Killing Kate

by Alex Lake

  ‘Take a look,’ he said. ‘Live a little.’

  The doorbell rang again. Mike’s voice came from the phone.

  ‘Whoever it is certainly wants to see you.’

  Beth opened the kitchen door and walked into the hall. Phil muted the phone, then he and May followed her. She went to a small window and peered out.

  ‘Oh God,’ she said. ‘Not now. Please, not now.’

  28

  It was him. Phil could see from the strength of Beth’s reaction that it was him. It had to be; she was pale and her hands were shaking. He crossed the hall and joined her at the window.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ he said, forcing himself to sound a lot more certain than he felt. ‘I’m here. It’ll be fine.’

  She turned to face him, her eyes narrowed in confusion. ‘What’ll be fine?’ she said.

  ‘We won’t let him in. We’ll call the police and let them sort it out. Or I’ll grab a knife, or something.’

  Beth shook her head.

  ‘It’s not Colin,’ she said. ‘It’s …’ she paused. ‘Take a look.’

  He followed her gaze. Standing outside the front door was a tall woman in black leggings and a red, quilted jacket. She looked to be in her early thirties and in a hurry; she glanced at her watch, and lifted her hand, finger outstretched, to the doorbell.

  And next to her was a small boy. About five, Phil thought. He had thick, dark brown hair and a serious, thoughtful expression. In one hand he held a Transformers lunchbox; the other clutched a toy monkey.

  Before the woman could ring the bell again, Beth opened the door.

  ‘Hi, Andi,’ the woman said, her Brummie accent hurried and exasperated. ‘I’m so sorry to do this. I know I said I could have him all day, but Tom called and his dad’s not well at all. He’s had a stroke, poor duck, and Tom needs me to fetch him from work and take him to the hospital. I’ve got the car today—’ She looked inside and saw Phil and May. ‘Oh,’ she said. ‘You’ve got guests? I thought you said you had to finish your assignment? For the anaesthetist exam?’

  ‘I did,’ Beth said. ‘But something unexpected came up. It’s – it’s hard to explain.’ She paused, and gestured to her guests. ‘Phil and May. They’re old friends.’

  ‘Oooh,’ the woman said. ‘From your mysterious past. How intriguing.’ She put out a hand. The skin was rough and unnaturally tanned, the fingernails gaudily painted. ‘I’m Sandra.’

  Beth had squatted and was holding out her arms to the little boy. He stepped into the house and kicked off his trainers, then hugged Beth.

  ‘Hi, Mummy,’ he said.

  ‘Hi, Dylan,’ Beth said.

  Phil glanced at May. Her mouth was slightly open.

  ‘Sorry to do this, Andi,’ Sandra said. ‘I did send a text, but it all happened so quickly. And now your friends will get to meet your son.’

  ‘Don’t worry about it,’ Beth said. She glanced at Phil and May. ‘Thanks anyway. And good luck with Tom’s dad. Give him my best.’

  She closed the door behind her friend.

  ‘Dylan,’ she said, ‘would you go up to your room and choose a book? We can read it together.’

  Dylan headed for the stairs. When he was gone, May looked at Beth.

  ‘At least now we get to meet your son,’ she said. ‘I didn’t know.’

  ‘That was kind of the reason I asked Sandra to look after him,’ Beth said. ‘She helps me out sometimes. I didn’t want him anywhere near this.’

  Phil leaned on the banister. ‘How old is he?’ he said.

  ‘Nearly five,’ Beth replied.

  Phil did the maths in his head.

  ‘Is he—’

  Before Phil could finish asking the question, she nodded. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘He is.’

  From May’s phone on the kitchen table came a voice.

  ‘Hello? Are you still there? Who was it at the door? Anyone interesting?’

  Phil picked up the phone and unmuted it.

  ‘No,’ he said. ‘No one you’d be interested in.’

  ‘I’m interested in everybody,’ Mike said. ‘I’m a real people person.’

  ‘What do you want?’ Phil said.

  ‘Nothing,’ he replied. ‘Nothing you can give me, at any rate. Which means that we’re nearly at the end of this call. Before I go, I want you to know that I do what I say I’ll do. And when I told you that if you called the police I’d kill Kate, I meant it. I was sort of hoping you would,’ he said, ‘because then her death would be on your conscience.’

  ‘Why is she so important to you?’ Phil said, interested but also stalling for time. ‘Why not let her go? It’s Beth you want.’

  Mike laughed. ‘You’re blind to it, aren’t you? The same as the others. The same as Kate. You have no idea what you did to me. But you’ll pay. You’ll pay with Kate’s death.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ Phil said. ‘If we – I – did something, at least tell me what it is.’

  ‘You know,’ Mike said. ‘I wasn’t going to. But I think I will. It’ll be all the more for you to think about when you’re talking to your therapist about this. So let me fill you in: it’s because of what Beth did. Of what Kate and you helped her to do. It’s because she killed my child. And here’s the sweetest part of my revenge, Phil: Kate will pay with her life, whereas you’ll have to live with the knowledge that you’re responsible for her death. I didn’t plan this part, but it’s kind of a nice bonus, dontcha think?’

  ‘So,’ Phil said. ‘This is because of the child. Your child?’

  ‘It is. An eye for an eye, my friend. And you can see why you have nothing to give me. Goodbye, Philip.’

  ‘Wait,’ Phil said. He paused and took a deep breath. He had mixed feelings about what he was on the verge of doing, but he had no choice.

  ‘I have something I can give you,’ he said. ‘Something that you might want. That might make you change your mind.’

  ‘No you don’t. You have nothing.’

  ‘You sound very sure,’ Phil said. ‘But your confidence is a bit misplaced.’

  ‘Oh?’ he said. ‘Then pray, tell me. What is this miraculous gift you have?’

  ‘Your son,’ Phil said. ‘I have your son.’

  29

  Beth snatched the phone from his hand and broke the connection. She dropped it on the table, then shoved him hard in the chest.

  ‘What the fuck do you think you’re doing?’ she shouted. She grabbed his right arm and twisted it up behind his back, then forced him to his feet. She pushed him up against the fridge door and bent his arm.

  ‘Beth, please,’ Phil said. His shoulder felt like it was coming loose in the socket. ‘That hurts. A lot.’ His breath was coming in pants. ‘You’re going to dislocate my shoulder.’

  ‘I’m going to dislocate every fucking bone in your body,’ she said. ‘You told Colin fucking Davidson about Dylan. I’ve spent five years keeping him secret,’ she said, and twisted his arm a bit harder, so that he yelped in pain – ‘and you go and put him right in the path of that psychopathic bastard. He’s my son, Phil, my flesh and blood, the thing that keeps me going, the reason I didn’t kill myself back then and the reason I haven’t done since – and I’ve been tempted. Trust me, I’ve been tempted. Knowing he’s out there, knowing that one day he might find me, waking in the night at every noise, wondering if it’s him, if he’s in my house ready to do it all again, to hurt me like he used to – it’s enough to make me want to end it all, but I didn’t, I didn’t because of Dylan, because he made it all worthwhile.’

  She put a knee in his thigh and pushed, hard. His leg gave way and he slipped down the fridge. As he did, his shoulder wrenched forward and he screamed.

  ‘And you’ve gone and undone it all. All the protection I’d put in place; you’ve taken it away.’

  She let go of him.

  ‘You’re no different to him,’ she said. ‘You know that?’

  ‘I’m nothing like him,’ Phil said.

  ‘You
don’t think so? You use my son to get what you want? That’s what he does – uses people. Well, I don’t play like that any more. I’m going to take Dylan and get out of here. Don’t follow me.’

  Phil held his elbow, supporting the weight of his arm. Red-hot spikes of pain shot through his back and chest.

  ‘Wait,’ he said. ‘You’re right. I shouldn’t have done it. But don’t go. Give me five minutes. To explain. And then, if you still want to, you can leave.’

  She glared at him.

  ‘Five minutes,’ she said.

  He sat down, his legs shaking. ‘I’m sorry I told him,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry. But I had no choice, Beth. It’s Kate’s only chance.’

  Beth pointed a finger at him. ‘I love her,’ she said. ‘I love Kate as much as anyone in this world. And there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to save her. I’d give my own life, in a second. But not my son’s. I love him more. And if it’s a choice between him and Kate, I choose him every time. I’m sorry, but it’s true.’

  ‘But, Beth,’ Phil said, wincing, ‘don’t you see that this is your only chance too? And Dylan’s. What would have happened if I didn’t tell him, do you think? You think that would have been it? You think that once he’s killed Kate, he’s going to stop looking for you?’

  ‘I’d have moved. He couldn’t find me last time. I’d have protected my son.’

  May put her hand on Beth’s shoulder. Beth shrugged it off.

  ‘Beth,’ she said quietly. ‘Phil’s right. He would have found you. He did this time. He killed four women to find you. And you could have gone again, but he would have carried on doing whatever it took until he found you again. You know that, don’t you?’

  Beth stared out of the window. ‘I would have protected my son,’ she said, her voice not much more than a whisper.

  ‘You couldn’t have,’ May said. ‘This day was coming, sooner or later.’

  The kitchen door opened. Dylan stood in the doorway, a book in his hand.

  ‘I got my favourite, Mummy,’ he said. ‘The Very Wicked Witch.’

  Beth seemed to deflate. She picked him up and hugged him to her chest. ‘I love that book,’ she said. ‘It’s my favourite too.’ She kissed the top of his head. ‘And I love you.’

  ‘I love you, Mummy.’ He looked at Phil and May. ‘Who are these people?’

  ‘Uncle Phil and Aunty May,’ Beth said. ‘They’re my friends.’

  ‘Why were you shouting?’

  ‘We were playing a game,’ Beth said. ‘It was a loud game. Sorry, darling.’

  ‘That’s OK. Can we go and read now?’

  She put him down. ‘Go and sit on the couch. I’ll be there in a minute.’

  ‘He’s beautiful,’ May said. ‘A beautiful boy.’

  Beth nodded. She looked at May, her eyes watering.

  ‘So now what?’ she said.

  ‘Now you go and read him a book,’ May said. ‘We can figure this out when the important stuff is taken care of.’

  When she had left the kitchen, Phil leaned forward and gingerly stretched out his arm. He massaged his shoulder. ‘Shit,’ he said. ‘That hurt. She’s strong.’

  May picked up her bag. ‘I think I have some ibuprofen,’ she said, and handed him a small white packet of pills. ‘There you go.’

  Phil swallowed two of the pills. ‘Thanks,’ he said. ‘So what do we do now?’

  May shrugged. ‘I guess we call him,’ she said.

  30

  Kate was aware, in amongst all the rest of the pain and discomfort, that she was thirsty. Her mouth was sandpaper dry, and her tongue felt like it was welded to the leather gag. She hadn’t eaten or drunk anything since the night before, and most of what had been in her stomach she’d vomited up in the car, an event which seemed very distant.

  And maybe it was. She had periods in which she drifted in and out of consciousness. It was her mind’s way of avoiding the pain. But from time to time she convulsed in an agony so great that she snapped back to full wakefulness, before slipping away again.

  The worst thing was the total motionlessness; if only she could move part of her body, she was sure she could get some kind of relief, but she was strapped so completely to the chair – ankles, calves, thighs, fingers, wrists, arms, chest, head – that only the most minimal movements were possible. A wiggle of a toe, the flexing of a finger, the clenching of her jaw. That was about it, and it was nowhere near enough.

  The thin wall vibrated with approaching steps and the door opened. After the darkness the sudden light was dazzling and she closed her eyes. When she opened them, Mike – still dressed as Steven Magwith – was standing in front of her.

  He had an odd look on his face: angry, mainly, but with an occasional flicker of something she hadn’t seen before, something that, if she wasn’t mistaken, looked a lot like joy.

  ‘Did you know?’ he said. ‘Did you know about him?’

  If she had been able to, she would have shaken her head. Not only did she not know, she did not even understand the question.

  ‘They told me,’ he said. ‘That they have my son.’

  Kate’s eyes widened. His son? The son that Beth had aborted? And what was more – if they knew this – they were with Beth.

  ‘I don’t know whether to believe them,’ he said. ‘It may be a trick to stop me from killing you, to make me think that they have something to negotiate with.’

  He looked at her, deep in thought.

  ‘I can’t decide,’ he said. ‘But if there’s a chance …’ His voice trailed off. Not for the first time, Kate wondered why this was so important to him, why he had such a need for a child. He was barely human, it seemed to her, but he had this most human emotion at the very heart of him.

  In some ways, it highlighted just how twisted he was.

  ‘So,’ he said. ‘What do you think? Is my son alive? Did you know about this?’

  He stepped forward and reached behind her head for the clip that held the gag in place. Then he held her by the jaw and carefully slid it out.

  Her eyes watered with the relief. Slowly, she worked her jaw up and down, loosening the muscles.

  ‘Did you know?’ he said.

  Her voice was a croak. ‘Water,’ she said, or tried to. It came out as waaah.

  He nodded and left the room. When he came back, he was holding a small cup. He held it to her lips and tilted it forwards.

  ‘Not too much,’ he said.

  It hurt as it went down her throat but she didn’t mind; it was the most wonderful, sweet-tasting drink she’d ever had.

  ‘More,’ she said.

  He lifted the cup again.

  ‘Untie me,’ she said. ‘Let me move.’

  ‘No,’ he said. ‘Not possible. Did you know?’

  ‘I need to move.’ She hardly recognized her own voice; it was cracked and broken.

  ‘Your head. I’ll let you move your head. Then you talk. Got it?’

  ‘Got it.’

  He undid the strap around her forehead and stood back. Kate inched her head forwards, the muscles in her neck protesting as she tried to loosen them.

  The relief, though. God, the relief. She never would have thought that something as simple as stretching the muscles in her neck could have been so utterly, utterly amazing. It was, by some distance, the best thing she had ever felt.

  She looked up at Mike.

  ‘I didn’t know,’ she said. ‘I had no idea.’ She thought back to the day of the abortion, of going to the shelter to see Beth, of how she had seemed odd, disturbed. But not sad. And she realized what Beth had done.

  ‘Is it possible?’ he said. ‘That she didn’t go through with it?’

  ‘Yes,’ Kate said. ‘I think it is.’

  ‘Hmm.’ He secured the strap around her forehead.

  ‘No,’ Kate said, ‘please, no.’

  He clipped it shut, then opened her mouth and put the leather gag back in it. Then, distracted, Kate obviously far, far from his mind, he left the bedroom, cl
osing the door behind him.

  31

  Phil and Beth sat at the kitchen table with the phone in front of them. May was with Dylan in the living room.

  Phil dialled the number that Mike / Colin / Mark had phoned from. The call was answered on the second ring.

  ‘You have my son,’ he said, wasting no time on a greeting. ‘Can you prove it?’

  ‘I’m at Beth’s house,’ Phil said. ‘And she’s here with a boy who she says is your son. There’s no reason she would lie.’

  ‘But you would.’

  ‘Would I?’ Phil said. ‘Why?’

  ‘So that I don’t kill Kate.’

  ‘And then you’d find out I was lying and do it anyway. No – if I tell you that Beth has your son, then it had better be true.’

  There was a long pause. ‘I want to speak to him.’

  Beth shook her head. No way, she mouthed.

  ‘No,’ Phil said. ‘Beth won’t allow that.’

  ‘Did you ask her?’

  ‘I don’t need to.’

  ‘I want to talk to her.’

  Phil looked at Beth. He raised his eyebrows: You want to?

  She nodded, and leaned towards the phone.

  ‘Go ahead,’ she said. ‘This is Beth.’

  ‘Beth,’ he replied, drawing out the word in a long, breathy sigh. ‘Beth. Yes, finally. My little Beth.’

  Beth paled, and swayed. Phil gripped her elbow. You OK? he mouthed.

  She gave him a thumbs up.

  ‘So. You didn’t do it, after all. Didn’t murder my child.’

  ‘No,’ Beth said. ‘I didn’t. All through my pregnancy I wondered if I’d done the right thing, if I’d regret it, and then he was born, perfect and pink and screaming, and I knew I hadn’t. I knew that what I’d done was to make the best decision I ever could have made.’

  ‘I want to meet him.’

  ‘No,’ Beth said. ‘No way.’

  ‘He’s my son.’

  ‘No, he isn’t. Not in any way.’

  ‘I’ll give you Kate. For one meeting with him.’

  This was the moment. This was what they had discussed: get him to make an offer, then refuse. Play hard to get.