Free Nemesis by Louise Marley Page A

up. Directly before her was a wrought-iron gate, set between two neatly clipped yew hedges. It was padlocked.
    Was she disappointed, or relieved? She pressed her face against the gate. It felt cold against her skin. It was smaller than she remembered and freshly painted. The yew hedge on either side had been ruthlessly clipped back, revealing glimpses of weathered brick.
    The walled garden.
    How long had it been since she’d stood here?
    It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the twilight. There was an expanse of lawn and several large trees, which cast long, dark shadows. In the distance was the glimmer of moonlight on water. Or was that only her imagination? After years of neglect, surely the ponds would have to be drained, cleaned and repaired before they could be restocked and filled with water?
    She felt disappointed, and then angry. It was only a garden, what had she expected? That it would be frozen in time? That there would be people standing in huddles, some in uniforms, some in regular clothes, all talking in whispers? That the garden would be illuminated by the flashes of cameras? Did she think she would see a young girl floating in the water, eyes staring sightlessly at the sky? Did she really believe she was going to see Sarah?
    Her lashes felt damp. She rubbed the back of her hand across her eyes and felt a cold breeze stroke the back of her neck. She shivered, stepping back from the gate. The heel of her boot caught on a loose brick and wobbled. Instinctively she reached out to steady herself and caught a handful of yew. The sharp pain brought her back to the real world. Objectively she examined her palm. One of the twigs had nicked her skin and now it was bleeding. When she licked away the little ball of blood another oozed into its place. She sighed. It was time to go.
    Natalie took a different route back to her car. Trying to stumble along an overgrown woodland trail in the dark would not be smart. So she continued along the path as it led uphill towards the castle. From here she would be able to walk through the gardens and back to the drive. If she kept to the shadows she wouldn’t be seen. She really didn’t want to get into any kind of conversation about what she was doing skulking about the place where her sister had been murdered.
    As she emerged from the woods she saw lights were starting to pop on all over the castle. Alicia’s mother, Lady Vyne, was working at her laptop computer, her slim silhouette easily identifiable in the huge window of the library. She had paused to chat to her assistant, Kenzie. No, not chat; the conversation was too intense for that. He rested one hand on her shoulder as he leaned towards her, his mouth only inches from hers. Natalie quickly dropped her gaze, unwilling to act the voyeur.
    The sun had set and it was too cold to hang around. She turned right, taking the garden path between a grove of ancient yews. These grew so thickly, the branches drawing together above her head made it seem darker. Directly ahead was the chapel. Only two walls of it remained - redbrick on the inside, pale stone for the exterior. ‘Re-imagined’ in Victorian times as a folly, her father had helped the illusion by planting shrubs and flowers amongst the fallen stones. Now there was no floor, just earth and grass, and one remaining window, which gave a fine view of the castle and framed a little orange glow a few feet beyond.
    Natalie stopped, peering through the darkness.
    A man stood on the other side of the chapel, directly in its shadow. His hair was dark and his clothes were dark. She would never have seen him but for the cigarette he was smoking - the orange glow that had caught her attention.
    It felt as though all her breath had been expelled out of her. Who was he? The Vyne family had always had been happy to let the villagers walk all over the estate, provided their privacy was not compromised. But it was too late to be taking a walk and there was no evidence of a dog. There