Page 127 of D for Dead

‘I am not.’

‘You couldn’t wait to tell me about the basement, show me where it was. Admit it: you’ve thought about that night a lot.’

Troy had, but he wasn’t going to admit anything.

‘What if you knew you couldn’t get caught?’ Cap continued. ‘If you knew you were safe and no one would ever find out. Wouldn’t you like to know what it felt like to have that power over someone?’

‘You mean kill them?’

‘I mean have some fun with them, do whatever you want to them, and then of course you would have to kill them so they couldn’t tell.’

‘Why would you want to do that?’ Troy gripped the neck of his beer bottle. His heart was thudding in his chest, and he was appalled by what his friend was saying, though also slightly fascinated. ‘It’s sick.’

‘It’s not sick. It’s taking what you want. People kill animals for sport or fun. How is it any different? Some people say it’s cruel; well how is taking a human life any different?’

‘Because humans don’t kill other humans. It’s wrong.’

‘And who decided on that rule? If you have the courage to do it, why shouldn’t you take what you want? Take your friend, Amy. I bet she never gave you a second glance. Imagine having power over her, to be able to do anything you wanted to her, to hold her life in your hands. She would notice you then.’

‘You’re talking about murder.’

‘It’s not murder if you get away with it.’

‘This is a stupid conversation.’ Troy necked the rest of his beer, placed the empty bottle on the table and got up. ‘I need to use the bathroom.’

He made his way down the long hallway, taking in the expensive prints and furnishings and thinking Cap’s dad must be loaded, and shut the bathroom door, glad to have a moment away from the conversation. The direction it had taken had made him feel uncomfortable. Was Cap screwing around with him or was he implying he wanted to kill someone for real?

He used the john, washed his hands and splashed cold water over his face, the imprint of Danielle in the basement firmly on his mind.

Cap was waiting for him in the living room, a smile on his lips. ‘Do you have any plans this weekend?’

‘Studying.’ Troy shrugged his shoulders. ‘But aside from that, I guess not.’

‘Good. My dad has a log cabin upstate. I was thinking we could head up there Friday night, spend the weekend fishing, hunting, having a few beers. What do you reckon?’

Troy was relieved the whole murder conversation had been dropped. Cap must have been dicking with him. ‘Yeah, sounds good.’

‘I was hoping you would say that. How about I pick you up after class on Friday?’

‘Okay.’

Cap’s smile widened. ‘It’ll be a lot of fun.’

* * *

The cabin was a couple of hours north of the city, situated off a dirt track on the edge of a lake, and surrounded by thick forest. The nearest neighbour, Cap informed Troy, was a good three miles away, which meant they could party and go crazy as much as they wanted.

‘Are you sure your dad won’t mind us being here?’

Cap shook his head. ‘He rarely uses the place these days. Busy with his girlfriend. We used to come up here a lot when I was a kid. Spend the day fishing on the lake. I sometimes drive up at the weekend. You’re the first friend I’ve brought here.’

‘Well, thanks for the invite.’

Cap grinned, pulling Troy’s weekend bag from the back seat and throwing it to him, before scooping up the bag of groceries he’d brought with him. He unlocked the cabin door, nudged it open with the toe of his sneaker, and led the way inside.

Troy whistled, taking in the place. This was no regular log cabin, and, like the New York apartment, the place reeked of money with leather couches and expensive looking furnishings, a huge television set and a wide-open fireplace.

‘This place is amazing, Cap; is your dad Steven Spielberg or something?’