The Jade Garden (The Barrington Patch Book 2) Emmy Ellis (top books of all time .TXT) đ
- Author: Emmy Ellis
Book online «The Jade Garden (The Barrington Patch Book 2) Emmy Ellis (top books of all time .TXT) đ». Author Emmy Ellis
Doreen looked around, her forehead stitched with confusion, trying to find the woman her mind had conjured up since Marlene had first been mentioned to the residents via The Life. âWhere?â
âItâs the machine, Dor.â Mam laid a hand on their new associateâs shoulder. âWe feed people into that chute, and they come out of that tube on the other side. Sometimes theyâre alive when we do it.â
Doreen staggered a little, reaching behind her to grip the edge of the sink unit. âOh my life, I would never have guessed. Lenny had me believing some mad woman murdered everyone, not thisâŠthis effing mincer.â
âAre you disappointed?â Mam got on with taking Karenâs clothes off. âI suppose it could be a bit of a letdown.â
âNo, IâmâŠrelieved there isnât some bint watching us all, waiting for us to mess up. What are you doing?â
Mam threw one of Karenâs shoes on the floor. Snow escaped from the treads and scattered. âMarlene doesnât like clothes.â
âLord above, what have I got myself into?â But Doreen hadnât said it with regret, more fascination. âSo you really just put people down that chute?â
âWatch,â Cassie said.
She switched Marlene on, the grinding choppers inside her rumbling and scraping metallically. Cassie climbed up the set of steps, took Karenâs stomach skin out of her pocket, and threw it inside. She waited for Mam and Doreen to angle Karenâs legs towards her. Cassie fed them into the chute, then pushed Karenâs shoulders so only her head sat in the opening. She applied pressure, and Karen slowly moved downwards now Marlene had a grip on her.
Doreen stared, eyes wide, hands fisted at her neck. A stream of clotted blood shot out of Karenâs mouth halfway down, landing on the steel above, and Doreen covered her mouth and heaved, but she remained where she was, stoic, clearly wanting to see this through until the end.
Mam got busy with the mince, pressing it down tight in the tall plastic box so more could land on top. Doreen switched her attention there, shaking her head, entranced. Yes, there was a monster inside her, one Cassie hoped to learn aboutâthe reasons why Doreen was okay with this happening, okay with keeping their secret.
Like Mam had said, you thought you knew someoneâŠ
* * * *
Tubs packed into the car boots, Cassie drove towards Handel Farm, Doreen following. It was a test letting her have a minced body in her vehicleâany moment now she could take a turning and give the police everything theyâd need to put Cassie and Mam behind bars for life. But her headlights still bobbed behind them.
Mam nodded to herself. âDoreen doing what she did to Karen. Whoâd have thought sheâd have the balls to slice her neck?â
âHmm. And you. Whoâd have thought that, too?â
Mam laughed quietly. âShooting Zhang Wei reminded me of being with your dad, how we used to be. He stopped me once I got pregnant, said he didnât want me in any danger, that one of us getting nicked was better than two. I had to be good so you always had a parent around.â
âI gathered. I found the diary.â
âGood. I put it there yesterday. You were meant to find it. Saved me telling you myself. I did what you do now, thatâs all. Iâve missed it.â
âWell, the offerâs there if you want to jump back in and get your hands dirty again.â
âMaybe I will.â
Cassie veered onto the track and drove towards the farmhouse, parking around the rear. Sheâd messaged Joe prior to setting off, and he stood at the back door, Lou beside him, shrouded by her usual tartan blanket. Doreen came to a stop beside Cassie, and she glanced through their car windows at her, eyebrows meeting in the middle.
Cassie and Mam got out, and Doreen did the same.
âWhat the hell are we doing here?â Doreen whispered.
âThis is where the mince ends up,â Mam said.
Doreen lifted a hand to her brow. âPlease donât tell me Lou puts it in her pies.â
âNo, in the pigs.â
âDeary me, and we eat the pigsâŠâ Doreen flapped a hand over her face.
âSomething like that.â Cassie waved Joe and Lou over. âDoreenâs on the payroll and wonât be telling anyone a thing, will you, Dor?â
Doreen didnât have a chance to answer.
âNo, she wonât.â Lou smiled. âWelcome to the fold. I wondered when weâd create mischief together again.â
âWhat have we missed?â Cassie asked.
Lou shuttered her face. âSome things are best left unsaid.â
* * * *
Pigs fed, Doreen wondered whether her guts would ever go back in the right place. Theyâd churned throughout the Marlene business, and seeing those pigs going stark raving bonkers for the meatâŠwell, sheâd nearly been sick. Saying that, sheâd pushed through, trying to convince herself sheâd never eaten a human being via one of the meat factoryâs sausages or chopsâsurely part of those people had to get in the foodâand she considered vetoing pork and sticking to beef. She was fair put off for life.
Still, it was a brilliant system, one sheâd never have believed had someone told her. No, sheâd had to see it with her own eyes, and now she had, she understood exactly what âdisappearedâ meant.
At the farmhouse kitchen table, everyone else chatted as if they hadnât just been involved in murder, discussing the recent cold winds, the snow, and how Louâs sheets had frozen then snapped off the line yesterday. Why the hell Zhang Wei had turned up, Doreen didnât know, but maybe Cassie would explain it one day.
Francis leant closer. âAre you okay, Dor?â
âYes, I just donât fancy a bacon sandwich anytime soon.â
Francis laughed. âYou get used to
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