The Circle

The Circle - Chapter Five

Five:

April McCabe didn't sleep one wink that night and wouldn't for the next week. The image of Alice Myers' body stuck in her mind as she slowly left the house on Green Way and walked past where the young girl lay just hours before. The pavement still cordoned off by Cheshire Polices' yellow and black crime scene tape.

As she wandered down Green Way and toward Euclid Drive she breathed in the crisp autumn air and the wind combed through her hair. The grey bags under her eyes were a stark contrast to the paleness of her skin yet the brightness of her hair still helped her look full of life. Observing the country surroundings of Hilltop Green, a place that always helped her feel calm and peaceful, she suddenly felt out of control. The small town still looked beautifully serene with the leaves turning golden brown and the sun illuminating the branches of the Eastern Woods but April couldn't help but feel uneasy. It was then she realised that it was almost Halloween, her favourite time of year and she couldn't even find it in her to be excited.  

Pulling the navy blue duffel coat around her tightly and placing her hands in her coat pockets, she tightened her grip on the mysterious envelope. Picking up her pace, she headed toward Jinx's caravan but a familiar noise grew distracting through the morning stillness. Walking briskly past the outskirts of the Eastern Woods, she heard a crunching of branches underfoot and whoever it was seemed in a rush. 

"Hello?" April questioned as she peered into dense woodland, the foliage making it impossible to see even when the trees were beginning to lose their leaves. The noises didn't stop, just like in Hilltop Green Park but still, April couldn't see a thing. Someone obviously thought they were being funny and in April's mind it certainly was not. She had been through enough the past few days without some idiot trying to wind her up. It could have just been a rabbit or a fox but as the noises grew violently louder, the hairs pricked up on the back of her neck and she started to panic. 

"If you think you're scaring me mate, you haven't seen half of the things I have in the past couple of days so why don't you just leave me alone and try it on someone else!"  

Bursting impatiently through the caravan door, April faced Jinx, stuffing her face with toast and a look of pure and utter shock enveloped her. Jinx was surprised to see April so early, especially after the lack of sleep she had been constantly complaining about.  

"Absolute morons!" A flustered April removed her handbag and took out a bottle of water, sipping on the fluid gratefully as she removed her duffle coat. 

"April?" Jinx struggled to speak, her mouth full of breakfast. "I thought this time in the morning didn't exist to you?"  

"Yeah you'd think wouldn't you," April slumped wearily on the arm chair with a thud. "But then again you wouldn't think some woman would get murdered outside your house at three in the morning followed by the whole of Cheshire Police showing up. Such is life eh?" 

The look on Jinx's face made April laugh a little, a laugh bordering on hysteria. It was official, April McCabe had gone mad and it had only been a matter of time. Her friend was now laughing hysterically, a laugh that soon turned into racking sobs and as Clarinda Garcia took the young girl in her arms and started to rock her, Jinx Garcia sat motionless. She could have sworn that April was joking but seeing her like this made her think twice.  

The sobs came powerfully at first, so powerfully that April thought her lungs might explode from the pain but as they started to ease to the point of muffled sniffs, she felt a huge sense of relief. She knew exactly what all this was about. It was the memory of her parents plaguing her, namely her Father and the thought that he had been part of something she didn't and couldn't understand. It was something he never bothered to explain and after disappearing in a puff of smoke, leaving the whole family grieving, it just went to show that this was obviously something he was accustomed to. Seeing the proof in the attic the night before sent her mind reeling into oblivion and she felt like her heart was slowly breaking with each piece of deception that came out of the woodwork. Her Father left her in this position knowing full well what would happen. It was this fact that clawed heavily at her sanity. The murdered body of Alice Myers merely pushed her over the edge.