The Things You Didn't See(91)

It was hard at first to explain. Holly didn’t exactly understand herself, why seeing Cassandra and Daniel locked together had overwhelmed her to such an extent. Perhaps it was mirror-touch again, and she was experiencing their emotions?

‘I want to tell you about a Halloween, back when I was eight. My brother shot into the dark, and hurt someone.’ She hadn’t even known the words were coming until they were there, hanging in the cold November air. Leif moved closer, sharing his warmth.

‘Do you know how many times I’ve thought about that night, and the fact that I left without even looking back. Leaving someone, I didn’t know who, screaming in pain?’ She pulled back slightly, to see Leif ’s reaction. ‘I feel I’ve been trying to make things right ever since, that it’s why my senses are now so alert, why I’m training to be a paramedic. But now I have a real chance to fix things.’

She freed herself from Leif, leaned over the banister and looked at the streets below, doors concealing hidden lives.

‘I’m going to call the police tomorrow and make a statement about what I saw that night. I’m going to have to tell them that my brother shot Cassandra.’

Leif moved behind her, pressed into her body. They were cold, they should go inside, but she knew that if they did, the moment would be lost. Leif seemed to understand this too, as although his hands on hers were cold, he said, ‘It was a long time ago, Holly. You were all just children.’

‘But still, Jamie needs to face any consequences. Just like I must. I can’t keep hiding from things, from the damage that happened that night.’

‘So this is why,’ he said, so softly that his words were almost like a thought, ‘you don’t open up, why you hold back your emotions?’

‘Yes. Because my senses give me an emotion, but not the reason or thinking behind it. And the feelings are not always my own.’ She turned, facing him. They were nose to nose. ‘I’m frightened, Leif.’

‘Don’t be, S?tnos,’ he reassured her. ‘Everything will be fine, I’m sure.’

She fell silent then, her head to Leif ’s chest, listening only to the wind and the beat of his steady heart. She hoped he was right.





44

Cassandra

So, I’ve ended up back here at the Bartlet Hospital, just like you said I would. Are you happy, Mum? You always liked to be right.

Daniel’s with me. He’ll stay until I’m asleep and the machine begins its job, monitoring the rhythms of my sleep-world.

‘I won’t leave you,’ he says. His lips find mine and I kiss him. ‘I’ll be with you all the time. I’ll keep you safe.’

I love this man – I always have, but I wasn’t sure he loved me. Now, after meeting Monica, I know the truth, and I trust him.

‘Are you going to tell me?’ I murmur, already beginning to drift away. ‘Holly told me the police found Mum’s blood in your car. What did you do, Daniel?’

He releases me slightly. His eyes have a faraway look and I know he’s thinking back. He tells me everything then, and I listen. It’s as though I’m hearing a story I already know, I’ve dreamed it before, or I’m experiencing déjà vu.

‘She was going to ruin everything, Cass. You see that, don’t you?’





DAY 16

SUNDAY 16 NOVEMBER





45

Holly

Holly was woken, still wrapped tightly in Leif ’s arms, by a knock at her door. Wrapped in a blanket, she was surprised to find Daniel waiting there.

‘I’m sorry to come to your home, Holly. Cass gave me your address. We need to talk.’

Holly returned to her bedroom, and pulled on some jogging bottoms and Leif ’s jumper that was lying on the floor. He was still asleep, so she closed the bedroom door carefully behind her, not wanting to disturb him. Daniel had already perched on one of the stools in the kitchen.

‘Can I get you a coffee, Daniel?’

‘No thanks, it’s carcinogenic. But don’t let me stop you.’

She boiled the kettle, made a cup of tea instead, and slid onto the empty stool beside him.

He looked very calm, and totally in control. Holly waited for whatever he needed to say, not breathing for a moment.

‘As you now know, I was at the farm on the morning of the shooting. What I’ve just explained to the police is that when I arrived, I saw Maya struggling with someone who was holding a gun. I was too late to intervene: I heard a shot and Maya was already on the ground when I got to her.’

‘Who was struggling with Maya?’ Holly asked the pertinent question.

‘I think you know the answer to that.’

The silence in the room was palpable. ‘And where was Hector?’

‘He was asleep in the front room. I had to wake him, to tell him his daughter had shot his wife. Can you even imagine how terrible that was?’ Daniel’s face was pale, and he clasped his hands together as if for self-support. ‘And poor Cass, she was still asleep – she had no idea what she’d done.’

Holly remembered finding her in the wardrobe, how disorientated she was. Hector saying to his daughter, There was only you and me in the house.

‘When Cass sleepwalks,’ Daniel continued, ‘she’s strong. It took all my strength to wrestle the gun from her. She was only wearing the clothes she’d slept in, her underwear, and they were covered in blood, as was her skin. Maya’s blood. I led her upstairs, and stripped her, then I showered her. All the time, she remained asleep – she had no idea what she’d done.’