Page 74 of Her Hidden Shadow

‘After I’d got over Hazel, I met Lauren, it was before Tiff but I bet you never knew that.’ Kieron Crawford looked almost smug in telling them everything, like somehow he was the winner for outsmarting them for so long. ‘We had a whirlwind romance going on. I didn’t want to hurt anyone again in the way I’d hurt Hazel, so I tried to get out more and meet more people. That’s when I met the witch.’

‘The witch?’

‘Nancy. Lauren’s mum. I’d started meditating, trying to keep myself calm and happy and I met Nancy at a wellness centre. One time she brought Lauren along and the moment I saw her, I was besotted. And when she agreed to go out with me, Hazel was in the past. I loved Lauren with everything I had and soon we were engaged. But something was off with Nancy, she just didn’t like me.’

Gina wondered if the woman could sense danger around Kieron.

‘She kept telling Lauren that she shouldn’t be tied down so young and that marriage at such a young age was a mistake. Of course, we ignored her. But on our big day, Lauren dumped me. Apparently, Nancy had told her that she saw a text on my phone, one that suggested I’d been sleeping with someone else. Lauren demanded to see it, so I showed her because I wasn’t cheating, I knew there was no text. You can imagine how I felt when there was a text on my phone. Nancy had obviously sent it from a burner, and it was enough for Lauren to call the wedding off and dump me. Nancy then told me that I was never going to be enough for Lauren and that there was something about me that she didn’t like and that she’d do everything in her power to keep us apart. I just wanted to be happy, and the witch ruined it. After that I met Tiff. Now you can see why I couldn’t bear for her to leave me. I wasn’t going to get hurt a third time.’

‘Why did you try to kill her?’

‘I didn’t.’

‘But you repeatedly drugged her.’

‘I didn’t try to kill her though. I only strangled her to scare her, and I never fed her that many tablets, just enough to keep her under control.’

‘She was found with enough in her system to kill her. We found drugged wine, water and residue on another cup in your flat.’

‘I left her the wine because I thought she might find it, but I didn’t drug the wine or the tea.’

Gina exhaled and leaned back. ‘Who did then?’

He shrugged. ‘Ask another question.’

‘Tell me about you and Lauren.’

He let out a laugh. ‘Have I or have I not been cooperative?’

‘You have,’ Gina replied, hoping that he’d continue.

‘Just so you have it on record too, I went over to Nancy’s cottage today, and I tied her up.’

‘Then you took Lauren.’

‘There’s so much more you need to know, and it is going to blow your mind. Lauren and I hooked up again. She was always the one, forever mine, that’s what I used to say to her. That’s what we had engraved in our wedding rings, the ones we never got to swap. We were seeing each other.’

‘But she had just announced that she was going to marry Robbie Shields.’

Kieron balled his hands into fists. ‘That’s why we argued. I went over a few days before and I had to talk sense into her. She was torn and I couldn’t lose her again. She said that Robbie would never let her go and she was upset. She’d found out that her little bitch friend had been screwing Robbie and that he’d fathered her daughter.’

Gina scrunched her brows. Lauren knew all this time that Dora was Robbie’s daughter.

Kieron grinned. ‘I can see those cogs turning, Detective. Don’t you see now? Isn’t it all as clear as air. I first proposed to Lauren at Bluebell Woods and then I took Tiff there too. All the time I pretended that Tiff was Lauren. Weird maybe. When I told Lauren that, she was so flattered, and she couldn’t keep her hands off me. She took a lot of convincing when it came to her mum lying about that text, but, of course, I’d been telling the truth. There was no point carrying such a lie for so long so she could see I was being honest. That’s when we made a plan. Lauren wanted Sienna and Robbie to pay, and I wanted Tiffany gone. All went well my end. Sienna and Robbie were easy. I even went back to check on the bungalow just before you lot came. I even hung around to watch those stupid kids find Robbie. I thought Lauren and I had everything running smoothly. I bet you’re wondering why I’m dumping her in it.’

Gina didn’t say a word. While Kieron Crawford was in full flow, why would she interrupt.

‘The bitch changed her mind when she saw what I’d done to Nancy. What psycho lets me kill her best friend and her fiancé, then gets all het up about a mother who is a complete lying cow? She went for me at that point like a rabid dog and I couldn’t help it, I laughed and shoved her in my car. She was no match for me.’

‘So, you took her to the woods where you intended to kill her?’

‘I took her back to where it all started. We had the best day of our lives by that stump, and I felt she should end her life there too. See, I even thought about that after she turned on me. Always thinking of other people who never put me first.’ He paused. ‘You know how Lauren planned to end Tiff? She was going to pop over, make her some tea and open up. They were going to chat away like they were best buddies, each other’s supportive friend and then Lauren was going to make sure there was a fair few crushed up tablets in that tea. I fed Tiffany the usual number of pills she was used to. Yes, she felt rough, but she was never about to die. With what Lauren gave her on top of those, it was inevitable she’d overdose. I wrote the note though, thought it might be more convincing. All Lauren had to do was sneak in, set everything up and leave the note. We knew that leaving the wine out too would entice Tiff to drink it. She was just a woman who couldn’t say no to a drink or a pill.’ He paused. ‘Lauren let me down and now she’s going down with me. It’s funny really.’ His bellowing laughs filled the room.

Gina’s heart banged away as she thought of all that Tiffany had been through. Kieron, the man she trusted more than any one had treated her so cruelly and as for Lauren, Tiffany believed she was going over to talk and befriend her, but she too had deceived her. Gina wondered if Tiffany would ever be able to trust again. Gina knew she had to be the one to confront Lauren who was at present playing the role of victim and being treated in hospital.

Sixty-One

Nancy

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