Page 47 of The Girl in the Grave
‘There’s a body in the middle of embalming; are you okay to work around him? My dad will go mad if you disturb it.’
Sam nodded. ‘Of course, we’ll be very careful.’
Sixty-Four
The visitor walked towards the main entrance of the prison until the huge cream gates with rust spots dotted all over them were towering above him. The whole area was bleak; the huge coils of barbed wire running along the top of the fence were both impressive and scary against the backdrop of Black Combe fell behind it. He couldn’t help wonder why Robert had summoned him like this, out of the blue. Did he know what had happened? Had he read the news and realised what was going on? Was it a trap? He would find out soon enough.
After he’d been through the security he was shown to the visitor’s reception centre and then led into the visit hall: a small, cramped room with a tea bar situated along the back wall. He sat at an empty table and waited for his old friend to be led in.
As a crowd of inmates rolled through the doors, he saw no sign of him. About to stand up and leave, he looked up to see a final solitary figure walk through the doors. Not recognising him, he looked the other way, and stood up.
‘Sorry, had to wait for my meds and they don’t always get them to you on time.’
He did a double take at the gaunt man with a scruffy beard peppered with grey and white.
‘Robert, my God. I didn’t recognise you. I thought this prison was supposed to be an easier ride?’
Robert laughed, the sound wavering halfway as he began to cough and splutter. Finally he regained his composure enough to speak. ‘It is. It’s good to see you too, my friend. The past year has been much kinder to you than me. I’ve been diagnosed with emphysema and lung cancer. I’m afraid I don’t know how long I have left.’
‘I’m sorry. Are you having treatment?’
Robert shook his head. ‘No, I don’t see the point to be honest. What good will it do if it’s only going to prolong the misery I’m suffering in here?’
He had a point.
‘Is that why you requested a visit? To tell me you’re dying.’
Robert shook his head: steel grey hair now, he noticed. ‘No, I didn’t think you’d be too bothered about my health. I wanted to know what was going on; I read the headlines about the girl in the grave and the missing girl.’ Leaning forward, Robert smiled at him. Clasping his fingers together, he cracked his knuckles and whispered, ‘I know that it’s you.’
He was still for a moment and then he slowly began to shake his head. ‘No.’
‘Are you sure about that? I remember how we’d talk for hours over a bottle or two of Rioja. Loose lips sink ships, my friend. You’ve got the police running around like headless chickens. I really just wanted to thank you. I never thought I’d see her again, but now I have a couple of newspaper cuttings tucked under my mattress that I can stare at.’
The visitor frowned at Robert. ‘You know that you should never have chosen such a difficult subject for your first kill. You should have gone for something a little more straightforward like I did. You were far too ambitious, look where it got you. You should have waited until the room was ready, until you had a safe place to keep her like we’d discussed. But you let your arrogance get in the way of your common sense. Stupid, really, for such an intelligent man.’
Robert sat forward, his spine straight, his clasped hands now tightly clenched fists.
‘I was always going to go back and finish what you started. You didn’t think that I would let her go? She’s mine now and there’s nothing you can do about it. She’s been ever so lonely since you messed up her life. I’ve been getting to know her quite well.’
Robert’s face burned red, and before he knew it he had lunged across the table, throwing himself at him. Shouts echoed all around them, a cacophony of scraping chairs and cheers as the other prisoners all turned to watch the show. The effort of launching himself across the table was clearly far too much for Robert; he began to cough so hard he couldn’t catch his breath. Three guards ran over to restrain him, and he fought hard against them despite the fact that he was almost suffocating.
The visitor stood up, brushed himself down and apologised to the stunned family nearest. Walking calmly past Robert, who was still thrashing against the guards’ grip, he made his way to the exit without looking back.
Sixty-Five
Josh hadn’t turned up last night and Beth had struggled not to text him to see if everything was okay this morning. She’d lain in bed wondering if he’d gone back home to Jodie. No, it was more than likely he’d pulled an all-nighter at the station. Maybe they’d found the missing girl. God, she hoped so. And if they hadn’t called her out it would mean the girl was still alive. As she browned some bacon under the grill, her phone began to ring.
‘Morning Ms Adams, it’s Steve from Safe & Secure. I’m sorry I never got to yours yesterday, I have some trouble with the van. However, I can call by now and get your camera up and running if you’d like?’
She looked at her watch; she had an hour or so to spare before she needed to get to work. ‘That’s okay, I’d cancelled anyway, did they not let you know? Thank you, that would be great.’
She flipped the bacon, toasted a bagel and poured boiling water into the cafetière. Before she could load it onto a tray, the intercom buzzed. She answered it, surprised to hear Steve’s voice already. Opening the gates, she watched as he drove through. He had a different van from the last time, so at least he wasn’t bullshitting her. She hated nothing more than being lied to. She’d much rather him have say he couldn’t be arsed and had sacked work off for the day than lie to her.
She opened the front door as he strode towards her, smiling.
‘It’s a lovely day again. This won’t take long then I’ll be on my way.’
She stepped to one side to let him in, closing the door behind him. Letting him get on with his work, she sat and ate her breakfast, feeling slightly guilty.
