‘What card did you pick?’
‘The Death card – it means a new beginning, all the negativity and those creating it will be no more, and you can move on with the energy of the sun.’
‘Did she say anything else?’
‘That she needed to go back to the woods.’
Alice Thompson looked far removed from the cool, confident beauty who had entered Interview Room 9B, but there was one question he still had unanswered.
‘Alice, you said Edgar had his reasons for confiding in you. Can you tell me what they were?’
‘He didn’t find my sexuality threatening.’
‘Why not?’
‘He saw what many others didn’t.’
‘Which is?’
‘I desire women, not men. In a way, he saw me as an ally. I think it led Sandra to believe we were close for other reasons. Lately, she has doubted my loyalty.’
‘Why did you help him?’
‘Because I knew he loved her, and I loved her more than anyone else ever could. I have done since we ran through the forest together as children.’
I
WHEN WE REACH the house, Edgar’s enthusiasm is draining my spirits. He thinks my bringing him here for the first time is positive.
I check the knives in the kitchen drawer as he lights the fire, the flames catching fast with the dryness of the wood.
‘Come and sit by the fire,’ he says.
‘I will – give me a moment.’
‘Will I put our stuff upstairs?’ he asks – stupid lapdog.
‘No, don’t worry about that. There’s plenty of time to have a look around.’
He doesn’t know how much I hate this house, how the memories linger in my mind, my grandfather holding me down, pretending love, with more cruelty than the witch. At least she paraded her evil.
I don’t want Edgar finding the cellar too soon, so I watch his every move from the other room, keeping the kitchen door ajar. The house is small, and has certainly suffered the wrath of abandonment: the windowpanes are crumbling, the wallpaper in the front room is torn, the old carpets and curtains reek of dirt and dust, and every part of the place creaks against the sharp crackle of the fire.
Edgar knows he’s still walking a tightrope, taking it one step at a time. I wonder should I give him my body one last time, for old times’ sake. I could strip naked and take him now, the way the flames are consuming the branches. He wouldn’t refuse – why would he?
As I walk into the sitting room, he turns, the fire magnificent behind him. Before he speaks, I pull him towards me, pressing my mouth against his, our tongues tasting each other, my hand caressing the back of his head. I feel his arousal. My voice sounds husky, as I tell him how much I need him. He sinks into me. I lick my lips, putting my finger to his mouth, asking him to close his eyes.
Naked, I tell him he can open his eyes again. He looks at my arms, seeing the cuts of the knife. ‘You’ve been harming yourself again,’ he says, his voice pitiful, full of shame for both of us.
‘It doesn’t matter,’ I say. ‘Nothing matters now.’
He lets me strip him, transfixed, afraid to break the spell, and still the fire crackles, loud and wild. We embrace again, his fingers travelling down my body, scratching, needing me desperately. I put his hand between my legs. He’s nearly mine. Kneeling in front of the fire, grinning playfully, I run my fingers through my hair. I hear him gasp, before he lays me beneath him. I arch my back, holding him at arm’s length. ‘Oh, God,’ I say, ‘you’re inside me.’ My words thrill him, his face contorting, his body like a large hungry bear, beyond stopping, as he comes far too quickly.
He’ll sleep now. That will give me the time I need. I put more wood on the fire, taking the blade from the kitchen, watching the flames glisten with its reflection, the edge sharp, cutting myself again, the blood trickling down on his face.
ELLIOT FOREST, COUNTY WICKLOW
KATE HAD MADE a couple of attempts to get in touch with Sophie and Charlie, but she hadn’t been able to get an answer. At six o’clock, she dialled the apartment again. She could have insisted on Lynch getting her back to Dublin in a separate car, but with the prospect of the search warrant coming through at any moment, coupled with the news from Adam that Sandra had planned a trip to the woods, she hoped she wouldn’t regret her decision to stay.
This time, thankfully, Sophie answered: ‘Sorry, Kate, we popped out to the shops to get more ingredients for pancakes. The traffic was awful. Are you nearly home?’
‘No, unfortunately not – I’m stuck in Wicklow. I was hoping you could either wait on at the apartment, or take Charlie with you to stay over. I know it’s a lot to ask, but if it isn’t possible, I can be there in half an hour.’ Kate felt crap asking her the favour, but she hoped Sophie would swing with it – she didn’t ask often.