Chapter Seven: Devil's Cott
Jack usually spent his days off training at the MMA gym but he had strayed from his usual routine this time. Instead, he had decided to use his day off working. Not officially working per se but rather, going freelance. He knew Nikki told him not to pursue the search for Devil's Cott and the bella donna on his own, but he was so sure he was on the right track with this lead. He didn't trust the police with the information and if Nikki and Clarissa weren't going to back him up, then he decided he'd have to go it alone and face the consequences later.
It was for these reasons Jack found himself driving up the winding country lane that he had visited before when he attended the crime scene. He was hoping to track down Molly and get her to expand on the fragmented information she had started to give him yesterday. Jack remembered that she said she lived in the area and he was hoping that, in the way all their previous meetings had occurred, that he's just bump into her.
The day itself was cold and drizzly and the grey of the road seemed to blend into the grey of the clouds. The all-encompassing grey created what seemed like an enclosed space, it was quite claustrophobic. Jack pulled up on the side of the road and got out of the car. He was still on the main road which was surrounded by woodland on either side. He was now quite a distance from the small village in which he had passed through, but he couldn't see any houses nearby.
He walked a few meters up the road to peer around the bend in the hopes that what he was looking for would be just around the corner. When there was nothing there, he cursed loudly under his breath. His plan had been a hasty one; Molly herself had been vague about where she lived. She had only specified that she lived near the woods. She could have meant anything from a few metres to tens of miles. The frustration started to boil up in Jack's mind. He knew he was on the right track, if only he could just find-
"-Hello again Jack Hodgson,"
He whirled around to see Molly sitting cross-legged on the bonnet of his car. Jack hastily jogged back towards his car as she cocked her head on one side, watching him curiously
"Where did you come from?" he asked. He was sure he hadn't seen anyone at all in the area let alone heard anyone approach
"A stork brought me," she said "Dumbo style,"
"I didn't hear you approach," he said, now level with his car
"Did you not?" Molly said vaguely sliding off his bonnet "How are you Jack?"
"Fine…" he said trying to work out what was going on "I heard they let your dad out,"
Molly nodded "I'm rather pleased about that. Though on the other hand, he is not as pleased as I am. He's now writing an article about his experiences. I only skim read a draft but I have a feeling he might get arrested for libel,"
"That bad?" he winced
"Not at all," she shook her head "Some of the combinations of swear words ran quite well actually. There is poetic potential in his defamation," she paused "Though I imagine the police might not take it so well,"
"That's why I'm here actually," he said ducking back into his car "You left your magazine at the Lyell Centre," Jack pulled it out and handed it to her "I wanted to return it to you,"
"No you didn't," she said softly "And anyway, you can keep it if you want. Consider it a thank-you for being nice to me at the police station," Molly passed it back to him before she turned and walked back into the woods.
"Wait," he called, hurriedly locking his car and dashing after her
"I know what you want Jack Hodgson and it's not going to happen," she told him turning to face him "What I told you before, about truth not being always being the answer. That's relevant to this Jack. Devil's Cott is not the answer"
"But it does exist?" he asked "It's just that I couldn't find it on a map,"
"It's not marked on any map," Molly told him "Which is good thing as far as I'm concerned. It's not a good place,"
"Why not?"
"You ask too many questions," she said frowning "What is your obsession with finding answers?"
"I'm a scientist," Jack told her firmly "It's my job to find answers,"
Molly shook her head "Finding the answers doesn't always solve the problem. I told you that before,"
"I know finding the answer doesn't always provide meaning," Jack said after a moments silence "I saw my friend die in front of my eyes. I know exactly how his death occurred but it didn't make it any easier to deal with. Somehow seeing and knowing how it happened makes it all the more meaningless," he said quietly, trying to push back the emotion that was threatening to overwhelm him
Molly's face softened and she sighed "I'm sorry," she said and Jack silently nodded in response "But it's not a good place to go Jack,"
"I'll go by myself if you'll point me in the right direction," he offered
"No!" Molly said suddenly and he noticed the fear the flickered across her face "It's not safe and you'll never find it on your own,"
"I'll have you know I was a boy scout and achieved my orienteering badge and everything," he grinned "Please…"
Molly closed her eyes briefly before speaking again "It's not far from here," she said "Devil's Cott," she clarified and turned to walk further into the woods "I'll take you if you want,"
He dashed back to his car, grabbing his kit before hurrying after her once more "Why the sudden change of heart?" he asked falling into step with her
"Woman's prerogative," she shrugged
"You told me you were no lady," he reminded her and she smiled softly
"Woman's prerogative?" she tried again and Jack laughed
"Fair enough," he said "So what is Devi's Cott exactly?
"It's short for Devil's Cottage," Molly told him "It's just a local name for a dilapidated building. They call it that because above the doorway is a stone figure. People say it looks like the devil, hence the name Devil's Cott,"
"Do the locals visit it much?" Jack asked, trying to establish whether any samples he could take would be contaminated or not
"Not really," Molly shook her head "Some of the local kids occasionally dare each other to spend the night there but I don't think anyone has actually done it,"
"Anyone dared you?"
She shook her head once more "I don't have any friends," her voice was tinged with sadness Jack noticed a faint blush rise in her cheeks as she spoke
"So what do you then, when you're not waiting for your dad?" he asked, changing the subject
"I write for his magazine," she told him "I'm working on an article at the moment studying the link between ley lines and the amount of milk cows produce. The field of cows is right on a ley line and I think that aliens finding their way to the cows by such ley lines. The aliens are suffering from severe calcium deficiency and steal the cow's milk to prevent rickets. I've been interviewing the cows to get their opinion on the story. It's going to be a world exclusive when it's published,"
Jack raised his eyebrows as he listened to what Molly was telling him. He had started to realise from their frequent encounters that he didn't fully understand half of what Molly was saying let alone know how to respond to it. So instead he just nodded and made the right noises in the rights places in the conversation as she explained her various theories to him as they walked.
"He used to write proper articles," Molly told Jack "Dad worked as a freelance journalist, a science correspondent for various publications but that was before mum died,"
"Why did he stop writing?"
"Because science failed to provide him with a meaning for mum's death. No one knows why she died. One evening she was fine and by the next morning she was dead," Molly said quietly staring hard at the ground as they walked
"Did they perform a post-mortem?" Jack asked
Molly nodded "Three. Each time it came back with the same information. Cause of death was unexplained. Science, the very paradigm he lived his life by, failed to give an explanation. That was the start of it really. He writes conspiracy theory articles to try and find meaning," she explained
"Do you do the same?"
Molly shook her head "Some of the stuff Dad writes is nonsense. But the ley lines and the cows, well that all true. Just you wait and see!"
"I never understand half of what you're saying," Jack sighed as they passed along a gurgling stream. Jack wondered if it was the same stream he retrieved the knife from, the last time he was in these woods.
"Good," Molly smiled
"Are we nearly there yet?" Jack asked childishly
"Soon," she told him "Devil's Cot is in the oldest part of the woods, so we have to go in pretty deep to get there. But don't worry; I'll wait for you whilst you do you're CSI-crap,"
"CSI-crap?" he repeated incredulously shaking his head.
They lapsed into a gentle silence as they walked into the woods. Jack noticed how Molly seemed so sure of where she was going; never hesitating for a single moment to check her position. He assumed she must have lived her a long time to know the woods as well as she did. Maybe she'd lived there her entire life. That idea of permanence scared Jack. He hated staying in one place for too long, always eager to move on to pastures new and never giving his past a chance to catch up with him.
"Here we are," Molly said suddenly and they stopped "Devil's Cott,"
Jack glanced around and saw they were in a clearing in what seemed to be the deepest part of the woods. This part of the wood was silent. There was no river gurgling or birds singing. The silence was heavy; almost oppressive In the middle of the clearing was a small dilapidated cottage. The cottage itself was made up of stone that had a green oozing moss growing all over it. The windows and door had been boarded up but Jack could just make out a stone figure above the doorway which he assumed to be the statue Molly had described to him.
"The bella donna is just over here," she said leading over to a small patch of vegetation about a metre away from the entrance to the cottage "See?" she pointed at the ground and Jack immediately recognised the black shiny berries of the plant. He crouched down and opened his kit up ready to take a sample of the plant. Molly sat down on the ground, a few metres away watching him closely. He took some photographs of the area and then the plant, before carefully cutting away a small section and placing it within a specimen jar. Jack turned to place it back in his kit, smiling at Molly as he did so. Standing up to brush the dirt off his jeans, he looked at the cottage curiously.
"Why is it boarded up?" he asked glancing over his shoulder at Molly
"The place is falling apart. I suppose people were worried that if kids went playing in there, someone would get hurt," she explained
Jack walked closer to the building. His face was turned away from Molly so he didn't see her body tense as she watched him. He placed a hand on the boarded up door and for a moment, he was sure he heard a scrabbling behind the door as if someone was attempting to unlock it from the inside.
"Jack, wait!" Molly sprung to her feet and dashed towards him. In her haste, she tripped over Jack's forensic kit and went sprawling across the ground with a thump.
Jack pulled back from the door "Are you okay?" he said crouching down beside her "Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine," she said slowly sitting up "We need to go," Molly said and he was confused by the sense of urgency in her voice
He helped her stand up and went to retrieve his kit, carefully replacing the contents that Molly had dislodged when she fell. When he turned back around, he saw her gingerly attempting to place some weight on her ankle
"Did you hurt your ankle when you fell?" he asked concernedly
"I'm fine," she repeated "We just need to go away from here," she told him
He nodded and walked towards her "When we get back to my car, will you let me check you over?"
She nodded reluctantly and started to walk out of the clearing. Jack could see she was limping heavily but trying hard to disguise the pain she was in.
"Here," he said stooping slightly, taking her arm and wrapping it around his shoulder so she could lean on him when they walked. Jack took one last look at the cottage before turning his attention to Molly as they walked
It was slow progress but they eventually made it back to Jack's car. Helping her sit down in the front passenger seat he moved round to the boot of his car. He was proud of his MMA hobby, despite what Nikki thought of it, and now he was even glad of it. He pulled a well-stocked first-aid kit from the boot of his car, grateful for the medical knowledge he'd gained through various cuts and scrapes. He paused as he walked back to the front of the car and stared hard at the ground in front of him. Something wasn't quite right with what he was looking at but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"Here we go," Jack said crouching down in front of Molly. He pulled on some latex gloves and started to examine her injuries. She had a few scrapes on her hands which Jack cleaned to get the dirt out. Molly hissed at the stinging sensation from the antiseptic but let him carry on with his examination.
"Can I look at your ankle?" he asked and she nodded, slipping her foot out of her shoe. Her ankle had started to swell slightly and some bruising was beginning to form. He gently examined her ankle, trying not to hurt her too much and murmuring apologies when she winced in pain "I think it's just sprained," he said finally "With an icepack and a bit of rest and you'll be fine," he assured her and she nodded as she slipped her shoe back on
"Thanks," she said. Molly attempted to stand up once more but was soon impeded by Jack who gently pushed her back down into the seat
"Where do you think you're going?" he said "I said that your ankle needs rest. You need to keep the weight off it for a bit," Jack told her firmly "If you don't you'll just do more damage and then you won't be able to examine the alien cows or whatever the hell it is that you do,"
"Not alien cows," she said "The aliens visit the cows," Molly corrected him
"Regardless," he said shaking his head "You need to rest it. I'll drop you off back home, then we'll be even for you helping me out today," he said before she could protest.
He packed up the first aid kit, placing the blood stained items in the kit to dispose of later. Climbing into the driver's seat beside Molly, he caught sight of the bruising on her face that was starting to fade but still looked painful.
"You have been in the wars the last few weeks," he said starting the engine, but Molly just shrugged and inspected her grazed hands "So are you going to give me directions then?"
"Just keep following the road and I'll tell you when we reach the relevant turning," she said softly and Jack nodded following her instructions.
They drove along the winding lane as drizzle pattered down against the car windows. Although Jack was keeping his eyes on the road, he would take glances by his peripheral vision at Molly. He wasn't sure quite what had happened back at the cottage, but he had recognised the wild fear in Molly.
"Take this turning," Molly instructed "And keep following the track until you reach the end,"
He obliged, leaving the smooth tarmac and turning into a rough track, the stony surface grumbling as the car passed over it. A few moments later a building crept into view which Jack assumed their destination. It was a dilapidated old house, with crumbling eaves and an overgrown garden. Trees and wild shrubbery had been left to grow of their own accord and they towered up and around the house, enclosing it in a green shadow. Jack couldn't tell if they were on uneven land or if the house itself seemed to sit at an odd angle, seemingly titling to one side
"Home sweet home?" Jack asked and Molly nodded as he pulled up outside the house "Listen Molly, I wanted to ask you. When we were at Devil's Cott, moments before you fell I heard-"
But Jack's sentence was cut off as the front door of the house was flung open and a ruddy faced man stormed out followed by Jonathan Williams. Despite being enclosed in the car Jack could hear the expletives being passed between the two men as they argued. He glanced at Molly, who had shrunk back into the seat and was chewing on her lip nervously.
"Who is he?" Jack nodded towards the ruddy faced man
"His name is George Francis. He runs the local pub but he doesn't like Dad hanging down there too much with his friends. He thinks it's bad for business because apparently Dad is scaring people away," Molly scowled
The argument seemed to flare up before their eyes with the two men shouting loudly in each other's faces. Jack, being the experienced fighter that he was, recognised the signs that this fight was going to descend into punches being thrown. Getting out of the car, he called to the two men.
"Oy mate!" he yelled at neither man in particular "Not in front of the lady," he said gesturing to Molly who was tentatively trying to step out of the car.
His actions caused the two men to pause and seemed to de-escalate the argument, much to his relief. Jack moved round to Molly's side of the car and stooped once more to help her walk
"You're really short," he grinned and he saw the corners of her mouth turn up, despite the pain she was in
"Stay away from my pub!" George Francis called over his shoulder, as he stormed away from the house
"Dad?" Molly said holding onto Jack as she limped towards her father "Are you okay?"
"Fine," he said gazing after George
"Don't listen to anything his says Dad. He- Ow!" Molly gasped in pain as she stumbled slightly, putting weight on her injured ankle.
"Careful," Jack soothed, holding on to her tightly
The cry of pain seemed to jolt Jonathan back into reality and for the first time he seemed to fully notice the pair of them.
"Molly, what happened?"
"She had a little tumble, Mr Williams," Jack said "It's my fault really. She was helping me with my investigations, I left my kit in the way and she tripped over it," he was trying to be as charming as possible so as not to rile Jonathan up anymore
"Where were you?" Jonathan said noticing the mud on Molly and Jack's clothes
"Dev-" Jack began but Molly swiftly cut him off
"-Down by the river," she said and Jack tried to hide his surprise at this lie "I'm fine Dad," Molly assured him "Honestly it's nothing," she tried to pull away from Jack but was unable to hide the pain she was in when she tried to walk on her own.
"Keep the weight off your ankle," Jack reminded her again "I don't think it's broken," he told Jonathan "Just a bad sprain. If she keeps the weight off of it for a couple of days it'll mend in no time at all. In the meantime some ice and painkillers will help a lot, but really she just needs to rest,"
Jonathan nodded "Thank you…" he fumbled for a name
"Jack Hodgson," Jack supplied
"Of course, you were at the police station the other day," he said and Jack nodded "Well thank you so much sir, for ensuring the safety of my daughter,"
"It's fine, she's been a great help," Jack said as he supported Molly to move from himself towards Jonathan.
"Thanks Jack," Molly said softly leaning on her father for support
"No problem," he smiled walking back to his car "Just take things easy for a few days, okay?" he said and she nodded.
Clambering into his car and starting the engine, he glanced in the mirror to see Jonathan leading Molly slowly back into the house. Driving back along the country lane he tried to remember what was bothering him so much. He was sure he hadn't heard Molly approach him when she had met him earlier. Just as he passed the spot where he had been parked before it hit him.
He slammed on the breaks and leapt out of the car to check his hypothesis. The place he had parked on was surrounded by marshy ground, which had been exacerbated by the rain. He looked at the spot where he had met Molly. The ground bore the imprints of his shoes.
But there was no second set of footprints.
Author's Note: A bit of a longer chapter here but I hope you like it. Thanks for the reviews once more.
