Chapter Seventy-Three
David
‘I don’t know how long I was in the clinic, but it seemed a long time,’ Holly says softly. ‘Nobody believed me about what happened, about Evan. I told the nurses, the doctors, and they just thought I was deluded.’
‘What about Brendan?’ I ask her. ‘Did they find out what you did?’
‘No. Incredibly, I got away with it. They thought he’d been distracted by his phone and stumbled into the road. The caller on the end of the line heard the truck and the long beep… It was classed as a tragic accident. But you see then she had my son. Still has. I have to find him, David.’
‘We haven’t got long. The ambulance will be here, and then…’ I look at poor Mrs Barrett’s prone, lifeless body and feel a catch in my throat. But I have to press on. ‘You told me you were scared of someone from your past trying to find you… that someone was watching you.’
‘I got… confused,’ she whimpers. ‘Some of it I did so you’d protect me, so you’d get closer to me. I sent the letter to myself; I imagined someone at the end of the garden… I mean, I convinced myself it was true.’
‘But now you think there was nobody there?’
Holly shrugs and squeezes her eyes closed. ‘It’s like a house of cards has collapsed around me. All this time I’ve believed Geraldine would look for me, that she’d suspect I was the one who killed Brendan. I’ve felt Evan’s presence in my head… as if he’s missing me too.’ Her voice drops and becomes faint. ‘But none of it was real.’
‘But why hurt Mrs Barrett? After everything she did for you… and you pretended to be my friend. This is how you repay us?’
‘I liked you, David. I really did.’ She says it in such a regretful tone, I almost believe her. ‘You know what it’s like to be an outsider. Perhaps we could have been true friends under different circumstances.’
I stand up. ‘I have to call the police now, you know that, don’t you, Holly?’
She smiles at me.
‘You still don’t understand the final part of my plan, do you, David?’
I look at her.
‘I didn’t hurt Cora. You did. You pushed her so hard she cracked her head on that fireplace.’
I shake my head and scowl at her. She sounds just like Mr Brown – blaming everything on me, trying to wriggle out of what he’d done.
‘No, Holly.’ I swallow hard and stare at her stretched mouth. ‘The truth is, you got mad and pushed her. I followed you just to try and help, that’s all.’
‘You pushed her, David. Your fingerprints are all over the headboard. There’s a copy of the lottery letter addressed to Cora in your crummy kiosk at work. I put it there, you see. There’s a recorded conversation between your mother and Cora, both worrying about your erratic behaviour and the possibility that you haven’t been taking your medication.’
She holds her phone up above her head.
‘When I went outside for air, I rang the police, not the ambulance. And they’ll be here any moment.’
I stare at her, lost for words. Eventually I say, ‘Why? Why betray me, your one true friend?’
‘I wanted to find Evan, and for that I needed money, lots of it. I’d been watching Cora for a while; I knew she’d be in the post office queue that day. I’d got to know her routines, but only with a view to finding a place to stay. I thought she was probably well off but never actually knew she’d had a lottery win until I found the letter, and then it all dropped into place. And you… you were a gift. An oddball next door who everyone knew was strange.’
I pause, unsure whether to tell her. Nothing around here seems certain any more. Holly doesn’t seem like Holly any more. Perhaps she’s just like all the others.
‘What is it?’ She narrows her eyes at me.
‘Markus told me what happened. When you were in the hospital.’
She stares.
‘Geraldine couldn’t cope without Brendan. She became terribly depressed, and…’
‘Go on.’
‘Holly, she went into the garage with Evan and killed them both. Carbon monoxide poisoning.’
Her face crumples in on itself. I cover my ears as she roars in pain like a wild animal.
I want to put my arm around her shoulders but I can’t quite manage it.
She jumps away from me and starts stuffing money in the bag again.
‘It’s a lie. Not true. Not true.’
‘Holly. Markus told me they’re all dead… Brendan, Geraldine and Evan. You’re the one who’s inadvertently been living a lie all this time.’
There’s no reaction; it’s as if I haven’t spoken. Her eyes aren’t flashing any more, they’re empty. Dead.
‘I’ll get away with this just like I got away with killing Brendan.’ She’s so self-assured, I could almost believe her.
‘You don’t get away with everything, Holly. I saw you break that vase at work; I was watching from the top of the stairs when you snapped the flowers off.’
Shock flits over her face, but just as quickly it is gone.
‘I’m sorry it had to be you, David,’ she continues. ‘You were a gift to me, the final piece of the jigsaw. I don’t believe what you’re saying about Geraldine and Evan. Markus lied to me all those years ago and he’s lying again now.’
She looks to the window, craning her head in anticipation of the police arriving.
‘But that’s not the final piece of the jigsaw, Holly,’ I say carefully. ‘I’m afraid the puzzle isn’t that simple.’
‘I’ve got about twenty-five grand here and as soon as they arrest you, I’m out of here. I’m going to find Evan.’ Hope flickers in her eyes. ‘You should have carried on taking your medication, David. You made it too easy for me. Now your own mother will have to give evidence about how worried she was about your strange behaviour.’
‘That’s just it, though, Holly,’ I say softly. ‘Mrs Barrett… she didn’t want to make things too easy for you.’
She stares at me.
‘A couple of weeks ago she told me she had a bad feeling about you. She was big on feelings, Mrs Barrett.’
‘Don’t lie! She really liked me. She told me I could stay here as long as I wanted.’
‘She did like you, but nevertheless, she had a bad feeling. She told me she didn’t trust you. That’s why she asked me to do a few extra bits for her in the house.’
She looks unsure. I’m feeling a little more powerful now.
‘You’re making no sense.’
‘It’s quite straightforward, Holly. Mrs Barrett had a bad feeling and that’s why she asked me to install the covert cameras. In her bedroom and in the lounge.’
‘What?’ Holly’s eyes scan the room. ‘There are no cameras in here.’
‘Look at the shelf, at Mrs Barrett’s lovely figurines. The lady in the middle… she’s not Capodimonte; she’s just a cheap ornament off the market. Go and look closely at her.’
I hear car doors slamming outside, but Holly seems not to notice. She is entranced by the figurine.
‘Oh my God… there’s a hole…’
‘And inside the hole is a covert camera. They’re everywhere, Holly, and they feed straight back to my computer. The footage is captured in the Cloud. For the last two weeks, everything has been recorded.’
‘You…’ She flies at me just as the room fills with officers.
Chapter Seventy-Four
David
Mrs Barrett left everything to me. The money, the house… every stick of furniture in it.
They found the will buried underneath paperwork.
It all seems a long time ago now. Here I am, almost two years later, the master of this house.
It’s handy having Mother still next door. She likes to make my meals, but sometimes I cook for her around here. She likes time away from Brian these days.
I refuse to see him now. I’m done with tiptoeing around and spending time with people I don’t like.
I’ve apologised to him, though, for losing my temper that day. Apart from a headache and a couple of stitches, he was OK in the end.
I still work at Kellington’s, and they took Emily back when she asked if they’d give her another chance.
We never mention Holly, and I never did tell them I’d seen her break the vase.