by Beevis, Keri
‘You got the test answers from your dad?’
He could hear the tremor in Lila’s voice, understood she was trying to distract him and keep him talking. He would go along with it as there would be plenty of time to fuck her later.
‘He’s not supposed to keep the answers at home, but he’s such an arrogant bastard and doesn’t believe the rules apply to him. He thinks he’s so smart, keeping his office door locked, but I know where he hides the key. At first, I helped out a couple of friends, but I needed to raise funds and it’s amazing how much people will pay to get a head start in life. My dad thinks I’m off to college, but I have other plans, and top of the agenda is getting the fuck out of this place. I still can’t believe they made me move here, all because some prissy little stuck up cow back home said I raped her. From how I remember it she had been pretty much up for it until I stuck my hand in her knickers.’
He smirked at Lila, lying incredibly still beneath him and listening to every word. He couldn’t decide if it was because she was so engrossed by what he was telling her or was too terrified to move in case he reacted to it.
‘My parents ended up paying her parents, promised to move away if they didn’t involve the police. I can’t believe she convinced them I tried to strangle her too. Okay, so I might have had my hands around her throat, but there was nothing sinister about it. Jesus, we were just sixteen and shagging, and she seemed to like it at the time. Dirty little whore is top of my list of people to visit as soon as I get out of here. Maybe I should finish what I started with her, what do you think?’
Lila didn’t react. She reminded him of a rabbit caught in headlights and looked almost too frightened to breathe. Aaron gave her nipples a hard pinch through the bra, pleased when she let out a whimper and strained against the rope. He knew she was trying hard to be brave so he was delighted when a single tear escaped and rolled down her cheek, and he made a point of wiping it away, wanting her to know he had noticed it.
Claire Fox was the girl responsible for his move to this hellhole. He had loved her once, admittedly from afar, and her name and her face were still engraved in his memory. Though he looked forward to the day he could finally punish her for what she had done to him, for how she had ruined his life.
His parents had told him the move to Filby was to protect him, to avoid involving the police. The Foxes were a poor family and it had been easy to pay them off. As far as Aaron was concerned, they shouldn’t have received a penny.
He forced his mind off the subject; annoyed it was winding him up again.
‘I’m going travelling. Mum doesn’t know yet and I have to find a way to tell her. She’s an idiot because she dotes on my dad, even though he’s cheating on her… I’m pretty sure it’s with one of my teachers. My dad’s a vicious bastard and likes to put Mum down, make her feel like shit. Her and me, we’ve always stuck together.’
For a moment, Aaron was lost in thoughts of his mum and everything she had done for him. Not telling her he was going felt like a betrayal. He just had to find the right moment and the right words. Hoped she would understand.
‘What did you do to Phoebe and Shona?’ Lila’s voice drew him back.
He gave her a measured look. ‘You really want to know, given your current situation?’
She hesitated briefly, but then gave a nod.
‘It was an accident.’
He could tell by the look on her face that Lila wasn’t expecting that response.
‘We left Shona watching TV. At first I thought my luck was in and she was up for a threesome, but no, turns out she was there for support, which was a shame, as I actually preferred her. I took Phoebe down to the games room in the basement.’
Aaron glanced down at Lila, made sure she was paying attention.
‘We start getting all hot and heavy and turns out she likes it a little rough like Claire did. One thing led to another and I guess I must have squeezed my hands around her neck a little too hard, because she was on the floor and she wasn’t moving. Shona came into the room, I suppose she heard Phoebe screaming – in enjoyment you understand – and anyway, Shona freaks out when she sees her lying on the floor and I panicked. It wasn’t my fault, you see. You girls, you like to lead us on. You’re just as bad, Lila, with your short skirts and your prick-teasing boots.’
‘What?’
He saw the panic in her eyes and fed on it.
‘You think I didn’t notice? You’re no different to the rest. I saw the way you looked at me that first time you came to the house, I sent you a friend request on Facebook, thought we would connect, but oh no, you ignored that, left it sitting there, didn’t even bother responding to that nice message I sent you, and then you had the nerve to come back here with him. What was that all about? Were you trying to rub my nose in it that you were with someone else?’ Aaron could feel the rage burning inside of him at the injustice of it all. ‘You’re just as big a fucking whore as the rest of them.’
* * *
The smart thing to do would probably have been to call the police, but given what had happened at the Gruger house a couple of nights earlier, Jack didn’t believe they would take him seriously. He had no proof that Aaron Gruger had kidnapped Lila and taken her back to his house – okay, he had a couple of witnesses who had seen them together in Fakenham, but both had said nothing sinister seemed to be going on and unfortunately, from the facts he had been able to gather, that Aaron had attacked Stephanie in France, that Lila had appeared unwell when he escorted her back to his car, the police probably wouldn’t worry too much. While Jack didn’t doubt they would check up on it, he didn’t think it would be a priority.
Mad as she was at him, he could not imagine any possible scenario where Lila would willingly get in Aaron Gruger’s car and it bothered the hell out of Jack that Gruger had been almost carrying her. The busker said she had looked sick, was staggering and being supported by him, and he had been pretending to be her brother; add that to the list of reasons Jack should be concerned. No, he couldn’t wait for the police, knew it was a risk going back to Gruger’s house, but also that he would never forgive himself if anything happened to Lila. If she was trapped in the house, Jack intended to get her out safely by whatever means necessary. He would deal with any consequences later.
There was one car in the driveway and while his immediate reaction was to hammer on the front door again, he held back. That plan hadn’t worked out so well last time. Besides, if Lila was in the house and being held against her will, Jack didn’t want to give Gruger the upper hand. Instead he discreetly made his way around the perimeter of the property, checking the ground floor doors and windows. All were secure until he reached the back of the house and found the kitchen door unlocked. He hesitated briefly before pushing it open and stepping into the house.
The kitchen was pristine, the surfaces spotless and shiny and empty of clutter, as though it was a show home. What kind of insane high standards did this freakish family aspire to? As he considered the question, his apprehension levels rising as he worried exactly what kind of trouble Lila might be in, a scream reverberated through the house that chilled him.
No longer thinking, he raced out of the kitchen into the hallway, headed for the stairs.
* * *
The mask finally slipped and in that moment, Lila knew true fear, realised there was no way to rationalise with a monster. Aaron had seemed crazy enough explaining his version of events to her, from the encounter with Claire to what he had done to Phoebe and Shona. Although he had scared Lila, there was part of him that had still seemed human, at moments almost remorseful, which gave her hope that she might be able to reason with him. She had tried to keep him talking, even though the words pouring from his mouth both repulsed and frightened the crap out of her, knowing that unless she could get through to him, he was going to kill her.
She didn’t want to think about how he intended to do it, just as she refused to consider what he planned to do to her before he killed her. It was dif
ficult to keep a blank mind, but she knew she couldn’t show him any fear, silently cursed when one of the tears she had been fighting to hold back escaped and he noticed it. His touch had been almost tender as he wiped it away, for a moment giving her real hope that maybe she could get through to him, but then the shutters went down, his dark eyes filling with rage, and that was when she knew she was really in trouble.
She screamed when he ripped her dress open to the waist, the sound muffled when he covered her mouth with his, and she squirmed beneath him, trying to fight him off as his tongue slid against hers. As one hand tugged hard on her hair, the other disappeared lower, was suddenly yanking at her knickers.
Lila bucked beneath him, biting down hard on his tongue. He yelped in pain, rolled off her and she managed to pull her good leg free, kicking out and catching him hard with her heel. She heard the snap of bone, for one hopeful moment thought she had hurt him, but then he was back on top of her and he was mad as hell.
‘Fucking prick-teasing whore.’
His fist came from nowhere, slamming hard into the side of her face and sucking the breath out of her. For a moment she couldn’t see, wasn’t sure what had happened, but then came the pain, causing her to cry out, and she tasted blood. She pulled at her wrists as he slipped his hands inside her dress again, begging him to stop.
‘Get your fucking hands off her!’
Lila recognised Jack’s voice, but took a moment to register he was actually in the room. One moment Aaron’s weight was pinning her to the bed, the next he was on the floor, and when she tried to lift her head, Jack was on top of him, holding him down as he repeatedly punched him in the face. She blinked hard, barely daring to believe he was there, screamed out his name when Aaron, who had been stunned by the ambush, managed to recover, getting in a punch of his own and catching Jack off guard. As the pair of them rolled on the floor, she strained on the rope, terrified Aaron would gain the momentum and hurt Jack, desperate to help. But then Aaron went still, his face a bloody puffy mess, and Jack was beside her. He had a cut above his eye, but it was superficial and Lila choked back a sob as he gently stroked her swollen cheek.
‘Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay.’
As he worked at the knots binding her wrists, he kept his eyes on hers, told her she was safe and kept repeating that he was sorry, and when she was finally free, she forgot how pissed off she was with him, flinging her arms around him and holding on tight. In her peripheral vision she saw the shadow, realised to her horror that Aaron was on his feet, saw the glint of something silver.
‘Jack!’
Lila pulled him towards her, rolling back onto the bed and ducking to the side just as the knife slashed past Jack’s shoulder, missing by an inch, and slicing into the duvet. Jack reacted quickly, catching hold of Aaron’s arm, trying to make him drop the weapon. As he forced Aaron to his knees, punched him hard in the gut, the knife finally clattered from his fingers.
Lila reached for it, as Jack prepared to take another swing. A foot stepped on the knife barely a second before she heard a thump and, glancing up the leg of the newcomer who had joined them, she saw red on the golf club.
Jack was on the floor, lying face down, blood seeping from the wound in the back of his head. And that was when Lila really screamed.
40
‘Aaron! What the hell’s going on?’
Judith Gruger shook her head at her son in disbelief at the scene before her.
His face was a mess, thanks to Jack Foley, and she didn’t doubt he had received the beating because he had attacked Lila Amberson. The girl was on the floor and screaming over her boyfriend’s body, her dress ripped open down the front, exposing her bra. When she glanced up, Judith could see where Lila’s mouth was cut, her cheek raw, red and swollen, and her eyes puffy from crying.
‘What the hell have you done?’ she demanded, cradling Jack’s head. He wasn’t moving and Judith wasn’t sure if he was dead. She hadn’t intended to swing the golf club so hard, had reacted in fury when she saw her son being attacked.
‘You’re in my house, Miss Amberson. My husband warned you to stay away.’
‘I’m in your house because your son drugged me and brought me here. He was going to rape me, threatened to kill me. He’s a fucking psycho.’
The words cut deep, had Judith’s hackles rising. How dare the girl speak about Aaron like that? Still, it didn’t stop her from being mad at her son. He had promised her he wouldn’t do anything and she had trusted him. If she hadn’t arrived home early, what would have happened? It didn’t bear thinking about.
‘Aaron! Look at me.’
Her sharp tone had his head swinging in her direction and her heart almost broke as she looked at what they had done to him.
‘I’m sorry, Mum. I was just trying to help.’
‘This isn’t helping! I told you I would take care of everything.’
And she would. That was her job, to protect her family, to make sure nothing and no-one could hurt them. Aaron had just made that job ten times more difficult though.
Lila must have caught on to what she had said because her expression suddenly changed from angry to wary.
‘I need to get Jack to a hospital,’ she urged. ‘Please can I use your phone to call an ambulance?’
‘I don’t think that will be necessary.’
The wariness turned to fear and then, as they locked eyes, to understanding, and Judith realised Lila had spotted her dark grey running top, had recognised the hood. ‘It was you.’ She sounded a little breathless, like she didn’t quite believe it. ‘You were in my flat. You’ve been trying to kill me.’
‘You’ve proven very difficult to get rid of, Miss Amberson.’
It should have been a simple job, slipping into the hospital room and giving her a quick injection, but the girl’s brother had walked in and had almost caught her. Luckily he was known for having an overactive imagination and no-one had really believed what he thought he saw. Judith had waited in fear until Lila had awoken, not daring to make another attempt at the hospital, especially with the brother standing guard, and had been filled with relief when it seemed the girl couldn’t remember anything from the night of the accident. Judith had read up on it though, knew the memories were likely to come back eventually.
After Judith had pushed her in the path of the bus, had been pursued by Jack Foley, she had realised she was going to have to dig deeper, be more creative. While an accident raised little suspicion, she was aware Lila’s memories could return at any time, that the most important thing was getting rid of her before she did remember, regardless of the method.
After her break-in attempt misfired, she had concocted the ruse to lure Lila to the Crowther residence. Judith didn’t know Veronica personally, but they both followed a couple of the same pages on Facebook and Veronica was one of those types who liked to over share every aspect of her life. Her profile was open to view, her address easy to find, and she was forever tagging herself at different locations, shared hundreds of photos.
When Judith realised Veronica was on a dream trip to Australia, it had been easy to set up a fake profile. The plan had been so simple, to attack Lila and knock her unconscious, bundle her into the back of the van Judith had hired, drive her to a remote location and finish the job. Veronica’s stupid brother had ruined everything though by showing up. All Judith had needed was five more minutes and she would have had Lila secured and been on her way.
Killing wasn’t something Judith enjoyed doing, but thanks to her son’s inclinations, she had been left with little choice. She had actually cried after she had suffocated Shona McNamara. The girl had been locked in the basement for five days and she was aware that she had to do something about her before Richard arrived home from his business trip. Shona couldn’t be in the house when he returned. If he caught on that Aaron had attacked another girl, this time killed her, he would be straight on the phone to the police.
He already held it against Judith that they had bailed
Aaron out once before. It was the dirty secret that had pretty much torn them apart, though still kept them together. Claire Fox had been asking for it. Judith believed her son when he told her. And her parents were so money hungry they were prepared to turn a blind eye if the offer was right. Judith had made sure it was. She hadn’t gone to all that trouble for Aaron to screw it up now. Phoebe was dead and if Shona walked out of the house alive, her son would go to prison for what had essentially been an accident.
But now she had an even bigger problem on her hands, with not just Lila, but Jack to get rid of too. She couldn’t let either of them go, but Jack was a well-known writer and came from a wealthy family who would ask a lot of questions if anything happened to him. She needed time to figure out what the hell to do with the pair and also had to somehow get the bloodstain from the wound in Jack’s head out of Aaron’s bedroom carpet.
When Aaron had found the photos and the fake Facebook profile on her disposable phone, realised what she had been up to, he had confronted her, and she had broken down and confessed, explained to him why Lila had to die and that she was doing it to protect him. He had insisted on helping her, even though she said she would take care of the situation, had begged her to let him be the one to snatch Lila.
Judith wasn’t stupid and knew his intentions and what he wanted to do to the girl, had explicitly told him no, but he had gone against her wishes anyway and by doing so he had made things far more complicated.
How the hell was she going to fix this?
* * *
‘You have to let us go. Jack told people he was coming here looking for me. If we don’t show up they will call the police.’ Lila didn’t know if Jack had told anyone, but it was the only threat she had.
