Chapter 59
SCARLETT
Beth! I thought she was the victim in all this. I trusted her. She confided in me. Told me all about her illness. I felt sorry for her.
How could I have got her so wrong?
And the bigger question is, how does Justin fit into all of this? And what did they do to my sister?
I remain curled up in the foetal position, struggling between breaths as I cry until no more tears will come. Tears for Phoebe, dead only metres away. For my sister. For me. For Mum.
Mum.
I won’t let them do this to her.
Various scenarios flash through my head of how this is going to play out.
But none of them end well. I scramble across the stall to the eyehole and force myself to take another look at Phoebe’s lifeless body lying on the mattress.
This must’ve been what Justin meant by me having a bed in the morning.
The main stable door opens. He’s back. Or she is. My body trembles with the thought that it’s now my turn. If it is, what they don’t know is that I haven’t eaten what Justin served up. And that I’m ready to fight.
Because one thing’s for sure.
I refuse to give up.
I will get my revenge for you, Daisy. I will.
And for Phoebe now, too.
I look around, searching for something, anything, that I could use to overpower Justin and Beth.
Do I have the strength to take them on? I’m strong from all the training I do, but the lack of water and sleep has weakened me.
And food. I haven’t eaten since the cheese and crackers Justin served yesterday evening.
I shake my head. That wasn’t even yesterday.
I’ve been here two nights now. I could easily overcome Beth.
But Justin – he’s going to be a challenge.
But never underestimate a woman on a mission.
I lie down, pretending to be out for the count.
My senses alert me to a brief presence at the door to my stall, as if whoever is there wanted to check on me before moving on to Phoebe.
The door to Phoebe’s stall slides open. I edge across to see what’s going on.
Justin, this time, is unravelling a black body bag.
A rush of dread snakes up my spine. It’s the same kind of bag I saw in the lake.
The sordid fuck has been dumping the bodies there after completing his sick work. His wife’s sick work. Why not Daisy, though? It had to be because of her profile. She wasn’t homeless like Phoebe, like Zita.
What a perfect team they make.
But still I can’t work out the why. Are they just a couple of serial killers working together?
I stifle a gasp as Justin manhandles Phoebe’s body into the black bag and zips it up, showing no respect for her lifeless form.
Standing up, he puffs out a long breath and brushes his hands together.
He grabs one end of the black bag and unceremoniously drags it from the stall.