Silent Victim(81)

‘Theresa,’ Luke said, tearing his gaze away from me as he turned to my sister. ‘I was just having a little chat with Emma here. What’s it they say? “Beware the person who stabs you then tells the whole world they’re bleeding”?’ He touched the back of his head, his gaze returning to me. ‘If I only knew what a fucked-up little girl you were when we met. I lost everything because of you.’

Theresa struggled against her bindings as she muffled a helpless cry.

‘Let her go,’ I said, wincing from the pain of my sudden blow. ‘Please. This has nothing to do with her. I’ll take what’s coming to me but you’ve got to let my sister go.’

‘I don’t have to do anything,’ Luke said, walking towards her and loosening the scarf around her face. ‘So what do you think, Theresa?’ he said, a bemused smile on his lips.

She licked her lips, her eyes narrowed with determination. ‘I think she’s right,’ she said, clearing her throat. ‘Do what you want with her. Just let me go.’





CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX

EMMA





2017


‘There’s no reason we can’t wipe the slate clean.’ I wriggled against my bindings. ‘Please, Luke, just let me go.’ My gaze fell to the container in Luke’s hands.

He exposed his teeth in a narrow smile. ‘How did it feel, falling victim when nobody believed you? Because that’s how it was with me. No matter how much I protested my innocence, I still had to leave my job. Your infatuation clung to me like a stinking boil.’ Placing the container on the floor, he began to unscrew the lid. ‘Well, now it’s time to give that boil a good lancing.’

The smell of petrol rose in the air, making fear chill the blood in my veins. ‘No,’ I said. ‘Please. I don’t deserve this.’ I knew what was coming. Luke was recreating the fire I had lit in the past, only this time my father would not be there to save me. After listening to Theresa, he had replaced her gag. She had been frightened, that was all. Surely she had not meant what she said?

Luke jabbed his finger to his chest as he leaned over me, expelling spittle with his words. ‘Did you really think I’d just forgive and forget?’

‘What do you want from me?’ I shouted, trying to buy some time. I knew he wanted to make this look like I had struck the match. I imagined Luke, encompassed by hatred and disgust, plotting to teach me some elaborate lesson with far darker things in mind.

‘An eye for an eye, isn’t that what the Bible says? You used to go to church, didn’t you? Did you stop because of me? Perhaps now is a good time to say your prayers.’ He picked up the container and began splashing its contents around the room. My eyes watered as the fumes filled the air.

‘Wait,’ I begged for the second time. ‘Please, Luke, let my sister go.’

Theresa worked the gag loose from her mouth as she rubbed her chin on her shoulder. ‘Luke, listen to me,’ she said, her words suddenly commanding. ‘I wish you’d approached me from the start, because I agree with you.’ She nodded in my direction. ‘Everything that went wrong in my life is because of her. You’ll be doing me a favour, now she’s signed over the business to me.’

Luke raised an eyebrow at this sudden act of betrayal. ‘You’re not serious,’ he said.

But Theresa was not going to stop now. ‘You said it yourself. She’s poison. Why do you think I let you friend me on Facebook?’ She paused, delivering the parting shot sure to win him over. ‘She’s not fit to raise a kid, but I am.’

I stared horrified as Luke nodded in agreement. ‘So you knew that was me?’ A ghost of a smile played on his lips.

‘Yes,’ Theresa said. ‘But first get rid of any evidence you were here. Alex is on his way back, but the tide should hold him for now. When he gets here, I’ll say I went out to the shops and when I returned, I was beaten back by the flames. It makes a lot more sense for her to be torched rather than the both of us. Don’t forget, I can help you get Jamie back.’

‘I don’t even know if he’s really mine, not for sure,’ Luke said, which proved he had not really thought beyond this day.

‘He is,’ Theresa said. ‘Alex had a DNA test done.’

‘No!’ I screamed, unable to believe what I was hearing. ‘This is murder. Theresa, how could you!’ But as he untied my sister, my words fell on deaf ears. I screamed and cried until I’d exhausted myself. It was like I wasn’t there.

‘Don’t pour it on her directly,’ Theresa warned, as he sloshed the last of the accelerant around me. ‘We have to keep it like it was before.’

Luke delivered a sickening smile. ‘See? We’re being kind.’ He pointed to the doors. ‘I’ve sealed them up, so air won’t get in. There’s a wad of newspapers stuffed up the chimney too. You’ll pass out from lack of oxygen long before the fire gets you.’

‘Alex is coming . . .’ I choked a cough as the acrid fumes infiltrated my airways and reddened my eyes. ‘They’ll put you away for life.’ Clenching my fists, I fought against my bindings, feeling a small give in the rope. But it was not enough. This was not my Dad’s watered-down white spirit being spilled on the floor. As soon as Luke added a spark, I would go up in a ball of flames.