Half Life by Heather Atkinson Page A

blood.  The two men fought but the father-in-law was an old man and was overpowered easily. ”
      He took my hand and led me to the stairs while I followed.  I couldn ’ t believe this was real, I thought it was a dream and soon I ’ d wake up.  All the time Alex talked, never stopping his horrible monologue.
      “ Last was the mother-in-law.  Dr Charming really must have hated her because she was hacked up the most, torn to pieces, in here, ” he said, leading me to the bathroom doorway.  He took my hand again and led me to the master bedroom.  “ When they were all dead Dr Charming laid down on the bed that he ’ d shared with his wife for eight years and opened up his wrists. ”
      The whole house was empty, the family ’ s belongings long ago having been removed but there was a strange atmosphere, as though the former residents still lived there and were due to return at any moment.  It felt like we were intruding upon their privacy.
      I snatched my hand out of his grip and ran back down the stairs, just wanting to keep running but the pitch blackness outside kept me indoors. 
      “ You set this up didn ’ t you? ” I demanded angrily.  “ You sabotaged the car so it would break down right where you wanted it to so I ’ d be stuck here. ”
      “ Of course I didn ’ t. ”
      “ Don ’ t lie to me.  What ’ s wrong with you?  First you try and get me into a graveyard, now here.  Why? ”
      “ I ’ m just trying to keep you entertained. ”
      “ You consider the slaughter of an entire family entertaining? ”
     
      We argued and he spent the rest of the time in that house sulking.  The moment the sun came up he walked to the village to phone a friend who came out to jumpstart the car.  Alex was still in a mood when he dropped me off at home.  Once again I didn ’ t see or hear from him for a few days and to be honest I was relieved.  I ’ d found out what he was really like and it wasn ’ t pleasant.  Then he phoned me.  He wanted to meet up, so I agreed. ”
      “ Why?  After everything he ‘ d done? ” said DI Paige, trying to keep the incredulity from her voice and failing.
      “ I just wanted to say goodbye properly.  Things felt … unfinished. ”
      “ So what went wrong? ”
      “ We arranged to meet at a nearby caf é .  He apologised, said it was a stupid prank that he took too far.  He was so much like the Alex I thought I knew that I started to wonder if I hadn ’ t gone over the top. ”
      “ Did you take him back? ”
      “ No.  On that I was adamant.  I told him it was over.  He was nice about it, understanding so when he offered to drive me home I said yes.  It was broad daylight and there were lots of people about so I felt safe. ”
      Mercy broke off to take a sip of water, her hand shaking and spiky heels tapping harder on the floor.
      “ Are you alright to continue? ” said Paige.
      Mercy nodded.  “ I just want to get it over with. ”
      “ Okay.  In your own time. ”
      “ He was his nice chatty self until we were just a couple of streets from my house.  Then he suddenly veered onto another road. ”
     
      “ Where are we going? ” I said.
      “ You ‘ ll see, ” he replied in an eerily calm voice.
      “ Stop the car and let me out right now. ”
      “ No, ” he said quietly, staring out at the road with dead flat eyes.
      I tried to open the door but he put the central locking on.  When I saw he was driving us out of town into the countryside I started to panic.
      “ Alex take me home, please. ”
      “ No. ”
      I wrenched at the door again, even tried to wind down the window but it wouldn ’ t budge.  I pulled my mobile out of my pocket but before I could use it he snatched it from me and smashed it against the dashboard.
      “ What are you doing? ” I cried.
      Silence.
      “ Please Alex, talk to me.  Where are we going? ”
      “ It ’ s a surprise. ”
      That was