The Prisoner(40)

“Where’s Justine?” she snapped.

Her question threw me. She wasn’t here for me, she was here for Justine. Shame flooded my body. Did she really believe that I’d married Ned for love, that I’d been in a secret relationship with him, that I’d lied to them all?

“Haven’t you heard?” Ned said smoothly, masking his anger. “She’s gone back to France.”

Lina’s eyes flashed. “I don’t believe it. She would never have left without saying goodbye to me.”

Ned shrugged. “Seems like she did.”

“No.” Lina was adamant. “Her life is here in England. Where is she?”

“I suspect she was too embarrassed to tell you why I terminated her contract.”

“Why would you fire her? She managed to get some of the best interviews ever, you said so yourself. You were happy with her work.”

“I was, until I found out she’d been taking drugs.”

“Drugs? Justine?” Lina laughed. “Are you crazy?”

Ned’s face darkened. “Have you forgotten who you’re talking to?”

“A liar, that’s who I’m talking to.”

Please be careful, Lina, I implored silently. But her eyes narrowed.

“I know what you did, Carolyn told me. You went to Justine’s apartment on the pretense of discussing her contract, and sexually assaulted her. I also know that she filed charges against you. So, you know what I’m going to do? I’m going to go to the police station and tell them that since filing the charges against you, Justine has disappeared, and that when we call her phone, it’s been disconnected. I’ll tell them that you said she’s in France and I’ll ask them to check the ports and airports to see if she actually arrived there. I’ll tell them how you were always pestering her, I’ll show them the numerous messages she sent to me, complaining about your continual harassment. And while I’m there, I’ll also tell the police about the off-the-record payments I’ve had to make as your accountant, to the young women you silenced after you sexually assaulted them. Except that they are not as off-the-record as you would like them to be, because I have copies of everything, I even have those girls on tape saying that they accepted the money because you threatened them with—”

It happened so fast. Ned grabbed Lina by the arms and pushed her against the wall, pinning her there with one hand while he covered her mouth with the other. I saw Lina’s eyes widen, heard her muffled protests as she twisted her head, then her body, trying to break free. She tried to grab Ned’s arm, dislodge his hand from her mouth, but her red tote slipped from her shoulder and dropped to her elbow, dragging it downward. She kicked out with her foot but Ned pressed his hand harder against her mouth, and her nostrils flared in and out in rapid movements as she tried to draw in air. I tried to move but my whole body was paralyzed by a mix of disbelief and denial—this wasn’t happening, what was Ned doing, why was he now pinching Lina’s nose with his fingers, his other hand still pressed over her mouth?

Lina’s feet started scrabbling on the ground, the pointed heels of her bright red sandals slip-sliding on the polished wooden floor as she tried to get purchase. Realizing that it was real, it was actually happening, I tore from my hiding place and launched myself at Ned.

“Get off her! Leave her alone!”

The force of my body crashing into his knocked him away from Lina. She crumpled to the floor, clutching her throat, making terrible sounds as she struggled to draw in breath.

“Lina!” I crouched down next to her, tried to get her to sit. For the briefest of moments, our eyes met and I saw that hers were filled with fear and warning.

“It’s alright, I—”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Ned’s shadow looming over me. A blow to my head knocked me off my feet. My head hit the floor and there was an explosion of stars before my eyes. Then everything went black.



* * *



The sound of labored breathing reached me. Lina. I snapped open my eyes and lay for a moment, fighting the pain in my head. I was crumpled along the bottom of the wall and realizing that Ned was there, just inches away from me, I became very still, only my eyes moving as I looked desperately for Lina. She was lying on her back not far from me, her body skewed at a strange angle, her long legs bent, her arms spread wide. I couldn’t see her face because Ned was bent over her. It was only when he straightened up, breathing heavily, that I saw her eyes were wide and staring, saliva pooling from her slack mouth. And, in that moment, I realized she was dead.

A scream rose up from inside me but terror trapped it in my throat. Ned was picking up Lina’s bag from the floor. I saw him dump it on her stomach, then move to stand behind her head. Stooping, he put his hands under Lina’s arms and began dragging her body down the hallway, toward his study. I stared in horror as first Lina’s head, then her legs, then her feet disappeared slowly from my view. I heard the door to Ned’s study open, followed by the sound of Lina’s body being dragged inside. Then Ned’s voice.

“Amos, I need your services, you need to come now.” His voice was urgent, commanding. “Come to the side door, I’ll get rid of my security guard.” A pause, followed by the sound of something clattering onto his desk. “And Amos, I’ll need you to find her passport, it’s not in her bag. We need to be more thorough this time.”