The Bedroom Window

THE BEDROOM WINDOW A COMPLETELY GRIPPING AND TWISTY PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER K.L. SLATER BOOKS BY K.L. SLATER The Bedroom Window The Narrator The Girlfriend Missing The Widow The Evidence The Marriage The Girl She Wanted Little Whispers Single The Silent Ones Finding Grace Closer The Secret The Visitor The Mistake Liar Blink Safe With Me CONTENTS Prologue One Month Earlier 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 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 Chapter 53 Chapter 54 Chapter 55 Chapter 56 Chapter 57 Epilogue The Marriage Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Hear More from K.L. Slater Books by K.L. Slater A Letter from K.L. Slater The Narrator The Girlfriend Missing The Widow The Evidence The Girl She Wanted Little Whispers Single The Silent Ones Finding Grace Closer The Secret The Visitor The Mistake Liar Blink Safe With Me Acknowledgements * To Francesca Kim ‘By night, Love, tie your heart to mine, and the two together in their sleep will defeat the darkness’ —Pablo Neruda PROLOGUE She squeezes the rust-coloured liquid from the mop and steps back from the bucket to survey her work. The floor shines beautifully under the weak rays of sunlight that arrow in through the expanse of glass in the ceiling atrium, illuminating the entire entrance hallway like a divine light. Glossy porcelain tiles like this are stunning but every smear shows, and they are a devil to clean. Especially today. She empties the dirty water down the sink and refills the bucket with fresh lemon suds. It helps mask the metallic smell, although it’s impossible to eliminate it completely on a first clean. She carries the mop and full bucket through to the master bedroom and looks around at all the blood. A symphony of claret patterns the arctic walls and floor. Initially, there seems to be a pleasing rhythm to it – like an abstract art installation – but, on closer inspection, the awful authenticity of the blood spray becomes all too apparent. It’s those coagulated knots that stand proud of the smooth, white plaster. The jelly-like consistency that allows the viscous body fluid to cling to the vertical surfaces like glue. This is a horror that cannot be faked and it’s going to take a great deal of elbow grease to remove every speck. She’s left the most taxing job until last. The master bedroom is the worst affected and it takes her over an hour to thoroughly clean it and change the ONE MONTH EARLIER ONE LOTTIE SATURDAY The old red Fiat’s engine strains as it trundles up the hill and I wind down the window to let a little cool sea air into the stuffy interior. ‘It’s freezing, Mum,’ Albie instantly complains. He still looks pale after a recent chest infection and so I roll it back up a couple of inches. Neil twists round in the passenger seat, shivering for effect. ‘You’d better get used to the cold, buddy. Doesn’t look as if the wind and drizzle keep many people in around here.’ Albie stares down the hillside at the people milling around on Whitsend beach, a wide and long expanse of sand just a couple of miles from the more popular resort of Whitby, a seaside town situated at the mouth of the River Esk. I have memories of visiting there as a little girl from our modest little house about an hour’s drive inland from here. ‘Looks quite chilly today to say it’s the middle of May,’ Neil adds, eyeing the dog walkers wrapped up against the biting wind. Like a lot of people, we’d always fostered a dream of living at the coast. It was always sunny and warm in our imagination when we talked about it, though, in that way you made your dream life the best it could be. Neil used to be someone who enjoyed being outside whatever the weather. Even after twelve-hour days in the summer, he’d get