54 womansweekly.com
PART
FOUR
Catherine Young’s mystery comes to an end
A tangled
WEB
Rachel had known something was wrong from the
start, but even she couldn’t have imagined this...
R
achelhuddledin her
hidingplacebehind
thestablebuilding,
tremblingwithshock.
In silentbewilderment,she
watchedas Tonylockedup
thegarageandpausedon
thedriveway.Shieldinghis
eyesfromthesun,helooked
upat thesprawlingold
houseandwalkedtowards
it purposefully,thebunchof
keysstillclinkingin hishand.
AsMelissabackedaway
fromthetop-floorwindow,
Rachelwonderedhowmany
hoursshe’dbeenlockedup
inthere.Howterrifiedshe
musthavebeen!Wasshe
evenawarethatTony,the
manshetrustedsoimplicitly,
wasthehoodedabductor
whohadsnatchedherfrom
thecottage?
Bitterly,Rachelrecalledher
phoneconversationwith
Tonyjustthepreviousnight,
whenhe’dclaimedto be
inhisflatoverlookingthe
Thames.Witha start,she
realisedsheonlyhadhiswordforit thathe’dever
goneto Londonat all.He
musthavebeendownhere
in Cornwallallalong,using
thenonexistentLondon
tripasanalibito placehim
safelyoutof thewayonthe
nightof theabduction.And
shehadbelievedeveryword!
Melissahadappeared
inoneoftheground-floor
windowsnow.Atleastshe
wasn’tbeingheldprisoner
in thatbedroomupstairs.
Rachelwaited,transfixed,
as Tonywalkedupthepath,
thensheblinked,puzzled.
Thatwasstrange– the
frontdoorwasn’tlocked.It
openedfreelyfromtheinside
beforeheevenreachedthe
house,asif someonewas
waitingto greethim.
ToRachel’sastonishment,
Melissaemergedfromthe
doorwayandsteppedout
ontothepath.
Rachelrubbedhereyes.
Thismadenosense.If
Melissacouldleavethe
buildingsoeasily,whyhadn’tshetriedto escapeearlier?
Butwhathappenednext
wasevenmoreof a surprise.
Herlongblondemermaid
hairswirlingaroundher
shoulders,Melissarandown
thepathto meetTony.
Rachelfrowned,reeling.
Whatonearthwasgoingon?
‘You’vebeengoneforages,’
Melissasaidaccusingly,
linkingherarmthrough
Tony’sastheywalkedthrough
thegarden.‘I thoughtyou
saidyou’dbestraightback?’
‘Yeah,well,it wasn’tthat
easy,’repliedTony.‘I hadto
makesureno-onesawme
comehere.’
Hepaused.‘Youought
to stayindoors,youknow.
Someonemightcatcha
glimpseof youandthewhole
plancouldgoupin smoke.’
‘Ohcomeon,who’sgoing
to seemeherein themiddle
of nowhere?’saidMelissa
wearily.‘A passingseagull?’
‘Listento you,making
jokesat a timelikethis!’
Tonynudgedherfondly.‘I’mstarting to think you’re
actually enjoying all this
cloak-and-dagger stuff!’
‘Enjoying it? You must be
kidding!’ Melissa protested.
‘I’m getting cabin fever out
here all on my own. And I’ve
been feeling so guilty about
dragging Rachel into this. It
doesn’t seem right, using her
the way we have.’
Rachel flinched. What did
she mean by that?
The two of them were
walking towards the stable
building now. But to Rachel’s
relief, they stopped just
a few feet from her hiding
place and sat down on
the bench, facing away
from her. She peered out,
noting how Tony’s arm had
snaked possessively around
Melissa’s shoulders.
Oh, please don’t let them
be having an affair, she
thought in despair. It was
unbearable to think that
Melissa could be unfaithful
to a lovely, adoring husband
like Carl.
‘Look, we agreed, it had
to be this way,’ Tony was
saying firmly. ‘If we’d staged
this little drama without anyTHE STORY SO FAR: After witnessing singer
Melissa Cheriton being abducted from her
beachside cottage, Rachel can’t convince the
police to take her seriously, as they seem to
have labelled her a starstruck fantasist. But
after undertaking some detective work of her
own, she discovers that Melissa is being held
in a deserted barn conversion. Desperatelyneeding to have an ally, Rachel calls wildlife
photographer and new friend, Luke, for help,
despite concerns that he is all he seems. Rachel
reaches the barn conversion just in time to see
Melissa’s abductor arrive in the van but, to her
horror, she realises that the sinister driver is
none other than the Cheritons’ agent To ny.
The story now concludes