‘You asked for the truth. I told you. I don’t know if I wanted to kill you or not. I just wanted to escape. Don’t you ever feel like that?’
‘I don’t push people off mountains,’ he says.
I look at him. The smile has disappeared, and he’s staring at me with something that looks a lot like hatred.
‘What?’ I ask.
‘You’re a liar,’ he says.
‘What do you mean?’
‘You planned to kill me on Saturday,’ he shouts, then wheels up to me, grabs my lapel, and pushes me backwards with one arm. I can’t pull away from his grip, and he shoves me against the barrier. It swings open, but he doesn’t let me go. He holds me there, leaning backwards. If he pushed me now, I would fly down the steps and into the river.
‘Stop!’ I shout.
‘You were going to do it right in this spot until you realized I was rich. I saw that the padlocks had been cut. Not enough to try to kill a man once, heh?’
I’m lost for words. I feel a horrible, dawning realization that Hollis has got the better of me. With his free hand, he pulls his shooting pistol from the side of his wheelchair and presses it into my stomach. I feel an almost visceral shame at being duped by someone feigning to love me. Why did I not see through all his games?
‘Are you going to kill me?’ I ask. ‘You knew what I was, Hollis, and you tried to destroy that side of me, but I won’t be tamed by you or anyone. And I’ll always fight for my life.’
‘I want people to know who you are and what you’ve done,’ he says. ‘I want your husband, children and friends to knowyou’re a cold-blooded killer. I want to see you ruined and humiliated.’
‘Every man’s dream,’ I say and spit in his face.
This is a mistake. He shoves me hard. My feet fall off the step, and I lose a shoe. I’m leaning backwards, staring into the barrel of a gun, with his one fist keeping me from the icy water, when he says, ‘Watch out, rocks!’
Chapter79Fate
The Thames is a beautiful river. I know it’s full of sewage effluent and probably a few dead bodies, but the surface is glittering with reflections from the city’s lights and looks like it’s plated in gold. The last time I was here, I was about to murder the man beside me. Now, he is about to murder me. How quickly things change.
I have no fear of what might happen to me. But then I imagine Nathan hugging Georgie’s legs, and Nelly stabbing her with a knitting needle, and I feel something deep within. It’s like someone drumming urgently on a closed door. I feel sad about Stephen momentarily. No matter what, I feel sure that Stephen would never try to kill his wife.
I look across the road beyond Hollis, desperate to spot a CCTV camera, but I chose this location so carefully. I see someone on the pavement opposite. They’re only partly visible as they’re hidden in the shadows. A witness, standing and watching. They’ve got their phone out, too, recording the scene. It might just buy me time.
‘Hollis,’ I say, seriously now. ‘There’s someone filming you, and if you let me go, and I hit that freezing water, then you’re going to prison, not me. You’ll lose everything you worked for. And you don’t deserve that.’
Hollis looks at me, suspiciously, then glances quickly over hisshoulder. We both stare out across the road and see the figure take a step towards us, a phone held up in front of them.
‘How long have they been there?’ he says.
‘Since you attacked me,’ I say, and quickly raise my hand and shout, ‘Help! Help!’
‘Say another word and I’ll drop you,’ he says.
In response to my call, the figure runs into the road and tries to cross. As they’re lit up by headlights, I see they’re dressed all in black, a hoodie hiding their features. My only chance is to delay.
‘Call the police,’ I say. ‘Let me confess to them. Let the police do your work for you. I’ll lose everything. I’ll be imprisoned, shamed and humiliated, just as you want.’
Hollis turns again to see the black-clad figure now running towards us.
‘Shit,’ he says, and jams the gum hard into my gut. ‘You’re going to do exactly what I say.’
The figure tries to dash across the lanes of traffic as cars screech and slam on the brakes.
‘Stop!’ shouts the figure in the road. As soon as I hear the voice, I know who it is. I grab onto a railing with one hand while Hollis is preoccupied and hold as firmly as I can.
As Flame sprints directly towards us, Hollis looks up at me. ‘Just tell them it was a misunderstanding and I’ll let you live.’
