by Lexi Hart
Mouth running dry, I nearly choke the reply. “Tampered with how?”
The detective smiles. “Well, I’m not sure. The owner believes he saw something on the live feed that is no longer there—”
Without meaning I interrupt him. “Live feed? There was a live feed of the camera footage?”
He nods slowly. “The owner connected a camera for security purposes. He informed us that he systematically checks on it when he’s away from the island. His wife corroborates that he was checking in on Luther over the weekend.”
I’m beyond shell shocked, so I sit, almost gaping at him as I try to keep my composure.
My thoughts are spinning wildly as I consider what that means. My toes start tapping as every possible thing Jake could have seen appeared on camera.
No wonder he was behaving so oddly.
The detective is staring at me, and I can barely breathe. He said this was informal, that I was free to go, and right now I’m not sure I can be here.
I get to my feet, head light and breathing too rapid. “Um, I’m sorry. I’m not feeling very well. Could we do this later?”
I don’t give him an opportunity to answer, just spin on my heel and hurry out of the building.
Luther did what he said he wouldn’t, and I have to consider it wasn’t just for me.
There is a distinct possibility Luther removed evidence of him planting explosives.
LUTHER
10.25pm
When my eyelids are drooping and I’m in danger of falling asleep in the holding cell, my lawyer appears and like a Knight in Shining Lip gloss, Delta is with him.
While my lawyer disappears to work his magic, Delta leans against the bars. “See, military men, too much damn trouble. There I was minding my own beeswax when I get a call from your lawyer.”
I nod. “Did you give it to my lawyer?”
She rolls her eyes. “Of course, I did. And I did a little digging. Two million dollars worth of digging.”
I lean against the bars. “Two million dollars?”
She nods. “The insurance payout Mary and Jake will receive.”
My fingers grip the bars tighter as anger builds. “Two million dollars for the Boathouse?”
At the sound of footsteps, she lowers her voice. “No, according to the assessment the castle sustained considerable damage too.”
I shake my head and keep my voice low to match hers. “How big was the bomb? The Boathouse was twenty yards away from the front door.”
She waits until a police officer has walked past before replying. “I don’t know. I haven’t had time to take a look at the report.”
A smirk grows despite my situation. “You mean hack?”
She lifts her shoulders as if it’s not a big deal. “I’ll do what I can to help. Since I’m now the only person who can.”
I work my jaw as I hear my lawyer’s angry voice as he stalks towards us with the detective who arrested me and the night sergeant in tow. “You began questioning my client without first reading his Miranda Rights, is this your first case detective?”
Delta’s lips twitch into a grin. “Looks like you’re out of here. You should know something about the camera before they release you.”
“What?”
“The CCTV wasn’t just recording. The footage was getting sent to Jake’s cell phone too.”
All the air leaves my lungs. “He was watching me?”
She sniffs. “Pretty simple set up really. All you need to do to connect the CCTV to phone with a SIM card. Then you can connect CCTV cameras using the Internet. He could check in anywhere with WIFI.”
My fists ball at my sides as I snatch my last opportunity to get information. “Where is he now?” I growl.
She shrugs just as my lawyer and the detective arrive. “Probably on his way to destroy the rest of the evidence,” she mumbles.
She steps back to allow the sergeant to unlock the door. My lawyer is pissed, and I probably should be too. But I’m too angry with Jake for setting me up to aim that at the detective who thought he was doing his job.
I know I shouldn’t but I pipe up when my lawyer is chewing him out. “Did you find any other explosives inside the castle?”
My lawyer sends me a look as the detective almost glares at me for his mistake. “Should there be?”
“The Boathouse should have confined the damage.”
The detective narrows his eyes. “You suddenly acquire a degree in engineering? Or do you know something else about the bomb you’d like to go on the record about?”
My lawyer places a hand on my forearm and aims a warning look. “If you were doing your job instead of harassing an innocent man you’d be investigating all possible suspects.”
Since this discussion isn’t going anywhere helpful, I walk away from them both and leave my lawyer to tear the detective a new one.
“Don’t go anywhere,” the detective calls after me.
I narrow my eyes as I push the doors open to the night air. I don’t answer him, just head towards the marina.
BLAIRE
11.43pm
I’m dozing, almost ready to succumb to sleep, when my phone chirps beside me.
I groan, ready to swear at whoever is calling this late. In case it’s Chloe, I check my phone and have to blink to make out the caller. “Mary?”
I hear her crying and wonder if she dialed me by mistake. “Mary? Can you hear me? What’s going on?”
I sit on the edge of my bed and press the phone against my ear as I make out her heavy breathing. “Mary? Mary, can you hear me?”
Her voice comes out weak. “Blaire? Oh, I’m sorry. I, I, I didn’t know who else to call.”
There’s a slight slur to her voice that makes me wonder if she’s drunk. “What’s wrong?”
Her voice is nothing more than a rasp. “It’s Luther. He’s been released. Jake is so angry. I’m worried he’s going to do something stupid.”
My stomach flutters as I listen to Mary start to cry. “What do you mean? Where is he?”
She sniffs. “I’m not sure. He left a few minutes ago. But, I think, I think he took the keys to the castle. But we’re not allowed back.”
I stare at my bare toes, heart in my throat as I try to think. “Have you called the police?”
She starts to cry harder, and I can barely make out what she’s saying. “Mary, I want to help, but I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying.”
Her voice comes out an octave above a whisper. “I don’t know what to say. I think, I mean, I don’t know if Jake might do something.”
My frustration increases as I try to piece together what she’s saying, or rather what she’s not saying directly. “Why don’t you want to call the police, Mary?”
“I can’t say,” she whispers.
I curl my toes on the carpet and try to find the right words. “Do you think your husband set the bomb, Mary?”
She sobs louder muffling her reply. “I don’t know.”
I take a deep breath and release it slowly before working up the courage to ask her another question. “Did you see any of the camera footage from the weekend I spent on the island?”
I hold my breath as the seconds pass by agonizingly slowly. “No.”
I release it in a rush. “Did your husband?’
“Yes. He was glued to his phone. We had an argument about how much time he was spending checking in. I thought I understood after Luther was arrested, now I’m not so sure.”
I shake my head, still not sure why she’s calling me of all people. Either she has no friends or she’s not thinking clearly. “I really think you should call the police and speak to them. I’m not sure what I can do to help.”
Her voice comes out a wobble. “Of course, I’m sorry. I’ve been so muddled since it happened. I don’t feel safe. I can’t sleep. And now Jake is gone, and Luther has been released. I don’t know what to do. I didn’t know who else to turn to.”
“Do you want me to call the police for you
?”
“No. No. I just wish I could go to the island, and just check on him. But I can’t go alone.”
I grimace. So that’s why she’s calling me. Does she really expect me to go back to the castle?
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. The castle isn’t safe. And it’s a long way to go—”
Her sob cuts me off. “I understand. Really. I’m so sorry. I, I didn’t have anyone else to, never mind. I’m sure it’ll be fine. I’m sure he’s not going back. I mean, you’re right, I’m probably overreacting. And I’m sure he wouldn’t hurt Luther if he was there too.”
Hurt Luther?
She sounds so desperate, but it’s thoughts of Luther that tugs painfully at me. “What makes you think Luther would return to the island?”
“Well, I don’t know. He still has belongings there, or maybe he’s hidden evidence. Maybe he’ll try to get it back?”
I’m still mulling it over when she sighs wearily. “Please, forget I called. I’m just a mess right now. I’m so sorry for troubling you. I can take the boat by myself.”
I frown. “The boat? I thought it was destroyed?”
She’s silent for a moment. “Jake took us out on it just before the explosion.”
“That was convenient,” I mutter.
“Pardon?”
I chew my lip. “I was just saying that was lucky you were away at the time.”
Her voice is shaky as she replies. “I don’t feel lucky. I feel like a fool for trusting Luther. What if he hurts Jake?”
I release a breath and run a hand through my hair. “You’re a few blocks away from me?”
“I am.”
I know I’m going to regret it before I utter the words. “Wait for me outside. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Chapter 11.
LUTHER
1.13am
I leave the dingy at the marker, strip to my wetsuit and ease into the water, so I can swim to shore.
I pull myself out of the water and run at a crouch as I keep to the shadows to avoid the camera.
The Boathouse is completely destroyed, debris scattered right up to the front of the castle, making it almost impossible to navigate in the near dark.
I pick my way towards the castle, and when nothing but the sound of frogs chirping greets me, I find finger holds in the stone, and start to climb up the west side of the castle.
Until the insurance pays out, Jake is in danger of them looking closer and declining it.
If he’s gone to this much trouble to lay the groundwork, there’s no way he’ll leave it to chance.
By morning, he’ll know I’ve been released which means I’m out of time and out of options to prove my innocence.
I’m breathless when I reach the third floor and the window, I know I left open a crack.
Balanced on the rough edges of the wall, I manage to shove my hand through the window and carefully ease it up until I have enough room to squeeze in.
I hit the floor, heart racing as I make my way across my room. I grab a flashlight and make sure it works before I quietly exit the room.
Encased in the dark, I take the stairs down to the first secret passage. I listen for anything moving in the stillness of the castle before I press the wood on the door and enter.
My nerves on alert, I creep down the passageway, using the flashlight to check for the internal damage Jake is using to justify his claim.
With every step closer to the wine cellar, it becomes clearer and clearer an engineer wouldn’t find anything remotely resembling damage from the blast.
What an engineer will find is serious liquefaction that no insurance company would ever payout on.
“Fucking asshole,” I mutter to myself. He stitched me up just for the insurance money.
It’s just as well he isn’t here. I’d have no hesitation breaking every bone in his face for the shit he’s put me through.
I thought he was doing me a solid giving me this work, but he was just looking for someone to take the blame.
What did he think I’d do? Roll over and play dead? And where does Blaire fit in? Was she just in the wrong place at the wrong time?
I shake my head, scowling as I start to think about Blaire. It’s as untimely as unwanted thinking about anything to do with her.
She’ll have been interviewed by now. Probably told the police all about me, about hearing and seeing me wake from nightmares.
I can’t believe she’d tell them we had sex together. She’s probably tucked away in her house, breathing a sigh of relief we ended things when we did.
No woman in their right mind would get involved in my life, especially not after this.
I quit thinking about her and focus on checking the stonework along the passageway.
I’m almost at the end when I note a crack running along the wall. I crouch down, shine the flashlight on it and pull out my phone, ready to take photos to send to Delta.
I ease the block back and spit a curse as I find wires connected to an explosive device.
There’s no detonator, no timer connected but I’m not about to blow my brains out using my cell phone to take a photo.
I leave it where it is and retrace my steps until I’m back in cell coverage.
I hover at the door, switch the flashlight off, listening before I ease back out into the hall again.
I tap out a text, hit send and turn to walk up the staircase, ready to grab my gear and disappear before Jake returns to do what I think he plans to do.
There wasn’t a timer on the bomb I found, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t more set to go off inside other hidden passages.
Only Mary, Jake and I know about them. And I only know because I stumbled on one a couple of months ago. Right about the time I noticed the liquefaction was getting worse.
My anger creeps up a notch as it dawns on me, that’s probably a large part of why he choose me as the perfect fall guy.
No one would believe me if I say the castle was already damaged before the bomb went off.
And that was exactly what he needed. No credible witness to contradict his story.
BLAIRE
Despite her disheveled state, Mary is holding it together as she steers the boat towards the island.
Heat rushes over my body as I try not to look towards the bedroom. The wind is tossing my hair around my face, frigid air making my cheeks ache with cold as I once again question my decision to accompany her.
She isn’t saying anything, but occasionally I’ll find her looking at me, and a half-smile will appear before her eyes are back on the black ocean.
As we approach the island and I see nothing but the outline of the castle, my nerves increase.
I’m out here with a woman I barely know, standing on the deck of a boat I slept in with a man I’m still not sure is crazy enough to be responsible for all of this.
What I do know about Luther doesn’t amount to much. Other than him being an incredible lover, probably suffering from PTSD, he hasn’t shared anything.
It’s worse than reckless to be out here. Maybe I’m losing my mind. But I’d rather be doing something than sitting at home waiting for news about him.
And I have to believe if the police let him go, there wasn’t enough to hold him. I catch Mary looking at me again, but this time the warm smile I’ve come to associate with her is missing.
She seems to notice and plasters one on but not before the niggling feeling I had starts to burn into fully-fledged doubt.
My opportunity to walk away from this vanished the second I stepped foot on the boat with her.
She skilfully drives the boat to the dock and seems to have none of the trouble I thought she might tossing a line on to the dock. “Would you mind? It needs to be tied.”
With a shallow smile, I place my hand on the ladder and jump across to the dock.
The rope is in my hand when I hear a noise behind me and I pivot just as a solid object smashes into the side of my head.
My le
gs give out from under me as pain screams through my head. I drop to my knees, slamming into the dock, as something cold is pressed into my temple.
Mary’s voice is no longer strained when she replies. “Finish this. He could show up here any time.”
Too late, I realize I made a terrible mistake and as I see Mary speed off in the boat.
Pain shrieking through my head, I’m too afraid to look at who is holding a gun against my head.
I can only assume her partner in crime is her husband. My body goes rigid as he jerks me closer so his hot breath is against my ear. “Struggle and you die now.”
A ridiculous surge of defiance erupts and I plant my feet. “I’m going to die anyway, why should I make it easy for you?”
He hisses in my ear. “Whatever you say.”
The gun eases away, but any relief I feel is replaced by panic when he steps behind me and squeezes his arm around my neck in a headlock.
My hands fly to his arm as I try to suck in a breath of air, fingers tugging uselessly at his arm as he presses harder until black is pressing in and I know I’m going to pass out.
I try to remember everything I was taught in a self-defense class, but I’m losing to battle to stay conscious, let alone remember anything useful.
Just when I think I’m going to die here, he releases the pressure just enough so that I can take a tiny gulp of air. “Not a pleasant way to die, is it? Least the bomb will be quick.”
Tears brew in my eyes at how stupid I’ve been. I asked so many questions, I practically invited myself to get in the middle of this.
If I’d just been able to accept that Luther was a mistake, I wouldn’t have placed myself in danger.
If I’d left it at an amazing weekend, I’d be asleep in bed right now, not being dragged towards a horrific death.
I never would have known Mary wasn’t the person I thought she was, and that Jake was capable of murder. Let alone be carrying out my murder.
Tears spill down my cheeks as I think about Chloe and Nick, and about everything I left unsaid with Luther.
I could blame him. But I can’t lay the blame at his feet. He made me no promises; I was the one who couldn’t let the police find out what happened.