Vengeance Blind
by Anna Willett
Belle Hammer is confined to a wheelchair and alone in her isolated lake house while her husband is away in New Zealand. Cared for by a young woman from a nearby agency, something feels wrong. Belle begins to notice small things – noises and the feeling that someone is watching her. Things that only fuel her sense of helplessness and paranoia. Completely dependent on her caregiver, Belle becomes worried by the young woman’s strange behaviour. And who is hiding in the woods?
Vengeance Blind is my seventh novel so I wanted to share a short excerpt.
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“Mrs Hammer.” The words jolted Belle awake.
A circle of light surrounded Lea’s head. The girl’s face was only inches from Belle’s. Lea’s eyes and features were almost clear when she got this close.
Still fuzzy from sleep, Belle tried to reconcile what was happening. “What? What’s wrong?” Her tongue felt thick like it was dry and enlarged.
“I thought you called me?” Lea pulled back slightly and her face took on blurry edges. “I was asleep. I heard something.” The words came out in a rush. “It wasn’t you?”
Belle’s heart fluttered uncomfortably. “No. No, I didn’t call. What did you hear?” She was fully awake now, pulling herself up in the bed and reaching for her glasses.
“I’m not sure.” Lea spoke slowly, stringing out the last word. Belle could see her clearly now and noticed she was wearing oversized pyjamas. “It might have come from out the back.” She jerked her thumb towards the door. “I’d better go and take a look.”
“No.” It came out as a shriek, louder than she intended. Belle took a breath and tried again. “I mean, it’s not a good idea for you to go outside alone.” She swallowed, remembering the uneasy feeling she’d had after Guy left. She’d felt certain someone was in the house. Maybe her instincts had been correct.
Lea leaned down and patted Belle’s hand. “I’m sure it’s nothing. I’ll just take a quick look around.” She sounded confident, but Belle noticed the way she glanced at the bedroom door. Lea was worried, maybe even scared, but doing her best to stay calm.
“I’ll come with you.” Belle threw back the covers. Going outside in the dark was the last thing she wanted to do, but she couldn’t just sit there while Lea went into the night alone.
“No.” The girl held up her hand. “It will be quicker and easier if I go alone.”
She was right. Belle would be a hindrance, not to mention the time it would take to get her out of bed and in the chair. It made sense for Lea to go alone. And a small part of Belle was relieved she didn’t have to venture outside. However, going alone seemed foolhardy.
“Don’t go out there.” Belle snatched up her phone. “I’ll call the police and… and we’ll just wait until they arrive.”
She saw something flicker across Lea’s face in the shadowy light: impatience or maybe even disgust.
“And what will you tell the cops? I heard something go bump in the night?” There was contempt in the way she spoke, her tone so harsh it made Belle pull back in the bed. “No.” Lea spoke with finality. “Just wait here.”
“All right.” Belle kept her voice even. “But make sure you have your phone with you.”
Lea nodded, but it was an absentminded gesture, suggesting she was only half listening. A second later she was gone and Belle was left alone. She fell back into counting, a habit that was familiar and comforting. Thirteen seconds later the back door rattled.
Belle looked down at her phone. 4:08 a.m. How long would it take her to look around outside? The pool area and the deck would be easy to check if she put the outside lights on. But the property stretched for acres. If someone was lurking in the trees, it would be almost impossible to spot them. Lurking in the trees. The idea made her breathless.
She thought of getting in her chair, but noticed Lea had parked it out of reach near the bathroom door. Despite the anxiety over a possible prowler, Belle felt a jab of annoyance. Why had the caregiver parked her chair so far away? What if she needed the toilet?
“Damn.” Lea was out in the dark making sure they were safe and Belle still managed to worry about her own needs. “What the hell is wrong with me?”
She glanced at the phone noticing it was now 4:12 a.m. Belle made a decision. If Lea wasn’t back in ten minutes, she’d call the police. So what if she looked like an idiot? It wasn’t like the neighbours would see the police car pulling up in the middle of the night. And then a thought crystallised in her mind with frightening clarity.
Arthur, their nearest neighbour. Guy put his number in her phone in case she needed him. What if Guy told the man he was going away? Guy could never see it, but Arthur was strange. Strange and creepy. If he knew she was alone with the carer, maybe he was the one hanging around. What if he had slipped into the house earlier and hid until they were asleep? The noise Lea heard could have been Arthur moving around the house.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...