Page 66 of The Serial Killer's Sister
‘You … you—’ Henry stutters. ‘God, Anna.’
She calls down the well, but there’s only silence. Tears blur her vision and her legs buckle.
‘We can’t tell anyone.’
‘What? We have to. We can’t … just …’ His breathing is rapid and further speech is impeded.
After minutes of shocked silence, panic floods each of them and survival instincts kick in.
‘You did it. It’s your fault.’ He begins pacing around the well. ‘I’m going back to Finley – I’ll get Frank.’
‘No! Don’t be stupid. Look, we have to think this through. It’s no good panicking and ruining the rest of our lives.’
‘I think you’ll find they’re ruined already.’
‘You’ll go to prison, Henry. You think Finley is bad? Jesus,’ she says, taking hold of him, giving him a shake.‘If you tell, I’ll be forced to blame you and we both know I’ll be believed. Your track record isn’t exactly angelic, is it? And what with your weird behaviour, they’ll automatically point the finger at you, not her best friend.’
He collapses to the ground, head in his hands, and begins rocking.
‘I’m sorry,’ she says. ‘We’re both hurting here – we’ve both contributed to her death – and we both need to make a promise here and now that this stays between us.’
‘How can you be so callous?’
‘Shit, really? You’re asking me that, after all you’ve done?’
Accusations fly until exhaustion takes over.
‘What are we going to do then?’ he asks eventually.
She suddenly looks shifty – sheepish. ‘We had a plan. To leave Finley, run away. All we need to do is stick to that plan.’
‘You were both going to leave? Without a word to me and Dean – your only fucking relatives?’ Anger swells inside him.
‘Only to begin with, Henry. We’d have come back for you both, I promise.’
His brow furrows in disbelief. ‘Yeah, course you would’ve.’
‘You need to sneak back to Finley. Go into our dorm and under each bed is a backpack all ready with our runaway clothes, purses and fake IDs.’
‘You’re leaving me behind in this shithole to cover for you, make sure they believe you both ran away? I can’t.’
‘You have to. Please, Henry – it’s the only way.’
He gets up, brushes himself down and swipes at his tear-streaked face. He leans over the stone wall of the well. ‘No, no, no.’
‘Please, Henry. For me?’
He closes his eyes, shaking his head. Everything has changed in the matter of an hour. Their game, The Hunt, ended in a way that he’d never intended. With the dire consequences stretching ahead, something inside him gives.
‘Okay. I’ll do it for you, Anna,’ he says, then finally moves away from the well and stomps back through the trees. ‘Stay right there,’ he calls back over his shoulder.
Chapter 48
After another hour of anguished discussion, Serena agrees to drive the Audi away from the woodland along a route of minor roads to avoid traffic cameras.
‘Thank you,’ I say. ‘I’m not sure how I’ll ever repay you, but I promise I’ll spend the rest of my life trying.’
‘Let’s just get through the night before you make any further promises, Anna.’ Her tone sounds harsh, unforgiving, and I can’t blame her. My promises don’t count for much. Her shoulders slope, and she takes me in her arms. ‘It’ll be okay.We’llbe okay,’ she says, more softly. If I escape punishment for this, I’ll owe her my life.
