The List by Jones Carys

The List by Jones Carys

Author:Jones, Carys [Jones, Carys]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Suspense
ISBN: 9781409195993
Publisher: Hachette UK
Published: 2020-06-30T14:00:00+00:00


Twenty-Six

Beth’s car bounced along a small dirt track which veered away from the main road. Branches scratched at the windows, dragged along the side of the vehicle, like long, gnarled fingers. She was fenced in by hedgerows, sunlight glinting off her windscreen and glaring into her line of vision.

Turn back. You can still turn back.

Just a few more rotations of her worn tyres and the track was opening out into a small makeshift car park. Beth turned into the nearest space and slammed on the brakes. Cracking her door, she allowed the sounds of the woodlands to filter in. Birds were singing, wind danced through leaves like the whisper of silk through a ballroom. Dirt crunched underfoot as Beth climbed out. Beneath her car bonnet, the engine was still hot, causing the metalwork of the car to audibly pop.

It was a beautiful day, the sky clear and blue. Closing her eyes, Beth tilted her head upwards and felt the full flush of the sun’s warmth bloom across her cheeks. She didn’t need to open her eyes again to find her way into the woods. Several feet away, there was a rotting stile. Once she crossed that she’d be on a narrow path which fed like a tributary through the woodlands towards the main route at the core.

How many times had Beth wandered amongst the grand oaks and lean beeches? Hundreds? Thousands? If she were to cut a path directly through the woods from where she was currently standing, she’d reach a dilapidated estate crammed full of two-storey houses, wedged together like uneven teeth, with tiny windows and overgrown gardens. A place that had once been home.

Just leave.

There was danger in the air. Beth could almost taste it. She felt like a wounded seal waiting for a passing shark to sense the blood in the water and come for her. Was that why she had come here, to be judged? Did she want people to throw words at her like arrows? Or did she just long for some sort of closure?

Despite the heady warmth of the afternoon, Beth dipped back into her car to grab the grey hooded jumper she always kept draped across the back seat. Zipping it up all the way, she concealed her uniform and then tugged up the hood, shrinking back beneath its protective shadow. It was unlikely anyone would recognise her, but she wanted to be cautious. After all, someone knew enough to have written the list. If they knew her new name, she bet that they knew her face too.

As Beth clambered over the stile and delved deeper into the woods, voices reached her on a warm, lazy breeze. She could hear children laughing, the brilliant rise of their mirth lifting above the treeline like bubbles. Were they on the tyre swing, or at least a new version of it? Were they kicking out their legs and gazing up at the endless ocean of sky above them, feeling infinite, feeling free? When darkness came would



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