She stared forlornly at the floor and a pair of blue Crocs came into her vision. The skinny young man smiled apologetically at the other people in the queue and signalled her into a cubicle ahead of them.

Jennifer sucked in a breath as he peeled off the layers of blood-soaked tissues from her right hand. She was grateful for his kindly face. His dark eyes were tinged with shadows, and he looked as overworked as the rest of the staff she had seen that night. She knew the feeling. Thoughts of work made her heart flicker as she remembered the real reason behind her woodland excursion. The man responsible for the murders was still out there, and she had to get back to the investigation. The doctor’s voice broke into her thoughts as he looked up from under his thick wavy fringe.

‘This looks nasty, what happened?’

‘I was attacked,’ Jennifer blurted out the words. Her voice sounded strangled, and she took a deep breath to steady herself.

‘Attacked? Have you reported this to the police?’

‘No. It was a flock of birds. I was in the woods, I must have stumbled upon a nest or something.’

The young man frowned as he tenderly examined both her hands. ‘It’s unusual to see birds cause so much damage.’

Jennifer sighed. The last thing she needed was the well-meaning doctor reporting her injuries to the police.

‘Well, I’m a police officer, you see, I was investigating a case in the area. I was lost and slid down a ravine in the woods. I guess some of the injuries were caused when I fell over.’

‘Ah, I thought I’d seen you around. Well, this is going to need a couple of stitches, it’s quite deep I’m afraid. You’re lucky you don’t have tendon damage.’

Jennifer sat back as the doctor examined then dressed her wounds. Her right hand was gouged, and her legs and arms were scratched from the brambles. A nurse poked her fingers through the hole in the hood of her coat in amazement. Jennifer shuddered as the ravens crept into her memory.

‘Is there anyone you can call to pick you up?’ The doctor said. ‘You need to rest this hand.’

Jennifer nodded. She would have to call Will. She thanked the doctor and went to the bathroom to clean up, gasping at her reflection. No wonder those people had stared. If this is what she looked like after treatment, what had she seemed like before it?

Will got a taxi to the hospital. It made sense to drive her car back rather than leave it in the car park. He paled as he approached her, his face set in a worried scowl. She had to dilute the truth to save them both grief.

‘I’m OK,’ she smiled. ‘I went to the woods to see if I could find the van and fell down a ravine. I must have disturbed a nest of birds because they started attacking me. It looks a lot worse than it is.’

‘You’re not to go off like that on your own again. Honestly Jennifer, it’s like you have a death wish. There’s a serial killer on the loose and you’re just putting yourself in the line of fire.’ Will winced as he turned over her bandaged hand. ‘And what’s happened to your hand?’

Jennifer hunched over, wishing she had just called a cab and gone home alone. But she was still feeling woozy and upset. She needed a warm set of arms, even if it did come with frantic nagging.

‘They’re just scratches. The doctor gave me couple of steri strips where I gouged my hand on a dead tree branch when I slipped over on the leaves.’

‘Leaves? You must be a bit concussed, there’s no leaves on the ground yet.’

‘Mud, I meant mud. Can we just go home? I’m really tired and I need coffee.’

They went back to her place at her insistence. Her rising anxiety levels meant the clutter she overlooked in Will’s flat would now grate on her nerves. Will left her soaking in a hot bath as he went out to buy food, promising he would leave her kitchen as clean as he found it.

She closed her eyes as she tried to decipher her visit, picking through her experience in an effort to take something positive from her ordeal. This figure, the Raven, he was like her, of flesh and bone, but heavily influenced by something in the forest. She had felt his presence near, so he couldn’t have lived very far away. But with the ravens on his side, he was a lot stronger than she gave him credit for. She had sensed dark sacrifices from long ago, and the land was soaked with blood. Thick with dark energy, it could easily envelop the young or the vulnerable. Help me, Someone, help me, the words that drew her into the forest rebounded in her head. The same words she screamed when the ravens were attacking her. Had the forest echoed her words long before she uttered them? How was that possible?

Jennifer groaned, easing further into the bathwater until it touched her chin. Too exhausted to process any more, she rested her bandaged hand on the side, the sharp aroma of disinfectant filling her nostrils as it stung every scratch and open wound. The pain was comforting as it purged the woodlands from her body, and she allowed her mind to wander while the tea lights flickered on the edge of the bath. The smell of antiseptic brought her to another place, a little boy in bed, staring out at the forest … the picture changed to the same boy, bigger now, digging up a pack of tarot cards from the earthen forest…

Jennifer abruptly snapped out of her vision to banging on her bathroom door. The water was freezing cold, and all but one of the tea lights had extinguished. Will was hammering on the other side.

‘Jennifer, are you in there? If you don’t answer me soon I’ll have to force open the door.’

Jennifer blinked as she grounded herself, her pruned fingers reaching for a nearby towel. ‘I’m fine … I must have dozed off. I’m getting out now.’

She pulled the plug and watched ribbons of blood-tinged water swirl away. Her mind raced as she patted the goose bumps on her skin dry. Her vision provided her with more than an insight into a little boy’s past. It brought her deep inside the mind of a killer.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Bert

Bert scratched the new scrub of beard forming on his chin as he stared through the grimy window of the derelict room. He would be here soon, his next pawn in the game. Emitting a little chuckle, he thought of his next victim. Officer Knight was sure to shed a few tears over this one. She would blame herself, and she would be right. His targets didn’t deserve their so-called second chance, and the fact the interfering detective knew them gave them even higher priority on his list.

His thoughts were interrupted by a scuffling noise downstairs. His heart thumped a dull throb in his chest. What if it’s the police? He placed the open can of beans on the floor and cautiously walked out of the room to investigate. The police don’t normally hum, he thought, and peered out over the stairwell on the landing. A small skinny man sung to himself as he rifled through his bag, picking out scraps of food to eat and talking to his dog.

‘Look at this, Tinker, we’re going to dine well tonight. Ham sandwiches.’

Bert’s yellow teeth glistened as he drew back his lips in a sneer. He shoved his hand into his pocket and sharply drew back his finger as static electricity snapped from his tarot cards in response. His instincts had been proven right.

Bert snuck back into the bedroom and waited. Sliding out a half-empty bottle of whisky, he placed it on the bare floorboards and resumed eating his cold beans. The stage set, he waited for his prey to come.

Soft footsteps pressed against the stairs, followed by a hoarse bark. ‘Oh jaysus, mister, ya frightened the life out of me. I thought we had ghosts up here.’