Chapter 30 #2
My only hope now is to get Declan to remember the bond we had started to form before I learned the truth. ‘Declan, listen. I won’t tell the police. All I want is to get out of this place. You know I hate it here. No one will ever hear from me what you did to Kimmy and Alicia. Or to me.’
‘I want to trust you, but I can’t,’ he says, almost to himself.
‘And Leo knows that Kimmy was killed. After he left with you, I waited for the police to come but they never did. Not that evening, or the next day. I’ve spent the whole year wondering how that’s possible, and then it was obvious.
Leo might have found Kimmy, but Giles must have known, too.
He sees everything that happens in Silverleaf, and he probably knew about my affair with Kimmy, though neither of us had told him.
So the only thing that makes sense is that they hid her body.
And the only reason why Giles would do that is to protect his precious investment.
He wouldn’t want Silverleaf to be a place where no one wants to live.
I don’t get why Leo would go along with it, but I assume Giles has done something to persuade him. ’
‘You’re right. Giles is covering it up as much as you have. And he hasn’t told anyone. Leo doesn’t know who strangled Kimmy. Don’t you see? You’re safe. Nobody knows except me. Everyone else thinks Kimmy left Xander. You can let me go, Declan. Have the career you want.’
‘It’s too late,’ Declan says. ‘I have to do this.’
‘What do you have to do, Declan?’ My stomach cramps and I’m drenched in sweat.
When he turns to me, his hands are shaking. He doesn’t want to do this, and I have to cling on to that, try to get through to him. There’s still goodness in Declan, I know it.
‘I’ve locked all the doors,’ he says. ‘I’m sorry, Ria.
And I’ve got the keys.’ He taps his pockets.
‘Even Leo’s. He must have left them here when he went to see Giles.
’ He pulls out two sets, leaning closer to dangle them right in front of me.
‘You really should have picked a better husband. He doesn’t deserve you. ’
Declan is right: Leo may not have been having an affair, but what he’s done to me is worse.
‘I did see Kimmy and Leo chatting out there on a bench once,’ Declan says. ‘Sitting a bit too close to each other.’ He shakes his head. ‘Who knows what might have happened if they’d got to know each other more.’
His words float over me – I no longer care.
‘What are you playing at, Declan? Why don’t you just kill me now?
You say you have no choice. Just do it!’ I taunt.
‘That’s your only option, isn’t it? Come on, then!
’ My words may sound brave, but my stomach twists into tight knots and my legs feel as if they’d never support me if I tried to stand.
‘Stop talking!’ Declan snaps. ‘I need to think.’ He jumps up and walks to the bifold door.
‘You’re scared, aren’t you?’ I say. It’s a huge risk; there’s no way to predict how he will react.
‘Shut up!’ he shouts, rushing to me and kicking my stomach. I double over, but my hands are tied in front of me and I can’t protect myself.
‘Leo will be here any second. If he can’t get in, he’ll come round the back. He knows I’m in here – he’ll do whatever he can to get in.’
‘He won’t come,’ Declan says. But his face is pallid, and he looks around anxiously.
‘And when they eventually find your body, they’ll assume it was him.
That could work in my favour.’ He slams his fist on the table.
‘I’m done with all you people.’ His phone rings and he rejects the call.
I wonder if it’s Georgia; I only hope she keeps trying.
It would break her to know what her son has done.
Declan paces the kitchen. ‘I have to go now,’ he says, walking towards the bifold door.
‘I’ll be back soon.’ He stops with his hand on the door handle, not turning around.
‘By the way, I’ve hacked into Giles’s security system and switched off the cameras.
Just in case. If Leo does come home and can’t get in, he’ll probably think you’ve thrown him out.
And don’t worry, I’ve got your phone safely in my pocket.
’ Declan is talking to himself more than to me, a sure sign that he’s becoming even more unstable. ‘Won’t be long.’ He steps outside.
‘Wait! I need water!’
But Declan ignores me and locks the door behind him.
It should be a relief when he’s gone, but instead I’m terrified. I have no idea when he’ll return. All I know for sure is that he won’t let me live to be a witness to everything he’s done.
Once I’m sure he’s gone, I pull myself up and shuffle to the counter, opening kitchen drawers, hunting for anything that could cut through the ropes. But Declan is one step ahead of me: all the kitchen knives are missing and the kitchen scissors aren’t in the drawer.
I sink to the floor again. Without my phone or a landline connected, I have no idea how I’ll get out of this.
I drag myself across the floor on my knees to the utility room. And when I open the door, Leo is standing there.