The Devil, the Witch and the Whore (The Deal Book 1) Read online

  “Absolutely.”

  “Get on to the people at Gordonville,” I add. “They were supposed to come back to me and let me know that Liam Cane is still locked away. Get an answer on that. And see if there's any more news from the forensics team. This bastard must have left something behind, either at the diner or the cabin or the farm. I refuse to believe there's not even so much as a fiber we can test.”

  “I'll find out.”

  “And Hinch...” I hesitate for a moment, as my throbbing head starts to hurt even worse than before in the glare of the bright morning light. Finally, squinting, I turn to him. “Do you have a pair of sunglasses I can borrow?”

  Forty-Five

  Esther

  Two days earlier

  It takes forever to haul her body back through the forest. I thought I was stronger than this, but by the time I get Ramsey even close to the tunnel entrance, my arms are aching and night has fallen again. Finally, I have to ease her down onto the grass and sit for a moment, just to get my breath back.

  I can't feel anything reaching out to my mind yet, but I know he'll sense me soon. The creature is still down there in the maze, still protecting the witch, and the whore has to go and play her part. The devil will demand nothing less. What happens after that is none of my concern. By the time the devil makes his move to destroy the whore, I'll be well on my way back to town, where I can find my parents and resume the life that was stolen from me all those years ago.

  The devil has to keep his word. The pain earlier was just a warning, a reminder of what he could do to me if I disobeyed him. I've been his servant for several years now, maybe as many as ten, and I can't betray him now.

  “I'm sorry, Ramsey,” I whisper, getting to my feet and reaching down to start dragging her the final few hundred meters. “I didn't pick you for this. You just -”

  Before I can finish, I spot a piece of paper slipping from her pocket. I almost leave it, but curiosity gets the better of me and I pick the paper up, unfolding it to find that it has the words Bus Ticket at the top.

  I freeze as soon as I see the date.

  2016.

  Was she telling the truth? My gut reaction is to feel certain that she lied, to think that there's no way I could have been living out here in the forest for twenty years. After a moment, however, I reach up and touch my face, and I immediately feel dry, wrinkled flesh. I already knew I was no longer a little girl, but if the year is 2016 then I must be almost into my thirties by now, and that just isn't possible. How can he turn me back to a little girl again if I'm already this old?

  “Did you lie to me?” I whisper, still running my fingers across my face. “Did you promise me something I could never have?”

  I pause, before reaching down and touching my belly. Earlier, I assumed that he started splitting me open again because he wanted to prove a point, but now another possibility is crossing my mind. What if he simply thought he was done with me, and he decided to toss me aside and leave me to die? I've spent my whole life believing in him, but he always told me that only a year or two had passed since he found me, and that I'd be able to go home. Now, looking at the crumpled piece of paper, I realize that there's no reason why Ramsey would lie about the date, which means I've been out here in the forest for so much longer than I thought.

  And I can't go back to how I was.

  “You did lie,” I mutter under my breath, before turning and looking toward the rocky patch of land that hides the nearest entrance to the tunnels. “You lied to me, to get me to do what you wanted. And once you have Ramsey, you'll...”

  After a moment, I glance over at Ramsey and see that she's still unconscious. She's definitely the whore, of that there's no doubt, but suddenly I'm not convinced that I should just deliver her back to the creature in the tunnels. She told the truth to me, she even said I could go back to town with her, and in return I bashed her over the head and started dragging her all the way back here so that the devil and his creature would be able to kill her. I lived my whole life for this moment, but now the thought of helping the devil makes me feel sick to my stomach.

  Finally, I scramble across the rocks and make my way to the side of the river, and then I lean over the edge and look at my reflection. The water is rippling in the breeze, so I reach down and place a hand on its surface, to steady. When that only makes things worse, I resolve to wait a couple of minutes, and finally the water calms enough for me to see my face properly.

  A knot immediately knits tight in my chest.

  I'm old.

  Not as old as I could be, but I'm certainly not young.

  Years of living out here alone, and of working in the dark tunnels, have taken a toll. I have wrinkles on my face, and bags under my eyes, and my hair is gray and straggly. I look nothing like the girls in the books I used to read. I look more like the monsters that hide in the forest.

  Suddenly I remember that snowy day many years ago, when I was in the car's back seat while Mommy and Daddy were driving us to our new home. I was reading one of my favorite books, about a girl who grew up to be a princess, and then there was a terrible crashing sound and the car tipped over. The last thing I remember about my old life is the moment when the car came to a thudding, mangled halt at the bottom of a snowy incline. Mommy was screaming and screaming, hanging upside down from her safety belt, and then something reached through one of the smashed windows and lifted me out of the car. My belly was split open and bleeding, and I could barely breathe, and the world got darker and darker as I was carried away through the forest.

  Mommy was screaming so loud, but not loud enough for me to still hear her by the time I reached the house in the snow.

  And then the devil sewed me back together and told me he had a job for me.

  The river's surface ripples slightly, disrupting my reflection, and I sit back. For the first time, deep down, I know now that Mommy and Daddy aren't still alive in the car, that they aren't waiting for the devil to take me back to them. Maybe they escaped and have been looking for me ever since, or maybe they died in the crash, but either way I can no longer believe in the stupid stories the devil told me. Once I take Ramsey back to the tunnels, I'll be tossed aside like an unwanted doll, and my belly will split open again and I'll die in the dirt.

  “No,” I whisper, before realizing that I have one chance to escape.

  Stumbling to my feet, I hurry back to Ramsey and scoop her up into my arms. I start carrying her back into the forest, away from the tunnel entrance, while waiting to feel the first splitting sensation of my belly opening again. I'm certain that the devil will try to stop me, to punish me for taking Ramsey away, but after a few minutes I start to realize that maybe he can't stop me. Maybe he still needs me, maybe he thinks I'll change my mind, or maybe he just isn't quite as all-powerful as I'd always thought. Either way, I carry Ramsey for miles and miles, keeping close to the river so that there's no risk I might get lost.

  Finally, realizing that I can't take her all the way to the crash site, I carry her instead to the river's edge. I know this spot, it's where people from town come to fish and hunt animals. Someone will find her here, so I set her down gently. She's still breathing, but she's clearly very badly hurt and I wish I knew how to start healing her.

  I take one final look at the bus ticket, before tucking it back into her pocket and leaning down to kiss her gently on the forehead.

  “Someone'll find you,” I whisper. “This is as close to town as I dare go. I have to check on something else now. I'm sorry.”

  I turn to go.

  “Wait,” she whispers.

  I freeze, before turning back and seeing that her eyes have flickered open.

  “Don't leave me here,” Ramsey groans, her voice barely audible at all. “I can't... I can't get up...”

  “I can't take you all the way,” I tell her. “Please try to understand, it's just not possible.”

  I turn again, ready to hurry away.

  “Was it real?” she asks suddenly.


  Again, I stop. I pause for a moment before turning to stare at her, but I honestly don't know how to answer that question.

  “The witch,” she continues, even as her voice threatens to fade entirely. “What you told me... Was it real?”

  I hesitate for a moment, before nodding.

  She lets out a faint gasp, and then she winces as she reaches into her pocket. I watch, confused, as she takes the bus ticket out, and then she takes the stub of a pencil from another pocket and scribbles something on the back of the ticket. Curious, I step closer and see that she's written six words.

  “If I die,” I read out loud, “don't blame Esther.”

  “It's not your fault,” she whispers. “You tried to save me. I shouldn't have tried to climb out but...”

  She stares at me for a moment, and I can see that she's losing consciousness.

  “You'll be okay,” I tell her. “People come this way all the time. Someone'll find you and take you home.”

  “If I die,” she replies, “you have to... Let my dad know I...”

  She pauses, breathing sharp, snatched breaths, and then her eyes slip shut and she's gone. I check her pulse and find that her heart is still beating, but she's unconscious now and I'm certain she needs medical attention. I wish I could carry her all the way to town, or even to the road, but I'm too scared. Instead, I take a look at the scrawled message on the ticket, and then I tear it in half, tucking one part into my own pocket and leaving the other half with Ramsey as I get to my feet and step back. If she dies, the people who find her should blame me.

  Once I've left Ramsey behind, I make my way quickly through the forest, heading for a particular spot that I've always avoided over the years. My chest is tightening with anticipation, and I pick up the pace in case something is sent to stop me. The devil has told me several times that my parents survived the crash and that they're waiting out there in the real world for me to be returned, and he promised over and over again that one day I can go back and resume my old life with them. But I've caught him in one lie now, and I'm starting to think that there might be others.

  Finally, I come to a halt at the edge of a clearing, near an incline that leads up to an old road. At first, I feel an empty sense of disappointment in my chest as I realize that there's no sign of a crash site at all, but then I spot a twisted and rusted piece of metal poking up from the soil. I step closer, and I realize that there's more metal, with moss and weeds having grown so high that they almost cover the wreckage of the car that crashed here so many years ago. If I believe the piece of paper in Ramsey's pocket – and I do believe it now – then this car has been left here undisturbed for twenty years. Maybe even slightly longer.

  “Mom?” I call out, my voice cracking slightly with fear. “Dad? Are you...”

  I hesitate, too scared to go closer, before finally telling myself that I need to be braver and stronger. Edging toward the wreck, I peer deeper into the mass of foliage and twisted metal, looking into the dark interior, while telling myself that I'm probably worrying over nothing. The devil might have lied about how long I've been out here, but the rest of the story -

  And that's when I see her.

  Or him.

  It's hard to be sure, but I see a human skull. Weathered and marked, cracked in places, but most certainly a skull staring straight out at me.

  I freeze for a moment, expecting to feel a rush of fear, but instead I feel something entirely different. I feel stronger, as if a faucet has been switched on in my chest and I'm being flooded by a new kind of strength. Almost involuntarily, I step closer to the wreckage and take a proper look inside, and finally I see a set of collapsed bones resting in the dirt with moss and dirt obscuring them in part.

  And the skull, with its two hollowed eyes, still staring out at the forest.

  “Mom?” I whisper, as I remember the very last time I saw her smiling face.

  Just before the crash, she glanced back at me. We exchanged a smile, and then she turned to look forward, and I looked down at my book as I felt the car taking a curve in the road.

  And then this happened.

  Reaching through the broken window – through the same window that I was hauled out of all those years ago – I gently pick up the cold skull and hold it into the light, so I can see it better. My hands aren't trembling and I don't feel scared. Instead, I feel a cold sense of anger as I realize that I've spent so many years hoping to get back to my parents, when they've been dead out here in the forest all along.

  “It's me,” I stammer, although my voice sounds impossibly small and pathetic now. “I'm here. I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner, but I...”

  How could I tell her?

  How could I possibly explain.

  Besides, she's dead. I have no illusions in that regard. I don't expect her ghost to be listening, nor do I believe that any scrap of her soul has been left behind. She simply died here in the car, and her body was left to rot away. Dad's body is probably nearby, too, because I know that he'd have led somebody back here if he'd made it out alive. Mom wouldn't have been left like this.

  Which means I was the only survivor.

  I set the skull aside and reach into the car again, sorting through the piles of garbage that were left behind after the crash. Just as I'm about to give up hope, I spot a familiar book partially covered by dirt, and finally I'm reunited with the book I was reading that day on the back seat. It's faded now, of course, but for the most part it seems to be in good condition. I wish I didn't remember those awful moments, but now the memories are flooding my mind and I can't think of anything else.

  Finally, dropping the book, I turn and start running back through the forest, filled with a sense of panic. All I know is that I have to go back to Ramsey, and I have to make her better somehow, and I have to help her free the witch. The devil has been lying to me all along, but with Ramsey's help I can put everything right. If she and I work together, we can make everything right again.

  ***

  A few hours later, as dusk falls and darkens the forest, I lurk in the shadows and watch as two men carry Ramsey's prone form away from the river. I arrived just a few minutes too late, and now she's been found, and I can only watch as she's carried away.

  There's only one option now. I have to return to the tunnels alone and try to free the witch, even though this isn't my destiny. Perhaps I have enough of Ramsey's scent on me now, perhaps that'll be enough. Either way, I have to try, even though I know the creature will surely try to drive me insane with fear.

  Turning, I start scampering back through the forest, heading for the tunnels.

  Forty-Six

  Sheriff James Kopperud

  Today

  “Is there any word from the hospital yet?” I ask as I lead Katie into my office back at the station. “I thought one of the doctors was supposed to call me this afternoon.”

  “Someone named Doctor Peters got in touch about half an hour ago,” she replies. “His number's on your desk in case you want to call him back. He just wanted to give you an update on Ramsey, but the gist of it was that she seems to be doing remarkably well.”

  “What about Gordonville?”

  “Um... What's that?”

  “It's a psych hospital.” I turn to her. “I've been going on about this for at least a day now. Has nobody called those people yet to find out whether Liam Cane is still a patient?”

  “I can get in touch with them,” she replies. “I'll -”

  “No, I'll do it,” I mutter. “At least that way, I'll know it's done before we all die of old age. Did Hinch mention anything earlier about the forensics team?”

  “Hinch?” She pauses. “No, I don't think so. Actually, he hasn't been in since early yesterday. He called to say he was busy and he wouldn't make it into the office.”

  “He did?” I try to remember whether Hinch mentioned anything like that, but to be honest I'm still dealing with a raging hangover and I'm not sure I can get my thoughts together properly at all. “What
ever. Give that forensics team a hurry-up, okay? I feel like every time my back is turned around here, people start slacking off.”

  She stares at me blankly.

  “Not you, Katie. You're wonderful.”

  She grins. “Thank you!”

  “Just get on with it all,” I mutter, heading into my office before stopping and turning back to her. “And Katie? When Doctor Peters called, did he say anything else about Ramsey's condition?”

  She looks down at her notebook. “Um, I don't think so. No. Just that she's recovering well, and that she's even been out of bed already.”

  I can't hide a faint smile. “That's my girl,” I whisper under my breath. “Always tough.”

  Once the door is shut and I'm at my desk, I take a moment to swallow a few pain-killers and then I start hunting for the Gordonville Hospital phone number. I swear, I told Hinch at least twice to get onto those people and check on the status of Liam Cane, but I guess he must have forgotten. I told Lewis to call as well. Still, I've learned over the years that sometimes it's best to just do a job yourself, rather than relying on other people. Finally, once I've located the number, I call the hospital and end up being put on hold while I wait for someone at the relevant ward to speak to me.

  Glancing at the framed photo on my desk, I see Ramsey's face smiling back at me. She's only six years old in the picture, and in my mind's eye that's how I've been thinking of her over the years. She looks so happy, as if she doesn't believe anything bad could ever happen in the world. Six months after the picture was taken, Emma moved her to New York, and her whole world was turned upside down. No matter how hard I've tried over the years to blame other people for what happened, deep down I know that it was all my fault. I let my drinking destroy my family.