Silent Child(82)

“Jake,” I whispered. “What are you going to do with that thing?”

“Finish what I started ten years ago,” he hissed.





41


My muscles felt like stretched elastic. The hairs stood up on the backs of my arms as Jake tilted and examined the knife in his hand. I tried to ignore a third cramp as it took hold of my womb, squeezing and twisting up my insides. My fists clenched, pressing my fingernails deep into the palms of my hands.

“I’ve wanted to tell you this for a long time, Emma.” He smiled, revealing those white teeth I had once found so attractive. Handsome Hewitt. “It’s a confession, really. An event that I wasn’t proud of at the time, but it grew to be an accomplishment I praised myself for after the dust settled. The thing is, I got away with it. At least, I thought I had. The problem is, your son came back, and it’s only a matter of time before he starts talking, I’m sure of it.”

My fingernails dug harder into my skin. I felt warm liquid pool there.

“Despite all my best efforts to get rid of him again, you seem determined to keep the little brat around, so I suppose I may as well spill the beans.” He laughed. “Not even the little incident in the crib with the paint changed your mind.”

“That was you?” I said. Why was I even surprised? He was clearly capable of anything.

“Yes, darling. It was. But going back to the past… I wasn’t ever going to tell you, but then you went to my garage and you snooped in places you shouldn’t be snooping. You made it so that I’ve got nothing to lose.” The knife blade glinted as he held out his arms and grinned at me. “You’ve only got yourself to blame, now. This all would have been swept under the rug and we could have lived a happy life if you hadn’t kept digging. Somewhere down the line, preferably before Aiden grows a pair and starts talking, I’d have ensured Aiden had a little accident. So tragic, but these things happen.”

Heat washed over me. My chest was tight, making it hard to breathe, but I forced myself to concentrate. I could see how Jake was loving the captive audience, drinking in the way I hung on his every word, waiting for the moment I would finally get some answers. He wasn’t going to make this easy for me. He wasn’t going to make this quick. He was going to enjoy it.

“Let me tell you a story about a feral child. You see, feral children usually have terrible mothers. Those mothers are often too young to be mothers and let their children run riot wherever they feel like it.” He paused to see if his words got a reaction from me but I didn’t give him the satisfaction. “When all the other, normal children are behaving themselves, feral children do the opposite. Normal children know how to behave when there’s a natural disaster like a flood, but fucked-up children like Aiden wander off on their own and decide to play in the river.”

I kept my mouth firmly closed, waiting for him to tell me. There was an infuriating grin on his face that made my blood boil. He knew he was in control and he was milking every single second of it.

“I saw Aiden walk away from the classroom. I saw him slip through the corridors and out of the school.” He paused to push his hair back away from his face. Hair that I’d caressed. A face I’d kissed. A body I’d touched. A man I’d made love to over and over again. “I’d been watching you for years. I remember the first day I saw you at school, with your dark hair long and luxurious. You were more hesitant than the other girls. You didn’t wear those slutty skirts or thongs pulled up above your waistline. You had something about you. You had paint under your fingernails and lowered eyelashes. You blushed when boys tried to talk to you and were oblivious when they were clearly besotted with you.” He sighed. “You used to be so beautiful, and now you’re old, fat, and covered in that disgusting rash.”

Instinctively, I hid my hands beneath my legs, ashamed. Then I realised that I was looking at a murderer. I pulled my hands back out and scratched them in front of him.

“I’d been biding my time with you. The incident with Katie had been rushed and I didn’t want that to happen again. Besides, Katie was the appetiser. You were the main course, and I wanted to make sure I was ready to devour you.” I retched but nothing came out of me. Jake seemed oblivious, and carried on with his story. “But that lump of clay, that walking black hole, Rob, got there first. You needed to be led, and I was going to show you the way, but he was the one who got to you first and for that I will never forgive him. That’s the reason why he’s bleeding onto the Barratts’ hallway tiles. That’s what happens to people who cross me.”

“Get to the point,” I snapped, unable to cope with this for much longer. I scratched at my itching skin, feeling dirty just from listening to him. Next to me, Aiden sat quietly, still and impassive as always. He could be watching cartoons again, not listening to the ramblings of a psychopath.

“You were tainted when you had Aiden, but I knew I could salvage you. It would just take some breaking to get you where I wanted you. When I saw Aiden slip out of school that day I followed him at first to see what he was doing. I realised that I might never get him alone like this again. I might never have a chance to do what I’d wanted to do for years.” He licked his lips as he relayed the memory. “I was already soaked through from checking the outside of the school with Simon. I followed your son’s red coat through the pouring rain all the way down to the river. There he was, just standing and staring at the gushing water.”