Girl Number One: A Gripping Psychological Thriller Read Online Free PDF Page A

Connor had better things
to do than come racing up here in response to Hannah’s summons.
    So
much for my chance of a shower.

 
    Tristan stalls the
quad bike in the turning area, jumps off and runs towards us. He has not even shaved
yet. There’s a streak of oil on his cheek, and an oily rag sticking out of the
back pocket of his soiled blue overalls.
    ‘Jesus, Ellie.’ Tris is out of breath, wiping
dirty hands on his overalls in a way that tells me he’s planning to hug me.
‘Hannah told us what happened. You idiot, I told you not to tempt fate like
that.’
    I glare at him silently.
    ‘Oh
come here,’ he says, relenting at once. ‘You look like you need a hug.’
    ‘No,
really,’ I mutter, but he pays no attention.
    He throws his arms around me and embraces me
tightly.
    Tristan
is twenty-four, my own age, dark-haired and built like a bear, though
thankfully without all the fur. Unlike his older brother, who may be tall and
dark too but is curiously hairless when he strips off at the beach or the pool.
For years the three of us knocked about together at school, me and him and
Connor. I even dated Connor a few times in sixth form, though it never worked
out. At school I preferred my dates to be a little bit broken, and Connor could
never compete with Denzil in that respect, whose love affair with narcotics is
well-known.
    These
days I’m more interested in Tristan. But he still sees me as the sister he
never had, and I’m not about to wreck things for either of us by going weak-kneed
over his stubble.
    Connor
looks at me past his brother’s shoulder. Like the other two, he’s concerned. ‘Shit,
Eleanor, today of all days. You must be in pieces.’
    Today of
all days. It’s becoming a common theme.
    I
glance back at Hannah and wonder exactly what was said on the phone between the
three of them.
    No
wonder nobody believes me. Finding a body in the woods on the anniversary of my
mother’s death? Put like that, I wouldn’t believe it either. But when the
police bring the body out, that will put an end to all this uncomfortable
subtext.
    ‘It was awful at the time, but I’m getting over
it now.’ I smile wryly. ‘More or less. To be honest, I’m still processing what
happened.’
    ‘No police yet?’ Connor asks.
    ‘They said they’d be here within half an hour.
Then the circus will really kick off.’
    Tris rubs my bare arms as though trying to warm
them, looking into my face. He’s had some difficult mood swings since his dad
died, but I can identify with that. I meet his eyes, which are so dark they’re
almost black. He’s a real Celt, I guess. But tall with it.
    ‘You’re so cold, Eleanor, you’ve had a shock. Hot
sweet tea. That’s what you need.’
    ‘Or a large gin,’ Hannah says frankly.
    I
make a face. ‘Hold the gin. I don’t think the police would understand. And I
need to run cold water over my hands. They’re stinging like crazy.’
    We go into the cottage, into the narrow
galley-style kitchen with an old gas oven and a microwave, white-washed walls,
and rows of spotlights in the low, beamed ceiling. It only has one tiny window
because it’s the oldest part of the house, set into the bank by some fourteenth
century builder. The white-washed walls are at least three foot thick. ‘These
walls will keep you cool in summer and warm in winter,’ the estate agent said
when we first looked round the rental property. So close to my dad’s farm, it
had been the obvious choice for me. Hannah had been harder to persuade; five
miles from the nearest bus route, Little Well was not perfect for her job at
our small local hospital. But passing her driving test had made the house-share
possible.
    I
had not wanted to live alone when I came home after university, and could not
bear to live with my father. Hannah is an easy person to live with. She has hidden
depths, but I’ve always been secretly relieved that she keeps them to herself. I
have enough trauma in my past for both of us.
    I cool