RIGOR MORTIS HAD already set in on Edgar Regan’s body. The only hope Kate had lay in the knowledge that, for whatever reason, Cassie hadn’t killed her straight away. It was a split-second realisation, feeling the knife against her throat and knowing it could all end within moments. No goodbyes to Charlie, no time to reflect, no prospect of ever doing the most mundane or extraordinary things again.
As she crawled down the stairs, across the floor and into the dark cellar, she told herself that she was still alive. Cassie had said she’d only ever killed one woman, a witch. Kate had to assume she was talking about her grandmother, but no matter how cruel her grandmother had been to her, the likely abuse of her grandfather would have solidified her hate to the extreme. However Kate looked at it, if Sandra or Cassie wanted her dead, she would be. Somewhere in her moral compass, she wasn’t going to kill without reason, and Kate had no intention of supplying one.
Although it hadn’t taken Kate’s eyes long to accustom to the dark, it was difficult to make out Cassie’s expression. The more time passed, Kate also knew, the greater the risk of Cassie turning aggressive, especially with pressure from outside. She needed to distract her.
‘Why did you kill Edgar?’ she finally asked. It was a risk starting there, but she had to start somewhere.
Cassie didn’t reply straight away, so Kate kept her eyes on her dark shape. Eventually, she said, ‘He loved Sandra more than he loved me.’
‘Love is important to you?’
‘I’m not a monster.’
‘I didn’t say you were. You’ve suffered. I can see that.’
‘You think you can work me out?’ she sneered.
‘I saw the pain in your paintings and sketches. None of this is your fault.’
‘Too late.’ She spat the words with venom.
‘You know Sandra will come back. You can’t kill her.’
‘This time is different. This time she was pushed too far.’
‘How can you be sure? She could come back at any moment.’
‘Shut the fuck up.’
‘If it wasn’t for Sandra, you wouldn’t exist. You owe her your life.’
‘I owe her nothing,’ she hissed, through gritted teeth. ‘I took the fucking pain for the precious, pathetic coward. I lived the hellhole, not her.’
‘You remember it all, don’t you?’
‘You learn to compartmentalise things.’ She laughed hysterically. ‘It’s a good coping mechanism, but you know all about that, Doctor. You’ve dealt with this shit before.’
‘I’ve never met anyone like you.’
‘Lucky you.’ Again she spat the words, but this time they were loaded with sarcasm.
‘I’m lucky, yes.’
‘Tell me, Kate, what was your mother like? Did she dress you prettily, put ribbons in your hair, tell you how great you were?’
‘She didn’t do any of that.’
‘Really? I’m intrigued. Tell me about her, now we’re getting along so well.’
‘She was a bit like Sandra.’
‘In what way?’
‘She was frightened most of her life.’
‘Of what?’
‘Of never being good enough, thinking others were better than her, of settling for less than she should have.’
‘And what about with you, Kate? Was she a good mother?’
‘She did her best.’
‘Was that good enough for you?’
‘Not always, but things changed.’
‘How?’
‘I learned that sometimes people become who they are because of the cruelty of others.’
‘I think about her all the time – my mother. You’d think she’d have come back for me, wouldn’t you?’
‘She couldn’t.’
‘You mean because she died?’ The rage fired up again. ‘The witch died, but she wouldn’t leave me in peace, crawling in and out of my life.’
‘The witch stays with you because you let her.’
Kate pulled back, seeing the shadow jump in the dark, as Cassie put the knife back to her throat. ‘You want to be a dead woman?’
Both of them heard the overhead noises at the same time. ‘Not a word from you, bitch, or you’re dead.’
When the trapdoor opened, it was a female voice they heard, a voice Kate didn’t recognise.
‘Sandra, is that you? Are you down there?’
‘Sandra isn’t here right now.’ Again the sarcasm. ‘Stay away from here, Alice. I warn you, I’ll kill this woman if you don’t.’
‘Is Edgar with you?’
‘You don’t need to worry about him – not any more.’
‘I’ve been to the forest.’ There was excitement in her voice. ‘Even in the dark, I found our old rock. Do you remember how we used to set it up like an altar, with the cards, putting the red cloth on top? The place is still there. I thought I’d never find it, but the moon guided me.’ She gave what Kate thought was a sob. ‘If you let me, I can take you there. We can go there together. We can send all the evil spirits away. You’d like that, wouldn’t you, Cassandra?’
‘You know I would.’