He pulls me close and I don’t push him away.
Instead, I do something I never do and invite him to stay the night.
42CARTER
November 1
I want nothing more than to stay the night but I have too much to do. So I creep out of the pub at around 4:00AM. I managed not to wake her when I left the bedroom, but Sunday—who was asleep downstairs—looked thoroughly unimpressed with me. Like he knows I slept with his mum.
DCI Bird talks in her sleep.
She said things that didn’t make sense but made me worry.
I wonder if she knows.
My opinion of her has changed since she almost collapsed last night. Seeing her like that—vulnerable—made me want to protect her. She isn’t as tough as she pretends to be, and I like that I get to see a side of her nobody else does. Curiosity got the better of me this morning. I looked inside her bag to see what other pills she was taking and it looked like she had robbed a chemist. I recognized one of the drug names—it’s the same pills my mum takes, and they are not for migraines. She isn’t who I thought she was but that’s okay. I am not the man she thinks I am either.
I want to prove to her that I’m not as useless as she thinks.
And I’ve had an idea for how to do that.
Show some initiative.
Trust your instincts.
Follow your gut.
That’s what she said I should do so that’s what I’m doing.
It takes over an hour to navigate my way to The Manor. Blackmoor National Park borders Hope Falls but the park is vast, over fifty miles of knotted single-track lanes, and The Manor is not easy to find. It doesn’t appear on any map. The sun is just starting to rise when I arrive at the gated property surrounded by miles of nothing. Nothing except wild and rugged countryside. It looks like a posh prison. I press the buzzer and tell them who I am and why I am here before they ask. There was something about the way Harrison Woolf reacted when we spoke about his daughter that has been bothering me ever since. Bird says Gabriella can’t be involved because she’s locked up here, but I want to see for myself.
The gates open and I drive down a long, winding, tree-lined driveway. There is an impressive—and slightly intimidating—building when I reach the end. It reminds me ofDownton Abbeyand I’m half expecting to be greeted by a butler. I park the squad car right outside the giant front doors—no doubt ruining the view—and hurry up the steps. The doors open before I reach them to reveal a small woman dressed in white. Her name badge saysINGRID.
“Can I help you?” she asks, sounding like she’d rather not. She has a clipped European accent, and a face as unfriendly as a closed door.
“I’m sorry to turn up so early like this, but I need to speak to one of your residents.”
“It’s sixAM. Everyone is asleep. The day team haven’t even arrived for their shifts yet.”
“I’m afraid it’s a police matter and it’s urgent. I’m looking for Gabriella Woolf.”
Ingrid raises an eyebrow. “She’s very popular all of a sudden. You’d best follow me.”
She leads me through a grand entrance hall, up an impressivespiral staircase, and along a maze of corridors. We stop outside a door and she takes out a giant set of keys that once again make me think of a prison. The oversized and sturdy door looks exactly like all the others we have passed, but the sign on the front confirms I am in the right place.
Room ThirteenGABRIELLA WOOLF
“You lock her in?” I ask.
“For her own safety,” Ingrid says, then adds, “And ours.”
While she jangles her keys trying to find the right one, I wonder what to expect on the other side of the door. All I know about Gabriella is that she is eighteen and lives here. I do not know why. As the door opens I start to doubt myself. Coming here was going against a direct order from a superior officer. Maybe it wasn’t the right thing to do. The woman dressed in white finally opens the door and it’s too late to turn back now.
“Wait here while I wake her,” she says, disappearing inside.
I nod, remaining in the corridor. I look both ways and now the place reminds me ofThe Shining. The woman reappears sooner than I was expecting and makes me jump.
“She was already awake. You can come in.”
