The Girl’s Last Cry

THE GIRL'S LAST CRY A TOTALLY GRIPPING AND ADDICTIVE SERIAL KILLER THRILLER DETECTIVE LEXI BENNETT BOOK 2 ALISON BELSHAM BOOKS BY ALISON BELSHAM Detective Lexi Bennett Series The Girls on Chalk Hill The Girl’s Last Cry The Innocent Angels Available in Audio The Girls on Chalk Hill (Available in the UK and the US) CONTENTS 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 Chapter 58 Chapter 59 Chapter 60 Chapter 61 Chapter 62 Chapter 63 Chapter 64 Chapter 65 Chapter 66 Chapter 67 Chapter 68 Chapter 69 Hear More from Alison Books by Alison Belsham A Letter from Alison The Girls on Chalk Hill Acknowledgements ONE MONDAY The girl blinked but tears blurred her vision. She rubbed her eyes and the world came back into focus. The red-tiled roofs of Canterbury stretched away in every direction. She loved the view from the top of the Westgate Towers – it was one of her favourite places. And this was the last time she’d see it. A tear dropped from the end of her nose and she watched it glittering like a tiny diamond as it plunged to the pavement sixty feet below. She could follow it down. That was why she’d come here, wasn’t it? To end it all. An escape from the pain. A refuge in darkness, instead of the bleak future that had turned her world the colour of ash. Her dad was gone – he had a new family now. Her mum had become a zombie. Always working. And when she wasn’t working, always drinking. Her mum said she’d have to change schools. They had to move somewhere cheaper. Somewhere she wouldn’t know anybody. She’d be alone, all the time. Everything was ruined. The sound of a notification made her pull her phone from her pocket. She flipped it open and typed in the password that gave her access to the chatroom. She was surprised she had a signal up here. But she was in the centre of town – you could probably get a signal anywhere round here. Yoshi: have you decided yet, lolly? you really gonna do it? She typed furiously in response. Lolly: i’m at the top of the towers. i don’t know yet – it’s all gone to shit Yoshi: your parents won’t care. your mum’ll probably breathe a huge sigh of relief when you’re gone Trollster: yeah, go on, do it. kill yourself Green letters blossomed on the tiny screen. Tears made them fuse together until the girl blinked. No one waited for her to respond. It was becoming a pile-on. Ghoul: it’ll be no loss to the world. most people probably won’t even notice you’re gone Honey Box: you’ll feel much better after it’s done – it’s the ultimate escape. lol The girl leaned over the parapet with one arm dangling the phone over the edge. There was one person who might help her. She started typing again. Lolly: nyx, i thought you were on your way up. where are you? She paused, waiting for a reply. She’d thought Nyx was just behind her. They were meeting here, to talk things through. Nyx was the sensible one in the group, the one who could shut the others up when they got too excited. They were like a pack of dogs, baying for blood, but Nyx was the alpha. Nyx: yes, lolly, i’m just coming up. how are you feeling? Lolly: it’s bad today. i don’t want to go on. i can’t go on Nyx: it’s your decision – you know that, right? Lolly: i don’t know what to do Trollster: don’t be a coward Nyx: trollster, shut it. comments like that don’t help. it’s a big decision for lolly. she needs some time. lolly, i’ll be with you in a sec The girl shoved the phone back into her pocket and brushed a strand of dark hair out of her eyes. Those people weren’t her friends, were they? A moment of sharp regret stole her breath. Sam had knocked on her bedroom door earlier, when she’d sneaked up to her room to find some space instead of going to games. Like the good friend he was, he’d come looking for her. But she’d sat in silence, not answering when he knocked and called her name. Why not? Because he’d be able to persuade her not to do what she’d come here for? She stepped back from the edge, crying again, confused and panicky. Life was so difficult and she didn’t know where to look for the answers. The sun ducked behind a cloud and she shivered. But the grey sky suited her mood. Her phone pinged, and then again. More notifications. Sometimes talking to the group online helped. Quite often it didn’t. Nyx seemed to understand what she was going through, but the others were mental. It was better when she could talk to Nyx on her own, without Trollster, Ghoul and the rest of them. She was scared witless by the thoughts in her head. Where was Nyx? She held out her hands. They were shaking. She didn’t want to be here. She wasn’t going to go through with it. It was time to leave. Get back to school. Find Sam. Rip up that stupid note she’d written. Nyx had told her it would help, but it hadn’t. The sun came out and she looked