by M K Farrar
The property wasn’t furnished, but there were still a few items left inside. She remembered seeing something she could use beside the huge marble fireplace. Leaving the cellar for the moment, she hurried into the living room. Beside the wood burner was an iron fireside tool set. She hurried over and picked up the poker. The metal was cool in her palm, the weight of the item surprisingly heavy. The cane wouldn’t be any use initially, when she first needed to take him down, but this would do.
Outside, headlights swept down the road in front of the house, followed by the sound of an engine. The engine cut out, but the headlights continued to illuminate the street.
Liv’s pulse jack-knifed, every muscle in her body taut with anticipation. It was him. She was sure. She needed to act quickly. If she gave him the chance to speak, he would be able to control her actions and influence how she acted next, and then she’d never find out where Ellen was.
She tightened her fingers around the handle of the poker and went to the open front door. Positioning herself so the poker was on the other side of the doorframe, hiding it from view, Liv waited.
The headlights went dark, and a moment later the slam of a car door shutting made her jump. Her heart raced and she felt dizzy with tension, but there was no going back. She needed to keep her nerve.
Michael’s tall figure appeared in the open driveway, his feet crunching on gravel. She had the light on behind her, so he probably only saw her silhouette, but she knew he’d recognise her as immediately as she recognised him.
He stopped just inside the open gate. “Olivia. What the fuck is this all about?”
“You need to come with me. I’ve got something to show you.”
“I don’t need to do anything you say,” he spat.
She couldn’t let him talk for long. He might tell her to do something to hurt herself again. “Yes, you do. At least, you do if you don’t want everyone to know your dirty little secret.”
With that, she turned, keeping the poker close to her body so he wouldn’t see it, and walked deeper into the house.
“What the hell, Olivia?” he called after her.
But she didn’t respond. She imagined his frustration, hesitating as he decided what to do. Should he go back to his car and risk her spilling whatever Ellen had found out about him, or should he go after her and try to minimise the damage?
The crunch of footsteps signalled him walking towards the house, and Liv caught her breath and ducked back in against the wall. He wouldn’t be able to see her now, and she was able to move back towards the front door, staying hidden from sight.
The footsteps grew closer, and then went quiet as his feet left the gravel and hit the paving slabs which led up to the front door.
With trembling arms, Liv took the poker in both hands and lifted it above her head.
“Olivia?” He stepped through the front door.
And Liv brought the poker down, the metal cracking against his skull.
Chapter Thirty
Present Day
“NO!”
Her scream cut through the air.
His hand was free now, and she knew exactly what he was going to do next. He’d reach for the gag and pull it away from his mouth, and then he’d make her do whatever he wanted.
Still, she didn’t give in. Even though deep down she thought all hope was lost, she scrambled to her feet and threw herself at him. He still had one hand tied to the metal hook in the ceiling, but, just as she’d thought he would, instead of trying to untie that hand using the one he’d freed, his fingers went straight to the gag at his mouth.
His words were his weapon.
She caught his freed arm, dragging it away from his face, but he shook her off. She was injured, and even with him half tied up, he was stronger than she was. Everything hurt. Her face throbbed, and the back of her head pulsed with pain. She was tired, so tired, and she just wanted all of this to be over.
His fingers hooked the gag and he yanked it from his mouth. “Stop it, Olivia. For fuck’s sake. Just stop.”
It was done. Micheal was free. Now she’d die, too.
Liv dropped to her knees, giving in to great, painful sobs. She put her hands over her face and cried until the salty tears mixed with the blood, and the combination dripped through her fingers and onto her jean-covered thighs.
“What are you going to make me do?” she cried.
He stared at her with those deep brown eyes—eyes she’d once convinced herself she’d cared for. “Make you do? I can’t make you do anything.”
His hand was working the knots that bound his other wrist to the metal hook now. He’d be free soon. Not that it mattered. It was all over.
“I know what you can do,” she said, lifting her eyes to his, forcing herself to be brave even though she knew she wouldn’t have much longer to live. “I know you hurt those women.”
“What the fuck are you talking about, Liv? I haven’t hurt anyone.”
“Okay, maybe you didn’t physically hurt them, but you made them hurt themselves.”
Confusion clouded his features. “How the hell did I do that?”
She staggered back to her feet. “Don’t lie to me! I don’t know how you do it, but you’re able to make people do things. You tell them to do it, and it puts the thought into their head. You’ve done it with me plenty of times, and you did it to the others as well.”
“I seriously have no fucking idea what you’re talking about.”
She shook her head and pointed her finger at him. “This! This is what you do. You twist people’s way of thinking. I don’t know how you do it, but you do. That’s how you got Holly Newie to kill herself.”
The confusion didn’t leave his face. “Who the fuck is Holly Newie?”
“The blonde woman I caught you fighting with that day near Hyde Park. The one who went missing and then killed herself. Don’t make out like you didn’t have anything to do with it.”
“I didn’t!” he protested.
“And then Tammy? You were the last person to speak to her. You’d fought with her about me, and then she showed up dead.”
“It was a drug overdose, Liv.”
“No!” She jabbed her finger at him again. “That’s just what you wanted everyone to think. You told her to O.D., I know you did. It was your way of getting her out of your life.”
“You’re insane. Yes, I argued with Tammy, but only because I thought she was a total bitch towards you. There’s no possible way I could have got her to overdose. Tammy was a party girl. She was doing class A drugs every weekend. It was only a matter of time.”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t believe you. How do you explain Ellen going missing as well, then? I know she found out something about you. She was going to speak to you, and I begged her not to because I knew how dangerous you are. Then she just goes missing! You think that’s a coincidence?”
“No, I don’t think it’s a coincidence,” he said coolly.
She jumped on the admission. “So, you’re saying you did do something to them all! Where’s Ellen? What did you tell her to do? Is she going to kill herself, too?”
“Shut up, Olivia.”
Her mouth snapped closed at his tone.
“It isn’t a coincidence,” he continued, “because you’re also the person who links all these women together.”
“What the hell are you talking about? They’re my friends.”
He shook his head. “You’re wrong. Ellen might have been, but not the others. You didn’t even know the blonde woman, but you were immediately suspicious and jealous about me talking to her, and deep down you hated Tammy.”
She shook her head again. “You’re lying. You hurt Ellen, or you’ve told her to go somewhere and kill herself, just like you did the others!”
“You’re the one who’s done this, Olivia. It’s more likely that you’re the one who killed that blonde woman you saw me speaking to, and you probably killed Tammy. I don’t know where Ellen is because I bet you’re the one w
ho took her. God only knows what you did to her. You’ve probably killed her, too.”
Tears streamed down her face. “No, no, no, no ...” It wasn’t true. It couldn’t be true. Yet she’d been missing chunks of time. Was that when it had happened? Had she killed Tammy, blaming the other woman for trying to take Michael away from her? Had she killed Ellen, too? “No, you’re trying to put thoughts in my head again. You’re trying to make me believe things that aren’t true. That’s what you do. You make people do bad things!”
“You’re insane. Do you actually believe that? I’m not the bad one here, Olivia. That’s you. You’ve kept me here, tortured me to get information from me, when all this time, the only one with that information is you. I don’t know where Ellen is, but I think you do. I bet you’re the one who took her, and it wouldn’t surprise me if she’s dead, too!”
“No! She was coming to find you. You’re the link here. You’re the one who made them hurt themselves. Just like you made me hurt myself, too.”
“You crazy bitch. Ellen came to me. She found out something about me, and warned me off of you. The poor woman didn’t want to see you get hurt, which is laughable in itself, considering you were the one doing the hurting this whole time anyway.”
“What do you mean, she didn’t want me to get hurt? Had she figured out what you’re able to do?”
“No! Stop it with that bullshit. I can’t do anything. That is all in your head. Ellen came to talk to me because she found out I was married.”
She stared at him. “Married?”
“Yeah, I have a wife and a three-year-old son, too. That’s why I never let you come back to my house, and why I wasn’t around some weekends. They’re probably worried sick right now, wondering what’s happened to me. I might have been away for ‘work’ on occasions, but I’ve almost always answered my phone. I expect they’ve called the police by now to report me missing. They’ll be out looking for me.”
She shook her head, frantic. “No, there’s more to it than that. You’re able to do something. You can make people do what you want them to do. You make people hurt themselves. They do something to upset you, and you tell them to go kill themselves!”
“Like I did with you, you mean?”
“Exactly!” She rolled up her sleeves to show him her bandaged wrists.
“Olivia, you hurt yourself because you wanted to. Because you know you’re fucked up in the head and you were hurting people. Yeah, I said it, but I didn’t make you do it.”
“Yes, you did. It’s some kind of dangerous mind control. Or hypnotism. Or something.”
“You’re so far off the mark, this would be funny if you weren’t so fucking dangerous. What were you really taking those tablets for—what were they? Anti-psychotics. Don’t tell me they were for a bit of anxiety. It was worse than that, wasn’t it? That guy in the street that day, the one who called you Sarah, he actually did know you, didn’t he?”
She clutched her hands to her ears, not wanting to hear him say another word. “Stop it, stop it.”
“Sarah? Is that your real name? Sarah.”
She battered at her head with her hands. “Stop it,” she shrieked, “stop it!”
“I’m innocent. You’ve been torturing an innocent man all this time.”
“You’re not innocent. You were married and sleeping with me!”
“Maybe, but you’re the one who is dangerous. You’re the only one who knows where Ellen is, or what happened to the other women.”
“That’s not true.” But was it? Her mind flickered, trying to rearrange her reality. No, she didn’t want to know. Didn’t want to remember.
“What did you do to, Ellen, Sarah?” Michael said, using her real name. “What did you do to your best friend?”
Chapter Thirty-one
Three Days Earlier
THE FRONT DOOR OF LIV’S flat opened.
Someone was here.
The keys for the agency car were tight in her fist, her phone in the other hand. She’d been trying to call Ellen, but it had just gone straight to answer phone. Now someone was here, and there was only one person she thought it would be.
Michael.
He had done something to Ellen, and now he was here to mess with her, too.
But to her surprise, a familiar blonde, curvy figure stepped through the door. She was looking down, so didn’t notice Liv standing there until Liv spoke.
“Ellen?”
Her friend looked up in shock. “Liv? What the hell are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in hospital. I was just stopping by to get your things for the morning.”
“Why didn’t you answer your phone? I’ve been calling you. I’ve been worried sick.”
“The battery died.” Her tone grew firm. “Why aren’t you in hospital, Liv?”
“I left. I had to. I needed to know you were going to be all right. Did you see Michael?”
Ellen nodded. “Yes, I did. I’ve warned him to stay away from you.”
“Oh, my God, Ellen. I told you not to go near him. He’s dangerous.”
She shook her head, her eyebrows drawn together, her nose wrinkled. “He’s not going to come sniffing around again, Liv. I promise. I’ve threatened him—”
“Threatened him? Threatened him with what?”
“You don’t need to know that. Just know that he won’t come near you again. He’s not been good for you, Liv.”
She didn’t care about herself. She caught Ellen by the shoulders. “What did he say to you? Did he tell you to hurt yourself?”
Her face creased in a frown. “Not this again. Michael can’t make someone do something just by telling them to.”
“He might have made you forget. Or maybe he hasn’t done it yet. But you’re in danger, Elles, I know you are.”
“I’m fine, Livvy. Please. You’re not well. I really think you should go back to hospital. The doctors can take care of you there.”
She shook her head, frantic. “No, I can’t go back there. If I’m back there, who’s going to make sure you’re all right? If you threatened Michael, he’s going to want to get rid of you. Even if he didn’t say something when you saw him, I promise you that he’ll have something planned. It’s what he does with every woman who upsets him.”
Ellen shook her head and took a tentative step backwards. “You need help. This is crazy. Go to the police if you think Michael is dangerous.”
“I can’t. They’ll never believe me. I’ll be the one who ends up locked up, and he’ll be free to do whatever the hell he wants. You’ll be next, Ellen. I know you will.”
“I’m fine, Liv, I promise. He can’t hurt me.”
But Liv wasn’t buying it. If he knew Ellen had something over him, he wouldn’t just let it go.
“I need to show you something,” she told her friend.
Ellen’s lips twisted, but she nodded and followed Liv as she turned and went back into her bedroom. She went to the adjoining bathroom, a plan starting to formulate in her mind. She felt horrible for doing it, but she didn’t have any choice. She needed to keep Ellen safe—that was the most important thing of all.
“I’ve been on medication,” she said as she went into the tiny en-suite bathroom that was off her bedroom. She opened the door to the medicine cabinet and took down her pot of antipsychotics, and another pot, too. “They keep me level, or at least are supposed to, but I don’t think they’ve been working too well lately.”
Ellen was standing behind her, and she clung onto what Liv had said. “That’s why you need to go back to the hospital. The doctors can help you there.”
Liv cracked open the second pot of pills and emptied a few out into her palm. They were tiny tablets and easy to swallow. She turned, and not giving her friend time to question what she was doing, lunged for Ellen.
Ellen hadn’t been prepared at all. Liv was so much taller than she was, and Ellen fell backwards, her head smacking on the floor. She was dazed, Liv could see by the way her eyes rolled, but she couldn’t give
her friend time to come around. Though she felt awful doing it, she pressed her thumb and fingers either side of Ellen’s cheeks and forced her mouth open. Ellen must have half realised what was happening, as she tried to twist her face away, but Liv was bigger and stronger. She pried open her friend’s lips and dropped the tablets down the back of her throat. Then she clamped her hand over Ellen’s mouth to prevent her spitting them back out or shouting for help.
“I’m sorry,” she said, still pinning her down. “It’s just something that will help you sleep. This is for your own safety. I promise. I need to make sure he can’t find you.”
Ellen’s eyes widened and she shook her head beneath Liv’s palm. She tried to speak, but her words were muffled. She struggled against Liv’s hold, kicking her legs and trying to lift her arms to claw at Liv’s face, but Olivia used her entire body weight to pin her down, and any scratches she delivered fell harmlessly against the leather jacket Liv had stolen.
Liv felt wretched. She didn’t want her friend to be frightened, but what choice did she have? She would rather Ellen was frightened for a short while than dead for good. Ellen struggled, but as the drugs worked their way into her system, she gradually grew weaker, until she finally fell still.
“I’m sorry,” Liv said again, but she was asleep now and couldn’t hear her.
Liv looked around for her next step. Her gaze landed on a small walk-in wardrobe. That would do.
She climbed off her friend and caught hold of her ankles. With her back bent and straining, she dragged Ellen into the wardrobe. She didn’t want to tie her up, not wanting to leave her defenceless if Michael somehow found her before Liv found him. She wouldn’t keep her here for long, she hoped, but Ellen would need to remain here for as long as she was in danger. Thinking of something else, she remembered Ellen’s bag. Ellen had dropped it when Liv had jumped her, but a quick rummage through located the keys to Ellen’s flat. Ellen might need a change of clothes or something, so at least now Liv had the keys and was able to let herself in when needed.