The Mysteries of Brambly Hollow

Thoughts of Bill instantly triggered thoughts of his son. “Where did Finn go?”
    “There was no one here when we arrived,” Cal shrugged as his eyes lovingly devoured every inch of her grubby, drawn face as if it was more valuable than that of the Mona Lisa. Reaching up he tenderly plucked a long braided cobweb from her dusty grey hair, oblivious to the braids that had transferred themselves to his five o’clock shadow, where they dangled like the scruffy underneath of a Billy goats chin.
    Unexpectedly, tears began dripping from the corners of her eyes like they were leaky taps, her gruelling ordeal flashing before them: the hours of nerve jangling terror, her wretchedness, the deprivation, not only of the most basic human needs for nourishment, but also to her senses, unable to fathom even the simplest of things, like whether it was day or night. Bitterness crawled up her throat and crept over her tongue. “Why didn’t you come and search here sooner?” She jerked out the accusation as if someone had just ejected it from her with a stun gun. Instantly she regretted the thoughtless and uncontrolled outburst when she saw the agonised look that tormented his features.
    “It was suggested last night, but Bill said he had already checked. I shouldn’t have listened to him. I’m so sorry.” His eyes hardened to flints, as with pinpoint accuracy they impaled themselves on Bill like javelins. He was still securely sandwiched between the two policemen, his hands raised, as if in protest. “It was the smoke that drew us here.”
    How ironic, Meli thought. The flames that they thought would roast them both like two oven ready chickens, had proved their salvation. Meli bit back the response that rose on a second wave of acid, originating from some festering pool deep in the bowels of her gullet. Last night. Last night it had been suggested. She needn’t have spent the whole tortuous night and most of today in that hell hole. Somehow her tongue managed to rearrange the words. “Don’t be sorry, you weren’t to know.” She awarded herself a neon gold star for effort, although her chagrin still scorched the back of her throat.
    “Mrs. Noble. Nice to see that you’re safe. How are you?” A recognisable voice sounded at her elbow.
    “PC Holster, I’m so glad to see you,” turning, she managed to mobilize a tenuous smile. “Things aren’t quite how they seemed, from my notes.” Beneath her, her long legs began to wobble like a new born foal, and instinctively, Cal tightened his hold on her, supporting her weight in a pair of steely but gentle arms.
    “It appears that Bill wasn’t out to get Meli, and he didn’t murder Elsa, he was only trying to protect his son, Finn,” Cal helped his wife out. Meli was impressed by her husband’s unusually quick uptake on the situation.
    “Please don’t lock Bill up, and don’t let anyone hurt Finn,” she pleaded. Lifting a hand she wiped at her large eyes, which were leaking again. She was feeling unaccountably compassionate towards their captor, an emotion that was possibly instilled, not only by the fact that they were free, but also because he hadn’t intended to cremate them after all.
    “Of course not,” his face broke into a smile as he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. He didn’t appear to be shocked by the revelations, and to her immense relief, he didn’t appear to be angry with her, for her libellous accusations in her notes. “Don’t you worry about a thing. You go with Cal and get checked over. Then we can chat later.”
    Later turned out to be the next morning. By the time Meli had been to hospital for a thorough once over, had her fractured wrist plastered, and then arrived home, she was too tired to do anything, other than accept hugs from the children, reassure them that she was okay, before sliding into bed.
    Bed had never felt so incredible before. It was like sinking into a gondola made of spongy pink marshmallow and floating along a slow moving canal made from melted strawberry Cornettos. She fell asleep, wrapped in the arms of a protective and loving husband who hadn’t let her out of his sight once since rescuing her. Images of Cal’s face accompanied her into her slumbers, at times tender, sometimes a little sad, at other times a look that was hot and melting, one that promised to make her innards explode and shudder, as soon as she felt better that was.

    Two days later, Meli stood beside the graves of mother and son,