Free Dark Season: The Complete Box Set by Amy Cross Page B

feet. Eventually I return to the shore.
    I look up the hill toward the lighthouse. For a moment, I consider going back. But there's nothing for me to do there. And I'm so tired, I feel I could sleep for years. Plus, Vincent will be waiting for me, to learn what I've done. I'll have to tell him everything.
    I hold my hands up. They're still marked by traces of blood. Humans think vampires revel in blood, but that's not true. I haven't taken blood from a human in years. It feels strange and it shames me. Even though I knew this tragedy was coming, I would rather I had never had to play my part. But I will accept this fate and move on. I have that luxury. Others do not.
    They'll find Jessica Harper's body, no problem. They'll pick up the chunks of her bones and flesh. That's fine by me. I hope they examine every inch of her. But they'll never, ever find Rose Tisser.

Sophie
     
    Dedston - Today
     
    After knocking on the screen door, I stand nervously on the porch of John Tisser's house. I can't help looking over my shoulder, wondering if anyone's watching me or has followed me here. Recent events have taught me to be extra-cautious. And even though I can't see him, I know there's a good chance Patrick's somewhere around. In which case, I really hope he doesn't know whose house this is. I don't think he'd be too happy that I came.
    The door opens and a friendly-looking, smiling old man appears. "You must be Sophie," he says. "I'm John. Come in."
    He leads me into his house. His wife is pottering about in the kitchen, but she doesn't come through to say hello. Instead, John goes and fetches some coffee and cookies from the other room, coming back and setting them out in front of me.
    "I hope you don't mind me coming," I say. "I don't want to stir up any bad memories."
    "Nonsense," he says, pointing to a chair. I take a seat as he sets the coffee down and starts pouring. "I don't mind taking about it. Just..." He glances back at the kitchen. His wife gives us a quick, dark stare before carrying on with whatever she's doing. "Don't forget that this stuff all happened 50 years ago. My memory's not quite as sharp as it used to be. And don't expect anything from my wife. She sees things a little differently."
    "I don't want to cause any bother," I say. "Like I said on the phone, I'm just doing a college project and your sister's murder came up." That's a lie. A total lie. I'm not even at college.
    He nods. "Do you know they never found her body?"
    "Yes," I say. "But there was so much..." I pause, wanting to be tactful. "There was so much evidence, and they didn't have the capabilities to analyze it all. I'm sure it'd be very different if it happened today."
    "You're right," John agrees. "They did claim they couldn't analyze it all. And I have no specific reason to doubt them." For the first time, he looks a little uncomfortable. "I'm glad they didn't identify her body in all that mess. I went to the other girl's funeral, Jessica Harper. As they carried the coffin past, someone slipped and jolted the coffin. Heard all sorts of stuff in there slopping about. That girl wasn't in one piece, that's for sure."
    I hadn't planned to go into too much detail today. I'd assumed John Tisser would be keen to avoid talking about the more gruesome aspects of the whole thing, given that whatever happened to Jessica Harper probably happened to his sister as well.
    I take a sip of the coffee John has prepared for me. It's time to broach the one part of this discussion that I really don't know how to start. "There were some pretty wild theories about the whole thing, weren't there?" I say.
    John visibly bristles. "Yeah," he says.
    "John!" his wife calls forcefully from the kitchen. She's been listening.
    "In a minute," John calls back. He takes a deep breath. "I remember when they came and told me about Rose and Jess. Told me they'd been killed. And I couldn't wait to find the son of a bitch who killed them. Fifty years later, I've still got that anger.