Death of a Mermaid by Lesley Thomson
Author:Lesley Thomson [Thomson, Lesley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781788549707
Publisher: Head of Zeus
29
MAGS
‘“…all grew dark around me in the room, as though it had been night, except for the image of the cross in which I saw a light for all mankind…”’
The voice in her head broke off. For the first time, Mother Julian offered no comfort. Mags couldn’t embrace death as Julian had. She did not want to see Christ. She wanted to be in her living room, warm and safe. Tears coursed down her cheeks. Fear, a terrible gnawing, tore up her insides and strangled the breath from her. Freddy.
She lay on her side, her face against rough stone floor. Her hands and feet were bound tightly. Shapes floated in the darkness. The air was cold and damp. She smelled the sea. Heard waves smashing on the beach. Groggily, her head hurting, her cheek pressing down, Mags pieced together snippets of memory. She had been meeting Freddy. She had hidden in the battery. She had had something to tell Freddy. What was it?
That was it. She was in the battery. She had gone inside to hide. She had slipped and been knocked unconscious. Freddy had come and, not finding Mags, gone away. Why had she wanted to hide from Freddy? Cowardly. She couldn’t have been hiding from Freddy. She had wanted to tell her that what she had done – or not done – had been for the best. The best for who?
Mags had lost track of time. How long had she been there? Who had shut her in? She had never imagined it was possible to be frightened and feel sorry for yourself at the same time. She should not feel sorry for herself. She had meddled where she had no business. This was her punishment.
She succeeded in lifting her head and felt something drop. The merest sound, a chink. She shuffled into a sitting position and, leaning back, managed to scrabble with her fingers. She felt a tiny, hard object.
It was her crucifix. Her captor must have ripped it from her neck when he overpowered her. Mags was overwhelmed with devastation. God had abandoned her.
Freddy wouldn’t know that Mags had wanted to see her. That Mags had got to the battery early. That she’d wanted to tell Freddy everything.
Freddy couldn’t know how Mags was sorrier than she could ever say. Mags didn’t have Mother Julian’s fortitude. She wasn’t ready to die.
Mags tried to stand, but her ankles were bound. She wriggled on the cold, damp floor, but was helpless. The stuff had been removed from her mouth, which was a relief, but tightly gagged, she couldn’t call for help.
Who had done this to her? Mags trawled through her life. If she knew who it was, she might be able to persuade them to let her go.
An angry library user? Had she upset someone? She’d had a spat with a young man standing for the council who had leaned right over the counter when she was ordering his parking permits. Last week the would-be councillor had been unpleasant when she wouldn’t let him display his leaflets.
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