‘Oh my God,’ I cry. I gingerly place my hand on her stomach. Blood coats my fingers.
‘Shit!’ Thomas drags himself onto the floor, and takes her hand. ‘Maddie! Maddie, wake up!’ But she doesn’t stir. She’s far too still. ‘Oh God, she’s dead isn’t she?’ he cries.
As the cold truth sinks in I sob. Crushed. Broken. Scared. I turn to Thomas who sobs too, and we fall into each other’s arms.
‘No! No, she’ll be OK, you’ll see,’ Dad cries.
But I know she won’t be. I know because she looks as Mum did the day we lost her.
After a few moments, Dad accepts Maddie’s no longer with us, and covers her face with the blanket, and I rise, and dash into the kitchen. Who would kill her? Who? Who would do this? My mind races, and suddenly everyone’s a suspect – Finn, Rosamund, Julia – even my dad. I hate how distrusting this has made me, but two people are dead, and Elise is still missing. I breathe deeply, trying to gather my thoughts.
A stranger did this, I tell myself. It’s got to be. I refuse to believe anyone here is capable of murder.
I rummage in the kitchen cupboards on the off chance there’s a first-aid kit for Dad’s leg, but there’s nothing. So I fill a bowl with warm water, and grab a couple of clean tea towels and some scissors from a drawer, returning to the lounge ready to cut the bottom off Dad’s trousers and do my best to stop the bleeding.
The wound is deep, and jagged, about two inches long, and as I clean it he winces in pain. ‘You’ll need stitches,’ I say, placing one of the tea towels across the wound, trying to avoid the sight of Maddie’s body, and cutting the other to hold it there. ‘For now, hold this against your leg.’
‘You should have been a nurse, love,’ he says, with a strangled smile, tears on his cheeks.
After a few moments I ask him, ‘Where did you find Maddie?’
‘At the edge of the forest, near the top of Vine Hill.’ A pause. ‘She was just lying there.’
Thomas thrusts his head into his hands. ‘Oh God, this can’t be happening.’
I brush away my tears with my sleeve, and sniff. ‘Did you see Rosamund out there?’
‘Christ! She’s not out there too, is she?’
I nod. ‘She went out to be with you and Maddie, and didn’t return. We thought you were all together. You’re sure you didn’t see her?’
He shakes his head.
‘Do you think Rosamund did this to Maddie?’ Thomas asks. He hasn’t taken his eyes off Maddie’s lifeless body for a moment.
‘Why would she? In fact, why would anyone do this to Maddie? Why would anyone kill Ruth? Abduct Elise? None of it makes any sense.’
Dad shrugs, and shakes his head once more.
And through the silence come unwanted memories of how I treated Maddie – how angry I was with her. The fact she’d said those words on her vlog, that rang in my ears after Lark disappeared.
Lark’s sister, Amelia, raced back to London to be with her partner, William, a week after the disappearance, leaving her father and disabled brother to take care of their terminally ill mother.
Maddie’s words had hit hard at the time, bringing my guilt into focus – haunting me. I should have stayed longer, helped my family cope.
‘Such a sad day,’ Maddie had said at my mum’s funeral, the first time I’d seen her since she’d posted the vlog, and I’d turned, met her red-rimmed eyes.
‘I’m so sorry, Amelia,’ she said.
‘Are you?’ I said far too loud.
She reached out to touch me, but I jolted away, spilling wine over my black jumper.
‘You OK, sis?’ Thomas had appeared by her side in his wheelchair.
‘I’m on top of the world. Mum’s dead, and our sister is still missing – life’s just peachy. But it’s OK because I’ll take off to London soon, and leave my disabled brother and Dad to take care of everything.’
As soon as I’d spat out the words, the room fell silent.
‘I’m so sorry, Amelia,’ Maddie repeated. ‘I realise my vlog post wasn’t one of my best.’
My cheeks burned with anger and alcohol. ‘You can say that again.’
‘I’m not sure what I was thinking.’ Her eyes glistened. ‘Do you want me to take it down?’
‘What’s the point? The world’s already seen what an uncaring sister and daughter I am,’ I said, lowering my voice a little.
Two women from Dad’s am-dram society watched as I scuttled away, tears rolling down my cheeks. ‘What?’ I snapped at them, and they both looked down.
I dashed towards Dad alone in the kitchen. He took me into his arms and I sobbed. But I wasn’t crying about Maddie’s vlog post, not really. It was the thought that Mum died without knowing where Lark vanished to. That they never said goodbye.
And now Maddie is dead, and I wish I hadn’t confronted her that day – wish I hadn’t rejected her apologies when we first arrived at Drummondale House.
I rise, and head towards the front door to close it. The temperature in the cottage has dropped several degrees while it has stood open.
‘Where are you going, love?’ Dad’s voice is full of anxiety.
‘Just closing the door, that’s all.’
‘Good,’ he says. ‘Listen, I’m going to take a couple of painkillers and lie down for a while. I’m drained of energy, I need to recharge.’
‘Use my room,’ Thomas offers, and Dad limps through the door, closing it behind him.
I stand in the doorway, and stare out into the cold silence. ‘Whoever did this to Maddie and Ruth is out there somewhere,’ I whisper to myself, stepping onto the snow-covered porch. The clouds are heavy and dark – but the snow is easing. My eyes flit from the ruins, to Ruth’s cottage, and then to the forest.
I’m about to step back inside, when a piercing scream echoes in the trees, and my heart races. There’s nothing to see, but
