Chapter 38
Chapter thirty-eight
Idressed sensibly in jeans, boots and my parka and armed myself.
With a flashlight in my hand and a head lamp, I set out through my backyard and into the woods.
Cosmo crept through the undergrowth a few feet away.
I hoped he was safe. Did a familiar repel predators even if they weren’t afraid of humans?
Then I told myself to cut it out before I drove myself crazy with worry.
An owl hooted, and under my feet, brittle branches snapped loudly, tearing at my already stretched nerves.
What if I’d miscalculated? I was almost certain I’d be safe until I recovered the item. After that, all bets were off. But if I’d miscalculated and the killer had decided to get rid of me first?
I strained my ears to listen for another person sneaking through the woods.
There were noises, but I hoped Cosmo caused them, or another small animal. I changed the rhythm of my steps, pausing every few seconds to listen.
No. I was alone. At least I hoped so.
The trek to the cabin took what felt like a lifetime, although in reality, it would have been less than half an hour. During the day, the lack of roads in the woods was a bonus. At night, less so.
In the light of the full moon and the beam of my head torch, the trees took on sinister forms. I half expected them to move and stretch out eerie arms to catch me.
If I survived this night, I needed to do some serious survival training outdoors.
The way it was, I was a surefire candidate for Most Timid Witch of the Year.
The cabin stood in a small clearing. The shutters were closed, and the shingle roof sprouted some moss.
I hesitated outside until Cosmo, who’d gone ahead to scout, signaled that the coast was clear.
The key moved silently in the lock. I assumed it had been oiled recently.
Inside, the cabin was as tidy as it could be. The sofa that could double as a bed if needed was covered with a neat quilt and a couple of large pillows.
A table with a well-used logbook and a penholder sat underneath the shuttered window. A pair of binoculars dangled from a wall hook.
Inside the door, a welcome mat showed signs of frequent use. There were a few clumps of dried mud.
I carefully touched one. It didn’t crumble under my fingers straight away.
Good, it didn't appear to be very old. I assumed somebody other than Kyle had been here recently. I could envisage him doing the tidying and rubbish removal as requested, but I did not see him knowing how to plump pillows or fold the quilt as precisely as my aunt would have done.
I bent and fished under the sofa to take out a loose floorboard. My aunt used to tease Jake about his hidey-hole for a pack of cigarettes, decades after he gave up smoking, all to test his willpower.
My heart drummed so loudly it was a whole symphonic orchestra in my chest, threatening to burst through my rib cage.
"Gotcha," I said loudly and stuffed a small bag into my pocket.
My charade here had come to an end.
I locked the door behind me and waited for another sign from Cosmo before I slowly returned to the path home.
I'd barely made it past the clearing when Cosmo growled, and I heard soft steps behind me.
I dodged at the last moment as a large rock came down on what would have been my head. Instead, it hit my shoulder with a sickening crunch.
I screamed out in pain.
And then, the beam of my headlamp hit my attacker in full force.
"Hi, Mimi," I said. "Looking for your perfume bottle?”
She raised the rock again. Her features were distorted with fury.
Where was my cavalry?
I tried to dodge the next blow, but my feet slipped on the muddy ground and she hit me on the shoulder.
With another cry, I fell backward.
I concentrated with all my might. It was now or never. A large branch snapped off the tree and hit Mimi on the head. Another one followed, dealing her a vicious blow.
Mimi fell forward as I rolled out of the way, onto my injured shoulder.
"Help!" I screamed. Then I blacked out from the pain.
I came to when I felt somebody shaking me gently. My shoulder hurt so badly, I yelped again.
"I'll get you to the doctor," Detective Stone promised. "After I’ve taken care of this one."
Mimi lay face down on the ground, her hands cuffed behind her back.
I nodded weakly and drifted off again into peaceful oblivion.
The next thing I heard was Nick's voice. "We need to get her off the ground before she catches pneumonia. The ambulance should be here in a few minutes."
A hand slipped carefully behind my neck, and with the other, he supported my sound shoulder. "This might hurt. I'll try to lift you, OK?"
Again, I nodded.
"Steady now." Ange put her arm around my hip to prop me up. Together, they half-carried me toward a clearing where the ambulance was already waiting.
I saw car tracks. Ange noticed my confusion. “The police have taken Mimi away you were still unconscious. God, Bex, that was close," Ange sniffled.
"Too close," I said. "But I hope it's all over now."
I spent the night in a hospital bed after an X-ray confirmed a broken collarbone. Nick was worried that I might have a mild concussion, and he wanted to ward off pneumonia.
I had argued to let me go home, but in the end, I had given in. My head throbbed. My shoulder was on fire, and I was shivering from the wet ground and the shock.
Even though I'd figured out it was Mimi, when I realized that my aunt had given her a novel about an unfaithful woman planning to murder her husband, coming this close to following my aunt to the grave had shaken me to the core.
"I'll look after the cat," Ange promised, "so you don't have to worry."
I nodded, too tired and sore to do more.
I hoped Cosmo had made it home safely and was back inside. Had I left the cat flap open for him? I couldn't remember. But I couldn't change or do anything about it anyway.
"Keys in my pocket," I said.
"Leave it to me." She pressed a kiss on my forehead.
"Do you want me to call or contact anyone? Alex? Your ex?"
"No. Not tonight." At Nick's insistence, I swallowed a pill and drifted off into dreamland.