Her Vampyrrhic Heart by Simon Clark Read Free Book Online

might concern. My name is Maureen Bolter. I am dying. I want to get this off my chest about Thomas Westonby. Westonby is a murderer. I heard the truth with my own ears from people in the church when the village got flooded. Thomas Westonby hit my grandson, Todd Bolter. Later that night, him and my beloved grandson got into a fight again on top of the church tower. I’ve been told that Westonby and Nicola Bekk pushed my grandson off the roof so that he’d be killed. As God is my witness, I am writing these words to inform you that Westonby is a murderer and should be in prison.
    Kit had difficulty in deciphering some of the sprawling scribble. He doubted that the police would investigate, given the poor mental state of his grandmother when she scrawled this down before she died. What troubled Kit was that he couldn’t dismiss what he’d read about Tom Westonby murdering his uncle. Just because the Bolter family were cynically dismissed as thieves, drug-sellers and liars didn’t mean that they, themselves, weren’t sometimes victims of crime. There were times when Bolter folk told the truth, too.
    Kit Bolter wondered how he’d react the next time he met Owen Westonby. Should he tell Owen that the Bolter family believed that Tom had murdered one of their own? Even just a mention of an accusation like this could explode a friendship to nothing. Kit closed his eyes and thought hard about what he should do next. Because all of a sudden, the immediate future looked darker – storm clouds were gathering over Kit and the best friend he’d ever had.

THIRTEEN
    S he wanted to talk. Tom, however, knew she must get away from the cottage and back to the car as soon as possible. He finished tying his bootlaces, fastening his coat, and retrieving a powerful flashlight from the kitchen.
    The beautiful woman with the coffee-coloured skin and those amazing blue eyes watched him with an expression that blended sorrow with desperation. ‘Mr Westonby. Now that I’ve told you that I’m Nicola Bekk’s niece, won’t you listen to me?’
    â€˜How do I know that you really are related to Nicola? Journalists have tried all kinds of tricks to get information out of me.’
    â€˜My eyes don’t lie. These blue eyes are pure Bekk, aren’t they?’ June Valko thrust a phone towards him. ‘This is a photograph of my father. See his eyes? They’re the same blue.’
    Tom sighed when he saw the photograph. A man stood with a dark-skinned woman. His eyes were blue, and his hair possessed that same shade of blond as Nicola’s – an extremely fair blond that wasn’t far away from being an ethereal white. He sighed again, because he couldn’t avoid the truth any more. This indeed was a blood relative of Nicola’s.
    â€˜So you do believe me, Mr Westonby?’
    He nodded. ‘Call me Tom.’ This time he held out his hand.
    Shaking it, she smiled, though her eyes remained deadly serious. ‘Please call me June.’
    â€˜OK, June. The bottom line is you must get back to your car as soon as possible.’
    â€˜You believe I’m Nicola’s niece, so why do you want me to leave?’
    â€˜This forest is dangerous after dark.’
    She laughed as if he’d made a joke. ‘Dangerous? It’s just a forest.’
    â€˜If I trust that you’re a blood relative of the Bekk family, then you must trust me when I say it’s not safe out there.’
    June’s blue eyes strayed to the sofa. ‘Can’t I stay? I thought we could talk?’
    â€˜We can meet up again. But not here – and certainly not at night.’
    Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him.
    Tom had seen that look before. ‘Yes, I know, you think I’m insane. But it’s not safe out there. I only go into the forest after dark if there’s an emergency, and lives depend on it. Do you follow what I’m saying?’
    â€˜Perhaps we could