Chapter 49
FORTY-NINE
‘Aren’t you going to answer that?’ Her eyes move in the direction of the door. ‘It’s probably the police.’
‘Stay where you are,’ I growl at her as I make my way over to the window, the gun still trained on her. ‘You’re right, Samantha, I am a killer. I’m exactly what you made me, and I will pull this trigger if you move.’ I peer through the curtain.
Oh crap. It’s Dan. Dan Riley is here. Again. Why has he come back?
‘Hello! Tilly…?’ I hear him call through the letter box. ‘Are you there?’
I drop the curtain.
‘You planted my hair at a crime scene, didn’t you?’ She shrugs, stares at me blankly. ‘Didn’t you?’ I bring my other hand up to the gun.
‘OK! So I kept a bit of your DNA, in here.’ She pulls a silver locket from around her neck, from underneath her sloppy old T-shirt. ‘I like carrying a part of you around with me, Erin. We’re BFFs, kindred spirits, we’re soul sisters…’
I shudder. ‘You were going to pin that crime on me, weren’t you?’ I glance behind me towards the door. Is it just Dan out there, or are there more police with him?
Just pull the damn trigger, Erin, do it now!
‘Was that why you killed Milo Harrison? Just so that you could frame me and have me sent back to the nuthouse? Did you take another man’s life just to make sure I stayed silent? Why, Samantha? Why would you want to do that to me, to destroy my life, what did I ever do to you? Just tell me why?’
‘Tilly!’ Dan calls through the letter box. ‘Is everything OK in there? I can hear voices. Can you open the door, please? I’m concerned. Can you hear me, Tilly? It’s DCI Dan Riley…’
I could try and style this out. Will Dan recognise me? We’ve only ever spoken on the phone, and I look so different now to that dreadful photograph of me that’s currently circulating. Even Samantha says so. And I have new ID on me, Alexandra Fisher’s ID. I’ll show him that if he asks.
‘If you do or say anything, I’ll put a bullet through you.’ I look directly at her. ‘I’ll shoot you dead right in front of him, in a second, boom, over, bang, bang, you’re dead! You get the picture I’m painting here, Sam?’
She gives a micro nod of her head.
I direct her with the gun. ‘Answer the door.’
She walks towards it, effortlessly slipping back into being Tilly again, like a chameleon changing colour.
I watch as she shrinks into herself somehow, makes herself appear smaller.
Her posture changes, sags a touch, even her gait is different.
It’s quite incredible – and chilling – to witness such a transformation up close.
‘I’m so sorry, Dan.’ Her voice is a flat apology as he follows her into the kitchen, where I’m sitting, my fingers still on the gun in my left pocket. ‘We were just having a little chat in the kitchen, me and the lady here, from the Women in Prison support group.’
Quick thinking, Sam. I glance at her. Nice job. But then I wouldn’t have expected anything less, I suppose. She’s good at what she does – the best.
‘Hello there.’ I stand, take my hand out of my pocket, offer it to him.
‘Nice to meet you – Alexandra, Alex Fisher.’ I do my best to disguise the Yorkshire lilt in my voice by lengthening my ordinarily shorter vowels.
Dan’ll surely recognise it if I don’t put on a fake accent.
‘Tilly and I were just discussing what might happen if she were to be handed down a custodial sentence when it comes to her trial, or if there even is a trial. There’s a lot of information, a lot to take in…
’ I throw him a sage, well-meaning glance as I give him my best attempt at ‘southern posh’.
They say what’s meant for you will not go by you, and so the fact that I am finally meeting Dan in the flesh like this, albeit unplanned, or even as myself, makes me think that it was meant to be.
His hand feels warm as I shake it, and try as I do not to, I can’t help meeting his eyes with my own.
He’s even more handsome in the flesh than he is in the photograph I saw in that newspaper article.
Handsome yet also approachable. What you might call husband-handsome.
I would’ve liked to have married a man much like him, I think.
He radiates strength and warmth and integrity somehow.
And I bet he’s good in bed. I can only hope he doesn’t recognise me.
I definitely don’t want to have to kill Dan as well.
Besides, I only have two bullets loaded in the gun, so this could be a problem. Why did he have to come back?
I see no trace of alarm in his face as he smiles at me though. He doesn’t appear to have recognised me. I think I may have got away with it.
‘Women in Prison, you say?’
‘Yes,’ I swallow. ‘What with Tilly being a vulnerable adult…’ I glance over at her, sitting down at the table.
I briefly meet her eyes, let her know I’m still watching her.
‘It’s important to reassure her that there’s support here for her, whatever may have happened, whatever she may or may not have done. ’
‘That’s very admirable, um… Alexandra, was it?’
‘Alex,’ I smile, avoid his eyes as I will him to leave. Can’t there be an emergency for him to attend somewhere? ‘Tilly told me that you were here earlier?’ The words come out of my mouth before I can think to stop them.
‘Oh, did she?’ Is that suspicion I detect? No. I’m being paranoid. Why did I even say it? He definitely hasn’t recognised me. He would have arrested me on the spot by now, wouldn’t he? Oh please, Dan, please don’t recognise me.
‘I’m sorry for interrupting you.’ He nods at Tilly. ‘Are you OK, Tilly?’
She nods feebly. ‘Yes, Dan, I’m fine, thank you. Did you forget something?’
He glances over at me. Is it just me, or does he keep looking over in my direction?
‘No… er, yes, actually, there was something. The sketch you drew, the one of Samantha Valentine, of Erin Santos.’ I get a shiver as he says my name. ‘I was hoping you might be able to do another – one with even more detail this time.’
Why would he be asking her to do that? They already have a photograph of me circulating, that photo.
And did he say, Tilly’s sketch? So the sketch she had drawn, the one that looked like me, the one she had drawn to look like me, had been released to the media by the police.
I almost feel sorry for Dan and his team.
She’s been playing them all like fiddles.
And the whole hearing aid ploy, complete bullshit, of course, but a cunning move nonetheless.
Samantha knew about Dan Riley’s son’s diagnosis because he’d opened up about it briefly in that article.
And true to form, she had used it to her advantage, as a means to manipulate.
Dead people, deaf people? No one was off limits.
‘We’ll provide you with the supplies, the paper and pencils or charcoal or whatever you prefer… the sketch really does seem to have sparked the imagination of the public. We think it may help if we release another one.’
‘If you think so, Dan, then of course.’ She says it so sweetly that I want to throw up again, despite there being nothing left in my hollow stomach.
There’s a pause.
‘I was hoping you might come to the station with me now, so we can get it done and out of the way.’
‘Oh, well, um…’ She glances up at me. ‘Of course, yes, I…’ She makes to stand.
‘I’m sorry, er, Dan, did you say?’
‘Yes, Dan. Detective Chief Inspector Dan Riley.’
He really is rather cute.
‘I certainly don’t want to step on the police’s toes,’ – I clear my throat – ‘only I’ve just driven here all the way from Kent.
I’m based in East Sutton Park, you see – the women’s open prison.
’ It’s a decent name drop and I’m glad I thought of it.
It sounds authentic. ‘If I could just have half an hour with Sa— with Tilly.’ I take a breath.
‘I can bring her over to the station myself afterwards, if that suits?’
‘Great,’ he says, looking over at her. ‘That OK for you, Tilly?’
She nods, shrugs. ‘Of course.’
‘Thanks, Alex.’ Dan turns to me. ‘Um, I hope you’re not offended by my asking, but do you have any ID on you, a business card or something?’
‘Yes, no problem … hang on… I open my handbag, flash him my fake driver’s licence. ‘I’m afraid I don’t have any cards on me, but you’re welcome to check with the admin team at East Sutton.’
‘Thanks. OK. Right, well, I’ll see you down at the station shortly then.’
‘I’ll see you out, Dan.’ Tilly suddenly stands, forcing me to do the same.
‘No bother, Tilly.’ I glare at her. ‘I’ll see Detective Riley out.’
Snide bitch really was going to try to pull a fast one.
‘Well, it was nice to meet you, Dan. It really was.’
He trains his eyes on me as we shake hands again. For some reason I don’t feel like letting go.
‘Yes, you too, Alex. And thanks for offering to go out of your way to drive Tilly back to the station. You don’t have to do that.’
‘It’s nothing.’ I wave a hand dismissively. ‘It’s on the way anyway.’
He turns to leave, then stops. ‘That perfume you’re wearing…’
I’d forgotten about that. Crap. I think I’d overdone it a bit in the car earlier with the Baccarat Rouge. ‘It smells familiar…’
‘Really? Maybe your wife wears it?’ I make sure to glance down at his wedding ring.
‘No… I don’t think so. Anyway,’ – he smiles jovially – ‘it’s nice, I like it.’
‘Oh, thanks,’ I say, admittedly a little pleased. ‘It’s only the cheap stuff.’