Cut You Dead (Dr. Samantha Willerby Mystery #4) - A J Waines Page 0,105
pain splintered across my scalp.
Where was Terry? The police?
I craned my neck to look behind me, but her grip was too firm. She hoisted me up and dragged me through a narrow gap between the shrubs. I knew I’d be no match for her if I lashed out – she was a self-defence expert after all. My only chance was to break free and run until… until what? Emily was a trained athlete. She’d catch me. She always would. The brutal truth that I couldn’t escape her hit me like a blinding light. This was the beginning of the end.
The river was only a few feet away. I glanced over to see swirling shades of mossy green and black running into each other, hiding a secret world beneath the surface. The tide was coming in fast.
Fearful of being interrupted, I reasoned she’d want to get the job done quickly. She’d want to get me over the railing and into the water and let the river do the work for her. That had been the pattern with her other victims; she’d let the pillow, the train and gravity do the damage. A common passive-aggressive approach typical of female killers. Often, they don’t like getting their hands dirty. They don’t like mess. Surely it would be the deep and turbulent tide for me.
We were bathed in shadows with only the distant grumble of traffic for company. The park area was deserted. Where were all the tourists and commuters when you needed them?
Emily wrenched my arm up my back, the other still tugging my hair. Everything about her exuded insurmountable strength. I tried to shrink down. Maybe if I made myself small I’d be able to duck under her arm and make a run for it. Run as far as the road and stop the traffic. Give Terry and Fenway’s team time to catch up.
I had a better idea. I went floppy for a few moments, letting Emily believe she’d got the better of me, then I took my chance. My gloves having long since been discarded, I lunged up and jabbed my thumb in her eye – no one has strong eyes, do they?
She yelped and while she was half-blinded, I swept her feet from under her. Her backside hit the mangled undergrowth with a crunch. I aimed a kick at her legs, but she was too quick for me and caught my foot mid-air, twisting it. I lost my balance. I reached out for something to hold onto, but clutched only a feeble branch that snapped off with my weight.
It happened so fast; her knee against my chest, a zip against my cheek, the sound of crumpled fabric against my ear. It was a mad kerfuffle and I couldn’t make out the order of things. One minute we were in the bushes in the park, the next she was hauling me across grass, tarmac, then steps leading upwards.
At the top, a thunderous roar filled my ears and violent thudding shook the wooden boards beneath me. She’d dragged me to a railway bridge.
81
A shooting pain in my head convinced me my skull had been split open. It brought with it a reverberating racket between my ears as though I was inside a threshing machine. Tentatively, I patted my hair and found a raw spot sticky with blood. Emily must have hit me.
I was blinded by dazzling lights and couldn’t figure out exactly where I was. The clattering faded away, replaced by the lull of light waves coming and going. There was a slightly salty rotting odour. It was almost calming.
Hands grabbed me under my armpits and I was propped up against a wooden builders’ board. I was fighting the dizziness, the temptation to close my eyes and give in to the darkness. Then came sounds of splintering wood, cracking and splitting, like someone breaking down a door. More heaving and pulling. Then I was bundled over a railing, landing in a heap on the other side. I was expecting to hear the splash of water, but there was a crunch of gravel instead. Emily was crouching beside me.
I couldn’t think straight.
Waves of lucidity rolled over me, followed by flashing lights and closing curtains of blackness. One, then two coloured lights floated before my eyes; green and red. Long shiny poles were reaching up into the sky. I couldn’t tell what was real and what was my mind playing tricks. I wasn’t even sure if my eyes were open or not.