‘I don’t want to die,’ I heard Holly say, almost sobbing with fear. There was one more bend to negotiate, curving to the right, and we almost clipped the barrier as I eased the wheel clockwise, leaning into one bend, then another. The car behind had switched from fogs to full beam, and their headlights bounced against the mirror, but somehow, despite the fog and the icy road, I managed to keep control of the Jeep. We didn’t skid. Didn’t scrape the barrier. And then we were on the straight road, and the turn-off was just ahead.
I didn’t hit the indicators this time. I swung the wheel to the right, and as we screeched on to the side road, the other driver roared past us, sounding their horn again, really leaning into it, going so fast I was convinced they were going to crash. A copse of trees obscured my view, and I waited for the sound of crunching metal and splintering glass, but there was nothing. Just the sound of their engine.
They were gone.
I eased my foot on to the brake, slowed down and pulled over. Sat there for a second, panting. I was drenched with sweat and my heart wouldn’t slow down.
‘Are you all right?’ I asked Holly when I got my breath back. Her hair hung around her face and she was paler than I’d ever seen her. She nodded, then started to cry. When Itried to touch her, she waved a hand, wiping at her eyes with the other. ‘I’ll be fine. That arsehole. That fucking arsehole.’
I turned to Miranda, who was wide-eyed, staring past me through the windscreen.
‘They’re coming back,’ she said.
She was right. Or at least, there was another vehicle driving along the road towards us, headlights cutting through the fog. I gripped the wheel, unsure if I should drive away, but also needing to see who it was. We all watched as it came closer, revealing itself to be a four-by-four. A Land Rover.
It pulled up a short distance from us, the front door opened and the driver got out.
Miranda spoke first. ‘It’s Zack.’
He appeared to be unarmed. I got out of the car.
‘What the hell was that? Your wife is in the car. Holly, too. You could have killed us all.’
He came close. ‘Maybe that was my intention.’
Before I could say anything else, both Holly and Miranda got out of the car.
‘Sweetheart,’ he said to Miranda. ‘Come here.’
She moved towards him, and he wrapped her in an embrace. ‘I was worried sick. You shouldn’t be with Patrick. He’s dangerous. The police have been to the house looking for him. He killed Morag, escaped arrest. I was terrified he might have hurt you two as well.’
Holly just stared at him, clearly frightened. She knew he was lying.
He turned to me again. ‘I’m afraid we’re going to have to turn you in, Patrick, mate. But we can keep it civilized. Come back to the house and we’ll call the police, let them know where you are. We don’t want any more fuss. I’m sure Charles will talk to one of his lawyer friends, for Holly’ssake, obviously. I’m sure you had a good reason for killing Morag.’
‘And what would that be?’ I asked.
‘Because she wouldn’t sleep with you.’
I almost laughed. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘When I spoke to Morag to sort out the payment of this month’s money she told me you’d propositioned her. That you were pestering her. She probably threatened to tell Holly.’
‘Holly knows that isn’t true.’
‘Do you, Holly?’
She didn’t answer directly. Instead, she said to me, ‘Maybe we should go back to the house. Talk to Dad. He’ll help us sort all this mess out.’
I thought I understood what she meant. That we could tell Charles what Zack had done. Show him the note Samir had left behind. I got the impression, too, that she would feel safer back at the house. I was confident, from the way she kept glancing at Zack, that she still believed me. As if I would proposition Morag and murder her to keep her quiet. It was crazy.
Miranda, though, was staring at me like she believed her husband.
‘He said some wild things about you, Zack,’ she said to him.
‘I bet he did. Looking for someone else to blame for all this.’ He went to take my arm. ‘Come on, mate, let’s go.’
I shook him off. Should I run? I could, but where would I go? I was out of options.
