The House of Wood (6 page)

“Nathan,” she said, not looking
up from her coffee. “I’ve missed not having you around. You're
about the only thing I
have
missed around
here.”

“I’ve missed you too, Slugger.
The place hasn't been the same without you. Without any of
you.”

“Yeah.” The silver locket
around her neck was cold against her warm skin. Why did she still
wear it? She didn't want to think about that now. “When I go home,
promise you'll come and visit.”

She noticed Nathan's shoulders
slump. He took a long sip of his coffee.

“I’ll try,” he said, no longer
looking at her. “With work and all. You know how it is.”

“I won't take no for an answer.
I'm sure Becky would like to see you again.” She let the
insinuation hang in the air. It went unnoticed. “I think she likes
you.”

“I doubt it, we only just
met.”

“Well, she hasn't stopped
talking about it since the funeral,” Rachel replied. “Maybe, you
should ask her out on a date?”

“Maybe,” Nathan said. He
fidgeted in his chair. “Talking of dates, maybe we -“

A loud crash from the back of
the shop cut the sentence short. Rachel turned her head away to see
what the noise was. It was only a mousy waitress with tomato red
cheeks; a result of her clumsiness with the tray. Rachel turned
back. As she did so, her face lit up.

“Doctor Cochrane.” The words
fumbled from her lips before she could stop them.

David looked over his shoulder
with a frown. His eyes roamed over the patrons of the café. As soon
as they locked onto Rachel, she felt her stomach drop. He smiled at
her, picked up his coffee and walked towards her.

“Doctor Cochrane, hi,” she
said, feeling like a schoolgirl with a crush. Nathan fidgeted
again.

David swept back his fringe.
“Hello, Miss James. I didn't think I'd have the pleasure of seeing
you again. I hope all is well?”

“Things could be better, but on
the whole, I'm not too bad.”

“Good.” He turned to Nathan.
“Afternoon, deputy, keeping the streets safe I hope.”

“We do our best,” Nathan
replied at the joke, not bothering to look up.

Rachel could see the tension
mounting on his face. The air had become awkward.

“Doctor Cochrane -“

“David, please.”

She smiled. “David, would you
like to join us?”

“I’ve got a break now. I’d love
to.”

David sat down in the seat next
to Rachel. If looks could kill, then she would have dropped stone
dead on the floor. Nathan was scowling at her.

She gave him a quick kick under
the table. “Have you met David before, Nathan?”

“We’ve met a few times, yeah.”
He picked up his cup. His eyes glared at her through the steam as
he drank. Rachel ignored it.

“The deputy and I met not long
after I arrived in town. In fact, he was one of the first people I
met.”

“Oh really,” she replied. “How
was that?”

“Wow, is that the time. I
really must be going.” Nathan jumped out of his chair like a
Jack-in-the-Box. “It was a pleasure seeing you again, doctor.”

“But, you haven’t finished your
coffee,” Rachel said, bemused. “Stay a bit longer.”

“Sorry. Can’t. Sheriff Ross’ll
have my balls if I don't get back. Say hi to Becky for me.”

“Okay, bye.”

Nathan was gone before the last
word had left her lips.

It was the second time he had
done that to her in a week and it was starting to worry her. She
didn't want things to be awkward between them. Maybe it had been
too long? She thought. People change over time.

David cleared his throat,
pulling her mind back to him.

“I’m sorry.” Her cheeks turned
red. “He’s normally a really nice guy. I'm not sure what's got in
to him.”

“Please, don't worry about it.
The deputy has a very stressful job, keeping the town safe and
all.”

Rachel smiled. He was so
understanding. The more time she spent with him, the more relaxed
she became. It was the first time in her life that she felt as
though she could open up to someone. Tell him anything and not be
judged.

He motioned to her empty cup.
“More coffee?”

“Please.”

He left her sitting there,
while he strolled over to the counter. The café was heaving now.
She fondled the business card under the table, at the same time
biting her lip. She didn't know what to do. This guy was a
professional psychiatrist, but she had seen those before. They
hadn't helped, only made things worse. Maybe David was different?
Maybe she had finally met someone that could pluck her out of the
past?

David returned with the coffee.
“I wasn't sure if you took sugar.”

“No, it's fine. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

The two of them sat there
drinking coffee, time flying past. Rachel felt as though she was in
a different world. All her cares and worries felt as though they
were from another life; someone else's life that she had read about
in a horror novel. She was becoming increasingly intrigued by the
man sitting next to her. He was charming, polite and funny. They
chatted about everything from the weather to the result of the
local High School football game. He didn’t know her. There were no
connections to her past with him. She was lost in the velvet
softness of his voice.

“… and that's how I met
Nathan.”

The end of his sentence made
her ears prick up. “I’m sorry, how did you meet?”

There was concern in his face.
“Are you alright? You look pale.”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” The dark
cloud was beginning to descend on her again. “I just zoned out for
a second.”

“Does that happen often?” David
asked.

Only since
I've been back.
“No, not at all.”

There was silence. If she was
going to ask, now was the perfect time. She sipped at her coffee.
“Doctor -“

“David.”

“If it’s still okay,” she
asked, her fingers furiously fiddling with the business card.
“Could I take you up on that offer of a chat?” Her face turned a
deep scarlet. “Whenever you're free.”

“Of course. If you come down to
the office, my secretary will -“

“I was hoping we could make
it...” She paused to think of the right words. “Less formal.”

“Ah, I see,” David replied. He
shifted in his seat and took a large gulp of his coffee.

Rachel had to think quick. “I
know it's not professional for you. It’s just, I've tried the
formal thing. It didn't work. I closed off completely. Maybe
chatting over a dinner table would help me to open up?” Well done
Rachel, she thought. That's the way to be subtle.

He grinned. “I’m sure that'll
be fine. I hear Costello's over on Lonergran is very nice. Would
that be okay?”

She could feel her heart
racing. “That would be lovely.”

“I finish my shift tonight at
the hospital around eight. I could stop by your room at nine?”

Was this moving too fast? She
wondered. She'd hoped for a couple more days. Butterflies were
going crazy in her stomach. His steel blue eyes fixed right on her.
If she didn't take the chance now, she never would. “That’ll be
great.”

“Good. Nine it is then.”

They sat there for another half
an hour, finishing their coffees. David looked at his watch. “Well,
I best be getting back. I'll see you tonight at nine o'clock.”

“Okay.”

“Bye.”

As the door of the cafe closed
behind him, Rachel slumped in her chair. Relieved. She had no idea
what had come over her. She would never have asked out a guy she
didn't know before. Now she was nervous.

She looked out of the window.
The sunshine had hidden behind some clouds. The air felt stormy.
She peered across the street. A single blackbird was perched on top
of the box office at the cinema. She rubbed at her eyes. Was it
looking at her? Don't be silly, she thought, it's just the
nerves.

She shut down her laptop,
packed it away and gulped the last dregs of her coffee. When she
turned to pick up her bag, she noticed the bird had gone.

Chapter
Six

Nathan had been driving around
town aimlessly in the car for two hours since leaving the café. As
usual the town was quiet; dispatch hadn’t sent out any emergency
calls all day. Under any other circumstances, it would have been a
blessing. But not today. The last thing he needed was time to
think. His mind had been spinning like the wheels beneath him,
bringing him back to the same conclusion over and over. It was
happening again. For the second time in his life, Rachel was
choosing somebody else over him. How could it be? He thought. Was
he that unlucky? Of all the people in the town she could have
chosen, she had to choose him. David was bad news. Deep down inside
him Nathan knew it. He just couldn’t work out why. Well, he was
damn sure he was going to find out.

The traffic lights above him
turned red. The squad car ground to a halt. He licked the sweat off
of his top lip, trying to keep his eyes fixed on the road. He knew
it was there; the place that had caused all his recent problems.
There was that familiar knawing sensation at the back of his brain.
It wouldn’t hurt to go in for one, he thought, resisting the urge
to turn his head in the direction of his nemesis. He knew if he saw
it, the day would be over. He would sink himself in to that black
pit, which was getting harder and harder to climb out of. And there
wasn’t time for that. If he was going to stop the past repeating
itself, then he had to stay on track. His own peace of mind
depended on it.

The light turned green and
Nathan set off, letting out a small sigh of relief. He had managed
to resist it, but promised the demon inside him that he would
return later. At an appropriate time. If there ever was such a
thing.

He spent the next thirty
minutes parked outside the café. He needed answers, but didn’t know
where to look for them. If only he could find something, a bit of
dirt, something to pin on the doctor, then he could show it to
Rachel and she would know the truth. He owed it to her. If he
hadn’t let her go the last time a new guy came in to her life. If
he had been more forceful, instead of walking away. Life may have
turned out different. All he had ever wanted was for her to look at
him the way he looked at her. He had to find something. But
where?

The squad car revved in to
life, as Nathan turned the key. A thought had struck him. He had no
idea where it came from. But it was better than nothing. He reached
over and picked up the radio microphone.

“Dispatch, this is Deputy Ross,
do you copy?”

This is
dispatch
.

“Hey Connie, I need you to do
me a favour. Can you look up any files on the Langrishe case? It’ll
be in the archive.”

Nate, I don’t
have access
.

“Like that’s ever stopped you
before. Please Connie. I’ll buy you dinner.”

Always the
charmer. I’ll see what I can do
.

“Thanks Connie, I owe you. I
need you to look up family records, see if there’s any connection
to a Doctor David Cochrane. I’m also going to need to know who owns
the old farm house. You know the one, just outside town.”

Why do you
need to know all that
?

“Just a hunch.”

Okay, I’ll
see what I can do
.

“Oh, one other thing. Let’s
just keep this between me and you for now. It’d be best if the
Sheriff didn’t know anything about it.”

If you say
so
.

“You’re a star. Talk to you
later.”

Nathan put the microphone back
on its hook. If he wanted answers, then where better to start than
the beginning.

***

It didn’t take him long to
reach his destination. The house stood tall in front of him, as he
stepped out of the squad car. He had never liked the place. There
was something about it; an oppressive feeling that filled him with
dread. He imagined it was similar to the feeling of staring down a
predator. An involuntary spasm crept down his spine. At least it
wasn’t as bad as it used to be. Somebody was making a real effort
to return the building to its former glory.

He had no idea why he had come.
It was as if the idea had popped out of nowhere, smashing through
his skull like a sledge hammer. As far as he knew, David had no
connection to the place. When the shit hit the fan three years ago,
David had probably never even heard of Willows Peak, let alone
having anything to do with the house. But there was something. An
air of mystery to the guy that Nathan just couldn’t let go of. He
had swept in to town and convinced everyone that he was this mild
mannered psychiatrist trying to help the poor folk. Well I’m not
fooled, Nathan thought. Like the house being all bright and shiny,
it was all fake.

A crowing blackbird caught his
attention, as it swooped overhead and landed on the porch roof. Its
black eyes looked right through him. The answers were here. He knew
it. It was just a case of finding them.

He walked up the wooden steps
towards the front door, surprised to see there wasn’t any workmen
around. By all accounts, Jonathon Kane and his boys had been up
here, every day for the past two weeks doing the place up. So
somebody definitely owned it. If he could get inside, then maybe he
could find out who? But there was no way a judge would grant a
search warrant without due cause. And there was no doubt in his
mind that he would be lucky enough for the door to be unlocked.

Reaching out, he turned the
cold knob. It was shut firm. He quickly looked over his shoulder
and took out his pick lock. There was nobody around. Within a few
minutes the door was gaping wide open. He took one more look
around, then stepped over the threshold.

The smell of fresh paint hit
him full in the face. The workmen obviously hadn’t left that long
ago. They were no doubt on a lunch break. Nathan realised he would
have to be quick in case they came back from wherever they had
gone.