My issue is, everyone at the Warwickshire Herald will have had their mitts on it. We need to go through this letter. What do you know?’
She placed her head in her hands. ‘Why me?’
He sat down and took the newspaper from her side of the desk. ‘There’s no delaying what needs to be done. Talk me through it.’
‘This person obviously knows me well. They know things that only I thought I knew.’
‘Okay, that’s a start.’
She leaned across and stabbed at the letter with her index finger. ‘I watch. I wait. I am coming. Terry used those exact words when he locked me in the shed once – and during other times in our marriage. He’d taunt me with them. I don’t know how anyone on earth could possibly know this. It’s like he’s back.’ A tingle ran across her neck as she felt his invisible hands squeezing her windpipe. She winced as she remembered her ribs cracking. A swirl of nausea washed through her throat as the image of her nail peeling from her finger flashed through her mind. The dark days and nights and the boarded-up windows.
‘Tell me, Gina. I need to know. For now, it will stay between us.’
‘For now? That’s helpful.’ She closed her eyes, knowing that she had no choice in the matter. Her hands began to tremble. ‘Terry locked me in a shed once, for a whole weekend. He kept coming and going between drinking binges, then he’d unlock the door to tease me, knowing I was too scared to fight my way out. He’d stand there, laughing and taunting, telling me that Hannah and he didn’t need me. I’d hear her crying all the time from the house.’ She wiped her eyes. ‘He’d tell me he was watching me or watching the shed, that if I banged and made a fuss, he’d kill me. At times, I’d think he wasn’t there, then he’d surprise me by whistling, reminding me that he was waiting for me to step out of line. He just couldn’t wait for me step out of line so he could beat the hell out of me.’ She let out a sad laugh. ‘His last words filled me with panic. He told me he was coming and that I should brace myself. His words were, “I watch. I wait. I am coming”.’
‘I’m sorry to put you through all that again.’ He hurried over and kneeled in front of her.
‘And I did brace myself. All I could think of was that Hannah would grow up and not remember me if something happened. I thought he’d hurt Hannah but he hadn’t. After my ordeal was over, he dragged me back into the house and acted as though nothing had happened while I tended to my nail-less finger. He then told me why he’d done it. It was because I’d phoned one of my old friends from college. He’d redialled the number when he came home and her boyfriend had answered. I tried to tell him but—’ She looked away.
He placed his hand on her arm. ‘Thank you for sharing that with me. Listen.’ He placed his other hand under her chin. ‘You are DI Gina Harte. You are a brilliant detective and this is another puzzle and unfortunately, you are part of that puzzle. We are all going to solve this. Terry is dead, gone. He can’t hurt you again.’
Gina looked away. Even in death, all Terry had ever done was hurt her. Just when she thought she was able to move on, he was back. ‘Can you think of anyone who might know so much?’
She shrugged. ‘There’s his brother Stephen. He might be out for some sort of revenge after you threatened him in our previous case and there’s his mother, Hetty – I don’t think Hetty would know these things. He always gave off this false smiley persona when she was around. She didn’t even know what Terry was like when it came to me. She had no idea how he punched, strangled and kicked me.’
‘We have a murder where someone has been buried alive and this letter instantly takes you back to a time where Terry had locked you in a shed. They want you back there, in the moment. Question is, why? I hope I’m wrong, but it looks like our killer has chosen you for a reason. Let’s consider Stephen. Obviously, I’ve met the prick and I can’t say I like him. What are your thoughts?’ He stood and