Silent Victim(80)

‘Son? Is everything OK?’ Mum said, answering the phone after one ring. I asked how Jamie was doing, making her climb the stairs to his bedroom to ensure he was safe. But Mum plagued me for answers, her voice brittle with worry.

I pulled a tissue from my pocket and paused to blow my nose. ‘I’m not sure what’s going on, Mum; all I know is that Emma needs me. She’s with her sister, but something’s not right.’

‘Isn’t there anyone you can call who can check on them? What about your local constabulary? We’ve got a lovely PCSO near us. They’re so helpful. I’m sure if you give your local station a ring they might send someone out. When Mrs Connor wasn’t answering the door, we gave them a call and . . .’

I exhaled a terse breath. I had heard the story about Mrs Connor and her fall a thousand times before. ‘No. There’s no need for police. I’m just checking that Jamie’s OK.’

‘Well, call me when you get there. It doesn’t matter what time it is. I’m sure I won’t sleep until you do.’

I ended the call, inching up the speed dial as I pressed my foot on the accelerator.





CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE

EMMA





2017


My eyes fluttered open as I awoke from my nap. It had been Theresa’s idea, an hour’s sleep to ease my nerves before working out my next steps. She had calmed my anxiety to get to Leeds, telling me to allow the dust to settle before galloping up there and upsetting everyone. But a black cloud loomed on the horizon. A succession of silent phone calls told me that Luke was close to hand. I hadn’t expected to get any sleep, but when I woke, a whole hour had passed and the house was cloaked in darkness.

‘Tizzy?’ I said, shuffling blindly in the hall. I had reverted to her childhood nickname, seeking comfort as fear crept up my spine. I flicked the light switch with no response. She must have blown the fuse box, I told myself, trying to quell my rising panic. It was situated in the living room, and I groped the walls as I made my way there. I listened intently to the usual creaks and groans of the house under the oncoming winds, my heartbeat feeling as if it had doubled its pace. ‘Tizzy?’ I said a second time, and her lack of response made me want to bolt for the door. But I could not leave my sister. As I entered the living room, the figure before me rooted me to the spot.

‘Theresa?’ I said, my heart stalling as I caught sight of her. Tied to a chair, she sat in the centre of the room. I recognised one of my scarves, which was now wrapped around her mouth. I followed her line of vision too late as I turned to look behind the door.

A sudden searing pain told hold as a blunt object hit me from the side. My legs weakening, I gave in to the darkness, and the last thing I remembered was a strong hand clamping around my throat, a pair of cold blue eyes piercing my soul.

The next thing I knew I was squinting as the lights flicked on, the click of the trip on the fuse box returning me to consciousness. I caught sight of Theresa sitting across from me, her eyes wide with fear. ‘Theresa,’ I moaned, my head throbbing as white starry flashes speared my sight. I blinked, trying to focus my vision as footsteps broke the silence, coming in from the other room. I swallowed back a whimper. I had not imagined the face in the window. After all these years, Luke was still alive. He loomed over me, dressed in black, laughing in response to my terrified expression. It was a thin, brittle sound, his humour failing to reach his eyes. ‘Oh come on, little puppy, you must have known this wouldn’t end well.’

I swallowed, my throat tight as I realised my hands and feet were bound just like my sister’s. I still held the memory of the pressure of his thumbs on my windpipe as he had clamped down hard and squeezed. All that time I had craved his touch, and yet it had ended like this.

Luke circled me like a shark as he explained the motive behind his presence. ‘It’s time for you to face up to what you’ve done.’

‘What do you want?’ I said, knowing that screaming was pointless. Out here in the windswept landscape, there was nobody to hear.

‘What do I want? You tried to kill me. You must have known I’d come back one day. I planned it well, don’t you think?’ he said, his eyes flashing under the light of the bulb hanging overhead. ‘The flowers, silent phone calls, slipping in after hours to slash that wedding dress.’

‘It was you who let Jamie out of the car,’ I said, the fear of that day rising up to greet me. Thank God Alex had taken him away.

‘I can take credit for most of those things, but I wouldn’t hurt a child. You can thank your own stupidity for that one.’

As Luke’s words filtered in, I remembered back to that day: it was raining, I was late. Had I pressed the wrong button on the car key and blamed it on him instead? I hadn’t been looking. My fingers were wet. All at once, I knew that I had been the one to blame.

Luke paced the room, taking pleasure from his captive audience. ‘I have a lot of plans for my son. Only there’s one problem with that, isn’t there? Your husband’s taken him away.’

I sucked in a breath, fighting against my bindings as I tried to break free. How did he know? I hadn’t told anyone about what happened that day. Had he worked out the timings, come back for his child? The thought of Jamie brought my protective instinct to the forefront. I had to get away. I pushed my head back against the chair as I tried to wriggle free. I squirmed as Luke’s face entered my field of vision, his breath tainted with alcohol and cigarettes. His proximity made me shrink back. I had to face up to the past because even if I got away, what would I say? Nobody would believe me, certainly not my husband, that much I knew. He had made his feelings apparent the minute he walked out the door.