Backwards Into Hell

Part One: The Lodge

Anais' Diary

Monday 25th October

Once the others had left, the five of us sat in the lobby for a few moments. I don't think anyone dared move. Lottie—or Mrs Sands as I should officially call her—played with Caleb, who giggled & laughed with joy in a way only a toddler can. Abe watched the world outside the window while Darren & me considered our next steps.

'We should look for Delilah,' he said after a while.

I hummed in agreement, thinking she'd just be in her room as Darren got to his feet & met eyes with Lottie. She knew where we were going &, to avoid scaring Caleb, simply gave a curt nod.

Delilah was in Room One, on the first floor, & was next to where Darren & I sleep: Rooms Zero & Minus One, as we like to call them. I'm in my room now, in fact, writing at the cramped table next to my hard bed, & I can scarcely bring myself to document this.

I was so clueless this morning. We all were.

Back to the story, Darren knocked on Delilah's door first. He had a strong knock, confident, but there was no answer. We waited a few minutes before he fished the master key from his pocket & stepped in.

The room was a mess. The guests had only been staying a day but a horrid mixture of clean & dirty clothes was strewn across the floor, the bed wasn't made, & Delilah had simply chucked the rest of her belongings in a pile on the carpet. As we entered, there was a distinct smell of something Darren & I know very well.

The vinegar-like scent pierced my nose as Darren used a foot to route through the dirty clothes &, sure enough, we found them. Needles.

'Well,' he said, 'that's a turn-up for the books.'

'Do we tell the others?'

Darren frowned. 'It might explain why she disappeared. &—' he paused to sigh, 'it might explain Harriet.'

'You think...?'

My brain fogged up. If The Lodge was the site of a murder this grim, we could lose the business, not to mention the clean money we used to cover up our little basement operation.

'I don't know—but it fits, doesn't it?'

As much as I hated to agree with Darren, people wouldn't hesitate to pin the blame on an addict, guilty or not.

'We should head back down,' he said finally. As we left, I wondered why Darren always went first, me trailing behind like a demure pup.

Lottie noted our fallen faces.

'Did you find anything?' she asked.

Darren put his hands on his hips & stared at the ground. 'We believe that Delilah might have had a hand in Harriet's...' He glanced to Caleb, & was careful with his words. 'Misfortune.'

Lottie put a hand to her mouth.

Abe sat up. 'What did you find?'

'Needles,' I said before Darren could jump in. 'Dirty needles.'

'Oh, that poor girl.' Lottie's grip on Caleb tightened.

'Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean it was her,' Darren continued, 'but—'

'These things can go wrong,' Abe finished.

'Exactly.'

There was a beat of silence as Darren sat back on the floor & Lottie had an idea.

'What about Harriet? Did she have any family?'

Darren looked at me & we both had the same thought. Her Wife, Lisa. She was the only family Harriet had mentioned around us, but we didn't even have her number.

When Darren explained this to Lottie, her eyebrows rose & the cogs turned in her brain. It wouldn't be long before she had another plan. That's the sort of person Lottie is, I've realised. She can never sit still. No matter what, she has to be helping.

I—& I feel bad saying this—am the exact opposite. While Harriet was a colleague, we weren't close. Sure, she knew about the business & kept the secret well, but she wasn't the type to make quick friends.

With my back against the wall, I ran my thumb over my fingernails. We needed to tell Lisa.

'We can try her house,' I suggested & Darren's eyes fell on me.'She invited me over a few months ago to help with the garden.'

It wasn't untrue. Harriet was a keen green thumb, but the years hadn't been kind to her. Her fingers were sticky with arthritis & in a moment of weakness, I'd offered my services.

'Yes!' Lottie said a little suddenly. 'Let's do that—better than being cooped up here.'

Her eyes glowed at the thought & Abe sat up, wincing as he moved his knees.

'Couldn't that be dangerous?' he asked.

'It's just a five-minute walk,' I said. 'It'll be safe.'

The look in his eyes made it clear he didn't believe me, & I couldn't really blame him; there's a murderer on the loose.

'I'll come too.'

'I'll hold down the fort here then, for when the police come,' Darren offered & took Caleb from Lottie, although I knew he was only staying to make our DIY pothole more secure.

So the three of us ventured out, waving goodbye to Darren & Caleb, & braved the cold wind.

The walk was hard. What would usually take five minutes took twenty at the pace Lottie & Abe chose to walk. Abe's knees were weak & he leaned on Lottie for support. Still, the route was nice, circling along to the other side of the coast, past the Cafe Harriet liked to have breakfast in, & a little beyond the church.

The town was empty, a hell of a lot emptier than it should have been on a Tuesday Morning, but my brain was too scrambled to notice. You could get quiet days, especially when the weather was miserable, but not to see a single moving car...that was unheard of.

As my head filled with thoughts of Lottie & Lisa & Darren & drugs & murder, there wasn't much room left for anything else. It was only when the three of us returned to The Lodge that we realised something had gone gravely wrong.

'How much further?' asked Lottie, struggling with her breath.

'Just up this road.'

I took them through a sharp left & wished I'd come alone, but it seemed there was no stopping Lottie once she'd got an idea in her head.

As the cold seeped in through our coats, we finally came upon Harriet's house.

It's a beautiful little cottage with a front garden that smells of the sea & was draped by hollyhocks. It wasn't something she could afford on a cook's wage but we paid her generously to keep her mouth shut.

We made it to the green oak door & I knocked politely.

No one came. Not a sound from the house.

'Maybe she's out?' Lottie suggested.

I peered through the darkened windows & struggled to make out anything more than the thick shadow of an armchair.

'If she's out in the town, we'll probably pass her,' I said.

Lottie began to leave the garden. 'She might have gone to The Lodge.'

Abe agreed with this, although I wasn't sure Lisa would have noticed Harriet was missing yet. That depended on when the murder had taken place: last night? Or early this morning?

Disheartened our journey had been in vain, we headed back & I did my best to enjoy the walk. The weather was fresh, despite the temperature, & the sun peeked from the clouds, but when we arrived back at The Lodge, the other group hadn't returned.

What was taking them so long?