Fear the Dark

Chris Mooney

FEAR THE DARK

Contents

Day One

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Day Two

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Day Three

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Chapter 60

Chapter 61

Chapter 62

Chapter 63

Chapter 64

Chapter 65

Chapter 66

Chapter 67

Chapter 68

Chapter 69

Chapter 70

Chapter 71

Chapter 72

Day Ten

Chapter 73

Chapter 74

Chapter 75

Chapter 76

Chapter 77

Chapter 78

Chapter 79

Chapter 80

Chapter 81

Chapter 82

Day Eleven

Chapter 83

Epilogue

Follow Penguin

PENGUIN BOOKS

FEAR THE DARK

Chris Mooney is the internationally bestselling author of the Darby McCormick thrillers and Remembering Sarah, which was nominated for an Edgar for Best Novel by the Mystery Writers of America. His books have been translated into more than twenty languages. He teaches writing courses at the Harvard Extension School and lives in Boston, Massachusetts, with his wife and son.

For Jen, my moon and my stars

‘I didn’t mean to kill her, Sarah. It just –’

‘Happened. I know,’ she says in that quiet, soothing voice that made me fall in love with her all those years ago. She swallows and forces a smile. ‘I understand. You don’t have to explain yourself.’

We’ve done this dance before – too many times, I’m ashamed to admit. And, while I’m genuinely sorry each and every time, I also genuinely believe Sarah does, in fact, understand. This isn’t wishful thinking on my part. We’ve been together a long time, Sarah and I; there are no secrets between us. Besides, Sarah couldn’t keep something from me even if she wanted to. She’s not a good actor, for one, but the reality is that she’s not capable of deceit. Doesn’t have it in her. She’s too meek, still wears her heart on her sleeve. One look at her face and I know what she’s feeling. Thinking.

We’re sitting together on the living-room couch, the place, it seems, where we always end up having this conversation. I knock back the rest of my bourbon – my third – and stare into the fire, wondering, again, if there is such a place as hell.

‘It just got away from me. Again.’

‘I know,’ she says quietly. ‘Still, maybe you should have –’

My glare stops her cold. The firewood snaps and hisses.

‘Should’ve what?’ I prompt, aware of the heat climbing into my voice. Sarah knows better than to beat a dead horse. I’ve already apologized. The subject is closed. Done.

She takes another delicate sip of her white wine and stares down into her glass, like there’s an escape hatch hiding somewhere at the bottom. I see how I’ve hurt her, and I take our glasses and place them on the coffee-table. Then I snuggle up next to her and take her hands in mine. Her smile is tight – not out of fear but because even now, after all this time together, she’s still embarrassed about her crooked teeth.

‘You’re beautiful,’ I say.

She reddens and stares down at my hands. The skin is still pink and sore from the hot water and the vigorous scrubbing with the brush. It took a good twenty minutes to remove the blood – especially the blood caked underneath my fingernails. I was so angry, so consumed by rage, that I forgot to put on the gloves. I need to be more careful next time.

And there will be a next time. We both know it.

Sarah clears her throat. ‘A walk,’ she says timidly.

‘What?’

‘We should take a walk. The fresh air will do us both some good.’

‘Honey, it’s the middle of the night. And it’s freezing out.’

‘I don’t care.’ The tentative smile on her face is as fragile as an eggshell.

My heart sinks when I break it. ‘I’m exhausted,’ I say gently. ‘Maybe tomorrow night.’

She puts on a brave face. ‘Whatever you want.’

‘Thanks for understanding.’

She nods, keeps nodding.

I cup her face in my hands, fighting back tears. She swallows, nervous.

‘You mean the world to me. I love you. You know that, right?’

‘I do,’ she says.

And I believe her.

I kiss her forehead. ‘Everything’s going to be okay.’

I smile. Kiss her gently on the lips. She crinkles her nose, like she’s caught a whiff of a bad odour.

‘What is it now?’ I ask sharply.

‘It’s nothing.’

‘No, go on. Say what’s on your mind.’ I feel the anger, how it’s already moved past the point of no return. I can’t help it – can’t stop it. ‘Say it.’

‘Shower.’ Her voice is barely above a whisper. ‘You should take a long, hot shower.’

‘Because I stink? That what you’re trying to tell me?’

‘No. It’ll relax you.’

‘I’m too tired.’

‘I know, baby,’ she says, and my anger retreats like dirty water swirling down a drain. She knows I love it when she calls me baby. ‘It’s just that you’ve got blood in your hair again.’

Day One

1

Darby McCormick felt her muscles relax and her stomach unclench when the helicopter’s landing skids touched down. She was so happy – so damn relieved – she wanted to kiss Ricky the Pilot and his ridiculous Magnum P. I.

Ricky had fought major crosswinds since taking off from Denver. An hour later, when he began the descent to the helipad belonging to the Colorado State Trooper’s station in Castle Rock, there had been several tense minutes when she was sure the chopper was going to spin out of control and crash into the nearby trees.

Darby thanked him and took off her headset. He didn’t cut the engine; he had to fly back to Denver. She opened the side door to a blast of cold, grabbed her suitcase and rolling forensics kit, and stepped outside, ducking underneath the spi

Coop came out of the driver’s door and made his way around to the front of the Jeep to greet her. His camel-hair overcoat and navy-blue suit jacket were unbuttoned, and, as the copter took off and the rotor wash blasted against his clothes, she saw the Glock 23, one of the standard side-arms issued to federal agents, tucked inside his black leather shoulder holster.

Coop had been working for the feds for a little over a year now. When his job at the private forensics company in London had been ‘made redundant’ – polite and fancy British speak for we’ve just laid your ass off – the Bureau had swooped in and hired him. No big surprise there. Coop was considered one of the best fingerprint experts in the country.