An Unwanted Guest(71)

Then Lauren turns to David, her eyes full of panic. She needs someone in her corner; she needs an attorney. But when she looks at him, he meets her eyes only briefly, then turns away. He sees the others’ faces, stunned at the turn of events.

When Ian hears the handcuffs click as they lock around Lauren’s wrists, he feels physically sick.

This can’t be right, Ian thinks, his heart pounding in his chest. He can’t believe it. This can’t be happening. He runs his hands agitatedly through his hair.

She seems so normal.

He thought it was Matthew who had killed everyone – born with a silver spoon in his mouth, maybe he’d killed his fiancée after an argument and then tried to cover it up with the natural arrogance of the born rich. Maybe Candice and Bradley knew something, and he’d had to keep them quiet. But it hadn’t been Matthew at all. Matthew is a victim; he has lost the woman he loves. Ian looks at him now and feels terrible for him; he will never be the same.

Ian will never be the same either. None of them will ever be the same.

He has a sudden bout of dizziness, fights another wave of nausea. Maybe the police have made a mistake. Surely Lauren did not kill all these people. What possible reason could she have?

He looks at her again, her lips now pressed in a tight line, her eyes closed. And suddenly he knows it’s true. He can’t stop staring at her, wondering what’s going on behind those closed eyelids. He realizes that he does not know her at all.

He tells himself that he has made a very narrow escape. He shudders. They have spent months together. He’d thought he was falling in love with her.

Matthew watches the police arrest Lauren. He doesn’t know what evidence they have, but he trusts the police. They must have good reason for arresting her. He is filled with inexpressible grief and rage, but also relief. Relief that he is no longer suspected of killing his fiancée. He takes one instinctive step towards Lauren and stops. She’s the one who murdered Dana! It was her. He can hardly believe it. She’s the one who pushed Dana down the stairs and hit her head at the bottom to make sure she was dead. And then, for a time, she allowed everyone to believe that he had probably done it. He’d almost wanted to kill himself out of despair and fear.

‘Why did you kill her?’ he demands, his voice loud with anguish.

‘Please step back, sir,’ the sergeant says.

Lauren’s eyes fly open and she looks back at Matthew with desperation. ‘I didn’t kill her!’ she cries. ‘I didn’t kill anyone! They’ve got it wrong. This is all a mistake. It wasn’t me!’ She turns frantically to Ian. Surely he will help her. ‘Ian, tell them! Tell them it’s not me!’

But he looks back at her strangely, as if he’s afraid of her. What did he say to the police just a few minutes ago, when he was in the dining room? What does he know? He can’t know anything!

David steps forward and cautions her. ‘Don’t say anything. Not a word.’





Chapter Thirty-six


Sunday, 5:45 PM


LAUREN LOOKS INTO David’s eyes – and they aren’t the eyes of someone who believes her, someone who will protect her. She collapses to the floor, handcuffed, and closes her eyes again. They let her stay there on the floor, leaning against the sofa; she hears them talking in low voices in the background.

She’s not going to tell them anything. She has the right to remain silent and she’s going to use it.

When Ian invited her up here for a naughty weekend, she had no idea what was going to happen. None of it was planned.

She thinks back to that first night. She’d taken a dislike to Dana right from the start. She thought it was because she reminded her of someone, but she couldn’t think who. It wasn’t until after cocktails, when they were having dinner, that she realized who Dana reminded her of. It wasn’t until Dana’s comment, It sounds like someone fell off the roof, and her laughing about it, that she realized exactly who Dana was. And then Lauren’s heart began to pound and she could feel herself turning hot and cold and breaking into a sweat.

Dana – she had been Dani when Lauren knew her – had given no sign of recognizing her. Not until that comment. Then she knew for certain that Dani had recognized her, but had pretended not to. Dani always was a good actor. But Dani obviously wanted Lauren to know that she knew who Lauren was.

They’d both changed. At least on the outside.

It was a long time ago. Fifteen years. Half her lifetime. Lauren had been a plain, sullen, overweight teen then, and Dani had taunted her relentlessly. But she had recognized her.

Dani looked different now, too. At fifteen, she’d worn her hair very short. She had a tough, mean look. She was a tough, mean girl. Now, fifteen years later, she was completely different. This new version – Dana – was very feminine, polished, expensive-looking – no wonder Lauren hadn’t recognized her at first. But Lauren was certain that the scrappy Dani was still there – Dana was a fake. Dana didn’t look like she’d ever spent a single night in a miserable foster home, taking her frustration, rage, and fear out on others more vulnerable than herself.

Lauren, too, had put her past behind her. She didn’t want it to come out now. She had Ian now. She couldn’t let Dana ruin everything. She had to be sure that Dana wouldn’t say anything.

For the rest of the evening, her mind was in turmoil. She let Ian fuck her on the back staircase, but her mind was on other things. Would Dana tell?