Behind Shadows: A Psychological Mystery Thriller (The Adam Stanley Series Book 1) (22 page)

Chapter 39

Amanda

The gates stood open as I arrived at Judy's house, so I drove straight in and parked in front of the steps. I wrapped my scarf around my neck and darted to the front door to get out of the rain.

After the third knock had gone unanswered, I tried the doorknob and was surprised when it opened.

"Hello …" My voice was little more than a whisper. I cleared my throat before trying again. "Hello."

I pushed the door wide and stepped into the hallway, wondering where everybody could be. I closed the door behind me, feeling like an intruder and didn't want to go any further without an invitation.

"Hello, Judy? Anybody?"

I heard a faint sound coming from the end of the hallway, Judy's bedroom. Seeing her door was ajar, I eased it open fully and saw Judy sitting upright in bed. The curtains were pulled and although it was a cold, dark day the light made the room look much brighter and more welcoming than it had the day before.

"Oh, hi, Judy. I'm sorry to barge in on you. I did knock."

Judy beckoned me into the room with her frail hand. "I know. I asked…the nurse to leave…the door unlocked. I…sent her away so…we can—talk." Her words were little more than a hoarse whisper, but I could understand her.

"Where's Mary? Are you alone?"

"Her father…took her to music class. That's why it…was important…you come at this time." She gripped one arm of the chair at the side of the bed and nodded towards it.

I sat down. "How are you feeling?"

"To be bru…tally honest, I don't…have much…longer. My husband…doesn't like me talking like…this but I don't…see the…point pretending.

"I'm so sorry." She seemed much worse even than yesterday.

Judy shrugged. "Just…one of those…things, I'm afraid. There's some…thing I need to…see to, though. That's…what I need…to talk to you…about."

"I was going to call you myself this morning. It seems we both have unfinished business, so maybe we can help each other?"

"Maybe—" A fit of coughing interrupted her. She bent forward, one hand holding her chest and the other pointing at the box of tissues.

I reached for them, handing her several. My hand brushed hers and it shocked me how cold she was. I stood close to her and rubbed her back as her frail body was racked with wet-sounding coughs.

Judy spat into the tissues and wiped her mouth. She seemed to have calmed down, but I was worried it might happen again.

I handed her the wastepaper basket and she dropped the bloody tissues into it.

"Are you okay now?" I asked. "You scared me."

"Pneumonia," she rasped between gasps. "This is…what will finish…me off."

I handed her some more tissues before putting the box back on the side table.

"Is there nothing they can do for you?"

"Nothing they…haven't…already tried. Besides…will be much…easier for everyone…this way."

"Oh, Judy, how awful."

Her eyes closed. After a few minutes, I thought she must be asleep. I got up and walked to the door, wanting to check if the nurse was anywhere to be found.

"Don't go." It was no more than a whisper.

"I'm not going anywhere, Judy—at least not until somebody else turns up. But you're tiring yourself out. Have a little rest."

"No, I need…to talk to you…now. It's impor…tant."

"Okay," I said, sitting back down.

"Promise me…" She gave another little cough. "Promise me…you'll look after…Mary when I'm…gone."

"I don't understand. What do you mean?"

"You will. I'm too…tired to tell you…now. Just…promise me."

A phone was ringing in another part of the house; it went unanswered and after a short pause began again.

I didn't want to add to her stress, but I wasn't about to promise I'd do anything of the sort. "Judy, I don't understand. I'm sorry, but why are you asking me this?"

"She's not…safe. My husband…been…behaving…strangely."

"Surely that's understandable considering what you're all going through?"

"I know, but…it's not…that." She took a deep breath and exhaled loudly before continuing. "You've got to under…stand, my hus…band is not…a bad—man, he's the most car…ing and cons…ider…ate person I've ev…er known." Each word was coming out on the end of a pant.

"Then why is Mary in danger?"

"He…gets…very…angry."

I thought back to yesterday's raised voice. "Judy, I know you're concerned about this, but your husband is going through an awful time. To watch you suffer like this must make him very angry—angry with you—angry at the illness—angry at everyone, probably."

She grasped hold of my hand and I was amazed by the strength in her scrawny fingers. One watery blue eye was like a saucer as she looked at me pleadingly, though the other one was drooping and closed.

The phone was still ringing. I felt as though I should locate it and put the caller out of their misery, but I didn't want to leave Judy alone.

"Please…take…her…home…with you."

"Oh, Judy, you need to rest. You're not making any sense." She was obviously delirious. I was mad at the nurse for leaving her for this long.

"No!" Judy spat, the frail and timid voice gone for a second before returning even weaker than before.

"I…need…you…to…promise…keep…her…safe."

"I'm sorry, Judy, I cannot take her home—and even if I wanted to, I'm sure her father would have something to say about it."

"She's … not … safe… with … him. He … looks … at her … like … your father … looked…at…you."

If it had been anybody else, I'd have given them a mouthful. She'd obviously seen the story in the newspaper and put two and two together because I'd never been named. Though, of course I'd told her yesterday that it was my father who had been killed in her house, so I guess it hadn't been that difficult to work out. I was shocked that she knew, but more so that she felt she could discuss it with me. I felt my face redden, suddenly very annoyed.

"Yes, Judy, my father looked at me in an unnatural way, but he was a monster who sexually molested me for years. Is that what you're saying your husband is doing to Mary?" I glared at her.

“No. I don’t…think…so. But … when … I saw … you … yester … day …it all … made … sense.”

"What on earth do you mean?" My voice was becoming louder. I didn't want to treat a dying woman this way, but the whole conversation was exhausting me. God only knows what it was doing to her. She had slumped down in the bed and was bending over sideways, looking very uncomfortable. I became worried she might topple.

"Here, let me help you sit up a bit." I put one hand under her nearest armpit and lifted her straight. With my free hand, I pulled the pillow back up behind her head. I heard a sound in another part of the house and prayed it was the nurse.

I finished straightening her blankets and she looked much more comfortable. "There you go. That's better," I said, then was startled by the horrified look on her face as she stared over my shoulder.

"Oh, and isn't this cosy," said a male voice, coming from right behind me.

My stomach flipped as I realised it must be Judy's husband, but I tried not to show how flustered I was. I turned around with a smile on my face and my hand outstretched to introduce myself. But there was no need for an introduction.

Frozen to the spot, I tried to make sense of the situation. I looked from him to Judy and back to him, unable to work out was happening. I felt confused and dizzy.

Judy was speaking. Her breathing was even worse now and her speech very hard to understand. "Am-an-da hhh-as que-est-tion-s." She looked petrified and was blinking continually.

My eyes went from one to the other. I could not utter a word.

"Judith, you can barely talk yet you can still find the energy to lie to me, so just keep quiet," her husband snapped.

"I …I …" She was obviously searching for something to say.

"
I said, be quiet!"
he yelled.

His voice was so loud that both of my feet left the floor. Palpitations thundered in my chest and I had a whooshing sound in my ears.

He turned to me and smiled. "Well, I must say I hadn't expected this—what a nice surprise.

Good to see you, sis."

Chapter 40

Adam

Adam scraped his fingers through his hair, then stood up and stretched. He'd been hunched over for hours and still nothing. He’d wasted his day off on a pointless exercise. Now he fancied a beer, but he wanted his mind clear until he finished.

Heading for the fridge, he gave in to temptation. One wouldn't hurt. He almost emptied the bottle of Corona in a couple of swigs. Then his stomach growled and he realised he hadn't eaten in a while.

Piling all the papers back into the file, he decided to stop for now and contemplated going for a walk, but it was teeming down outside.

He picked up the manila folder from the table. He stopped dead in his tracks, the bottle almost at his lips, head tilted to one side, eyes glued to the photograph in front of him.

Grabbing his phone, he dialled Amanda's number.

"Hello," said a woman's voice he didn't recognise.

"Hello, I'm looking for Amanda."

"Oh, um, yes—she left her phone here. Can I take a message?"

"This is Detective Stanley. Do you know where she is? It's important."

"Yes, of course. She's gone to visit Judy, the owner of the house, you know? She left the children here. She should …"

Adam heard no more. He hung the phone up, grabbed his keys and ran from the house.

He prayed there were no police around to slow him down as he was still new to the area. He would need to explain who he was and his reasons for flying up the motorway at breakneck speed with no siren or lights.

He need not have worried. The traffic more or less came to a standstill a couple of miles up the road and proceeded to crawl along. Adam scooted up the hard shoulder until he could go no further, blocked by a large 4x4 that had landed on its side after almost flattening a Mini Metro. The ambulance and police were already at the scene.

Adam jumped from the car and ran towards the uniformed policeman, saying a prayer of thanks when he saw a cop he knew.

Within a few minutes, they'd helped manoeuvre his car past the roadblocks and he had his foot down to the floor once again.

Chapter 41

Amanda

Words still wouldn't form in my mouth. I felt light-headed and wondered if I was close to another breakdown, becoming certain of it when laughter started to bubble up from my stomach. It took all my energy to keep it at bay.

"Dee-jay, where's Ma-ry?"

"Where do you think she is, Judy?"

Dee-jay? I was puzzled, who was Dee-jay?

Andrew’s voice was different again, now calm and polite. It occurred to me that he'd lost his marbles.

"I...d-don-'t kn-know."

"Of course you do. She's been going every Wednesday for the past three years."

"Mu...sic."

"Bingo, got it in one. Now don't tire yourself, sweetheart—let me help you. Your next question is probably, why I am here, is that right?"

Judy gave a small nod.

"Because I knew something was going on. Mary can't lie to save herself. Then when I rang, and nobody answered, I knew you were up to something. Did you send the nurse away?" He paused.
"Well?"
he snapped. His smiling face had changed in an instant, his eyebrows now knitted together over glaring, hostile eyes.

"Y-e-s." Judy pulled herself further into her pillows as he stepped towards her.

Watching Andrew's face, I was certain he was unhinged. I now understood why Judy had asked me to take Mary—she was my niece.

"Andrew," I whispered.

Smiling again, he turned back towards me.

"Where have you been? I thought you were dead." I pushed a stray hair back from my face with a trembling hand.

"No—not me, sis. No doubt I would be if I'd stayed, but I got out."

"Why didn't you come back for me?" A slight twitch that had started in my right eye now made me feel as though I were winking at him. I rubbed the socket to try to stop it but to no effect.

"I planned to, but you were doing quite all right with your new family, I made sure of that. I decided you were better off where you were."

"But I missed you. I prayed every day for you to be found."

"I came back when it counted, didn't I?"

"I don't understand what you mean?" I reached for the chair behind me and sat down before my legs gave up on me.

"When they released that fucking pervert I sorted it. I did that for you and your kids."

"You mean you … you …?"

"Give the girl a medal." One side of his mouth lifted in a half-smile that didn't get anywhere near his eyes.

"Why are you so angry with me?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he curled his lip into a sneer, folded his arms and raised his chin. Looking down his nose, he sighed loudly.

"I understand it's a tough time for you at the moment." I glanced at Judy. Her eyes were closed and her breathing seemed a bit easier. I felt envious that she didn't have to deal with this crazy situation.

"You have no idea, sweetheart."

"What did you mean a minute ago? You said you came back for me."

"I think you understood what I meant, Amanda, for Christ's sake— you know me better than anyone."

"No, you're wrong. I don't know you at all. Not anymore. Did you kill all those people?"

"They weren't people! They were vermin, the scourge of the earth. They preyed on innocent children. But in answer to your question—yes, I did! Somebody needed to sort them out."

"Why did you make the police think it was me?"

"Just a joke of mine." He laughed. "Remember like we used to do? When we were kids?" His movements were sporadic, his eyes wild and scary.

I glanced at Judy again. Her breathing was very shallow and I could hear a rattling sound coming from her throat.

"Judy—oh my God! Judy, are you all right? Andrew, look at her!"

He ran around to the opposite side of the bed and lowered the back of the mattress until she lay flat. He was saying her name over and over.

Judy's eyes flickered open. "Ti-re-ed," she whispered, closing her eyes again.

Andrew sat with her for a few minutes and stroked her hair before jumping up again. "Where's that fucking nurse?" he snarled, irate once more.

Maybe this wasn't the right time to notice the way the colour of his eyes had changed from a pale grey-green when he was annoyed, to a lovely, soft blue when he spoke tenderly to his wife. I wondered if mine did the same. We were very alike. Both of us had our mother’s looks and colouring, and though I hated it on myself, I admired it on everyone else.

The rattling noise was back again. Andrew began pacing the room.

I decided to go and see if the nurse was anywhere in sight. Judy had deteriorated a lot since I'd arrived, but she'd taken a rapid decline in the past ten minutes. The rattling noise was freaking me out. I got to the door, but Andrew stopped me in my tracks.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I-I just thought I'd—"

"Sit down!" he boomed.

Shuddering, I did as he said—I didn't see any point in making him any more angry than he already was. Never in a million years would I have imagined a reunion with my long-lost brother to be like this. The mere presence of him in my personal space made my skin prickle.

"What happened to you, Andrew? You were such a gentle boy," I dared to ask.

His eyes softened for a split second before glaring at me once again.

"I'd have thought you of all people wouldn't have to ask that. Don’t you remember what they did to us? What they forced us to do?"

"Of course I do, but …"

"You can't have forgotten the things they made me do to you! Or the way they forced me to suck off strange men while they filmed it. I don't know about you, Amanda, but I think that might have something to do with the reason I'm so fucked up!" He yelled the last part and his eyes looked as though they might pop out of his head.

"I know what they did—don't forget it happened to me too—but I would never turn on my own family."

This accusation seemed to knock all the anger out of him and he slumped down onto the end of the bed. "I've never turned on them. I love them. Did Judy say that?"

I wasn't sure what to say while he was calm like this; I was scared of setting him off again.

"I noticed how petrified she is when you get angry," I said.

The door opened and a dark-haired young woman wearing a blue uniform edged her way into the room.

"Where were you? I told you never to leave her alone," Andrew said, his voice still calm.

"I'm sorry, Mr Pitt—your wife insisted I sit in my car along the road until her visitor left. I was getting a bit worried, though, so I came back."

Andrew shrugged. The fight seemed to have left him.

The nurse busied herself with Judy.

"Is she okay? She's been making some terrible noises." Andrew picked up Judy's hand and enclosed it in both of his.

"She's sleeping right now but we may need to get her throat suctioned—her saliva is pooling. I need to put the bed back up, I'm afraid."

Andrew helped get Judy back into a sitting position and her breathing seemed to ease a little.

I looked at my watch, surprised to find it was almost twelve-thirty. I'd been there for more than two hours.

"Andrew, I need to get home to the children."

His head snapped towards me. "I don't think so. Come with me."

He stood up and took my hand, leading me from the room. We walked back down the hallway towards the front door and into the first room on the right.

The lounge was very old-fashioned. If the circumstances had been different, I would have a field day with all the original features the quaint cottage held.

"Can I get you a drink or anything, Mindy?" Andrew seemed to be back in full control. The use of the childhood name brought tears to my eyes.

"No. Thank you." I sat on the floral, two-seater sofa.

Andrew sat in an armchair to the left of me and bent forward, putting his head in his hands. "What have I done? This is such a mess."

"I understand your reasons, Andrew. I might have done the same if I'd had the nerve. In fact, I was beginning to think that maybe it was me."

"I know. I heard you telling your friend," he said.

I was puzzled. I'd only told Sandra and we'd been alone in my kitchen at the time. "I don't understand. You couldn't have."

He smiled. "You'd be surprised what I've been party to over the years, Mindy."

"You spied on me?" As I said it, lots of things slotted into place. All the unexplained things that had happened—the missing or moved items in the house that Michael and I had blamed each other for. Had it been Andrew all along?

"Spying seems a bit harsh. More like looking out for you. Your husband is lucky he didn't end up on the list of victims, the way he's treated you—especially recently."

"You left the message on the computer screen?"

He nodded, a slight smile playing at his lips. “And the texts.”

"How? How did you get in the house?"

"I own a full set of keys, courtesy of Michael. He can be careless sometimes. I was surprised you didn't change your locks though, knowing how paranoid you are."

"We didn't have the money and Michael swore they were still in the house somewhere. Anyway, if I am paranoid it's down to you." I shook my head, thinking about all the times I'd thought I was cracking up. "I don't understand why you tried to frame me for the murders."

"I told you, just a bit of fun. I wouldn't have let them charge you, which is why I went to your house while you were in the hospital. I wanted to confuse everybody."

"I guess it was you who took Emma at the zoo."

He nodded. "It was a test. I knew if I could convince your own daughter then I'd be able to convince anybody. I didn't hurt her—I'd never do that, Mindy. You believe me, don't you?"

I nodded, but my mind flashed to what Judy had said—Mary was in danger and he'd been looking at her inappropriately.

"There's something else I need to tell you." Andrew took a deep breath. "It's about Mary."

"What about her? Have you hurt her, Andrew?" My words came out in a rush.

"No! I would never hurt her." He shook his head.

Seeing the pained expression on his face and desperation in his eyes I felt like a huge hand had grabbed at my heart and squeezed it tight.

He said, "I know what you're thinking, but I'd never do that to her. I'd kill myself first. But sometimes … sometimes my body betrays me. She looks so much like you did at her age and … I'm frightened. I hated what Dad made me do to you, made us do to each other. Yet my body responded the way he wanted it to." Tears flowed down his face. "What does that say about me? What if I'm the same as … as him?"

"The difference is massive, Andrew. You know it's wrong for starters. He didn't. Or if he did, he didn't care. I'm sure you can get help for this sort of thing. I'll bet you never had any counselling did you? I had years of it and still do. If I didn't, I don't know where I'd be right now."

"Nah, all that mind-bending stuff's not for me." He shook his head. "I do need to tell you something though, and you'll be shocked."

"You mean more shocked than I already am, finding out my long-lost brother has been under my nose this whole time? Never mind all the other things you've done."

"It's Mary."

"So you said—what about her? What the hell does Mary have to do with me?"

"She's yours."

"Mine? My what?"

"Your daughter."