Page 22 of Savage Seduction

I replied, my voice choked as I struggled to disguise my tears, “In Marco’s apartment! After I did what you told me to do, we found her dead. Tell me you have nothing to do with this?”

“Of course I didn’t!” he said incredulously. “I can’t believe you would accuse me of that!”

“Sorry,” I said automatically. Doubt filled me. Did I really believe that Toby was capable of murder?”

“You told me to get Marco into his apartment. And then this happened. What am I supposed to think?”

“You’re supposed to think that I would never sabotage my deal with doing something so stupid!” He sounded angry, scared. He softened his tone. “What did you tell the police? Tell me you didn’t say anything?”

I laughed bitterly. “Of course I didn’t say anything. They think Marco did it.”

“He probably did,” said Toby, sounding angry. “That bastard. This is going to ruin everything.”

“He said he didn’t.”

“Are you sure?” He sounded relieved.

“I don’t know,” I admitted.

“And you won’t tell him anything? You’ll be in huge trouble if you let anything slip. He’s ruthless. Dangerous.”

“That’s what you’re worried about?” I was incredulous.

“I am only trying to protect you.”

I was fully sobbing now, and unable to hide it from him.

“Calm down,” he told me. “Calm down, baby. Everything is going to be okay. Just don’t tell the police or Marco anything. Okay? Where are you? I’ll come and get you.”

I shook my head, wanting to tell him to sod off. But I was crying too hard. I hung up the phone, flung it across the room.

I sank down against the wall beside the window, and wrapped my arms around my knees, giving in to the tears. Dolly was dead. She really was dead. I had seen her body with my own eyes. All that blood. I couldn’t believe she was gone. Someone had stabbed her in the chest. All that blood over her ribs. How could this have happened?

Overcome with nausea, I ran to the bathroom and threw up, even though there was nothing in my stomach.

It took me a long while to calm myself down. And afterwards I felt drained, and strangely weak. When I looked out of the window and down the trellis, I felt dizzy. I couldn’t do it. I would fall.

I ended up calling Bernie back, apologising, telling her I was too tired to come home, and would she mind terribly staying with Mom until the morning? It was only a few hours extra, and Bernie agreed, to my great relief. She could hear in my voice that I was not well.

“Please don’t tell Mom any of this,” I said.

After hanging up, I thanked the heavens that I had Bernie in my life, and sank into the bed into a deep, dark slumber.

Chapter 11

BETH

I jerked awake some hours later, my heart pounding as if I was in mortal danger. I had dreamt of being followed, then chased, by a frightening unknown figure.

The room was already bright, sunlight streaming in through the windows, oddly jarring against the dark dullness of my mood.

A wave of nausea overcame me and I rushed to the bathroom to throw up. Only after I was done, did I realise that maybe this was morning sickness, not just the shock of seeing Dolly like that.

Panic rose in me. I pinched the bridge of my nose to calm myself. The morning sickness make the pregnancy feel more real than it had ever done before.

I brushed my mouth to get rid of the taste of fear and grief that I had woken up with, and took a hot shower. The powerful jets blessedly soothed me a little.

When I got out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, I gave a cry of shock. A maid dressed in a prim uniform was in my room, removing brand-new clothing from shopping bags—bright dresses mostly—and hanging them up in a wardrobe.

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