The Time Bubble Box Set 2, стр. 45
“There’s no need to worry about his identity because you’renever going to meet him now. And as for killing you, you’re right, it isn’tnecessary. I could have just kept you apart. But the thing is, I enjoy it. I’vekilled before and it’s getting kind of addictive.”
“You won’t get away with it,” insisted Alice.
“The thing is, I will,” said Vanessa. “I’ve got just enoughpetrol to get back to the garage, and when I do, I’ll be popping forwardthirty-odd years into the future. Even if the police here ever do manage tofigure out what happened to you, how are they going to follow me there?”
She turned the ignition key and began to reverse the jeepbackwards.
“Please,” begged Alice. “At least let me have my backpack.All my water’s in there.”
“I wouldn’t be a very efficient killer if I did that, wouldI?” said Vanessa. “Besides, it would only prolong the agony because you’llnever find your way back from here no matter how much water you’ve got. Enjoyyour death!”
With that, she slammed the jeep into first gear and roaredoff in a cloud of dust, leaving a sobbing Alice behind her.
There was nothing she could do, and she knew it. Clutchingat straws, she tried to climb down the ravine towards her shattered phone, butshe knew it was no good. It was too steep and even if she could reach it, thechances of it still working after being thrown off a cliff were remote.
There was a loud, piercing squawk from some bird shecouldn’t hear, somewhere overhead. She thought grimly about vultures pecking ather remains, but they were just in America, right? What did they have out herethat could hurt her? Dingoes? She didn’t know what part of Australia they livedin. What did it matter anyway? She knew she was doomed whatever happened.
She was already feeling the extent of heat exhaustion, andknew she had to look for some sort of shelter but there was precious little inthe rocky terrain. Desperate, she dragged herself up and attempted to followthe tracks Vanessa had made, but it was slow-going. Long before nightfall, shehad slumped down unconscious and once the blazing morning sun returned, deathswiftly followed.
Her death sent ripples of change flowing forward throughtime, touching everyone who would have interacted with her in the years ahead.This continued right up to the point where she had vanished beneath the Bridgeof Sighs over thirty years later.
Back in the present, it didn’t take long for birds to spother body and swoop down to begin pecking at her. Before long, ants and otherinsects were also swarming all over this welcome new food source. Within a fewshort days in the hot, arid climate, all that was left was a pile of bleachedbones.
Chapter Fifteen
May 2058
Over three decades after Alice’s shocking demise, Hannah andthe others had been piecing together every scrap of information they could findabout her fateful final journey in the newly altered timeline.
Now she and the remaining members of the team were mullingover what to do about it on a pleasant sunny afternoon in the back garden ofThe Red Lion.
“And that’s the last anyone saw of her,” concluded Hannah.“I managed to get hold of the archive footage from the garage shop whichclearly shows her stocking up on bottled water. After she left there, the trailgoes cold.”
“Did they find her body?” asked Kaylee.
“Eventually,” replied Hannah. “But only after many yearswhen a pile of bones was found in a remote part of the bush, miles from anycivilisation. They identified her from dental records. Her parents weredistraught at her disappearance, and there were all sorts of theories goingaround in the media about what might have happened to her.”
“I can imagine,” replied Kaylee.
“When they did eventually find her remains, they concludedthat she had most likely been abducted, driven miles into the bush, and thenraped and murdered. She wouldn’t have been the first or the last backpacker tosuffer that fate, and some were never found. Australia’s a big place.”
“It’s fair to assume that Vanessa was behind it, I suppose”said Charlie.
“Almost certainly,” said Hannah. “We knew she wanted toremove Alice from Josh’s life. What better way than to kill her before theyeven met?”
“Not if I have anything to do with it,” said Josh. “It canbe undone. I’ve been up all night and managed to adjust the tachyometer totravel purely within our universe as per the modifications Henry was workingon. All I have to do now is go back and warn Alice before she leaves the garage– transport her away to safety if necessary.”
“That might not necessarily be the best approach,” saidPeter. “You might be able to prevent it on this occasion, but what’s to stopVanessa going even further back in time and trying to kill her again?”
“He’s right,” said Hannah. “You’ve got to catch her in theact and get the tachyometer back from her. It’s the only way to put a stop toall of this.”
“That sounds risky,” said Kaylee. “How are you going toprotect yourself? There’s no knowing what she might do. We already know she’sno qualms about killing people.”
“I’m probably safer than anyone,” said Josh. “She’s in lovewith me, remember? I’m the last person she would kill. Maybe I could lull herinto a false sense of security – even let her think I might be interested inher.”
“I find it hard to believe she’s going to fall for that,”said Hannah. “I think you should let me handle this instead.”
“Really?” asked Josh. “You don’t have any experience of thissort of thing.”
“True, but I’m still the logical choice,” said Hannah. “Fora start, I’m a fully trained police officer.”
“A retired police officer,” Peter reminded her.
“You never really retire from this job,” said Hannah. “Ialso have something that none of you have and that’s experience of handlingfirearms.”
“You’re going tooled up?” asked Lauren. “Cool.”
“There’s nothing cool about it,” said Hannah. “I’m no fan ofguns but Vanessa needs to be stopped.”
“And you would go that far?” asked Kaylee. “You would actuallykill her? You’ve always been fiercely opposed to violence.”
“To protect, all of us, yes,” replied Hannah. “We know whatshe’s capable