The Passengers(44)
‘Of course it’s not fucking entertainment!’ Sam yelled. ‘This is actually happening to you, to us! Wake up, woman. You are being held hostage – they’ve murdered three of us already this morning – why is that not sinking in?’
Sofia registered that the screaming and crying had stopped and when she looked closely at the other screens, her fellow contestants were all listening and watching them.
‘This is a reality television programme,’ she replied, suddenly beginning to doubt herself. ‘We are on Celebs Against The Odds. Has no one told you?’
‘No, we are not! The only television programme we are on is the news. I am not a celebrity, neither is my wife, nor any of the other people trapped in these cars apart from you. We are all being held against our will and someone is killing us off, one by one.’
Sofia opened her mouth but no words came out. ‘Oh my,’ she said eventually, and placed an arm around her dog. ‘But I don’t … I don’t understand … why me?’
‘Why not you?’ Sam replied. ‘Just because you’re famous do you think you should be immune?’
‘Well … yes.’
‘Think again because we’re all in the same boat. You’re no better than any of us.’
Sofia didn’t need Sam to remind her of that. She knew better than most that some of the decisions she had made to protect her career and her image would horrify her fans. Her chest tightened as she worried she had been picked precisely for that reason, and that her darkest secrets were about to come to light.
Chapter 32
SAM & HEIDI COLE
If Sam had been able to switch off his monitor so that he didn’t have to see or hear Sofia, he would have.
His anger towards his own hijacking was compounded by her stupidity. He was sick of hearing the deluded actress continually grasping the wrong end of the stick while no one saw fit to correct her. Finally, he could hold his tongue no longer. But after delivering the truth and witnessing the actress’s crestfallen face, he began to question himself. Perhaps being na?ve to their dire circumstances was better than facing reality.
Meanwhile, from her car, Heidi was willing her husband to bring an end to his rant. ‘Sam, please stop,’ she said through gritted teeth. ‘She’s an elderly woman and you’re bullying her.’
‘We’ve been told we’re about to die and she’s begging for her bloody agent!’ he replied. ‘I tell you, if she manages to find a way out of this just because she’s famous, then I’ll drive this car into her myself.’
‘Sam …’
‘No, stop trying to silence me. She won support from one of the jurors just because she’s on the telly. How is that fair? She’s had her life; we are the ones with children who need us and what do I get? Nothing. If they hadn’t killed that Asian woman, what would’ve happened to me?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Yes, you do; we both do. You’d be watching me burning to death in this car.’
‘Don’t say that.’
‘It’s the truth, isn’t it? Did any of the jurors stick their necks out and choose me?’ Heidi didn’t say anything. ‘Exactly,’ Sam continued and folded his arms.
‘If the kids are watching this, they don’t need to be reminded of the threat we’re under, do they?’ added Heidi. Sam shook his head.
The last thirty minutes had seen a switch in the mindsets of husband and wife. Heidi was beginning to put her police training to use and talked herself into a calmer state of mind. And learning she had the support of at least one juror gave her belief that perhaps with a little more time, she could win more over. To survive this ordeal for the sake of her children, she must toughen up. The only person she could rely on was herself; it was a lesson she had been forced to learn weeks earlier.
As her and Sam’s tenth anniversary had loomed, Heidi had known it was the last one she would spend as his wife. Unbeknownst to her husband, she had twice met with a local solicitor to discuss how to separate and the implications it would bring. She was determined to keep the family home and would offer to share custody of the children, not that he deserved them. As much as she had longed to make him suffer, she would not do it by using James and Beccy.
For years, the family had survived mainly upon her wages as Sam established and grew his construction and refurbishment business. She had paid for so much, from foreign family holidays to new furniture. And throughout that time, she had also been both mother and father to their kids while he had worked away for several days each week.
Today was supposed to be the day that everything changed, when all that had been so wrong in their marriage was to come out into the open. Only the Hacker put paid to that. Now she would need Sam on side.
Meanwhile Sam was now convinced he wasn’t to blame for the mess they’d found themselves caught up in. There was no evidence that his lies were responsible for their predicament. Shabana’s murder, while unfortunate, was a brief reprieve, offering husband and wife a stay of execution. It meant a juror was free to help him whether they favoured him or not. Quietly he hoped that Shabana wouldn’t be the last to die before the planned collision.
But it also released inside him something he had not anticipated – a bitterness towards Heidi. Why was she favoured above him?