stairs, and as I went I noticed that there was a small slip of paper in my hand. With the sirens close now, I pushed the piece of paper into my pocket and raced up the stairs to Kiera’s room.
Kiera
I turned to face the innkeeper. Mr. Took still lay unconscious at his feet.
“ Why are you really prepared to lie to the police? You could get into trouble if the truth ever came out. You don’t even know me.”
The innkeeper smiled. “I think I met your father once. He seemed like a good man. It seems only right that I help his little girl if I can.”
“ You knew my father?” I breathed.
The innkeeper looked back over his shoulder in the direction of the approaching sirens, then at me. “Go, Kiera, your secrets are safe with me.”
“ But…”
“ Run, before they catch you,” he whispered.
Turning, I raced back across the scrubland and toward the inn. I reached my beat up old Mini just as Tom came rushing out into the car park, my case under his arm. I took it from him.
“ Follow me,” he said. “When we’ve put some distance between here and us, I’ll stop.”
“ Okay,” I said.
The wailing sirens were close now. Throwing my case onto the passenger seat, I climbed behind the wheel and started my car. As always, she started first time.
“ Good girl,” I whispered, backing at speed out of the car park and onto the road.
With Tom right behind me in his car, I sped away. I glanced back in the rear-view mirror just once. The innkeeper was still standing in the field. The burnt autumn sun cast long, black shadows behind him. From a distance, those shadows made the innkeeper look like he had giant black wings.
Some miles away from the inn, Tom overtook me. We drove for a short time more until Tom pulled in ahead. There was a small picnic area alongside the country road we found ourselves on. I stopped my car behind Tom’s and got out. Together we sat in the sun at one of the nearby picnic tables.
“ That was close,” I said.
“ Do you think the innkeeper will keep his promise?” Tom asked.
“ I think so.”
“ I hope so for our sakes,” Tom said. “If Phillips were ever to find out what we’d got ourselves caught up in…”
“ I don’t think he will,” I said, thinking of the innkeeper and what he had said to me.
We sat in silence and looked out over the rugged hills and valleys that stretched before us.
“ I don’t want to be picky or anything,” Tom eventually said. “But you were wrong.”
“ About what?” I asked.
“ Took didn’t strangle his wife in the car like you thought he had,” Tom said.
“ In a way, I wished he had,” I said thoughtfully.
“ Why?”
“ Because when we saw him in the car, he was kissing Melinda Took’s corpse.” I shivered.
“ A pervert as well as a killer,” Tom said.
“ I don’t think he was a perv,” I said. “Took was probably pulling his wife’s dead body from out of the foot well, when he looked up and saw us. Like I said before, he turned that moment to his advantage, or so he thought.”
We sat in silence again. Tom pulled a slip of paper from his pocket. I could see that there was a series of numbers written upon it.
“ What’s that?” I asked him.
“ When I went back to get your case, that young waitress gave me her phone number,” he explained.
“ I knew you liked her,” I said.
Tom let the slip of paper slide from his fingers and drop to the ground.
“ What did you do that for?” I asked him. “I thought you liked her.”
“ She’s not the girl for me,” Tom sighed, getting up from the picnic table and heading back toward his car.
I looked back down at the slip of paper and watched it flutter away on the wind.
“ Where are you going?” I called after Tom.
He stopped, turned, and looked at me. “To tell you the truth, I have no idea. But wherever it might be, do you want to come?”
“ I’d love to,” I smiled at him.
The Mystery of Derren
Kiera
I turned to face the innkeeper. Mr. Took still lay unconscious at his feet.
“ Why are you really prepared to lie to the police? You could get into trouble if the truth ever came out. You don’t even know me.”
The innkeeper smiled. “I think I met your father once. He seemed like a good man. It seems only right that I help his little girl if I can.”
“ You knew my father?” I breathed.
The innkeeper looked back over his shoulder in the direction of the approaching sirens, then at me. “Go, Kiera, your secrets are safe with me.”
“ But…”
“ Run, before they catch you,” he whispered.
Turning, I raced back across the scrubland and toward the inn. I reached my beat up old Mini just as Tom came rushing out into the car park, my case under his arm. I took it from him.
“ Follow me,” he said. “When we’ve put some distance between here and us, I’ll stop.”
“ Okay,” I said.
The wailing sirens were close now. Throwing my case onto the passenger seat, I climbed behind the wheel and started my car. As always, she started first time.
“ Good girl,” I whispered, backing at speed out of the car park and onto the road.
With Tom right behind me in his car, I sped away. I glanced back in the rear-view mirror just once. The innkeeper was still standing in the field. The burnt autumn sun cast long, black shadows behind him. From a distance, those shadows made the innkeeper look like he had giant black wings.
Some miles away from the inn, Tom overtook me. We drove for a short time more until Tom pulled in ahead. There was a small picnic area alongside the country road we found ourselves on. I stopped my car behind Tom’s and got out. Together we sat in the sun at one of the nearby picnic tables.
“ That was close,” I said.
“ Do you think the innkeeper will keep his promise?” Tom asked.
“ I think so.”
“ I hope so for our sakes,” Tom said. “If Phillips were ever to find out what we’d got ourselves caught up in…”
“ I don’t think he will,” I said, thinking of the innkeeper and what he had said to me.
We sat in silence and looked out over the rugged hills and valleys that stretched before us.
“ I don’t want to be picky or anything,” Tom eventually said. “But you were wrong.”
“ About what?” I asked.
“ Took didn’t strangle his wife in the car like you thought he had,” Tom said.
“ In a way, I wished he had,” I said thoughtfully.
“ Why?”
“ Because when we saw him in the car, he was kissing Melinda Took’s corpse.” I shivered.
“ A pervert as well as a killer,” Tom said.
“ I don’t think he was a perv,” I said. “Took was probably pulling his wife’s dead body from out of the foot well, when he looked up and saw us. Like I said before, he turned that moment to his advantage, or so he thought.”
We sat in silence again. Tom pulled a slip of paper from his pocket. I could see that there was a series of numbers written upon it.
“ What’s that?” I asked him.
“ When I went back to get your case, that young waitress gave me her phone number,” he explained.
“ I knew you liked her,” I said.
Tom let the slip of paper slide from his fingers and drop to the ground.
“ What did you do that for?” I asked him. “I thought you liked her.”
“ She’s not the girl for me,” Tom sighed, getting up from the picnic table and heading back toward his car.
I looked back down at the slip of paper and watched it flutter away on the wind.
“ Where are you going?” I called after Tom.
He stopped, turned, and looked at me. “To tell you the truth, I have no idea. But wherever it might be, do you want to come?”
“ I’d love to,” I smiled at him.
The Mystery of Derren
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