Nine Liars (Truly Devious, #5)(43)

“Breathe,” David was saying.

“I’m breathing,” she mumbled.

She was breathing. In and out. That was one for the win column. She was breathing. Her therapist had told her this was the thing to grab on to. You are breathing. You are okay. Grab hold of your breath. Make the exhales longer than the inhales. That was all she had to do. In for four. Hold for five. Out for six. Her own warm breath cocooned her against his coat. It was a blanket, something she could grab with her hand and understand. She had her own breath and a handful of coat and she was going to take those two things and put the planet back together with them.

This was how they got back to Craven House.

By the time they arrived, the medicine was starting to take effect. Things were still racing, but they were slowing down. She pressed close to David, but her knees were more stable, her gait more regular. The lights didn’t strobe at her quite so much. She was almost able to enjoy the moment, her body against David’s, the way he held her.

He said nothing as he helped her into the elevator, then down the hall. Nate’s door was open, and he looked up as David came in with a stunned-looking Stevie.

“What’s going on?” Nate asked.

“No big deal,” David said, taking the key that Stevie was fumbling with and helping her open the door.

“Are you drunk?”

Stevie shook her head heavily and stepped into the half-lit room. The medicine she’d taken would knock her out soon enough. She shrugged off her coat and let it fall to the floor, then climbed into the bed, the plasticky mattress squeaking as she huddled under the duvet. Her thoughts kaleidoscoped in her mind’s eye—the streets of London, the view of the bridge, the socioeconomic realities of 1880s London and the taste of garlic on David’s lips, Izzy and her aunt and the lock on the door, her stubbornness. David’s face. His long, angular face. The softness of his coat and the warmth of his breath. It all blended together and rode along the tracks made by the ambient light coming through the blinds and slicing up the wall. And then, the full effect of the medication kicked in, and everything faded out.





EXCERPT FROM THE WITNESS STATEMENT OF SUZANNA RILLINGTON





24 June 1995


Q: If you could take us through the night, please, starting with this game you were all playing. Where did you go when the game started?

A: I went outside through the back, out the mudroom door. The gardens here are vast. I thought the back garden was a good place to start. There’s a yew maze back there.

Q: Did anyone go that way with you?

A: Julian did, but we went separate ways once we got out.

Q: Where did you go?

A: I ran around the back garden for a few minutes, but I couldn’t find anywhere that seemed suitable to hide. I ended up in the walled garden on the north side of the house. It has an edge of shrubbery lining the inside. I wedged my way in there.

Q: Do you know when you were found?

A: It felt like ages standing there in the rain, but I don’t know when it was.

Q: And who found you?

A: Peter. I had just come out to move again when he came through the garden. That’s the trick—don’t move.

Q: And you were taken to the folly to get a new poncho?

A: Yes. And then I started seeking.

Q: Were you ever by the woodshed at any point when you were hiding or seeking?

A: I went past it a few times but I didn’t check it. It was locked.

Q: How do you know that?

A: Sebastian told us. All the outbuildings were locked. I walked past that area but I didn’t really look at it. I think I would have noticed if the door was open and the wheelbarrow was out. I feel I can say that for certain.

Q: At any point when you were outside did you see Rosie or Noel?

A: I think I may have seen Noel running through the back gardens when the game started, but I’m not sure. Noel’s quite a good climber. He may have been going for the trees. I don’t know, though.

Q: When would this have been?

A: I don’t know. Early. Early on.

Q: Did you see which door he used to leave the house?

A: No.

Q: And the game itself ended when . . .

A: There was this tremendous lightning and a thunderclap and all the lights in the house went out. Right after that, we all decided to go back inside. We didn’t want to be hit by lightning, and we needed a fire and a drink anyway.

Q: Do you know what time this was?

A: I think around two thirty. There’s a grandfather clock in the entryway hall. It chimes on the half hour and hour. I remember it making a noise soon after we came in, because the hall was dark and it was quite an eerie sound.

Q: And Rosie and Noel never came in?

A: No. We thought they were off together somewhere. Romantically, I mean. They had been getting closer over the last week and we thought they were out having a night together, so best to leave them to it.

Q: Romantically.

A: Yes.

Q: And that was recent?

A: Yes. Rosie had been . . . well, she’d been dating Julian up until recently.

Q: There had been a breakup?

A: Yes. Julian is a bit of a lothario. Rosie had had enough.

Q: She split from Julian?

A: Yes, but . . . he wouldn’t, I mean . . . if you’re suggesting that— Q: I’m not suggesting anything. We’re merely trying to ascertain the facts.