It had been Elena who had called, suggesting that they meet up for dinner on Thursday night. They needed some family time, she had said, and she would arrange extra staff to cover the restaurant. She booked a table at one of the neighbouring pubs, arranging to meet Olivia and Noah there at seven. It wasn’t until they were sitting down at the table and Jamie made a passing comment, that Olivia realised this had all been Noah’s idea.
Initially she wasn’t sure how to feel about that, a little bit miffed that he had taken it upon himself to decide what was best for her, but also touched that he had tried to cheer her up.
As they ate, the wine flowing liberally and Elena entertaining them with anecdotes about the restaurant (most were stories that Olivia and Jamie had heard before, but still found amusing) she realised Noah had been right. She had needed this. For the first time in days her mood was lifting and she was less on edge, her laughter genuine. As the plates were being cleared, she caught his hand under the table and gave it a squeeze, mouthing a ‘thank you’ when his eyes met hers.
As they perused the dessert menu, Elena excused herself to the ladies, leaving instructions to order her the tiramisu. She ruffled Noah’s hair affectionately on her way, leaning down to whisper (not too discreetly) in his ear, ‘You did good.’
Jamie stretched his arms behind his head, sat back in his chair and gave a wide grin as she disappeared. ‘You scored yourself double brownie points tonight, mate.’
‘Added bonus.’ Noah winked. ‘Though I wasn’t actually doing it for your mum.’
Jamie immediately sobered, looking at his sister. ‘How are you holding up, Livvy?’
The reminder of what she was escaping from had the smile dropping from Olivia’s face. She forced it back. ‘I’m okay. Tonight’s been nice.’ She refrained from saying more as the waitress arrived to take their dessert order.
‘I meant to say, Fern stopped by the restaurant looking for you earlier in the week,’ Jamie said as the waitress left. ‘She was looking super skanky. We didn’t tell her where you were. Figured you wouldn’t want to see her. She left her number with Mum to pass on, but I think Mum binned it.’
Olivia smiled tightly. ‘Unfortunately, she found me.’
‘Oops. Sorry about that.’
‘It’s okay. I made it clear I didn’t want anything to do with her.’
‘How are you doing apart from that?’
That was a loaded question. Olivia exchanged a brief glance with Noah, recalling her mini meltdown on Tuesday night. Should she admit to her brother that right now she was scared of being in her own home alone? She was assuming Noah hadn’t told Jamie or Elena about that, knew her mum would be freaking out big time if she knew about the notes and the phone calls.
‘I’m okay. It’s been a tough few days.’
Her phone pinged in her bag and she plucked it out, avoiding further scrutiny. It was a Facebook notification. A friend request from Howard Peck.
Why the hell was Howard trying to friend her? She hadn’t seen him since she was sixteen. She stared at the screen, unsure whether to delete it or accept it. While she had no interest in being friends with Howard Peck. He had been mates with Gary, so could possibly be connected to everything that was going on. Fern had mentioned that some of her friends had also received notes. Did that include Howard? He had been on the school trip.
‘You okay, Liv?’
‘Yeah, um…’ She glanced at Noah. ‘I have a friend request on Facebook from Howard Peck.’
‘Fern’s friend?’
‘And Gary Lamb’s,’ Jamie pointed out. ‘Didn’t those two used to hang out together all the time? Maybe he’s trying to contact you about what happened with Gary.’
‘Maybe.’
‘Are you going to accept it?’
Honestly, Olivia wasn’t sure. She was saved from answering the question when her mother returned to the table, immediately wanting to know if the waitress had taken dessert orders and had Jamie remembered to order her a tiramisu.
As was her way, Elena took over the conversation again, steering it in a completely different direction and, relieved, Olivia, glanced at her phone again, made the decision that she didn’t want Howard Peck in her life, even if it was just on Facebook, and she hit decline, slipping the phone back in her bag.
The desserts arrived, followed by coffee then Elena asked for the bill, paying for all four of them, despite their protests. ‘It’s my Christmas treat,’ she had insisted. As Olivia and Noah had yet to call a taxi, she suggested they head back over to the Riverside Inn for drinks.
‘Did you accept Howard’s friend request?’ They were walking hand in hand a little behind Jamie and Elena, Noah’s voice not much more than a whisper as he asked the question.
‘No, I declined it. Why?’
‘He was on the school trip with you and a friend of Fern’s. I think it’s worth finding out if he knows anything. You’re not the only one being targeted.’
‘I don’t really want to have anything to do with him.’
‘Okay, so let me talk to him then.’
Like you wanted to talk to Fern, Olivia thought, though didn’t say it out loud. It had been a nice night and she didn’t want to ruin it.
She hadn’t been happy about Noah taking Fern’s number. He was still hellbent on the idea that the notes and Gary’s death were all connected to that night in the woods, and, although she knew he was just trying to help, she didn’t like the idea of him being in contact with her tormentors from the past.
‘I’d rather you didn’t,’ she told him a little stiffly.
‘You can’t keep ignoring what’s happening, Liv.’
‘I’m not ignoring it, but I do think you’re clutching at straws.’
‘At least think about it, okay?’
‘Can you just drop it, please?’ Olivia pulled her hand free. ‘You’re ruining a nice night.’
‘You two okay back there?’ Her mum had stopped walking, must have heard Olivia’s heated tone, as she was looking at them curiously, waiting for them to catch up.
‘I will. For now,’ Noah agreed in a hissed whisper. He caught hold of her hand again, held on tight when she tried to pull away again, smiling broadly at Elena. ‘We’re fine. Aren’t we, Liv?’
Olivia might not want anything to do with Howard Peck, but he was persistent. The restaurant was almost empty by the time they returned, the last table settling their bill. Elena spoke with the two staff members working, then left them to lock up, herding her brood upstairs and into the family living room. While she poured brandies, Olivia nipped to the loo. As she was drying her hands, her phone beeped in her bag again.
She had six new notifications, all from Howard.
He had resent the friend request, plus five message requests.
She sat down on the toilet seat, her mouth dry as she opened up Messenger and read through them.
Long time, no speak, stranger. Don’t you want to be friends? ?
I have something really important to show you.
Hey, earth to Olivia. Don’t you want to see? I promise it’s really good.
The fourth message was a video that she was hesitant to click on, in case it contained a virus, her eyes skipping instead to the fifth message.
You did this. This is YOUR fault. Boo hoo. ?
Her heart was racing, the dinner she had not long eaten heavy in her stomach. She didn’t want to watch the video, but knew she had no choice. Her fingers were shaking as she pressed play.
At first it was just darkness, then the sound of music playing. Olivia recognised the Christmas song, was immediately transported back to the house on Honington Lane. Her mouth was dry, fear gripping her throat.
The screen lit up and she could see trees. A wood or something. And what was that? Something standing in front of one of the trees. A man… was that Howard Peck with his back pressed against the trunk of a thick tree, and stark naked? Something was wrapped around his head… it looked like barbed wire, cutting into his skin, blood running down his wide forehead from where he had been struggling against it, and the way his arms and legs were pulled back suggested that they too were bound behind the tree.
He was sobbing and screaming into the cloth that covered his mouth, the words that she assumed were pleas to his captor, nothing more than a muffled moan.
Olivia wanted to stop the video, had an awful feeling that things were about to get a whole lot worse. She tried to call for Noah, but found she couldn’t speak, as she sat there on the toilet seat, compelled to keep watching.
Whoever was filming was now walking round the tree, the camera footage shaky.
As they came full circle, Howard was frantically struggling, his eyes now open and wide with terror as his tormentor stepped back and a gloved hand held a lit match tauntingly in front of the camera.
As it dropped to the ground, igniting the trail of petrol at lightning speed, Olivia found herself screaming along with Howard.
The last thing she saw was the tree and the man tied to it as it went up in flames.
