Page 58 of The Girl in the Grave
She didn’t speak, words wouldn’t come but she held on tight to Josh’s hand.
He took his jacket off, wrapping it around her. Another car pulled up and Josh was relieved to see Sam arriving to back him up. Josh waved her over to the van and she stepped inside to take over so he could go and detain Phil.
Beth watched as he walked through the gates and prayed that he would be okay.
But the killer was out cold on the floor and despite everything that had happened to her, she’d never felt more alive.
Eighty-One
Two Weeks Later
Beth tugged off the gloves and plastic apron she was wearing over the top of her scrubs; next she stripped off the scrubs and stepped under the lukewarm shower spray. Her head still smarted a little where the scalp had been grazed, and she had a couple of bald spots where her hair had been ripped out. But to be honest she didn’t care. All of her injuries had been superficial, nothing lasting, nothing permanent. Her wrists had scabbed up and almost healed. She was here to tell the tale and she’d never felt so thankful in all of her life. She’d come back to work to focus on something, driven crazy by wandering around the house feeling lost. It was different this time though: this time she had fought back herself, and won.
Phil had suffered a fractured skull, some internal bleeding and concussion but he was still alive. More importantly he was locked up. He’d never see the light of day again, she hoped; he’d killed two women that they knew about and he’d tried to kill her. She was the lucky one: Chantel and Annie hadn’t had the chance to fight back. She had and was back at work living and breathing for them both. She owed it to them to live the life she still had.
She stared at the pile of cream envelopes on her desk.
Drying herself off, she dressed in the white linen trouser suit she’d spent a small fortune on. She normally wore it to court, but this was equally as important. Using the hairdryer, she blasted her hair, running the straighteners over it to smooth it down then applying some make-up to try and cover the fading yellow bruises. She smiled at the woman staring back at her in the mirror. She liked what she saw, battle scars and all. Slipping on some shoes, she gave herself one last look in the mirror. It was time.
Outside she saw Josh’s car double-parked with the engine running. She crossed the busy car park and opened the door.
He smiled at her as she climbed inside. ‘Are you sure about this?’
‘I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. Thank you for picking me up.’
He reached over and brushed his lips across her cheek. ‘I couldn’t wait. I’ve been thinking about you all day. How was work?’
‘Good, just a run-of-the-mill day. A couple of sudden deaths, no suspicious circumstances. It felt good to be back. How was yours?’
He laughed. ‘It was okay, just a run-of-the-mill kind of day. But you know what, I’ll take those any day from now on.’
He drove for the next forty minutes and they chatted about what to eat for dinner, the headlines in the newspapers and whose turn it was to choose which show to watch on Netflix. Beth smiled to herself;
she didn’t think that she would ever tire of living a normal life. It was wonderful, especially when she was sharing it with Josh.
They arrived at the prison car park, and he stopped the car. ‘I don’t mind coming inside with you.’
She shook her head. ‘I know you don’t, but I need to do this. I need to tell him it’s over: the mind games are over, and he no longer has any control over my life. I don’t want him to know that you’re a part of my life. I don’t want him to know anything about me.’
She got out of the car, leant down and pulled the stack of envelopes from her handbag. She was returning them unopened to sender.