Wrong Time, Wrong Place Read Online Free PDF Page A

and fell forward, letting go of the knife in the process. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Tracy, who was still on her feet, dash for the stairs. Then Ash was rolling round to face her husband’s killer, at the same time scrabbling about for the knife.
    A drop of Nick’s blood fell from the killer’s knife blade, splashing her face with a disgusting warmth as he loomed over her. He grabbed Ash by one wrist and yanked her roughly to her feet.
    Operating entirely on instinct, she threw a wild punch, catching him full in the face before he had a chance to drive the knife into her. Ashkept fit. She worked out three times a week and had recently started doing boxercise. She thanked God for all these things now because the punch was a good one. It knocked him into the banister and made him loosen his grip on Ash’s wrist.
    Pulling free, she turned and ran, following Tracy.
    But Tracy had stopped at the top of the stairs and was looking down them with an expression of pure terror. ‘There’s another one coming!’ she screamed. ‘He’s got in the front door!’
    Ash didn’t even have time to look, let alone take in the fact that there were possibly two of these psychopaths rather than one, and that the other had come through a door that she knew was locked. She didn’t even look back towards her husband, because there was no time for that. Her survival instinct had kicked in. She sprinted the length of the landing, towards the door to the bedroom she and Nick should have been sharing that night, yelling at Tracy to come with her.
    Ash hit the door at a run, flinging it open without even giving a thought to who might be behind it. She could hear Tracy right behind her and she hauled her in. As the dark figure of the killer moved towards them she slammed thedoor shut, noticing with huge relief that there was a key in the lock. Pressing her whole body against the door, she turned it with shaking hands. She could hear him outside, his breathing calm and steady, as he tried and failed to turn the handle.
    A split second later the door shook on its hinges as he slammed into it from the other side. It was only a small lock and she knew it wasn’t going to hold for more than a few seconds.
    They were trapped.
    The door shook again, and this time she heard the sound of wood splitting.
    Looking round desperately, Ash spotted the sash window. It was the only way out. Vaulting the bed, she dashed over and flicked the catch on the lower window, yanking it upwards as hard as she could. The drop to the patio below was a good fifteen feet, but they had no choice.
    ‘Come on!’ she screamed at Tracy, who was still staring at the door. ‘Move it!’
    Tracy ran over, took one look through the window, and turned to Ash. She started to say something, but Ash wasn’t listening. As the door shook once again, almost giving way this time, she grabbed Tracy by the collar andpushed her into the gap. ‘Go! Go! Go!’ she screamed, clambering out after her.
    Tracy jumped, letting out a long shriek, at just the moment when the door flew open and the killer came striding into the room. He made straight for Ash with the bloodied knife raised, like something out of one of those horror films that had always scared her as a teenager.
    Ash threw her legs out of the window and slid through it, grabbing at the window ledge with both hands as she swung round, hoping to lessen the distance between herself and the ground before she jumped. But as she let go a gloved hand grabbed her wrist. Suddenly she was dangling helplessly in mid-air. The killer began to lift her back up with an almost unbelievable strength, while bringing his knife hand down in the direction of her throat.
    Knowing she had just seconds left, Ash pulled and struggled with all her might, wriggling like a fish on the line, and the next second she was falling through the air.
    Ash hit the tarmac feet first and a stinging pain shot up her legs. She rolled over and leaped to her feet.