‘I did!’ It was a shame she was only now realising it. But she had loved Louisa once. She didn’t deserve to be treated this way.
Richard pulled Sarah to her feet, Louisa rolling from her lap like a rag doll. ‘You will do as I say.’ His hands went around her throat.
Sarah pawed at his fingers.
‘I could kill you too, burying you both,’ he said, squeezing harder. ‘No one would ever know. You’re nothing, both of you. Nobody gives a shit about you.’
Sarah searched for breath, spots appearing in her vision. Her chest hurt at the effort to take in air. My God, he was going to kill her too.
And then, it was over as he let go.
She coughed as she inhaled too hard. Bending over, she rested her hands on her knees as tears poured from her eyes. Richard didn’t even look at her as he took holdof Louisa’s arms and pulled her towards the wheelbarrow.
‘Help me get her in there,’ he commanded.
She shook her head. She wouldn’t do that.
While he cursed and shoved Louisa’s body into it, Sarah’s fingers rummaged round in the flower border, picking up a rock. Then with a scream she ran at him.
He turned in time to dodge it, pushing her out of the way. Then he bunched his hand up into a fist and hit her in the face.
‘We are burying her in the woods and that is the end of the matter,’ he growled.
She wouldn’t show him she was hurting. With tears pouring down her face, she stood shaking as he pushed the wheelbarrow away. She watched him disappear into the woods. Minutes later, she saw him marching towards her again.
‘We’d better get digging,’ he said. ‘It will take a good few hours.’
Still, she didn’t move.
‘Come on!’ he shouted. ‘Move.’
On autopilot, she followed him into the clearing. He placed the shovel in the soil and pressed the heel of his foot down into the ground.
She refused to join in, even knowing it would take him twice as long. When it was done, they stood over the grave.
‘We never speak about this again,’ Richard said.
‘How can we after…?’ Sarah sobbed.
‘It’s done now and we just need to forget about it.’
‘Someone will know she’s missing.’
‘We won’t tell anyone.’ Richard’s eyes were wide and white in the dusk. ‘Think about it. There’s her doctor that sees her once in a while, but only when she makes an appointment. We have no neighbours except that nosy bitch Linda down the lane. We can say that we split up, that Louisa has gone back to Derby.’
‘But what about Daisy? She wouldn’t leave without her.’
Richard paced the ground again. ‘We’ll have to keep her hidden for a while.’
‘We can’t do that!’
‘Yes, we can.’ He took hold of her upper arms. ‘We can shield her from people. Until anyone stops asking about Louisa.’
‘But what do we tell her?’
‘That Mummy went away. After a while, she’ll stop asking for her.’
‘But that’s cruel!’
