The Hike(48)

‘Hello, Sidney,’ he said, amusing himself with his Scream joke. His voice was barely a croak. He’d strained it earlier, screaming and shouting for help as he’d clawed his way up over the side of the mountain.

Cat sat up straight, and her movement caused Tristan’s head to slip off her shoulder. He woke with a start. Then his eyes widened, too. The pair of them were frozen to the spot. Clearly this was the last thing they’d expected.

He took a few steps closer, dragging his bad leg behind him.

‘Paul?’ Cat managed, eventually. She let the blanket fall off her chest, pulled her arms out from underneath. ‘Oh my god.’

Despite the pain in his ankle – which was most likely just sprained rather than broken, as he was sure that no one could walk on a broken ankle – and the dull throb in his skull, from where Tristan had tried to brain him with that lump of metal from his climbing belt, he was actually not in too bad a shape. His fingernails were mostly gone, from where he’d jammed his fingers into the smallest crevices, making his way slowly up the side of the mountain in pain and in the growing dark. Adrenaline had replaced fear. He hadn’t looked down. He could’ve stayed on the ledge, but he might not have survived the night, so what choice did he have – and really, what did he have to lose? If he’d fallen to his death, like poor Ginny, at least he’d have died trying.

He found himself smiling at the comical expressions on his wife and his brother-in-law’s faces.

Tristan bunched up the blanket and threw it off. He stood up, and attempted to shift his face into one of concern.

‘Mate . . . fucking hell. Are we glad to see you!’

Cat got up, then. Walked forward to greet him. She held out a hand, ushering him in. ‘I can’t believe you’re here. Tristan climbed down to look for you, but you were nowhere to be seen.’ She burst into tears.

He had no doubt that her tears were genuine, but they were from shock, not happiness. She’d just told him a blatant lie, confirming his suspicions about the two of them being together. Sure, they could try to explain away their huddling together for warmth, but he knew for sure that Tristan hadn’t climbed down to try and find him, because he’d landed on a ledge that wasn’t too much of a drop beneath where he fell. He would have seen Tristan if he’d started to climb down.

Paul locked eyes with Tristan. He knew he was thinking the same. Shut up, Cat. Don’t say anything else.

Because Paul knew what had happened to Ginny, too.

‘I’m guessing you didn’t know about the ledge,’ Paul said, ‘when Cat shoved Ginny over the side?’

Cat’s eyes flicked towards Tristan, then back to Paul. ‘What are you talking about? There was no ledge. Ginny fell—’

‘She didn’t fall, though, Cat. Did she? She was pushed. By you.’

Cat shook her head. ‘No. No. It was an accident. We were fighting, yes. I admit that part. But I didn’t push her. We were prodding at each other, she slipped.’

Paul’s stomach flipped over. Was she trying to gaslight him now? He’d been there. He’d seen it happen with his own eyes. He shook his head, then directed his gaze towards Tristan. ‘I’m guessing this was all your idea. Makes sense now with you apparently “helping” Cat plan the hike.’

Tristan snorted. ‘And what possible motive would I have, eh? Ginny . . . you . . . it was all an accident. We found this place, and then in the morning we’re going to get help—’

‘You found this place because you knew it was here. This was all planned. I confess, I don’t know why. It all seems a bit elaborate. Have the pair of you been watching too many Hitchcock films or something? In between fucking, of course.’

‘Paul—’

‘Save it, Cat. You’re not going to convince me that this was anything other than planned.’ His voice softened. ‘I know things have been difficult. I know I was asking a lot of you to trust me, what with everything that happened . . .’

Tristan looked confused. He turned to Cat. ‘What’s he talking about?’ Cat looked uncomfortable. Tristan turned back to face Paul. ‘What are you talking about?’

Paul shook his head. ‘You know what? It actually doesn’t matter. But I’m just bewildered as to why you thought bumping off me and Ginny was a good plan? If you were having an affair, why didn’t you just leave us? It’s what most people do. Most sane people.’ He muttered the last line under his breath.

Tristan took a step forward. ‘Look, mate—’

‘You can stop with the “mates”, Tristan. I’m not your mate. I don’t think I ever was.’ Paul took a step back, out of arm’s reach. He didn’t trust Tristan not to try and finish the job. He didn’t trust Tristan at all. He couldn’t believe that Cat had been taken in by him.

He fixed his eyes on his wife. She was still crying, but he had no sympathy for her. ‘So what exactly was the plan for when you made it back down to the village? And what’s the plan now that I’ve come back to scupper your romantic night in this pretty little cottage?’

There was an unmistakable creak in the floorboards above them. They all looked up at the ceiling. It seemed like none of them were breathing. Waiting to hear another sound, but none came.

‘It’s an old building. It makes noises.’ Tristan shrugged his shoulders. ‘I checked the whole place out when we arrived.’