an orange fur jacket soaked in blood. He turns the body over, and slaps both hands over his mouth. ‘It’s Ruth,’ he whispers through his fingers.
My knees buckle, and I grab a tree to stop myself falling. ‘Is she dead?’ My voice is shaky, bile rising into my throat.
‘Someone’s hit her. Hit her hard. There’s so much blood.’
‘Dad?’
He fumbles with her wrist.
‘Can you feel a pulse?’
After a beat he shakes his head, says, ‘She’s dead, Amelia.’ He turns away from her body, closes his eyes. ‘Who the hell would do this?’
I want to spin round. Run. But take a deep breath and flash the torch around me. There are no footprints. No trail of breadcrumbs. Nobody has escaped this scene. I look up at the window still banging against the wall. ‘Somebody threw her out, didn’t they?’ My words are calm, on a monotone, and I know I’m in shock.
Dad looks up to where my torch is shining. There’s blood on the outside of the frame. ‘Or maybe she fell,’ he says. ‘Trying to get away from someone.’
‘Who would do this?’ I look about me once more. ‘And where’s Elise? Did she witness this? Was she taken? Did she …?’ I’m about to suggest Elise could have done this, but I stop and shake my head. Why would anyone have it in for Ruth? But then I’ve never understood evil. It’s something that has kept me awake at night since Lark and Jackson went missing. The fear that there are wicked people out there. That someone deranged could have taken my sister. Could still have her. And now Ruth’s dead, Elise is missing, and we’re trapped here at Drummondale House with a killer. And the biggest question of all is how would we know if we’d met a psychopath.
I turn, eager to get away from the gory sight, and begin pushing through the hedgerow once more. ‘We need to warn Thomas and Maddie that there could be a killer on the estate,’ I say, the words sounding alien on my tongue. Dad is right behind me, so close I can hear his rapid breaths. ‘Remember the strange footprints leading to Elise’s window? And she saw someone with a mask on looking in at her.’ I’m talking too fast, my breathing rapid as well, the air turning misty around my mouth as the words fall out. ‘Oh God, do you think—?’
‘I don’t know, love. But we should probably stick together. Maybe we should all stay in Bluebell Cottage as it’s bigger than the others, at least until Finn and Rosamund get back.’
‘Safety in numbers,’ I say.
‘Safety in numbers,’ he echoes.
Chapter 28
A Year Ago
Amelia
It was gone seven. The dining room buzzed with
