Bone & Cane b&c-1
Page 25
‘Once was enough. When he fell, I could tell how bad it was. An ambulance would’ve done no good. And he weren’t just my brother, he were a policeman. I should’ve called the ambulance anyway, but I was terrified. I did the only thing I could think of. I called Ed. And he sorted it. Said he’d throw the golf trophy in the Trent for me, then told me to go home, make sure I wasn’t seen. I thought he were going to make it look like a robbery gone wrong. I didn’t know Terry had a gun. It was unregistered, hidden under the bed. Police reckon he bought it in case of a revenge attack. I told Ed what time Liv got home from work so he’d be gone by then. I had no idea what he was going to do to her. He found the gun while he was waiting.’
Nick could guess the rest, but she kept talking.
‘Ed decided to make it look like she’d shot him, then herself. He shot Terry where I’d hit his head, which confused the police. Only when Liv came in, Ed must have liked what he saw. He couldn’t resist raping her first. And that made him careless. He left traces. When he rang up, he boasted that what he’d done made me even safer. I was so ashamed. He was far worse than I thought he was. But he was right. The police didn’t suspect me at all, didn’t even check I really was at home with the kids when it happened. They wanted Ed. And the alibi he’d set up for himself had holes in it.’
‘The police knew you’d had an affair with him?’
‘Far as they were concerned, that was long over. And I didn’t have any more contact with Ed after the shooting. One call from a box, that were it. He didn’t bring me into his story at trial. He’d have got as bad a sentence for one murder as two, so there were no point. But he knew he owned me. I thought that was all right, because he was safely inside. I played the grieved sister, wanting to make sure he stayed there. It weren’t an act. I hated him.’
She went quiet.
‘Only then his appeal was successful,’ Nick prompted.
‘Once he were out, I shouted all the louder about him being released. I thought it’d help keep Ed away from me. I didn’t realize he was worried about not getting his compensation, the money he wanted to start a new life with. So he turned up one day, told me I had to play happy families or he’d land me in it. I had no alibi for the murder. The police never thought I was a suspect, but once Ed testified, they could have me. Especially if he still had the trophy I killed Terry with. According to him, he never threw it away. It was well hid. He could’ve cleared himself any time.’
‘Except that he raped and killed Liv.’
‘Once he was freed, that didn’t matter. He’d already been tried. They couldn’t do him again. But they could do me. When he turned up, made his threats, I had to sleep with him, to stop him telling. When you found out, I had to let you think . . . what you thought. I didn’t want to. I wanted him gone. And now he is.’
Nick let his head slip from her breast. She didn’t seem to notice. He lay staring at the dark ceiling.
‘It’s a relief to say it out loud,’ she said, nuzzling him, then added, in a whisper, ‘You won’t tell, will you?’
‘I won’t tell,’ Nick said.
She went quiet. He’d got what he’d come for. Time to go.
‘I’m sorry you’ve had to live with that,’ he said, preparing his exit. ‘No one to share it with. Beating yourself up.’
No reply. She was already asleep, her chest rising and falling against his. Nick couldn’t get out of bed without waking her.
He waited for her to shift in her sleep. He was anxious to find a phone, tell Sarah the truth. Only what would be the point? The truth wouldn’t change anything. He’d be betraying a confidence in order to satisfy Sarah’s curiosity. Maybe truth was never the point. Most days he thought there was no point to anything.
Beside him, Polly snored softly. She always slept heavily, no matter what was going on. He must get her to teach him the trick. It never ceased to surprise Nick, the things some people could learn to live with.
And without.
FB2 document info
Document ID: 976fe0b5-141c-4817-9ed3-22135617a81f
Document version: 1
Document creation date: 25.5.2013
Created using: calibre 0.9.32, FictionBook Editor Release 2.6.6 software
Document authors :
David Belbin
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