Leticia (4 page)

“Take care Leticia and see you in a fortnight, oh yes, and please be careful, Marian was
s
aying
that there
has been
a few new faces up here lately, and they look a bit menacing
.
”

“Really, where has she seen them
?
” I asked, a little too interested for her liking
.

“Hmm, around Holmfirth
Center
she said, and apparently there
were
a few driving around the Moors yesterday afternoon
.
”

“Oh really, what car were they driving?”

“I don’t know why?”

“Do you think you could find out for me?”

“Why?”

“
There were a
few people
messing around
last night, they looked like they were up to no good, I think they may be the ones you
r
sister saw
,
” I lied
.

“Hang on
,
” she said pulling her mobile out of her pocket
.
“I’ll phone her and ask
.
”

I waited on the path
while
she spoke to Marian, then she turned to face me.

“They were in a
rather beaten up Astra, not old
, but it looked like it had had a few bumps
.
”

“Hmm, I’ll keep my eyes open for
it;
I don’t really want to be running into them
.
”

“Oh god no, you must stay safe
,
” she said shaking her head quickly
.
“Don’t approach them or anything
,
will you
?
”

“Not at all, I
better run
, take care and thank you
.
”

“Bye Leticia, you’re welcome
.
”

I walked down the approach of the house and down the little side street to my car. There under the
window wiper was another folded piece of paper. This time it was a photograph of me about to
walk
into my first
client’s
front garden. I tossed it in the car before standing in the middle of the road.

“Here you go
,
” I shouted
.
“I’ll stand still for you
while
you get the next one
.
”

I stood there for a few minutes before getting back in my car and speeding off.

The same thing happened every time I came out of a
client’s
house, there was always a photograph of me entering the previous clients property, but sadly they hadn’t taken on
e
while
I stood there waiting for them. When I got home I took all of the photographs inside and spread them out on the kitchen table
, studying
each of them
and
trying to work out where the photographer must have been
standing
to get the photos. They we
re
all crystal clear photos, so he or she couldn’t have been too far away.

My studying was interrupted by someone knocking on my front door. I slipped one of the little kitchen knives into my back pocket and answer
ed
the door.

“Parcel for you love
,
” the tall, blond
e
delivery driver smiled as he handed me a medium sized box.

“
Oh
,
OK
, I don’t know what this is, but thank you
.
”

I signed his little computer thing and closed the door, taking the parcel into the kitchen. I ripped the tape off and removed the lid. Inside was another little box, a jewellery box, like the ones you would put a ring in. I opened it carefully. Inside was a silver bullet, my name engraved down the
side
of it.
There was
a small folded piece of card in the lid, when I opened it and read the message, I felt sick. It read
...

Just in case you want to do us all a
favor
and do it yourself. x

I threw the box against the wall and heard the bullet hit the floor and roll around. I was worried, upset and really, really annoyed. I could feel my teeth growing a little, the edges going sharper, my fingernails doubled in length. Just because people believed werewolves could only turn on a full moon
didn’t mean it was the truth, neither did it mean they had to fully change. I could partially change whenever I wanted to, I would become more powerful, faster,
and my
eyes would no longer look human. I spun around in temper and swiped everything off the kitchen counter. Papers, a mug and glasses went crashing onto the floor, some of them shattering on impact. I ran out of the back door and through the garden out into the open grasslands of the Moors, changing more and more until eventually I was in wolf form, running on all fours, and not wanting to stop.

I was
sitting
in the little cafe in the
center
of Holmfirth clutching a very strong coffee. I didn’t sleep at all last
night;
I was too on edge, so I was absolutely shattered. I’d spent most of the night running, trying my best to see if anyone was lurking around
. T
o my disappointment
,
I didn’t find anyone. I admit, I was relieved when daylight came, I know I can look after myself but this was supposed to be a new start for me
.
I’d spent so much time alone
completely isolated
.
This
was supposed to be the beginning of th
e rest of my life, which for me
was the beginning of forever. 

Luckily today was my day off so I could do whatever I wanted. I was tucked away in the darkest corner of the
cafe
,
rarely looking
up in case anyone noticed me and tried to speak to me. My mind was racing, who was doing this to me?
Who
had found out about me? Why did they want me dead? I didn’t do anyone any
harm;
I just wanted to live my life. Would I have to move again? Go back into isolation? I couldn’t do that
again;
I’d spent more or less every
day for eight years in wolf form, hiding and moving between the ba
rre
n lands of Longdendale Valley and the Northern Peak District. I’d not spoken to anyone, been close to anyone in anyway except on the odd day when I had no choice but to turn back to human form.

I was about to take a sip
of my coffee when a young girl
in her early
twenties sat at my table, directly in front of me.

“Leticia
,
” she said in a low soft voice
.
“Right?”

“Who wants to know?”

“I’ll take that as a yes
.
”

“........”

“Relax, I’m a nice person
,
” she smiled
.
“My name is Nancy, I live close by....”

“Nancy, I’m not being rude, but what do you want? I’m not interested in buying...”

“Good because I’m not selling anything, I want to help you
.
”

“With what?”

“I know what you are
and I know people are after you, you must have had a rough night, you look worn ou
t.
”

I couldn’t say anything, how did she know?

“Look, why don’t you come and see
me, I’m in a bit of a rush now
but like I said I live close by, I can give you directions to my place
,
” she said
,
quickly
while
pulling a piece of paper and a pen out of her bag.

“Why would I do that?”

“Trust me, we can help you
,
” she smiled again
.
“
Now,
” she said as she
wrote. “
I’ll tell you
and
write it down in case you forget. You come into the
center
,
turn up Dunford Road
and
keep going. You go through the little village of Hade Edge, keep going straight and you’ll pass a big white pub on your right. You may find the road name changes, from like, Dunford, to Penistone, and so on, but just don’t turn off and you’ll be fine
,
” she continued
.
“
After
you go past the pub you’ll be on the r
oad another three minutes or so
and
then
you will see a little private road on the left. Turn down there,
it’s
about
a
quarter of a mile long then you’ll be on the driveway of my house. You can’t miss it
it’s
the only one there, I’m in the middle of nowhere
,
” she laughed
.
“
But
it’s
for the best. I’ll put my mobile number on here too in case you need to call me
.
”

She folded the piece of paper before passing it to me and told me not to lose it. I nodded and put it in my purse.

“Now
,
” she said as she stood
.
“I’ll be in
any time
after five, please come
a
round
.
”

“I’ll think about it
.
”

“We’d love to have you
.
”

I was about to ask her who
“
we
”
was but she turned and ran out of the shop. I pulled the piece of paper back out of my purse and read through it, she was right to write it down, I couldn’t remember much of what she had told me, and to be honest
I was very dubious. Who was she? How did she know what I was? Why, when she didn’t know me would she want to help me? Was it a trap? And most important, who was ‘
we’?

I finished my coffee then ordered one to take out with m
e. I didn’t want to go home, so
decided to go for a drive, not the
most clever
thing to do really when you’ve
had two sleepless nights, but never mind. I drove as far as Glossop
and
pulled up in
Tesco
parking lot
, locked my doors,
leaned
my head back against the head-rest and closed my eyes.

When I opened my eyes again and looked at the clock, I saw it was almost 3p
.
m
.
I must have fallen asleep instantly. I felt a little stupid, and wondered how many people must have laughed at me as they passed by. I started the engine and headed back home, I was hungry, no, starving, and as much as I didn’t want to go back to the house, I knew it was time I did. All the way back I was checking my mirrors paranoid that
someone was following me
, even though there was no proof
they were
. When I pulled
into
my drive I sat with the engine still running, inspecting the outside of the house and gardens, foot on the accelerator, ready to drive off if necessary. Nothing seemed
different;
everything was how I’d left it.

Eventually I ventured inside
.
There
w
ere
no notes or nasty little surprises anywhere. Just a card on my doormat from the couriers to let me know they had put a parcel next to my back door. I didn’t
panic;
they were the courier company who delivered my stocks of nail tips and tools for my work. I collected it and put it in my office with the rest of my stock. I made myself something to eat and sat in the living room. I didn’t turn the TV on
because
I wanted silence
to
listen out for anyone or anything in or around my house.

By the time I’d eaten, washed up and checked my delivery items it was 6
:30p.m. 
I pulled the directions Nancy had given me out of my purse again and toyed with the idea of going. In the end I decided to take a drive up there, not to actually go to the house, but just to see where it was. I locked up and headed over the Moors back into Holmfirth
Center
, turning as she said, up Dunford Road. Despite having lived around here about a year I
’d
never driven the full length of this road before. I drove through the little village
and past the pub
, then
the road
turned really eerie
. It
was dark, just like the Moors
, but
here
the trees created a canopy over the road, some of the
m
almost skeletal to half their height.