Page 20 of The Serial Killer’s Sister (The Serial Killer’s Daughter #3)

FINLEY HALL CHILDREN’S HOME

Despite the bridge incident, or maybe because of it, Anna continued to play The Hunt with Henry.

She wasn’t willing to risk her friend getting hurt again.

Although they weren’t frequent, each one over the past year had become increasingly complex.

Henry was becoming even more cocky, doing his best to catch Anna out. Make her sweat more.

Now, a sense of dread fills Anna as she throws her bed cover back, sits up and catches sight of a small, ominous-looking gift box at the end of her bed.

She stares at it, her pulse pounding. Henry’s been in their dorm again.

He’s taken to sneaking in when they’re asleep – Kirsty caught him in there after breakfast a few months ago and, before Anna could see it, tore the riddle into tiny pieces right in front of him.

Anna was beyond alarmed when Kirsty told her, pacing the room, anxiously twirling her hair, then shouting at her friend for taking such a risk.

But Kirsty only shrugged; she said that Henry had laughed in her face and called her stupid.

Anna instinctively looks across to Kirsty’s bed now.

Shit . She’s not there. Has he done it again?

She pulls on a pair of jogging bottoms and a hoody, and rips the box open, snatching the paper from it.

With the new riddle in her hand, she rushes down the stairs, asking anyone she passes whether they’ve seen Kirsty.

With her heart banging, Anna runs outside and casts her eyes wildly around the grounds, silently praying nothing bad has happened. There’s movement. She spots Kirsty with her brother Dean, smoking behind the middle cedar tree, and bends over, her hands on her knees, her breath heaving with relief.

‘Oi!’ Kirsty shouts, then ducks behind the trunk. Anna walks towards them, shoving the riddle into her hoody pocket as she does. Kirsty offers the cigarette to her as she rounds the cedar tree.

‘Thanks,’ Anna says, drawing heavily on it. ‘How come you’re up so early?’ Anna shoots Dean a cautious look. They seem to have been in deep conversation.

‘Couldn’t sleep,’ she says.

Dean takes the cigarette, finishes it, and stubs it against the bark. There’s an awkward silence and Anna senses they want to say something.

‘For God’s sake,’ Dean says, suddenly, looking behind Anna. Anna turns around to see Henry approaching. Her heart drops.

‘I’ll leave you to it,’ Anna says to Kirsty. She begins to walk towards Henry, but Kirsty grabs her arm.

‘You’ve got another riddle, haven’t you?’ she asks, her eyes narrowed.

‘It’s fine. I’ll do this one alone.’ She pulls away.

Kirsty and Dean carry on speaking, their words hushed, and Anna knows they’re talking about her and Henry.

Probably about how weird it is that she allows her brother to manipulate her; how weird Henry is full stop.

How dangerous he is. A shiver tracks up her spine.

How can you be afraid of a twelve-year-old?

But then she remembers a news story from a few years ago about a boy killing his sister and mum when he was that age, and realises she has every reason to be.

She’s too afraid to ignore her brother, and he knows it.

‘You need help with that one?’ Henry says, his arms crossed as he leans against a tree.

‘Nope. I haven’t even started it yet,’ Anna says.

‘Well, don’t ask them . That’s cheating.’

Anna casts her gaze back and sees that Kirsty is watching, listening. ‘Whatever,’ she says to Henry. ‘Leave me to get on with it then.’

‘Be careful, Anna.’ He winks at her. ‘You shouldn’t trust them.’

Anna frowns. It’s a strange thing for him to say, particularly when it’s him she should mistrust the most.

‘Kirsty’s my best friend. Get over it.’

‘Kirsty’s a sheep, Anna. She’s not special or unique.’ Henry’s glare focuses on Kirsty. ‘Look at her. She follows you around; copies you. It’s sad.’

Anna huffs and mutters under her breath. ‘That’s rich, coming from you.’

‘What did you say?’ Henry lunges at her, gripping her wrist.

‘I said, whatever .’ Anna snatches her hand away and takes the riddle out of her hoody. ‘I need to make a start on this.’ She unfolds it, her face intense as she reads it. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Henry laughs.

‘This one took me ages,’ he says, proudly. ‘You’ve got one hour from …’ He twists the dial on his watch, setting a timer. ‘Now,’ he says.

Anna lets out a sigh. She’s meant to be doing her homework, not faffing about with riddles. She’s about to tell Henry this, but when she looks back up, he’s already disappeared. She turns around and can’t see him, so she sneaks back towards the cedar tree.

‘Hey,’ Anna says as she approaches Kirsty. ‘I know what you’re going to say, but I’ve only got an hour and my mind is a blank.’

‘Fine. Right, bugger off, Dean,’ Kirsty says, shooing her brother away. ‘I’ll catch you later.’ Dean shakes his head, but does as he’s asked. Anna and Kirsty huddle together.

‘Thanks,’ Anna says. ‘I can’t risk him doing something bad if I don’t do it.’

‘He’s getting worse, mate,’ Kirsty says, her hand on Anna’s. ‘You’re encouraging him by playing along. He needs help.’

‘I know. But who’s going to step in to do that, eh? It’s always been just him and me. No matter how awful things are, he needs me.’

‘Until he doesn’t.’

‘What does that mean?’

‘One day, Anna, he’s going to go too far. And what’s that saying? We always hurt the ones we love the most?’ She shakes her head sadly, then turns her attention to the riddle. After a few silent minutes, they both slump down, leaning against the tree trunk.

‘Ugh,’ Kirsty says, lying down, staring up at the sky. ‘Not seeing it.’

‘Me neither.’ The paper is on Anna’s knees – she stares at it so intensely her head begins to ache. She throws it and it flutters in the air before coming to rest on the grass, then she lies down next to Kirsty. ‘Sorry for dragging you into this.’

‘So you should be.’

‘What were you and Dean talking about?’

Kirsty rolls her head towards Anna. ‘This and that,’ she says, shrugging.

‘My ears were burning,’ Anna says. ‘I know you think I’m pathetic.’

‘No, that’s not true.’ Kirsty sits up. ‘I’m just worried that you’re being sucked into his bloody delusions. You’re never going to escape him.’

Anna watches the clouds scudding across the sky, tears running down into her hair, a sense of defeat flooding her.

Kirsty is right. She’s always right. Henry is wrong about her – she’s the only person she can trust. They’re kindred spirits; know each other inside out.

If it weren’t for Kirsty, her life wouldn’t be worth living.

‘Hang on. Hold the front page!’ Kirsty’s excited voice makes Anna bolt up.

‘What?’ Anna sees Kirsty has folded the paper in half. She points at the letter each new first word starts with.

‘He’s trying to be clever.’

And then Anna sees what she hadn’t before: the letters make another word.