Chapter 124

Eve was dead.

Even with a sluggish, concussed brain, Poe knew she had to be. He had clamped his eyes shut after Bethany's first blow, but he hadn't been able to block out the sound. Bethany had started slowly and methodically, but after half-a-dozen blows, it had transformed into a rage-fuelled attack.

After two minutes, she stopped. The only sounds Poe could hear were Bethany panting, Aaron crying and the pitter-patter of blood on the basement floor.

He risked opening his eyes and then wished he hadn't.

Eve's injuries were catastrophic and unsurvivable. Her jaw was hanging, pendulum-like, by a thin flap of skin. She was missing an ear. Her skull was misshapen and flattened, like a lump of dropped clay.

Poe hoped Eve had lost consciousness after the first blow. She hadn't deserved Bethany's mercy, but no one should die like that. He glanced at Aaron; he was in shock. His skin was pale and clammy; his lips tinged with blue. Dilated pupils and shallow, rapid breathing. He had been staring in horror at his dead sister, but when Bethany eventually caught her breath, he turned to her.

Later, much later, when Poe was asked about Bethany's state of mind in the moments after Eve's murder, he would answer ‘Calm.' She was still holding the mallet – its striking face wet and stained – but only because she had forgotten to drop it. Her arms and face were spattered red, as if she'd been bobbing for apples in a bucket of blood. But, despite her outwards appearance, it looked like she had found some inner peace. A serene smile danced across her lips and her eyes were still and tranquil.

Aaron burst into tears again, a high-pitched mewl that snapped Bethany out of whatever Zen-like trance she had been swimming in. She blinked twice and looked at the mallet. She seemed surprised to see there was blood on her hands. Cat-like, she licked them. She held them up to one of the bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling and, satisfied they were clean, she turned to her brother.

‘Let me give you the choice I never had, brother mine,' she said. She moved to the table with the camping equipment and picked up a canvas bag of tent pegs. She upended it and they watched the pegs fall out. They landed in a pile, like she was setting up a game of Mikado.

‘Do you need the hood, Aaron?'

Aaron turned away from Bethany. ‘Do something!' he yelled at Poe.

‘You tied me up, mate,' Poe replied.

‘That was Eve! She's the bad biscuit, not me!' A cunning look stole over him. He turned to Bethany. ‘And it was Eve who kept putting your underpants in my bedroom,' he whined.

‘Is that so?' Bethany said.

‘Yes! And it was Eve who made me keep quiet about what happened when you were in the mercy chair. I wanted to tell a teacher!'

Aaron clearly thought blaming Eve was a seam worth mining. And why not? Blaming a dead sister had worked for him before.

‘She even killed Mum and Dad. She made me go and live in Wales on my own. I didn't know anyone and people picked on me for being English.'

‘Sounds awful.' Bethany looked at Poe and winked again.

‘It was awful actually,' Aaron insisted. ‘I've never been strong like you, or nasty like Eve. I was a weak child and, I'll be the first to admit, I'm a weak man. When she sent me away I cried myself to sleep every night.'

‘Poor lamb.'

Aaron nodded enthusiastically, misinterpreting Bethany's responses.

‘You're blameless then?' Bethany said.

‘I am, yes! And I won't tell anyone about this, honest. And neither will Sergeant Poe. That's right, isn't it, Sergeant Poe? You won't tell anyone if Bethany lets us go?'

‘I'd better untie you then,' Bethany said.

‘And just so you know, if you don't want to let Sergeant Poe go, I won't mind. I'll even help you hide his body.'

‘Aw, that's so kind of you,' Poe said.

‘You keep out of this!' Aaron snapped. ‘This is a family matter! Eve and me were going to take him to St Bees and weigh him down in the sea, Bethany. We were going to make it look like you'd done it. But now everyone thinks you're dead, they'll think it's someone else entirely.'

‘Why don't we do that then, Aaron?'

‘And you were there, Bethany – you know I didn't want to throw those rocks at you. I was only a little boy; I had no choice.'

Bethany stroked the side of his face. ‘I know, Aaron. I don't blame you for that. I never have.'

Aaron blew out a sigh of relief.

‘No,' she continued, ‘I blame you for not saying anything when Noah and Grace thought I was trying to seduce you.'

‘But Eve told me not to say anything!'

‘And because you helped cover up her lie, I was tied to a chair and had rocks thrown at my head. Because of you I had my throat slashed from ear to ear.'

Aaron averted his eyes, cast them down at the bloodstained floor. ‘I didn't want Eve to shout at me,' he mumbled.

‘All the times I stuck up for you at school, all the bullies I faced down. And the one time I needed something in return, you said nothing. I expected it from Eve; she was always self-absorbed, but I thought you might have found the courage to stand up for me.'

Aaron didn't respond.

‘So, I'll ask you again,' she said. ‘Do you want the hood?'

Aaron started to gasp. He writhed against his bonds, but they were tight and held fast.

‘Suit yourself,' Bethany said. She raised the mallet again.

And this time Poe didn't close his eyes.