‘Please, do this one thing for me. I have to try and help them. If things get out of hand, then we can call the police. But for now, I need you to believe me. I want you to see Daisy.’
Danny shook his head and stood up. ‘I think we should leave, right now. I don’t want anything to do with this.’
Richard appeared in the doorway. ‘I think you should stay where you are.’
Danny’s legs gave way as he thumped back down.
Juliette gasped. Richard was holding a shotgun and he was pointing it at them.
‘Richard? What’s going on?’ she asked, glancing from him to Sarah and back.
Neither of them spoke as Sarah moved into the kitchen.
‘Sarah has been putting things into your wife’s head,’ Richard said to Danny. ‘She thinks Louisa isn’t missing. She thinks she’s here on the land. Buried in the woods, no less, don’t you, my love?’
Juliette saw the blood drain from Danny’s face.
‘I can see your mind ticking over,’ Richard added. ‘But she’s lying.’
‘I don’t know what to believe right now,’ Danny replied.
‘So all these things that have been happening to me were allyourdoing?’ Juliette questioned.
‘Some of them, yes.’
‘The cries of the child in the garden?’
Richard nodded, sniggering to himself.
‘He used to do that to Louisa,’ Sarah spoke quietly. ‘He recorded Daisy crying on his phone, then would pretend it was her during the night. Louisa would get to Daisy’s bedroom to find her asleep. Richard would repeat it once she was in bed.’
‘But why?’ Juliette asked him.
‘I like playing games. Like the trip to the woods we said you’d done that morning?’ Richard shook his head. ‘That never happened.’
‘And the toy that was left on the bench; the photo that was missing from my phone? The note pushed through the door? The doors being left open?’ Juliette couldn’t meet Danny’s eyes, fear of the hurt she might see because she hadn’t confided in him. ‘Do you have a key to our home?’
‘We do. I used to look after the old dear’s cat.’ Richard sniggered. ‘But that wasn’t me. That must have been Sarah. She’s always been a joker.’
Juliette was struggling to keep up. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘Why don’t you explain to her, Sarah? Because if you hadn’t meddled, none of this would be happening.’
‘Don’t you dare blame me!’ Sarah yelled.
‘It’s your faultshefound out about Daisy.’
‘Well, obviously that wasn’t part of the plan. And neither was this.’ She pointed at Juliette and Danny.
Richard glared at Sarah. ‘Shut up.’
‘Oh, come on. You haven’t thought this through very well. What are you going to do? Shoot them? And bury them in the woods too? Somehow I think people might get suspicious and start asking questions. Because it was you who murdered Louisa as well!’
Juliette thought that Sarah was brave to come out and say what she was thinking. She wondered if it was because she and Danny were there to protect her. But that all changed in an instant when she saw Richard swing the gun round and aim it at Sarah.
Danny jumped to his feet, but Richard turned the gun back to him.
‘No, please!’ Juliette stood up too.
