Chapter 3 Witness X
Witness X
Don’t Get Caught
I’ve got myself into trouble.
Not the kind I’m used to, but real trouble.
If he finds out, I’m finished.
How did I allow it to get this far?
Play the game, bend the rules. Break them if you want. But never get caught. That’s what he taught me.
Saturday was torture, having to pretend everything was OK, constantly refreshing social media outlets for news—any kind of news—until it appeared.
Man, 32, arrested on suspicion of murdering criminal judge
A man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering fifty-six-year-old Anton Smythe in Durham. Police said the thirty-two-year-old suspect was held in the central Durham area at around 11:30 p.m. on Friday night and is now in custody.
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The last seven months have been a roller coaster of lies, risk, and him. Fast and hot. It was always going to explode at some point, but some hopeful part of me thought maybe this would be different.
How could I have been so stupid?
What’s that saying: “If you play with matches, you get burned”? Right now, the flames are licking at my skin, blazing up my body. Already, I can smell charred flesh.
My head is filled with the sound of laughter, that ugly high-pitched laugh that always made me feel small. He’s saying the same thing over and over again.
“Did I not teach you anything? Rule #1: Don’t Get Caught.”
I’d never broken the rules before. They’re part of my DNA.
He made sure they’d live in me like a poison, corroding me from the inside.
Twelve toxic laws I’ve built my entire life around.
He said they would keep me safe. Protect me.
But now? Those lawyers are going to trawl through the last seven months of his life, and they’ll find me imprinted all over it. I’ve made myself vulnerable.
I should have listened to him.
Nobody thinks, even when they’re doing things they shouldn’t, that their actions are going to be exposed in a court of law.
I can’t let this happen. I’ll do anything to keep my name out of the trial.
Anything.
Do you know what the worst part about all this is? The timing. You couldn’t make it up. I was almost free of her. And now, after all this time, I need her help.
Only she can save him now.