Chapter 33
THIRTY-THREE
ELLIE
Freddie’s in his tiny kitchen, browning the mince as I grapple with whether to bring up the photo with him. I’ve no doubt he’s seen it; he’s so embroiled in the case that he has to have, but does he suspect that the masked vigilante is Kat?
Sweat gathers at the back of my neck as I sit in the place between holding Kat’s secret and what might come of sharing it.
I need someone to talk to. The secret is weighing too heavily on its own.
This is my girl we’re talking about. My best friend for nearly four years.
She’s not a bad person. If she’s killing men—which is an insane thought in itself—there has to be a good reason for it.
Freddie’s a reporter. He found awful things in that cottage, but he’s not published the story yet. Why? Has he recognised Kat and is holding back?
Bringing the image up on my phone, I trace the small masked face.
‘Freddie,’ I say, moving behind him and gently touching his elbow. ‘Can I show you something?’
He turns to me, raising his eyebrows until he sees the phone in my hand. Moving the pan off the heat, he turns to face me. ‘Of course.’
‘I think this is Kat.’ I pass the phone over so he can zoom in.
‘What makes you think that? There are a lot of blondes. It could even be a wig.’ Freddie’s eyes search mine, looking for doubt.
‘The necklace. She’s worn it for as long as I’ve known her. It’s a heart-shaped stone she got as a kid.’ My voice sounds crackly.
‘It’s pretty blurry…’ Freddie says, squinting at the photo.
‘I know it’s her, Freddie. And I don’t know what to do about it. It’s Kat. The woman who cries at TikTok videos and wants to take in every stray animal she sees. She’s not crazy. She’s not.’
Freddie scoops me against him and holds me tight. ‘It’s okay. We’ll figure it out.’
‘How? I don’t want her to go to jail for the rest of her life?’
‘Would anyone else recognise her? Or suspect her?’ Freddie wipes at tears I didn’t feel falling.
‘I don’t know. But can I keep it a secret for her? And if this all traces back to Sam… what does that mean? Then there’s you getting the cottage tip. And her injuries. It all pieces together and makes me want to scream.’ My heart is racing in my chest.
‘There’s only one way we can find out,’ Freddie says. ‘If you think it’s safe?’
Despite the flurry of thoughts and fears jumping around my mind, I have no question about that. ‘Kat’s safe. She’s never hurt me.’
Liam’s on the sofa with Kat tucked next to him while Freddie and I sit across from them. This flat has been a place of such joy for Kat and me, but now tension buzzes hard enough that my head aches.
I slide my phone across the coffee table, the picture on the screen.
‘I know it’s you.’ Maybe not the most eloquent way to say it, but the words being out in the open lifts a weight, no matter how many other dominoes it sets off.
‘Ellie—’
‘Don’t lie to me. Please. I can’t take any more lies.’
Kat looks at Liam, who sighs, holding her hand and squeezing.
‘Yes, that’s me,’ Kat says.
A wall of grief and anger rises in my chest. ‘Why? Why would you do that?’
‘Sam,’ Liam says. ‘It all started with Sam.’
‘So it’s true, you had something to do with his disappearance? How and why?’ I’m on the edge of my seat, voice loud enough that it sends Hamish skittering into another room.
‘Sam stalked me,’ Kat says, looking at her lap. ‘To get revenge for something I did, or didn’t do, I suppose, when I was a kid.’
‘He took Kat to punish us both. Then held us captive for days, starving us. He was going to let us die,’ Liam adds.
Sam? My Sam. Soft, gentle, slightly odd Sam? ‘But why?’
‘Liam and I first met as kids. His dad lives in a cottage on the estate. I saw…’ Kat freezes and looks at Liam, who gives her a nod. ‘I saw Liam’s dad and some other men abusing Liam and Sam and other kids.’
Her voice is shaky, and Liam runs his thumb over the back of her hand.
‘One day Liam’s dad went out, and we were playing in the woods.
He brought Sam back with him and came after us.
We were scared; he was going to hurt us, and I shoved him into the well.
He died. And Sam blamed us when Liam got sent to foster care, and I went home, and we never told anyone. ’
Imagining them as kids hiding that secret… fuck.
‘But why would he blame you?’
‘He waited for us to tell someone. Every day he waited to be saved, and never was. We don’t blame Sam for what he did.’ Kat’s voice is soft, and she looks cut up about it.
‘And you killed him?’
‘It was him or us.’ Liam leans forward. ‘And I wasn’t going to let him kill Kat.’
It feels like the floor is opening below me and swallowing me up. All the months of supporting me while knowing exactly what happened to Sam. Kat wiped my tears and helped me through a sea of lies. How do I come back from that?
Sam’s dead.
I’d long suspected it, deep down. But now it’s true. He’s gone, and I’m not sure I even truly knew him.
‘Did he use me to get close to you?’ I ask.
‘I’m not sure,’ Kat says. ‘I’m so sorry for lying to you. It all just snowballed.’
‘And the rest?’ Freddie asks. ‘The mask?’
Liam and Kat look at each other. ‘We can’t tell you any more.’
‘You bloody well better. If I’m keeping this a secret for you, I need to know the truth.’ There’s no doubt in me that I will keep their secret. I love them both. But I need the full truth.
‘He won’t,’ Liam says, nodding at Freddie.
Freddie stays silent, and I look at him, trying to figure out what he thinks of this. He has no loyalty to Kat and Liam. With how new we are, I don’t know if he has any loyalty to me yet either.
‘I saw the bodies. It’s hard for me to ignore how viciously you killed them, but I also saw the photos.
And one of the children. I’ll never forget it as long as I live.
And I’ve seen firsthand how Ashworth is involved, and how he’s guiding the narrative to his benefit.
If it’s between these fuckers dying and you guys being locked up, I guess I’m team vigilante.
’ Freddie rubs his face and leans back in his chair, his shoulders dropping like he can’t believe he’s agreeing to keep this a secret.
‘I want to see Ashworth pay, but not like this.’
‘He’s the last name on our list,’ Kat says. ‘One to go, and then we’re out. These are the guys who hurt Liam and Sam, and lord knows how many others. He doesn’t deserve to live.’
‘Taking him out will cost you your freedom,’ Freddie sighs. ‘He knows these men. And he knows the links between them. There will be no catching him unsuspecting. And the longer he’s involved, the more likely they are to catch you both.’
Freddie loops an arm around me as I try to make sense of everything. Try to merge these two people I love as cold-blooded killers. It doesn’t compute.
‘This is crazy,’ I whisper.
Kat comes over, kneeling in front of me and taking my hands. Those blue eyes are wet and wide as she looks up at me. ‘I hated lying to you; I just wanted to protect you. I’m so sorry.’
I want to tell her I forgive her, but I can’t. There’s still a huge, angry stone in my stomach.
But if it’s the end, maybe we can move past it. Eventually.