Free Behind Shadows: A Psychological Mystery Thriller (The Adam Stanley Series Book 1) by Netta Newbound Page A

rubbish dump. There was an old broken toilet that lay on its side at the back door and blocked half the entrance. They had to manoeuvre themselves around it and in through the wide-open kitchen door.
    "Don't you lock the door?" The girl walked in behind Annie, carefully placing her feet on the filthy, torn oilcloth.
    "Na! No key."
    Annie flopped herself down on the threadbare, floral chair by the window.
    The only other seat in the sparsely furnished room was a rickety, wooden dining chair and the girl perched on the edge of it.
    Bottles, pizza boxes and old newspapers covered the carpet from wall to wall.
    Annie wasted no time. She opened the bottle of vodka and chugged on the neck of it. After a few mouthfuls, she noticed the way the girl was eyeing up the mess. "Watsh up wiv ya face, snootytoots?" she snarled, her top lip pulled back from her teeth like a vicious, growling dog. "I washnt always like thish ya know? I ‘ad a good job an' nice cloves jusht like you."
    The girl said nothing as she took her bag from over her shoulder and hugged it to her chest. Her heels were off the floor, and her legs nervously bounced up and down.
    "I don't need you judging me. Go on—pish off!" Annie motioned for the girl to leave, sloshing vodka all over the floor as she did so.
    "I'm not judging you. I want to help you."
    Annie, who had spent years conning every ounce of help from anybody and everybody she could, saw a meal ticket with this girl and decided to milk it for all it was worth. It didn't matter that she was drunk—survival was foremost on her mind. Getting tomorrow's liquid fix was essential.
    "Sorry. Not used t' people bein' kind t' me." 
    "Why don't you tell me about it?"
    "Wha'?" Annie screwed up her face again.
    "You know, your life, before this," the girl said as she waved a hand at the room, shaking her head. "How did you end up here?" Her voice was quiet, barely more than a whisper. She had a faraway look in her eyes.
    "It washn't my fault," Annie said and glanced around the room, as if seeing the state of it for the first time, and for a split second she was embarrassed. "I wasa shchool teacher 'nd a good one. I teached English...tauched...taught English." She ran a hand through her grey, matted hair. "Yeah you 'eard right—English. I loved it, but it was shtolen from me."
    "So you did nothing wrong? It was all taken from you and you did nothing to deserve it?"
    "I said so, din't I?" She looked at the girl with a puzzled expression on her face. "Are ya sure I don't know yer?"
    "I don't know, Annie. Why? Do you recognise me?"
    The girl stood up and was above Annie now.
    Annie had to lean all the way back in her chair in order to look at the girl's face. She did seem a bit familiar, but Annie couldn't place her.
    Her heart was pounding in her throat, confusion washed over her, and she chewed her bottom lip. "I din't tell you ma name. W-who are yer? What's this all about?" She was beginning to feel a little uneasy, even with the effects of the vodka. "Did I teach yer? Is that it? Tell me, girl," she shouted.
    "Oh, you taught me all right, but not in the classroom."
    The calm quiet of the girl's voice made Annie shudder. "Now ya bein' shtupid. How else could I teach yer?"
    The girl stepped away from Annie and picked her way around the room, kicking at the rubbish with her high-heeled, brown boots. "Well, let me see. You taught me in lots of different ways, Annie." She stopped and glanced back at her. "You taught me how to be quiet, for starters. Little children should be seen but not heard. Isn't that right, Annie?" the girl said, her pale blue eyes wide open, her eyebrows raised as she waited for Annie's answer.
    "What the..." Annie couldn't continue. Her mind was racing, making her giddy.
    "You taught me how to muffle my cries while your beast of a husband stuck his cock into me. You taught me how to allow your sick mates to rape me time after time, without ever complaining. Yes, Annie, you taught me all right. You