Tom swore. “And then what? You went back and got your rifle, to finish the job? And cut the phone cord. You knew exactly where to cut, from when it was fixed last year.”
“I’ve had enough of this,” Duncan said, cocking the gun. His hand was trembling. He might have already killed a friend but deliberately shooting someone in the head was very different from killing someone accidentally, or even in a blind rage.
“Connor, you know the truth about the crash,” Tom said softly. “It happened the way you remembered it, not the way you were told to remember it.”
“Dad, stop.” Connor took a step, robbing Duncan of a clean shot. “I deserve to know.”
“You already got what you deserved, lad. You got a future. An education, a roof over your head, your own practice. You got set up for life. You think I could have got you all that? You think you could have done it on your own? People rattle on about equality and the big houses coming down, but it’s always going to be the haves and the have-nots.”
“I don’t understand.”
“They lied,” Tom said. “I just worked it out. After all this time… My grandfather and your father… They found the two of you off your faces and they knew Mr. Pritchard had already gone for the police, so they concocted a story. When I got there, I remember thinking how odd it was. You’d both gone through the windscreen, but the places you were lying… You’d have to have crossed mid-flight. When I pointed that out, I was told to shut up, that I didn’t know what I was on about.”
“Dad?” Connor said. “You told me I was driving. You said you saw us leave.WasI driving?”
Duncan pursed his lips, his face reddening. He glanced at Tom and then back at Connor. “It wasn’t my idea,” he said, spitting the words. “It washis lordship’s.”
Connor shook his head slowly. “Why would you…?”
“Because,” Tom said, “my grandfather knew that if the cops charged Eddie, his earlier diversion would be lifted, and between the two incidents, he’d go to jail. He was eighteen. He would have been tried as an adult. They couldn’t have kept it out of the media. It would have been a scandal, and the estate was already teetering. You were seventeen, with a clean record. That was before Eddie had the aneurysm, of course. Before anyone knew it was all for nothing.”
“Dad? Is this true? The old earl told the sergeant there was ‘no harm done.’ I was so damn grateful. He stood up for mewhen there was no reason to. I thought, when Eddie’s mind went, they might come after me then but…”
“By that time, it was all neatly wrapped up,” Tom finished. “I always thought my grandfather wanted to downplay Eddie’s brain injury because of pride. But I suppose keeping quiet was part of the deal he made to save Eddie from jail.” And he’d thought his grandfather so generous and forgiving. The most unselfish act he’d ever known the guy to make, and it … wasn’t.
“You sold me out?” Connor said to Duncan, wide-eyed. “For money?”
“No harm done,” Duncan repeated, raising his palm as if to placate a nervous horse. “You got diversion, and in exchange for taking the blame, you got the kind of leg-up in the world that people like us don’t get.”
“You say that like it was my choice.”
“You were a sharp lad, but you’d have had to work three times harder than the likes of him.” Duncan gestured at Tom with his chin. “Our family have worked ourselves to death on this estate for generations, and what do we have to show for it? And now look at you, a lawyer! My son, a lawyer! Boss of your own practice! Your very own home! I dreamt that my son would never know what it was like to have to bend and scrape, so you wouldn’t end up like I am now, out of a job, out of the home I’ve lived in me whole life. And then this opportunity came knocking.”
“Anopportunity?” Connor said quietly. “No harm done? I’ve spent seventeen years thinking I destroyed my best friend’s life. But you… You knew Eddie was driving. And you caused the crash?”
Duncan fiercely shook his head. “Wasn’t like that. I only went out there to stop the two of you. I knew you’d been drinking. Didn’t think for a second you’d go off the cliff. When you crashed … I thought you were a goner. You were all I had and I thoughtI’d lost you, all because of that young entitled toff. It was nothing short of a miracle, both you lads coming out of it alive. When we saw you were okay… I was just trying to do right by you, son. Just as the old earl was doing for Eddie. It was the making of you.”
“Itbrokeme.” Connor said. “Every day, ever since Eddie’s brain went, I’ve thought about how it’s not fair that I’m merrily carrying on and he can’t even tie his laces. That it’s my fault. Every single day.”
Tom glanced at Amelia. She met his gaze with a look of hope that he hadn’t seen since Connor dragged her through the door. Tom didn’t feel hopeful. He mostly felt stupid. The last seventeen years… This last couple of days! Maybe if he hadn’t spent all that time zooming out. So busy trying to see the bigger picture, he missed the truth that was right there in front of him. Amelia squeezed Tom’s knee, and then dug into the layers of his coat, as if trying to find his hand. She’d evidently forgotten his hands were tied.
Connor wasn’t the only one who could finally see a future.Something to live for.Except Tom’s chance was about to be taken away.
“Don’t be dramatic,” Duncan said to Connor. “Look how far you’ve come. Look what you’ve got. Look what you’ve got to lose!”
“Yeah, Dad, look at me. An accessory to murder. An accessory to whatever it is you think you’re doing here. Proud, are you?”
“Is this why you killed my grandfather?” Tom said to Duncan. “What did he do, threaten to tell the truth? Threaten to stop paying the blackmail, with the estate going under?”
Amelia quietly shuffled away from Tom—a smart move, given that Duncan was swinging the rifle in Tom’s direction.
“It wasn’t blackmail!” Duncan roared. “It was his blinking idea from the start. But he tried to back out of it, didn’t he?Claimed he didn’t have the money anymore. I didn’t mean to kill him—I told you as much—but when he fell and hit his head…” He sharply inhaled. “I was going to confess, like I told you. But I was worried the truth about everything would come out, that they’d take away Connor’s money. Hisdream.” Duncan looked at the floor. When he raised his head, his eyes were wet, and Tom couldn’t help feeling for him. Which was daft, but this was a man he’d known since he was born, a man he’d loved as an uncle. “Son, the way I see it, you have a choice. You can give up everything—your job, your wedding, Xanthe, the wee one on the way—and go to jail. Or you can help me wipe the slate clean. Like before, we’ve been given a path out of this.”
Connor clutched handfuls of hair either side of his head. “Poor Xanthe. Here she is, thinking she’s marrying the next earl, but she’s marrying a criminal. I did nothing wrong, not on the day of the crash. Finding that out should give me my life back, but it’s too late.”
“It’s not too late,” Duncan said, his voice quiet with emotion. “You didn’t get a record, did you? It’s like it never happened. Neither thing. It’s our lives—and Xanthe’s and the babies—or theirs! Folk vanish on the moors all the time. Nobody’ll bat an eyelid. But if we don’t go through with it, there’ll be no get-out-of-jail-free card for you this time. You might have been a minor when you crashed, but you weren’t when you helped me move the body, either time. You want to rob your wee one of a future before he’s even had his start? This miserable bloody chain of events started long ago—centuries ago—and I’m ending it now, starting with him. The end of his whole bloody precious line.” Duncan stabbed the rifle in Tom’s direction. “If you don’t want to be involved, son, walk away. I’ll take care of it, and I’ll clean it up. You don’t have to see anything, do anything. You just need to shut up, like you did last time.” He jerked his head towards the door. “Go on with you!”
Connor looked from face to face. He was crying.
