Chapter Twenty-Nine

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"Hi, is Tara home?"

Hastily, He pulled the blanket he was arranging down so it covered Emily's body and spun around. The panic that set in at the thought that Emily's body had been seen subsided when he saw that it was only Daisy Hawkins, and she showed no sign of being aware of what he had done, or of what he was doing.

"Not yet," He said, pleased that he sounded completely normal, and his racing mind was not obvious. Daisy might not have seen anything suspicious, but when Emily was discovered missing, she was bound to mention that she had seen him at the house, and when; no matter how stupid Sergeant Mitchell was, he didn't imagine he would have any difficulty connecting his presence at the house with Emily's disappearance.

He couldn't allow Daisy to tell anyone he had been there, but he wasn't sure what to do. After a moment, he was struck by what he could only think of as an inspiration. "Actually, I'm on my way to meet her, why don't you come along."

"Okay, yeah," Daisy said without hesitation, showing no sign of being afraid or concerned, rather she looked excited at being invited to go along with him.

"Get in then," he told her. "I've just got to finish sorting something out back here, then we'll be good to go." He waited until Daisy had climbed into the passenger seat of the Land Rover, and he was sure she couldn't see what he was doing, then he adjusted the blanket to be sure it was covering Emily fully, and that she wouldn't be revealed by accident. Only when he was satisfied did he close the boot and get behind the wheel.

"Where are we going?" Daisy asked as he turned off the road less than half a mile from the farm. She had never been down the dirt path they were on now, but she knew it led to an old farm, and she couldn't imagine why Tara would be there; despite that, she didn't feel afraid, only surprised.

Fear replaced her surprise, however, when she saw the way he was looking at her.

He had seen Daisy a number of times, but never thought of her as anything but a young girl, when he thought of her at all. Now, though, he found himself looking at her as he would a girl he was interested in taking to bed, and he liked what he saw. She was young, but she was developing into an attractive girl, and he felt himself becoming aroused.

"Where are we going?" Daisy repeated her question. With an effort, she tore her gaze from his; the hint of lust in his eyes – she had never been looked at like that before, but some instinct told her what was behind the look – scared her, at the same time, it gave her a tingly feeling she didn't understand, but which made her squirm in her seat. "Why would Tara be out here?"

"She isn't," he told her. There was an edge to his voice that he quickly suppressed. "I've got to take care of something before we go and meet her. You don't mind, do you?" As he asked the question, he dropped a hand to her leg and began stroking it up and down, caressing her thigh through the denim of her jeans.

The tingly feeling that had begun with the look increased at his touch, but so did her fear. Despite her excitement at his sudden interest in her, Daisy could not help feeling that there was something wrong. "What do you have to do?"

"D'you always ask so many questions?" He wanted to know. "Hasn't anyone ever told you that men prefer girls who know how to be quiet?"

"S-sorry." Daisy was glad when the hand was taken from her leg, but the sudden sharpness with which he spoke to her increased her fear.

His temper, which had seemed to be just below boiling point for the past week, since he killed Georgina, erupted at this minimal provocation, and he lashed out with the hand that had previously been caressing Daisy. He hit her in the face, knocking her sideways and sending her head into the window in the passenger seat.

"I said shut up," He snapped as Daisy groaned and gasped in pain. It wasn't what he had said, but was how his mind interpreted his own words. "Why can't you girls ever do what you're told?" he demanded, not at all interested in receiving an answer.

The drive to the farmhouse took no time at all, and he was soon pulling up in the yard in front of the partially destroyed house. He looked around briefly, but was confident they were alone, and he knew he was going to have to work quickly if he was going to be back home in time for dinner, without anyone suspecting anything. Throwing open the door next to him, he got out, shouting for Daisy to get out as well.

Daisy was stunned and horrified by what had happened; she had never been hit before, not properly, and she didn't know how to react to it other than to be afraid. Releasing her seatbelt when he got out of the Land Rover and started towards the rear of it, she threw herself across the car so she could pull the driver's door closed and lock it. After that she reached over to hit the lock on the passenger door, she then dropped herself into the driver's seat.

She had never driven a car before, never even started the engine on one, but she had seen her parents drive often enough to be reasonably confident that she could manage. Unfortunately, there was one thing she hadn't thought of.

She was groping for the keys, so she could start the engine, when there came a sound that set her heart to pounding in her chest. Fearfully, she looked around, and saw that He had the keys, and was tapping them on the window; when he saw that he had her attention, he stopped and unlocked the car.

"That was very – fucking – stupid," He said angrily, speaking slowly and deliberately to emphasise his words. Reaching into the Land Rover, he grabbed Daisy and dragged her out. She fell to the ground when he let go of her, and simply lay there, sobbing. "Get up," he ordered in a voice so harsh it made her sob all the harder. "I said get up. Get up and get inside." He accompanied the order with a kick that lifted her half off the ground, and drove the air from her lungs in an explosive gasp.

Daisy lay there for several long moments, overwhelmed by pain and struggling for breath, and then she slowly began to push herself up. He seemed satisfied that she was doing as she had been told once she started to get up, and she used that to her advantage; while He was focused on what he was doing at the rear of the Land Rover, she, instead of heading towards the farmhouse, began moving slowly back the way they had driven. She wanted to run, to sprint for the road that led to the village as fast as her legs would carry her, but she was afraid that running would attract his attention, which was the last thing she wanted to do.

She had gone no more than a couple of feet, when she saw what it was he was taking from the boot of the Land Rover. The moment she saw the body – she couldn't see the face, so she had no idea who it was, but she could see that it was female – she screamed, a prolonged sound of terror that made him drop his burden and spin towards her. The anger in his face gave Daisy a burst of adrenaline that sent her racing away, like a hare being pursued by a pack of hounds.

He forgot all about Emily's body as he sprinted after Daisy – Emily was not going anywhere, but if Daisy got away, he would be in serious trouble. He was not as fast as the fleeing girl, he saw that almost immediately, so he did the only thing he could think of; He threw himself into a diving tackle. He caught Daisy around the legs with one arm, and drove her to the ground with his momentum. Untangling himself from her, he rolled the teen over and pulled her towards him.

"That was really – fucking – stupid." He punctuated each word with a punch that threatened to dislodge Daisy's teeth. "You – had – to – make – things – worse." He continued to berate her between blows until he was out of breath and his knuckles were beginning to get sore, at which point he stopped and got to his feet. After several long moments, during which he regained his breath, he bent down to grab Daisy's foot, so he could drag her to the farmhouse.

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