But a tremor in my hand moved the knife and nicked her skin, and the blood drop that formed over the wound made me toss the knife aside. I crawled off her and away, until I was sitting in a pile of feathers that used to be Alice’s duvet. I thought Mrs. Greeves might get up and run off when I did, but she just lay there, coughing more than she had when I’d been on top of her. She didn’t even move her hands. She coughed twice more and her eyes were closed. Maybe she was sleeping, I told myself. Maybe she’d fall into unconsciousness and stay there. Maybe I’d already killed her in the end.
I covered my tremoring hand with the other and stood slowly. I stepped gingerly toward Alice’s room. Once there, I turned on the faucet in the powder room and washed my hands and face before the water could turn warm. Then, and only then, did I decide to face my own reflection. It wasn’t as bad as I’d thought it would be. There was a scratch along my cheekbone under one eye, and a bruise was forming at my temple. But for the most part, my wounds were all in places that could be hidden under my clothes and by my hair. I’d had worse. Much worse.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, but I ignored it.
“You have to go,” I told my reflection. “Quickly now.”
I reached under the bathroom vanity for the first-aid kit I knew was kept there. I hugged it to my chest, walked out into the room, and saw my bag behind the door, miraculously untouched in Mrs. Greeves’ destruction. I shoved the kit into it.
It wasn’t until I was looking in Alice’s closet for an unshredded sweater that I heard another cough from out in the entry. My reminder that a woman was dying out there. I took a moment to close my eyes and squeeze my hands together again, and when I opened them, I found a wrap that would work perfectly. It was thick and long enough to hide the blood on my body.
When I reached for my bag again, I winced at the pain in my shoulder, where a piece of glass still felt wedged into my skin. My hip wound ached from all the walking around and standing. I needed to get to a hotel as soon as possible, a thought that made me remember that I needed money. And I’d hidden the cash that Alice had given me in Piddinghoe. I hoisted up my bag, grabbed the wrap, and headed for the kitchen. I knocked along the wood panels of wainscoting in the kitchen until I heard the empty one, then kicked it free to grab the bag of cash.
I shoved the cash bag into my bigger bag, then swung the wrap around my shoulders, making sure I could still use my hands without revealing the wounds at my shoulder and hip. A flare of pain went off in my injured shoulder, and I gritted my teeth against it. The ache in my shoulder set off a kind of ripple effect, bringing to life all the little pains in my back and making my hip pain worse. I needed to get to a hotel to clean up. I needed to lie down.
I slung my bag up on my uninjured shoulder and made for the door. The picture of the little boy stopped me for a few seconds. I reached a hand up like I would touch it, but I never did.
“I’ll call for help,” I whispered.
Chapter 28
I was halfway down Baker Street when I decided to call Alice. She answered before the connection could even ring on my side.
“Where are you?” I asked.
“Safe. Near Battersea Park.”
“You should be closer to Brighton by now.”
“Yeah, we had to take a little detour. I thought I saw someone who was too interested in us, so we jumped off the train to make sure we weren’t being followed. I’ve booked tickets to take a more circuitous route for later tonight. And before you ask, Michael is safe as well. My friend will meet the transport.”
For the slightest moment I thought about not telling Alice what had happened. She had enough drama on her plate just getting my brothers to her farm. But she had to know how toxic London would be from now on. What if she’d brought them back here tonight?
“I was attacked when I got home. And the house is trashed.” The quiet on the other end of the line made me peek to see if the call had dropped. When I found it had not, I said, “I’m fine. But it was that protester woman who has been around the house. She’s the one who put the hand in the rubbish bin, and she’s been coming after me for weeks.”
“And she’s been sending you threats.” There was something off about Alice’s tone, but I couldn’t say what it was. I suddenly wished I could see her face to figure out what she was thinking.
“You knew about those?”
“I saw one in your room when I was cleaning up.”
“Well, she got pretty badly injured when I fought her off. Do you think you could find a phone to call someone to help her? Anonymously, of course.”
“Where is she?” Again, her tone made me wary. It was like her words were clipped. Was she angry? Angry with me?
“She’s in the house, bleeding pretty badly. I just know if I call it in, it’ll be worse for me in the end. But she’s really hurt.”
“I’ll take care of it. Where are you right now?”
“I’m going to find somewhere to lay low for a bit. Figure out what comes next.”
“Text me where you end up.”
She was definitely angry. Not that I could blame her. I’d tricked her into leaving town without me and then made a huge mess of things. And now I was involving her. Like she wasn’t already doing enough for us. Still, I wasn’t going to text her. I knew that.
“I’d better go.”
“Yeah. Go find a nice place. Text me and I’ll take care of the bill.”