then, making her fit perfectly. The coffin she was staring at was a professionally made coffin, made just the way their victim’s father made them. Come to a party, it’ll be fun. You’re new. Come meet the others. She hadn’t told the newbie of their plans to initiate her into their group but it had all gone wrong as they got carried away. She dug her own nails into her neck, punishing herself with the pain.
The match burned down and out, leaving nothing but the smell of sulphur and less of the precious oxygen she was breathing and she sobbed. Her heart rate sped as she screamed again. ‘I’m sorry.’
A voice bellowed from above, sounding robotic through the soil. ‘Say it again.’
‘I’m sorry.’ She fidgeted and flexed her legs. Someone had heard her. She could get out of this. As she waited in silence for the earth to be dug away and the box to open, she was then faced with her end as another thud of earth rained down. She lay there thinking of Bella and Oliver as the news was broken, that their mother was a victim of the coffin killer. She only hoped the truth of her own past would remain buried with her, Penny, and Alex. Death was the better option rather than her children knowing what a real-life monster she was. She was sorry, for everything, but the sorry had come too late. Maybe in some cases, sorry would never be enough. When she had seen Isaac kiss her captor at the party back then, that had been it. She knew she had to make the girl pay and what she’d brewed up was more than just the initiation that they had planned. A joke turned sour.
She sobbed as she delved further, remembering their victim’s eyes staring back at her, pleading for an end to it all. Those eyes were what mattered now. Her final moments would be dedicated to that person while she took her punishment. Justice was being served.
As she wheezed on the inhale, she accepted the fatigue that had replaced the shivering and smiled as she slipped into another world, that of her sitting by the ghost lake with her vodka. She was sinking it all, every last drop, with a smile on her face.
Chapter Sixty-Seven
‘Where’s Lucy?’ Gina shouted as she leaned over the counter at the café. She held her identification up as she pushed to the front of the queuing tradespeople. The teenage girl passed a takeaway coffee to the man in the overall.
‘Erm, I dunno. She doesn’t tell me where she is when she’s not working.’ She wiped her hands on her apron and nodded an apology to the couple who had just come through the door and taken a seat.
‘How about Lucy’s father? Bill Manders.’
‘Oh, the old man. He’s not here either. They’re probably at home as they’re not on the rota for today. They don’t work every day.’
The hum of people had dropped to silent as Gina stood there. She glanced around then back at Jacob. ‘Keep trying to call her.’ He nodded and stepped outside to make the call. ‘Can we talk, around the back?’
One of the other overall-clad men in the queue sighed and stormed out of the café, leaving two women in paint-splattered overalls. ‘I don’t know. I’m kinda busy.’
‘This is urgent.’
‘Are they okay?’ Her false lashes made a little batting noise every time she blinked.
‘I don’t know. May we?’ Gina held her arm out towards the storeroom.
‘Just take a seat everyone, I’ll be around to take your orders in a minute. Sorry, guys.’ She removed her apron and led Gina through to the staff area.
‘Lucy’s going to go mad if we get loads of shit reviews on Tripadvisor because of this.’
‘I think Lucy has more to worry about than her Tripadvisor reviews. When did you last see Lucy or Bill?’ Gina leaned up against the open pantry door.
‘Yesterday. Bill came to lock up but Lucy wasn’t with him. He said Lucy hadn’t been feeling too well. With hygiene regulations and working with food, they asked me if I’d work for the rest of the week and left me with a key to open up. I’m only part-time, you see. What’s going on?’
Gina swallowed. ‘That’s what we’re trying to find out. How has Lucy seemed this past week, when you did see her?’
‘She puts on a big smile for the world, but I know she’s not right. I’ve caught her sitting right here, staring