Final Cut(97)

I ignore his gibe. I think of the girls on the film from the stable. I think of the girls listed in Monica’s book, and Kat with the tattoo she clearly didn’t want and which is shared by me, and Monica, and who knows who else? He must’ve branded us all.

‘How many have there been? How many girls?’

‘A few.’

He gestures with the poker. ‘Another rock.’

I lift one more. Maybe he’s right and this is what I deserve. But is it really better if I die? Sadie’s gone already; it won’t bring her back. It’ll just mean he’s won.

And if I go, if I jump, then he’s free to carry on. Who knows how many more girls will be destroyed before he stops, or is caught, or dies. I unzip my other pocket to slip the stone inside. There’s something already there, though. My phone. I fumble, but muscle memory kicks in and I find the button. I press Record. It’s a waterproof model, but still I’m worried it might not work. Even if it does it’ll be sound only, muffled by my jacket, but that’s all I need.

‘Why?’ I say.

‘Why what?’

‘Why did you do it? Why do you do it?’

He says nothing.

‘Is it the sex?’

Now, he laughs. ‘No. It’s not that.’

‘Money, then?’ I say. ‘The men paid you?’

‘Of course they did. But no.’

‘So why?’

He gestures towards the village. ‘Look around. I own this place. Half of Malby, too. I have something on virtually every man here, you know that? Either them or their father, or their brother, or their friend. They’ve all got secrets. They’ve all got things they don’t want to come out. And like I say, it’s amazing what people will do for you when they’re scared.’

‘You said you loved me.’

He laughs. A sneering, evil laugh. ‘I did? You were fifteen. A girl. You were nothing to me. None of you were.’

Despite everything, it stings.

‘You said it.’

‘I said lots of things.’

‘But … why?’

‘It was the easiest way to get you to do what I wanted.’

‘All those men—’

‘Don’t give me that,’ he says. ‘You’re a slut. You loved it.’

I stare at him. In that moment, my hate is as pure and white as burning magnesium, and I want to rush at him, to tear out his eyes, to rip out his tongue, but I do nothing. I hide it, like I always have, like I’ve learned to hide everything.

‘You got me hooked on drugs.’

‘You loved that, too.’

‘No,’ I say. ‘You made me. And you forced me to earn them.’

‘Nothing’s for free. And you had what they wanted. Supply and demand, that’s all it is.’

‘But Sadie? Why kill her?’

Say it, I think. Say it. He’s quiet.

‘Was it for fun?’

He sneers. ‘For fun? She wasn’t safe. She’d started to talk. She’d said something to David, I’m sure of it. Her mother, too. She had to be got rid of, don’t you see? And by getting you to do it I killed two birds with one stone. Shut both of you up.’

‘David. You pretended to be his friend.’

‘You know what they say about keeping your enemies close.’

‘He didn’t know?’

‘No. He had no idea. He thought it was someone else, way out in Malby. Even little Sadie wouldn’t tell him it was me. She knew what I’d do to her best friend if she did.’

‘Meaning me?’

‘Yes.’

‘What happened to him? His overdose?’

‘You know the answer to that. Stop wasting time.’

‘You thought by faking his confession to both murders you could make sure they were never pinned on you.’

‘Maybe.’

‘You’re a monster,’ I say. ‘You’re sick.’

‘The world is sick, baby.’

My mind is clear now. I can see it all. How the clip I’ve just recorded will fit into the film I still plan to make. His voice, over the footage of me, back when I was fifteen, walking towards the edge of the world. Not what the channel might’ve expected, but who cares? It’s the film I need to make, the one I needed to make all along.

‘Turn around, Daisy.’

‘No,’ I say, taking out my phone. ‘I think we’re done. I’m pretty sure I’ve got everything.’

His eyes flare when he sees what I’m brandishing; he tries to snatch it, but I whip it out of reach. Suddenly, everything is still, just the sound of the sea beneath us; even the wind seems gentle, now.

‘Give me that.’

‘No,’ I say again.

‘You can’t run,’ he says. ‘There’s nowhere to go.’

‘I’m going nowhere, Bryan. I don’t need to. I recorded it all.’ I press the button on the homepage. ‘And now it’s uploaded to the server. Whatever happens here, it’s not me who’s finished.’

I smile. His eyes are darting left and right. He knows it’s over. His crimes are public. I draw breath just as he lifts the poker and, as he brings it down, I step to the side, out of range. I’m near the edge, but this time I keep my balance. I don’t fall, I don’t go over.