ON DEVIL'S BRAE (A Psychological Suspense Thriller) (Dark Minds Mystery Suspense) (30 page)

“But even so, why would he stalk Susan, let alone murder her?”

“Susan thought he still bore a grudge. He left home penniless, and she assumed your parents had written him out of their will. Only you would inherit.”

Cassandra nodded. “It’s true. They left me everything, and the house was worth a small fortune. I invested some of the residue money after I’d bought a flat. It’s one of the reasons I can afford to live here for a year without a salary.”

“Anyway, Susan was sure he was after her for revenge. She’d split on him and upset his easy life.”

“It all makes sense. He must have been incredibly sick to have been like that in the first place. And where do I and Julian fit in?”

“I’m assuming he wants revenge on you both for disturbing his cosy arrangement. Julian was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I don’t know. Maybe he was jealous in a warped sense, seeing him as some sort of enemy adversary. A challenger.”

“Only Julian and I were never anything,” she murmured. “We were just friends.”

They were interrupted by a light moving randomly over the windows at the back of the house. “What the—?” Angus stood up and grabbed the poker from the fire place. He stood poised facing the curtained windows, poker in one hand, and his knife in the other. He edged towards the drapes, lifted a corner and peered out. Cassandra blew out the candles and crept close behind him, her teeth chattering as she tried to look over his shoulder.

“What is it?” she whispered.

The light was now still and directed on the cottage. Slowly the white beam of light came towards them, but they could make else nothing out. The light wavered as it was swept down to the ground. They could see the white mounds of snow covering shrubs and bushes in the garden in the light, the rear fence almost buried. Snowflakes were still falling as the light came closer. There was a frantic wavering and a crash against the wall. Cassandra screamed and jumped back, twisting her ankle as she fell.

“Bloody hell! I’m going out. He must be stopped once and for all,” Angus said whirling round and grabbing her arm pulled her upright. “Lock and bolt the door after me. He can’t get in, the windows are too small. You could even go in the bathroom and lock the door and lean against it. I won’t be long. We need help. The Campbell men may be thugs, but they’re strong.”

Cassandra was speechless, too terrified to utter a sound as he marched over to the door.
He had said he wouldn’t leave her.
She glanced back to the window and through the chink in the curtain saw a face pressed against the glass. Amidst the frost patterns, Cassandra saw a flattened nose and a mouth drawn back in a devilish grin, the tip of his sword at the level of his eyes. She lifted a trembling hand and pointed.

“Shit!” Angus muttered when his eyes followed her gesture. “Shit!” He rushed back to the door and ensured the bolt was pushed home. Once satisfied the door was secure he looked back at the window which was now empty. “What manner of maniac is he? Killing people and threatening them with swords.” He shook his head in disgust. “It’s okay, Cassandra. I’m sorry. I won’t leave you. It’s just because I was so furious, I wanted to beat the hell out of him and forgot he was armed with that thing.”

Finding her voice she replied quietly. “If only we had a gun. We could have shot him.”

“I’m sorry, I’m a poor protector.” He put an arm around her shoulders. “Come back to the fire.”

“Just hold me a bit longer. I don’t want you disappearing outside, and I’m not ready to let go of you.”

“Mo guradh milis, I don’t want to ever let you go.”

They sank down on the settee, and Cassandra realised her legs were shaking. She was finding it hard to concentrate. There was a cold-blooded murderer lurking outside, and inside she was with the man she loved. And he was looking at her with such a tender smile, she could only hope he felt the same. He stroked her arm, and she laid her head upon his chest. Despite the terror outside, sitting cuddled up with Angus seemed the most natural thing to do.

“I think we should try and relax until dawn. Once it’s light, we’ll make a run for it, but together. I realise now what he’s trying to do. He wants to separate us. He knows together we’re a lot stronger than either of us on our own.”

“Relax?” Cassandra didn’t think there was much hope, but her stomach had settled down and she was no longer shaking. Angus pulled the throw off the settee, and together with the plump cushions, spread them on the hearth rug. He made sure the gap showing in the curtain earlier was closed before settling down beside her. Without a word they snuggled together, Cassandra’s head nestled in against his shoulder, and he stroked her cheek and neck. She thought nothing had ever felt so good: lying there, pretending everything was all right.

“Will we be okay, Angus? Will we get out of this unharmed? Truthfully, please.”

“I think I should take back what I said earlier.”

She swivelled her head round so she could look up into his face. She hardly dared breathe in case she had misunderstood. “Earlier?”

She felt his chin brush against the top of her head. “I was wrong. We deserve to give it a try. I think we could have a good life together.”

She closed her eyes and offered up a prayer.
Please God, let everything be all right
. She thought about what Angus had just said and realised that for the first time in years, she felt feminine, excited, and alive.

Chapter 35 The Present

Cassandra had been dozing and woke stiff and cold from lying on the floor. She opened her eyes and instantly remembered where she was. “Please let it be morning,” she whispered. Carefully not to waken Angus, she crawled from under the rug and tiptoed over to one of the windows. She couldn’t see any difference in the dark sky, yet knew daylight was only a couple of hours away. She replenished the smouldering fire with new logs and noticed the wood basket was almost empty. Unless something happened soon, they would have to unlock the front door and get a fresh stock in. It was something she didn’t want to think about.

She opened a new box of candles and lit them. She threw the stubs of candlewax on the fire and saw Angus watching her from the floor. “Good morning,” he said and smiled.

His smile did funny things to her stomach as she remembered what they talked about before falling asleep. Knowing there was the possibility of a future together, it was all the more imperative they beat this maniac before he got to one of them.

Cassandra returned his smile, feeling shy and vulnerable. “It’s still early, but would you like some tea?”

“Would I!” He stood up, stretched, and picked up his knife, tucking it in his waistband. She saw he kept the poker in a handy place too, where either of them could grab it in a hurry. After folding the blanket and arranging the cushions back onto the settee, she saw him eyeing their wood supply and guessed what he was thinking.

There was plenty of food and water, which amazingly was still running in the tap, but unless they started burning the furniture, they needed to get more wood. Even the lack of electricity wasn’t as imperative as keeping warm. They had a gas hob for cooking, and it was so cold, the freezer wouldn’t defrost for days. “We need more wood,” he said with a blank expression. Cassandra saw he was looking indifferent. She hid a smile, guessing he was trying to keep her calm.

Her stomach took a nosedive at the thought of unlocking the door. What if
he
was still prowling around the garden? They wouldn’t stand a chance against his sword, and like a real coward she knew if she had been alone, she would rather have stayed indoors and frozen to death.

Instead, saying nothing, she nodded in agreement. “But only if we go together. You take the knife, and I’ll carry the poker. Better still, I’ll take a kitchen knife too.” She dashed towards the drawer and selected the biggest, longest, and sharpest knife she possessed and like Angus tucked it in her jeans belt. By mutual agreement they toured the house, peeking out of each window until they were satisfied there was no one skulking outside.

The snowstorm hadn’t abated, and Angus reckoned it was the worst he had ever witnessed in Inverdarroch. “I’ve learnt the hard way never to underestimate mountainous areas.”

Cassandra saw how his mouth tightened and knew he was referring to his wife’s disastrous skiing accident. She smiled in a sympathetic fashion and nodded, knowing it was something he would never forget.

Upstairs, the icicles hanging from the roof were almost a foot in length, and Cassandra remarked how they resembled daggers. The snow was being blown by the wind, and it was difficult to see more than a few feet ahead. They couldn’t see any fresh tracks in the garden.

“Maybe he’s gone,” she suggested. “How could anyone have survived this?”

“Maybe, but I doubt it. He’s out there somewhere, and my guess is he has somewhere warm to shelter when it gets too cold for him. Possibly the barn at the farm or a shed somewhere. There’s always plenty of straw, and the cattle give off heat. He could have dossed down there.”

The time had come, and Cassandra knew they couldn’t put it off any longer. With their coats and scarves wrapped round them and armed with their weapons, Angus quietly unlocked the door. He had already told Cassandra to stand in the doorway and keep a lookout. The shed was sited off to her right, and she stood guard while he disappeared inside. She realised Angus had forgotten to take a light with him, in all the panic, and she heard him muttering as he groped his way around the black hole. It seemed like ages before he staggered back to her and dumped the wood inside the door. Biting back a plea, she watched as he went back for another load. The wind tore at her coat and scarf, pulling it away from her head as she stared into the dark. The visibility was impossibly bad—she couldn’t see anything ahead—and she felt desperately vulnerable and exposed as she stood on the step.

When he finally re-appeared the second time, she was almost beside herself with fear. All around her, the snow was incredibly deep and frozen on top, and she guessed by looking at the shrubs it was at least mid-thigh to waist deep in the deepest snowdrifts. Angus cast a look behind. She followed his gaze, but there was nothing following him. The path was empty. No devil had walked that way. Not that time.

Cassandra was almost crying with relief when they collapsed onto the cottage floor after falling over the heap of logs. Angus was quick to recover, locked, and bolted the door, and then leaned with his back to it, his chest rising and falling, his eyes closed. She gave him a loving look and moved to wrap her arms around him, her heart still thudding in her chest.

Out of the roaring wind, the stillness of the cottage was all around them. They stood taking comfort in each other’s arms, hardly daring to move.

“We did it,” Angus said, his breath hot against her chilled neck. Cassandra looked up at him, and they both laughed. They laughed until she felt tears of relief sliding down her face. “You were fantastic,” she said. “My hero. And as a reward I’m going to cook breakfast for you.”

His face brightened. “You know I never thought I would face food again, but you’re right. We need something hot inside us. What have you got porridge or bacon and eggs?”

“Both. You choose.”

He smiled. “Bacon and eggs please, and I’ll make the coffee.” Cassandra saw the tenderness in his eyes as he looked at her, and once again her stomach did a double flip. His face was tantalisingly near hers, and on impulse she reached up and kissed him. Up close, she could have traced the laughter lines in the corner of his eyes with the tip of her finger, and she knew that with Angus by her side she would never have to fear being alone again. The horrendous situation they were sharing had brought them close.

After breakfast, they took turns peeking out of the windows, trying to decide when to leave the cottage and run to the farm. The snow hadn’t eased one bit, and outside it was still as black as Jack’s hat. It was over four hours since the monster had shone his torch onto the cottage, and so far, they hadn’t seen or heard anything. Had he gone? they wondered. They checked the telephone and electricity every half hour, but everything remained the same.

***

There was a horrendous crash against the glass. Cassandra screamed and jumped back from the window as the curtains billowed inwards. Her gaze followed the obscene object as it hit the floor and rolled towards the stairs. In horror, she stared at the abomination and the trail of blood across her new carpet, like a red slime from a grotesque snail. Julian’s dead eyes seemed to stare back at her from their lifeless sockets. Holding her hands to her face, she opened her mouth and screamed, again and again. Angus shouted and leapt to her side, grabbing her roughly towards him and hiding her face against his jacket. “I’ve got you. Don’t look! It’s okay, it’s okay. I’ve got you.”

He managed to pull her away from the window, and when she carried on screaming, he shook her hard. “Cassandra, stop it,” he said as he slapped her face before hugging her to him again. “I’m sorry.”

***

She stopped screaming. He steered her into a chair, crossed over to the window, and checked the window. He was horrified when he saw the window frame was splintered, and it didn’t take a lot of imagination to understand their refuge was no longer impregnable. It was time to move, but how?

He whirled round and faced her. “Cassandra, we have to get out. Somehow we have to divert his attention. I have to—while you make a run for it.”