The Butcher's Daughter by Sarah Goodwin

Author:Sarah Goodwin [Goodwin, Sarah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: Sarah Goodwin
Published: 2023-04-07T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

* * *

Fun was the furthest thing from my mind when David texted me the next day. Adam and I had spent the evening before in tense silence. Mostly tense on my end, but he seemed to pick up on it. He played some games online and went to bed early. I’d stayed up but been unable to face the diaries. For once it wasn’t my past making me anxious, but my present.

David’s message came as Adam was showing our chosen heating engineer around in advance of a quote. From the amount of teeth sucking going on it is going to be a pricy one, but what else could we do?

I checked the message.

David: Change of plans for tonight. Katrine’s not well, so it seems a bit unfair to do her pick when she’ll miss it. Who’s up to a walk into St. Julien’s Woods?

Frowning I opened the app we used for our group chats. I’d somehow been logged out. After a few tries I remembered the password and scrolled back over the last few messages. Two days ago Katrine had messaged everyone.

Katrine: Hi guys, sorry about this but I’m not feeling too well at the moment. Might have to miss Monday’s meeting (Sad bat emoji).

Siobhan: Feel better poppet!

Katrine: Thnx!

Then that morning, a string of sad bat emojis, some purple hearts and drooping roses. Followed by another message.

Katrine: Still feeling like death, can’t face a meet up. Sorry! If you guys wanted to wait and discuss my book next time that would be great. Sorry for not being able to host. Maybe you could go out to the hide on Monday instead?? I don’t mind.

Ricky had responded with a gif of one of Dracula’s girlfriends lying back in a coffin. Katrine had heart reacted it. Everyone else wished her a speedy recovery and then David had started a text chain about going to the woods instead of to Katrine’s.

Me: As long as Katrine’s fine with not going?

Katine: It’s OK, I can always go when I’m feeling better.

It was a bit annoying as I’d made the effort to finish her pick in time for the meeting. Not easy as the book was over an inch thick and not particularly well-written. It was on Richard Chase, aka ‘The Vampire of Sacramento’. Katrine’s tastes ran towards the macabre, and in Chase she’d found a real winner; vampire, cannibal, rapist and necrophile. Somehow the author had managed to make even those vile crimes sound dull.

I found my gym rucksack and packed some tea lights, matches and a miniature bottle of Sipsmith Gin. It was Marianna’s favourite and I’d added it to the shopping a few weeks before on impulse. It seemed a fitting memorial gift. David texted and suggested we meet up a little earlier than usual, as it was November and the nights were coming in faster and faster.

While Adam talked cricket with the engineer (a topic he had no interest in but had googled in the name of what he called ‘business patter’) I went through the box of stuff Diana had passed on to us.

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