Chapter 52
Kitty and Antoinette’s Airbnb, West Hollywood, Los Angeles
Agnes leaves soon after and I realise that Travis is right about one thing.
We don’t have any time to waste.
And that means I need to get rid of the men in the cellar.
It’s time to kill Aidan Ward.
Like, actually this time.
Without any interruptions.
I’m not sure what I did with the knife I had earlier.
Did I put it in the dishwasher? Maybe. Anyway, I haven’t got time to think about that now.
What else can I use to kill him quickly?
I do a quick recce of the kitchen and my eyes land on a collection of kettlebells in the corner.
Who wouldn’t want the option of a kettelbell workout while they’re away?
I select a 10kg one and take it down to the cellar.
Aidan is scrunched up in the corner now. He hasn’t eaten since I locked him down here two nights ago so he’s probably feeling very weak and faint. It won’t be a challenge to finish him off but at least it will be quick and easy.
He sits up when he hears me.
I notice the moment he sees the kettlebell and registers what it means for him. His eyes grow from slits into saucers and the flicker of fear I see in them gives me a little thrill.
He groans when I rip the duct tape off his mouth. I like to hear the sounds they make when they die.
‘You’ve come to finish the job then?’ he says.
‘Of course I have,’ I say. ‘I need you gone.’
‘I can hear everything down here by the way,’ he says. ‘I know you still haven’t found your sister.’
I don’t say anything. He clearly thinks I’m stupid and that his psycho-babble mind games will work with me.
‘And I heard you talking about a serial killer. That must be very scary for you, Kitty. I can’t imagine how you must feel.’
‘Do you want me to put the duct tape back?’ I say. He shakes his head. ‘Then shut up. The only thing I want to hear coming out of your mouth is screams.’ He shuffles back further into the corner.
I peer at him and wonder, not for the first time, what it was that Tor saw in him. He’s so pathetic. But I guess that’s what grooming does, isn’t it? She didn’t see anything in him, just in the person he pretended to be.
‘Do you remember when you came to see me,’ he’s saying now.
‘You said you were there to check me out when Tor told you we were together. But that wasn’t the real reason, was it?
You wanted to know how to stop killing. You pretended you were talking about social media, but really you were talking about murder. ’
‘Be quiet, Aidan,’ I say. ‘You’re making me angry and this will be a whole lot nastier for you if you put me in a bad mood.’
‘You don’t want to kill me, Kitty,’ he says. ‘You want to stop. You want to be normal. I can help you with that. I can help you deal with your rage. Let me go and we can work together.’
Is this man clinically allergic to reality or something?
‘Aidan, killing you is literally the only thing I want to do at the moment,’ I say as I drop down to my knees so I’m right in front of him.
‘You are the sole cause of my rage right now. Not only did you hurt my friend, but you then skipped the country, which meant I had to come after you. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be here and my sister would be safe at home. ’
‘That’s another reason you shouldn’t do this, not now.’ He looks pointedly at the kettlebell on the floor next to me. ‘You’re not thinking clearly,’ he says. ‘You’re reacting with your lizard brain, Kitty.’
I hate my name on his lips.
It sounds like the worst word in the world.
I want to rip it out of his mouth.
‘Stop saying my name,’ I say. ‘And stop insinuating that I’m stupid. I do not have a lizard brain.’
‘No!’ he says quickly. ‘That’s not what lizard brain means. It just means the bit of your brain that is in survival mode. It means you’re not able to think logically right now.’
I frown at him and pull myself back onto my feet. ‘You’re wrong,’ I say. ‘I’m thinking very logically right now.’
I reach down and pick the kettlebell up with both hands and raise it high above my head like I’m about to do a swing.
Aidan cowers as much as a man can cower when his hands and feet are bound.
I’m about to bring the weight crashing down onto his skull when a sound stops me in my tracks.
An urgent hammering.
Fuck.
It’s the door.
Again?
Why am I suddenly the most popular person in West Hollywood today? Does no one know I’m busy?
Aidan risks me a look while I decide what to do.
I have to answer it. No one hammering that loudly is going to leave in a hurry.
Am I ever going to be able to murder this man without someone interrupting me?
‘I’ll be right back,’ I tell Aidan as I put a fresh strip of duct tape over his mouth. ‘Don’t go anywhere.’
I take the kettlebell up into the kitchen with me and lock the cellar. Whoever is at the door is still hammering and my heart joins in.
I take a deep breath, count to five and pad across the floor.