Witness Protection

Chapter Five

Alec was sat in his little shack by the water, staring at Rose's journal that Ellie had passed onto him that now lay on the table. He was contemplating reading it, feeling as though he'd violate Rose's privacy if he did so, but if it helped him garner some new information - that Rose herself wasn't be willing to give openly -, then he'd be willing to do it.

Taking a deep breath, Alec opened the clasp of the journal and to the first page. He settled in the armchair and began to read.

17th March,

Tony is such a brat! He seriously thinks that because he's the baby of the family, he can get away with murder! He's the apple of Mum's eye, but Mum's just clueless or stupid. Or both. She doesn't know that Tony was the one who broke her beloved vase because he was practicing with his slingshot - why he has been given that, I'll never know -, he needs to practice a lot more!

21st March,

Pippa keeps banging on about this boy at school - Charlie -, it's obvious she has a crush on him, but whenever I tease her about it, she adamantly denies it. She's so funny. She'll blush red like a tomato, and start stumbling on her words, almost stammering. She starts sweating, and then she'll change the subject.

Alec decided to skip a few entries, close to when Pippa died. He stopped at four days before she was found in the river.

10th April,

We're having the sleepover at Pippa's this weekend, surprise, surprise. Lisa's supposed to supervise, but we all know what that means. She'll be texting whichever boy takes her fancy over the weekend. Mum says I shouldn't hang around with her, that I'd be led astray, but Lisa's alright. If you don't bug her too much and give her some space, she'd be more willing to hang out with you.

With Lisa's 'supervision', it means that we have a little more freedom. There's no curfew, and we don't have to be in bed by a certain time. We'll probably end up ordering pizza, and having unlimited snacks. Pippa wants to try something else though, to impress Charlie. She wants to try some weed, but doesn't know how to get it. She's spoken to Lisa, who apparently knows somebody who can get some, so that's sorted. Lisa can store it and hide it in the meantime. Lisa suggested that if we were going to try weed, we might as well get some alcohol. It's a well known fact that Pippa's Mum Cate likes a drink or two, but Pippa's too scared to sneak some alcohol out of the liquor cabinet, so Lisa advised her to speak to Claire. More to follow.

11th April,

Pippa spoke to Claire about getting some alcohol for our sleepover. Well, I went with Pippa to ask, since she was still nervous about asking an adult. Surprisingly, Claire said she'd get some for us, didn't even bat an eyelid. Two underage girls asking for alcohol, and she's all for it!

12th April,

School was alright. Pippa's still fawning over Charlie and acting all lovesick, even though he's barely looked in her direction. I don't know why she's bothering trying to get his attention, he's not exactly good looking or cute. Pippa thinks differently.

Normally I walk home with Pippa, but she had netball so I was walking home alone. I was surprised though when I saw Claire pulled up outside the school. She called me over, and said that she was here to pick me up and take me home. I checked my phone, and Mum had texted saying it was fine, so I got in the car. She started driving, and it didn't take me long to realise that she was deliberately going home the long way round. She told me that Pippa had asked her to supply us with alcohol, and pointed out how it'd be a big risk for her if anybody found out, and how much trouble she could get in.

I told her that we wouldn't tell anybody, but Claire said she needed more than just our word of mouth. She said that we'd crack easily under pressure. Claire hesitated, changing her mind about giving us the alcohol, and I begged her not too. I didn't want to let Pippa down. I told Claire that I'd do anything if she stuck with the plan, so she said she'd speak to Lee about it and get back to me. I hope she doesn't change her mind.

Alec was invested. Rose clearly knew more about Lee and Claire then she initially let on, and he was determined to get to the bottom of whatever she was hiding. Alec pulled out some post-it notes to mark the entries he wanted to know more about.

13th April,

Claire texted me at school today, but I didn't get to see it for a while because I was held back for not finishing my homework. According to her, Lee said that they could help, as long as I returned him the favour.

I didn't know what he meant.

I found out later this evening after he picked me up from school.

One thing I learnt, was to never accept a ride from Lee on his own.

Ever.

Something had clearly happened to Rose that involved Lee and Claire, and he was starting to form a picture, although it was sickening to think about it. He hoped it wasn't the case, but it was looking to be the likely scenario.

He had to solve this case. The sooner the better.

Four years ago ...

She was stood in the doorway, horrified by what she was witnessing. She could see a pair of legs laying prone on the floor, and towards the head, an extremely large pool of blood flowed and soaked into the floorboards.

Then she realised that he'd seen her watching. He ran towards her. She ran upstairs, screaming in fear as she dodged him, and into what she hoped was the safety of the bedroom. She stood there, rooted in terror when she saw what had happened, and before she could scream, his hand covered her mouth.

"Don't scream. Don't make a sound or the same thing will happen to you."

Rose's eyes snapped open as she awoke from a dream.

Well, a nightmare.

After calming her racing heart, she got up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, running her hands through her hair, deciding to tie it into a loose bun. Rose hadn't had a nightmare as bad as this since a few months ago, now they were steadily growing back.

She got off the bed and ambled down the stairs into the living room, where her eyes drifted to the witness statement form that DI Hardy had left for her to complete. Rose stood there for a few minutes, observing the form. Should she fill it out?

A noise from the kitchen disturbed her, and Rose froze, her blood turning cold. Had somebody broken in? If somebody had broken in, then why in the hell had she left her baseball bat - for protection - upstairs? Rose fumbled in her bag, and pulled out her phone. With trembling hands, she typed Ellie's number and dialled.

"Pick up, pick up, please pick up." Rose pleaded, relieved when Ellie answered a sleepy hello. "Ellie? Ellie, it's Rose. I'm sorry to call at this hour, but I think somebody broke into my house."

"Wait, are you sure? Have you checked?"

"I heard a noise from the kitchen, and the back door's open."

"Right, get somewhere safe, do you hear me? Get somewhere safe and lock the door. I'll call Hardy and we'll come over. Don't do anything stupid."

Rose hung up, and with slightly trepid steps, she crept into the kitchen, checking all of the corners so that she could close and lock the door.

"You really shouldn't have done that."

Rose span around with a gasp, coming face to face with Lee Ashworth.

"Hello Rosie." He smiled cruelly. "Long time no see."