PC Riaz sat back in his chair and folded his arms. “Nothing for me, thank you.”
Ashley kicked Jude beneath the table again. He looked at her, and she mouthed something that he didn’t catch. Her meaning, however, was obvious: don’t say anything about the woman.
PC Riaz leant forward again and resumed his intense stare. A shiver ran up Jude’s spine. He wriggled in his chair. “I suppose, maybe, you know—”
“Jude, I want a straight answer, please.”
“Well… It’s just that—”
Ashley beat a fist on the table. “Dammit, Jude, just say it. Say we were wrong about the whole thing and that we’re idiots. There was no woman. Say it!”
PC Riaz put a hand up to stop Ashley. “Quiet! I want to hear Jude answer for himself. I want to know—”
Jude could hold it in no longer. “There was a woman! There was a woman chained up in that farmhouse and she’s crazy. She killed Lily Barnes. She ripped her apart like an animal. Mum, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He sobbed, unable to face the officer any longer. His mum gasped, then ran to his side to hold him, shushing him like a baby. It made him feel better, but only a little. He had opened the lid on a box he couldn’t close.
PC Riaz sat silently for a moment, and Jude was glad when he turned his attention to Ashley. Ashley, by now, was furious, her fists pushing against each other in front of her mouth as she clearly tried to keep control of her temper. Jude had betrayed her. Instead of doing what they had agreed, he had done the opposite. Now he would have to wait and see what the consequences were.
“I don’t know what the fuck he’s on about,” said Ashley. “He’s lost the plot.”
Jude’s mum tutted. “Ashley! I don’t know what’s going on here, but we need to sort it out.”
“I agree,” said PC Riaz. “Lily Barnes? Are we talking about the same Lily Barnes who is well known to the police?”
“That girl is a menace.” His mum shook her head. “The whole family is.”
PC Riaz laced his fingers together on the table and sighed. “I’ve had a few run-ins with Lily Barnes, but did I hear you right, Jude? Did you say something happened to her? Did you say she was dead?”
Jude tried to stop sobbing. Snot ran down his lip and slipped into his mouth. He wiped himself with the back of his forearm and took a breath. “Y-Yes! We went back to the farmhouse to see the woman. She attacked Lily. She tore her throat out.”
His mum covered her mouth. “Oh my God. What on earth have you kids got involved in? I think… I think I might need to call someone. You can’t question them without a solicitor or something, right?”
PC Riaz put up a hand. “Nobody is under arrest here – yet – and this isn’t an official interview. Let’s just calm down and talk. This is all a little hard to stomach. If you kids say Lily Barnes is dead, then I need to know where she is, right now. Ashley, talk to me. I’m not your enemy, okay? If something’s happened, then telling me is the best thing to do, I promise you.”
Ashley shook her head. “I don’t want to say anything.”
PC Riaz turned his head. “Jude? Where is she? Where is Lily?”
“In the woods. She’s at the farmhouse.”
“And you say this woman attacked her? The same woman you saw yesterday? A woman of whom we found no evidence? Look, I really need you to take a moment to think about this before things go too far. There were no signs of anybody at that farmhouse. No chains, no blood. In fact, the only thing we found was your bracelet, Jude.”
“I have her picture!” He fumbled with his pockets and pulled out his phone. A surge of excitement flooded through him as he realised he had evidence. He could prove he was telling the truth. “Here… look.” He thumbed at his phone, opening the gallery and the images he had taken of Rose.
What? I don’t understand.
The image he had taken of Rose showed only an empty room. Bare stone floors and crumbling brick walls. No symbols on the ground. No naked woman in chains.
Ashley was looking at him, a frown on her face. “Go on, Jude. Show them.”
He tossed his phone on the table, revealing the useless picture. “I must have missed her. I don’t…” His face lit up. “The locket! Ash, show them the locket.”
Ashley looked at him and didn’t say anything. To his surprise, she shrugged. “What locket?”
“The… The locket.”
Ashley shrugged again.
Jude’s mum squeezed his shoulder. “Tell the officer the truth, sweetheart. Stop whatever this is, right now, do you hear me? Ashley, what did you get Jude mixed up in?”
Ashley lurched back in her chair, a shocked expression on her face. “Did I get him mixed up in something? It was Jude’s dumb idea to go back to the farmhouse. He wanted to be a hero and rescue the woman, but it turns out she’s a goddamn psychopath. No wonder someone chained her up in the woods.”
PC Riaz raised an eyebrow at her. “So you did see a woman? I thought you said you were mistaken.”
“What? Yeah, well…” She stood up, knocking over her chair. “I’m done. You believe what you want, but I’m sick and tired of this.”
“She wasn’t mistaken,” said Jude. “There was a woman in that farmhouse and her name is Rose. We went back to find her and she got free. Lily Barnes was with us, and Rose killed her. You need to go back to that farmhouse and arrest her before she hurts someone else. She’s crazy. Right, Ashley?”
Ashley folded her arms and said nothing.
Jude sighed. “Please, officer. You need to believe us.”
PC Riaz stood up. He went to speak but stopped himself, went to speak again but
