Snow Going Back

Chapter 13

THIRTEEN

Ice flooded Kate’s veins, and her heart began to thump against the wall of her chest. She instinctively reached for her phone and then remembered with horror that it was downstairs. She put her hands to her mouth, the grisly details of all the true crime shows she’d ever watched flickering through her mind in startling detail. They all mashed together into the image of her mother’s face boxed into a TV screen with a text ribbon running across her chest, reading Eleanor Hunter, Kate’s mother .

‘ It was a week before they found her ,’ TV Eleanor said tearfully. ‘ Parts of her, anyway. They never did find her arms. ’

Kate jumped sharply out of bed, pushing the image of her body being hacked into small pieces firmly out of her mind. Someone being in the house was bad enough without her imagination making it worse. She looked around, searching for something she could use as a weapon. Whoever was down there most likely thought the house was empty, so if she was smart – and armed to at least some degree – there was a chance she could get out of this safely. She just needed to keep a cool head.

She suddenly remembered seeing a baseball bat in the bedroom next door. Creeping to the door, she peered through the crack into the hallway, then, seeing it was clear, she hurried over and grabbed the hollow metal bat. She tested it out in her hands and tried a couple of practice swings, then with deep reluctance she forced herself out of the room and down the stairs.

She moved slowly, her heart pounding in her chest, pausing halfway down where the stairwell opened up to peer over the banister towards the kitchen. Light spilled out, and she could tell by the ongoing sounds that this was where the intruder was, though she couldn’t see much from where she stood.

She had to stifle a gasp as a shadow suddenly crossed the floor. He – or she – hovered just around the corner for a moment and then retreated towards the other end of the kitchen again. Realising that this was probably the best opportunity she was going to get, and not giving herself time to talk herself out of it, Kate mustered all the courage she had and rounded the bottom of the stairs.

She ran into the kitchen with the bat held high and let out a fierce warrior cry. ‘Arghhhh!’

Skidding to an aggressive stop, she glared down the long room towards the intruder, but as she registered his face, her mouth dropped open and she gasped.

‘ You !’ she accused, horrified. It was the driver who’d nearly rammed her with his truck. The man the police officer had carted off and warned her to steer clear of. Unsavoury , he’d called him. As the scene replayed in her mind, she suddenly remembered his more chilling words. Who knows what might have happened were I not here .

Her eyes flickered between his face and the kitchen knife in his hand. ‘Oh my God,’ she breathed, her insides turning to ice. He was here to kill her.

‘ You ,’ he growled back.

His voice cut through her fear, reigniting her survival instincts, and she lifted the bat higher. Langston , she suddenly recalled the officer calling him. Kate’s throat constricted, but she batted back the panic, focusing on him instead. She stared at his wild beard, shaggy unkempt hair and rumpled clothes, and wondered how he’d tracked her down.

He let out a dark growl and took a step towards her. ‘What the hell do you?—’

‘ Don’t you move a damn muscle, you psychopath !’ Kate roared, cutting him off and jolting the bat back with a threatening half step towards him, as though about to attack.

Kate knew she had to make herself look threatening, even though she wasn’t. It was simple psychology but the key to survival throughout the animal kingdom. Something she’d learned from the many hours of David Attenborough documentaries she’d watched over the years.

Adrenaline coursed through her body, and blood rushed through her ears as she edged towards her phone. Langston had paused, confusion colouring his angry glare. Was he buying it?

‘That’s right, back off ,’ she continued aggressively. ‘You try anything and it’s this bat versus your skull! And not that steel needs much help against bone, but I’ve got good aim and I’m stronger than I look, buddy .’ She reached out and grabbed her phone.

Langston glanced at it. ‘Yeah?’ His hard gaze glinted in challenge. ‘You really like your chances?’

He took a pointed step towards her, and a frisson of ice-cold alarm ran up Kate’s spine. It wasn’t working! She swung the bat in a swift arc, cutting through the air between them viciously.

‘ Don’t test me ,’ she hollered, puffing out her chest with fake confidence. ‘I will end you . I’m no damsel you can distress, mate . I’m from London . And in London we eat bully boys like you for breakfast .’ Kate jutted out her chin, putting on her very best ghetto-girl impression.

Langston’s eyebrows shot up, and she internally winced, wondering whether the breakfast comment had been a touch over the top. She’d clicked the wake button on the side of her phone five times down by her side and then, risking a quick glance at the screen, quickly swiped her finger across the emergency call option. She pointed the bat towards him with a dark glare, aware she needed to keep him distracted.

‘You think you’re bad, but you have no idea what dangerous is,’ she bluffed. ‘You picked the wrong victim today.’ She swiped the air with the bat again.

‘You think you’re a victim ?’ He shot back. ‘ You didn’t end up with your car wrapped around a tree. You didn’t end up being hauled to the police station and held there for hours by an ass on a power trip. And now you stand there threatening me , holding that .’

‘Yes, I damn well do ,’ Kate shouted, cutting him off. ‘Because I sure as hell am not going to be murdered here tonight! Here, standing by the back door of the damn kitchen at the back of this lovely house , barely a week after Cora Moreaux died here!’ She prayed she was giving the police enough information to find her. She’d heard the quiet sound of the call connecting.

Langston’s face darkened, and anger flashed anew in his eyes. ‘Cora didn’t die here,’ he growled.

‘Oh yeah?’ Kate blustered. ‘And you know that how exactly? Murder her with that big knife in your hands, too , did you?’

Langston blinked and pulled back as though repelled by her words. He glanced down at the knife and then back up to her, suddenly clocking the live call on the phone in her hand. He shook his head.

‘No. No . That’s not… Here.’ He placed the knife down on the kitchen counter and stepped away with a sound of frustration. ‘You’ve got it all wrong. Just put the phone down, OK? And the bat. This is all a complete misunderstanding.’

He was spooked. He now knew the police had heard it all and were likely already on their way. There were only two ways out of this kitchen, and he’d have to get past her to reach either of them, while it was all being recorded by the police. He was trapped.

‘ How is this a misunderstanding, exactly?’ she asked. ‘Clear it up for me.’

‘I…’ He faltered and placed his hands on his hips with a sharp, irritated sigh. ‘I can’t,’ he admitted. ‘But you need to just stop ,’ he demanded. ‘Put the damn bat down, and we?—’

‘I didn’t think so,’ Kate snapped, cutting him off sharply. ‘But that’s fine – you can save your story for the police. And as for putting down the bat, not on your damn life .’ She raised the phone to her ear. ‘Hello? Yes , I’m here. The address is one-oh-one… Yes. Yes, that’s it. Two minutes out? Thank you . Thank you so much.’

Relief rushed through her. She eyed Langston, wary that he might still try to barge past her as the walls closed in on him. ‘The man whose voice you’ve just heard was arrested after nearly running me off the road this morning and being aggressive to the officer who attended the scene.’ Kate ignored his derisive snort. ‘The officer warned me to steer clear, and now that same man has broken into the house with a knife and pretty clear intentions. I have a bat raised, ready to defend myself if he makes another move. Please warn your officers.’

She felt her heart jump as Langston lifted his arm, but he simply threw it in the air and dropped it again. She tried to focus on what other information the police would need. ‘H-He’s a white male, around six foot, broad, muscular. Er, dark messy hair and beard, red checked flannel shirt and jeans.’

Langston glared at her, and Kate tightened her grip on the bat. It was getting harder to keep it in the air, and her arms were starting to ache.

‘How far out are they now?’ she asked, terrified Langston would soon see how weak she really was.

The responder assured her they were pulling into the street just as Kate heard the sirens.

Sighing loudly, Langston shook his head. ‘You’re going to regret this.’

‘You just made that threat on a recorded police call,’ she replied coolly, hearing the car doors slam. They were here. It was going to be OK. ‘Thank you. That will help in court.’

‘In court?’ he repeated.

‘When they decide the length of your sentence. And trust me’ – she reached over and unlocked the back door as the dull thud of approaching boots grew louder – ‘you’ll have many years to look back and regret what an epic, epic mistake you made tonight.’

Two officers burst in, guns pointed forward. One of them hooked his free arm around Kate and manoeuvred her quickly behind him, shielding her with his body. She dropped the bat with a clatter and sagged with relief.

‘ Nobody move !’ the second officer boomed. He darted forward, turning in swift jerky movements as he checked the room. ‘ Where is he, Sam ?’

Kate looked expectantly at the officer shielding her, but it was Langston who answered.

‘You’re looking at him.’

‘ Yes ,’ she said strongly. ‘ That’s him !’

‘Where?’ the officer asked, repeating the jerky swing of the gun around the room.

Kate’s brows knitted together, and she frowned with frustrated disbelief. Was this guy serious?

The officer shielding her moved away from her towards the hallway. Exposed again, Kate glanced nervously at Langston and found him staring back at her oddly.

‘ Sam ,’ the officer barked. ‘Come on – where’d he go?’

‘Put your gun down, Mike,’ Langston said. ‘You too, Jerry. There’s no one here but us.’

‘ What ?’ the officer asked.

‘Yes, what ?’ Kate echoed, watching them lower their weapons. ‘What are you doing ?’ she demanded in a panicked tone. ‘Don’t put them away. Christ ! He’s – he – you…’

Kate fell silent, putting one hand on her hip and the other to her forehead, rubbing it agitatedly as she tried to make sense of what was happening. Both officers were now eying her suspiciously. They moved to stand near Langston, and there was a short silence. Kate watched the three men with a deep frown, and the uncomfortable feeling that something was very wrong here settled in the pit of her stomach. Something she couldn’t see yet. Something that she had the distinct impression was about to get a whole lot worse.