Escape From the Country Read online

  “Oh, don’t worry, probably just a neighbour doing something with their garden. I’m sure it’s fine.”

  They could tell the policeman wasn’t convinced and suspected there was something off about this house. As Chambers couldn’t put his finger on what, he reluctantly gave his farewells and left, all the while Chris knowing full well who the visitor was.

  As the door shut behind the officer, Chris turned and was met with a very angry looking Julie. She stared at him accusingly, not knowing where to start.

  “Julie.” Is as far as he got before she turned and walked into the kitchen. “Come on, I was going to tell you. I just didn’t want to freak you out. You know how you get with things like this.”

  “You already said that Chris. I thought this was supposed to be a new start for both of us. You said we’d be honest with each other. That was the only way this would work. You said that!” Knowing he had no defence she continued. “What else are you keeping from me?”

  “Nothing.” He said unconvincingly.

  “So why does it sound like you’re lying?”

  “I’m not, it’s been hard for me too you know.” He knew he was on shaky ground, but he needed to bring this argument to a close before it got out of hand.

  “I thought we were past this. You know I’m sorry and feel awful about everything I put you through, but it doesn’t mean you get to treat me like crap. This can’t work if we’re just going to keep going around in circles at each other.” She pulled out a chair from under the kitchen table and sat with her face in her hands. Chris leant against the side, running his hand across is hair. He opened the cupboard to get a glass. As he reached in and pulled one from the back, a box got caught in the way, falling onto the worktop. At first not taking much notice, he went to put it back, but suddenly saw it was medication for Julie.

  “What’s this?” he asked curiously.

  “What’s what?” She mumbled a reply through her hands.

  “This, I didn’t know you were on any medication?” Her head shot up and looked directly at it.

  “It’s birth control, isn’t it?” He said accusingly.

  “It’s just an old box, I need to throw it out. Must have got jumbled into one of the boxes when we moved.” She said dismissively.

  “So how come it’s dated for last month then?” He’d managed to turn the argument in his favour, but had caused a whole new one. She stopped and stared at him, tears beginning to build. His heart was torn. He didn’t want to see her upset, but she knew how much he wanted to start a family and this just showed how she was still leading her own life without his feelings in mind.

  “Look, I’m sorry, it’s not the right time.”

  “It’s never the right time with you is it? I know I kept that whole bloke at the tree thing from you but this is too much! We talked about this and agreed to just let things happen. We wouldn’t try, we’d just see. All along, as per usual you’ve got your own agenda and shockingly, I’m not part of it.”

  “Of course you’re part of, that’s why I did it!” She shouted. He looked at her with so many mixed feelings, including hope that she had a good reason for what she’d done. “Look at what we’ve been through Chris. It wasn’t that long ago that you said you couldn’t ever forgive me for what I did to you with James.” The sound of his name made him cringe. “I’m so sorry, I really am, I’m disgusted with what I did and even though I didn’t love the idea at first, I’ve moved here with you to start a new life and I really want to make it work. Having a baby now would be the worst thing we could do. I do want to have one, but when we’re ready. Please believe me.”

  He couldn’t argue with the logic and felt better knowing she’d acted the way she did with good intentions. Plus, this had somehow managed to take the heat off him, all in all he concluded he’d caught a break and it was time to cash out.

  “Fair enough.” He said with a big sigh. “Can we just agree to be open with each other from now on? If you’ve got a problem with something or just don’t feel happy, please tell me.”

  “Ok, and if you see any more random people hanging from trees, maybe you could let me know?” She said with a wry smile creeping across her face.

  “Ok.” He laughed and pulled her into an embrace. As he stood there holding her tight, he looked around the room, taking in everything they’d been through in this new house already, thinking to himself this place still had hope, no matter what he’d heard or experienced. He pulled her tighter still as he saw a figure passing the window. A stocky man with messy dark hair, staring at Chris with distain. He recognised him immediately as the man from the photo. Jack Winshaw.

  Chapter Nineteen

  As the evening rolled around, the pair went to bed feeling content they’d overcome their differences but were still a bit wary of each other. Things on the surface might have seemed ok, but they each knew deep down they were still holding onto a small amount of resentment as much as they didn’t want to. With the continuing hot weather, Julie tossed and turned but couldn’t seem to get herself comfortable, irritating Chris more each time she rolled over. He eventually moved himself to the edge of the bed, hoping he could get bit of peace.

  It wasn’t long before he drifted off, leaving his wife lying there, trying to digest what the day had thrown at her this time. He didn’t have much trouble sleeping considering how mentally exhausted he was from his visit to Fred’s and then an unexpected call from the policeman.

  Gradually sleep took its inevitable hold and he found himself walking through his back garden although it didn’t look quite the same as he remembered it. He got the strangest feeling of Deja-vu but dismissed it trying to make sense of why the garden looked more like a yard. He looked up at the house and sighed at the amount of work needed to get it up to scratch, wishing he’d bought one that was newly renovated. Certain he’d been told by the agent the house had been refurbished quite recently, he made a mental note to call them to complain. Movement through the kitchen window caught his attention. As he walked towards the house and opened the wooden door, two faces turned to look at him. He didn’t recognise the man, but the woman he remembered from somewhere.

  “Who are you?” He asked the couple.

  “Long day Jack? Just come round to do a bit of business, you know?” The smartly dressed man said in a mocking sort of way. Chris glanced over to the woman and couldn’t help but notice the guilt written all over her.

  “What’s going on? What are you doing in my house?” He asked them.

  “Ok Jack, calm down, I’m sure we can sort this out. Come to some sort of arrangement?” He said.

  “Arrangement? What the hell are you talking about?” He held onto a kitchen chair to keep his balance as his head started to spin.

  “I think I’m talking about how much you need my father’s business to save this shit tip of a farm.”

  “Farm? What the hell?” Thoughts and memories of the farm starting to flow through his mind as if they were his own but he knew he’d never had any recollection of this before. He looked up and stared at the woman, trying to make out who she was. As he stared, her face itself began to blur until it came to him.

  “Julie, what are you doing here?”

  “Jack, stop.” She yelled.

  “Stop? Stop what? Who the hell’s Jack?” He looked around the kitchen but couldn’t see anything familiar to suggest why he was there or what was happening.

  “Yeah, stop Jack, this must be a bit embarrassing for you, how about you just turn and walk away?” The mocking sound of his voice annoyed Chris, but more than it should have. The same blur passed across his face, until everything started to make sense. It was James. Chris flew at him, his fist connecting with James’ mouth, knocking him to the floor, blood pouring from his lips and nose. Satisfaction washed over him as he saw the root of everything that had caused an upset in his life lying on the floor as helpless as he’d felt for such a long time. Then his elation turned to worry and then blind panic. He didn’t know why e
xactly but knew he’d cost himself a great deal.

  “That’s it Winshaw! You’re through. There’s plenty of other sheep farmers around. My father doesn’t need to deal with a fool the likes of you!” The young man crawled to his feet and headed for the door. As it slammed, all that could be heard was uncontrollable sobbing from the woman in the room. Julie, someone else, he wasn’t entirely sure but he found it grated on him nonetheless.

  “Shut up.” He said mildly at first. “Shut up!” A little louder, but she couldn’t control herself. “This is all your fault! You couldn’t help yourself you whore! I look after you, buy you everything you could ever want and this is how you repay me?” He could feel himself losing control, as if someone else had an immense power over him.

  “I’m sorry.” She spluttered between the tears.

  “Sorry? That’s all you’ve got! After the mess we’re in now?” Her face changed and became resolved as she stared hard at him.

  “Well at least he knew how to treat a woman. Not like you. Yeah, you’ve bought me loads of stuff, but it’s not like you ever really gave a damn! I don’t need all this shit, I just need a decent husband with a back bone!” Her words were harsh and felt vindicated until she realised what she’d said. Her eyes became wide and then instantly remorseful. “Wait, Jack, please, no!” Chris lost control as he threw the chair aside, giving way to his huge mass barrelling towards her as he raised his fist ready to bury it through her tear stricken face until everything was dark.

  Chris looked up at the ceiling, his mind beginning to settle as the nightmare faded away. He felt the bed move and heard the sheets rustle as Julie continued to find a comfortable position to lie in. As a noise came from the hallway a cold shiver ran down his spine. Another followed as whoever or whatever it was, climbed the stairs. He tried to sit up but couldn’t move. His body was frozen leaving him helpless to whatever approached him. To his surprise and dismay, Julie didn’t seem to notice what was going on. He tried to call out to her but his tongue curled in his mouth, arching each time he tried with all his might to shout to her. Settling for just a sound, he took a deep breath and exhaled as hard as he could, producing nothing but a tear than ran down his cheek. The steps slowed as it crossed the hallway. His heart raced, he had no idea what was going to happen, but knew this house was the cause. The figure entered the bedroom and paused for a moment. Julie rolled over, Chris hoping she might catch a glimpse of the intruder and at least save herself from what was about to befall them. She gave a quick sigh of frustration but soon settled, her head buried in the pillow. The footsteps started again, heavy and slow, menacing in nature. Chris wrestled with his body, trying to get any kind of movement to fight off his would-be attacker. Paralysed, his mind raced and heart pounded until he could feel a slight movement in his arm. Managing to lift it slowly but still only able to stare directly at the ceiling, he cast it out in a vain attempt to keep the being at bay. As his arm met a leg, a sharp blast of fear struck through him as the physical contact made the experience all the more real as he still couldn’t see his assailant. His eyes opened and feeling rushed back through his body. He was awake and realised that he’d never woken up in the first place. Relief washing over him as well as a cold sweat, he let out a sigh of relief, only to be thrown back into panic from the ear-piercing scream he heard from downstairs. He sat bolt upright and cast his hand out towards Julie but there was no sign of her. Jumping out of bed, he ran to the stairs, taking two or three at a time to get there quicker.

  Chapter Twenty

  As Julie stood there in Chris’ embrace, she knew they weren’t where they wanted to be with their relationship, but she was starting to think it wasn’t simply down to them and their own past. Something else was interfering with their lives and that something had a lot to do with their new home. Chris jerked, as if he’d seen something that startled him.

  “What’s wrong? Something outside?” She asked more nervously than she should have.

  “No, nothing. Just a bird flew a bit close to the window” He replied in a blank sort of way. Convinced he was still hiding something from her but not wanting to ruin the mood after getting everything out in the open, she trusted in the thought that everything would work itself out in time, but did wonder if it would be better spent away from this house. The challenge would be convincing Chris she wanted out without him thinking she was giving up on them. Determined to make things work, she put her imagination to one side and tried to relax into a good evening with her husband.

  Once midnight rolled around, the pair went to bed. Julie decided to put a drop more wine away than she should have in a vain attempt to help her sleep through the uncomfortable hot night. Chris dozed off almost immediately, but she continued to toss and turn for at least an hour. Finally, she decided to go downstairs to get herself another glass of ice water to cool her down. She slowly crept from the bed, trying not to wake Chris, who she felt needed a good rest. With the lights still off, she looked out onto the garden as she filled the glass with water, cracking the ice cubes as it filled. She ran over the argument they had only a few hours before. She couldn’t understand how the box of birth control pills had even got into the cupboard. She was so careful to dispose of them outside of the house. Guilty as she knew she was, she clung to the reasoning that she’d given Chris earlier. It wasn’t the time to start a family and no matter how much they wanted to, any more stress would likely push their relationship over the edge and more importantly, it wouldn’t be fair on the child they were now responsible for. Lost in a daze, a cold sensation ran over her hand as the water overflowed. “Damn it.” She uttered under her breath still trying to stay quiet for her husband’s sake. She carefully carried the full glass from the water dispenser on the fridge to the sink and poured some away. A black flash caught her eye through the window that overlooked the garden. Putting the glass down and moving to the doors in the living room, she instantly recognised the cat from the hallway. Imagining some sort of solace in banishing the feline from her home, she opened the door and rushed at it, causing the cat to sprint across the lawn and over the fence. Satisfied with her victory, as small as it was, she grinned to herself and started to walk back towards the house only to hear giggling coming from nearby. She soon realised it was coming from the garage but as she approached, the giggling turned to arguing. Concerned, she crept towards the door, trying to understand what was going on and why it was going on in her garden shed. She strained to hear the voices but managed to make out a woman pleading with someone. As everything went quiet, she moved her face closer to the door, her ear nearly touching the wooden frame. She stood there in the silence, terrified the people inside had realised she was spying on them. Frozen, she held her breath, conscious that any movement of her own might betray her presence. Suddenly, she leapt back from the door as the sound of a gun went off. Now in a state of panic, she ran for all she was worth back to the house for safety. As she reached the living room, she slammed the door behind her, quickly turning the key to lock it. Hesitantly, backing up a few paces ensuring no one was following, she turned and ran through the kitchen towards the stairs to wake Chris. Still concentrating on what she’d just left behind and looking out of the window, she didn't see the object she bumped into after just a couple of steps. Instinctively putting her hands up to protect herself from whatever was in her way, she quickly realised exactly what it was and her thoughts immediately went to the visit from the policeman. In front of her, a man had been hanged by his neck from her kitchen ceiling. Terrified and trapped she screamed for her life, cowering on the floor with nowhere to go. Within seconds but what felt like a lifetime, Chris came bounding into the room, turning the light on.

  “What’s wrong? What’s happened? Are you ok?” He called as he ran to Julie, kneeling beside her whilst wrapping her in his arms.

  “There, over there, the man hanging from the ceiling.” She cried as she buried her face in his chest, shaking uncontrollably. A cold sweat ran across him with that all too fam
iliar chill crawling down his back, but looking up there was nothing untoward about the room. Rocking Julie back and forth, reassuring her with a soothing voice, he relaxed his hold, allowing her to see the room had nothing to hide or do her harm.

  Chapter Twenty One

  It wasn’t long before the farm suffered a series of financial losses resulting from week after week of Charles’ father refusing to buy Jack's wool. The farm hands he'd hired over the past few years were let go one by one, until the longer standing workers first employed by his father were told there was no future for them at the farm. Desperate to hang to his inheritance and the only way of life he'd known, Jack worked all hours the day would give him, but was finding even that wasn’t enough.

  One misty morning Jack rose early as he did every day and threw on his warmer clothes. he went to the yard to feed the livestock and go about his morning routine, before continuing the many projects he’d started but couldn’t seem to finish as his time was spread too thinly. The repetitive thud of nails penetrating wood could be heard from some distance around, as he began mending the chicken run that had seen too many winters. Without the wool sales that were his main source of income, he was now more reliant on the smaller streams of work, one of which being the egg sales at the local grocers. Not willing to let the winter weather or a tenacious fox strip him of that as well, he continued to beat the wooden frame into submission. Breathing heavily as he battled against the fatigue of continuous labour and cursing loudly as he caught his fingers occasionally with the hammer, now numb from the wintery morning, he didn’t notice the man approaching until he was nearly standing beside him.

  “’Scuse me sir.” The scruffy looking man said as humbly as he could manage. Jack flinched as the man spoke, slipping and catching his thumb once again. Cursing, he gave the man an accusing stare.