Page 68 of Girl, Remembered

‘A bar. A bar. A BAR!’

‘Dark, what are you talking about? Edis just went to pick up groceries and-’

‘Forget that. Mia, I know exactly where Doyle is!’

‘What? Where?’

It was time, at last, to go back to the beginning.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Her hostage was still disoriented from Keith’s pistol-whip. On his knees, he kept swaying, but he straightened up when Doyle pushed the SIG into his forehead.

‘Stop falling over.’

William Edis attempted to blink away his fatigue. Doyle gave him another small knock to the forehead with her gun, and it seemed to do the trick.

‘What are… who are you people?’

‘None of your business, but we know who you are. Well, I do, and these boys are just here for backup.’ Doyle nodded towards her three new initiates; Colin Wray, Keith Brace and Nathaniel Pruett. All had gotten their wings this morning, and were all still riding the high that comes with a first kill.

‘Backup?’

‘Yes. You see, we might be getting a guest of honor tonight.’ Doyle checked her watch. ‘I gave her enough clues, and I trust her to put them together.’

‘Who?’

‘Your little experiment. The woman who ruined everything for me.’

‘I… don’t know what you’re talking about.’

William Edis could very well be telling the truth, and if he was, it just made the whole thing worse. Passivity was more offensive malice.

‘Let me remind you, shall I? It was two years ago, and you sat in this bar, and you asked Miss Ella Dark to investigate a murder case in Louisiana. Do you remember that?’

Her hostage, in his state of confusion, looked at one of the booths in the corner of the room. ‘Yes. I remember.’

‘And that was where it all began. If you hadn’t have recruited her, she wouldn’t have caught Creed. If she hadn’t caught Creed, he wouldn’t be waiting for his execution. And I owe that man everything. Everything!’

The last word came out a scream. Doyle swallowed the sudden rage and composed herself.

‘Creed? Austin Creed? You’re the one… who killed all her friends.’

‘Yes, I killed three of her friends. And yes, Austin Creed. Most people know him as the Mimicker, but I knew him long before that title came along.’

William Edis swayed again. This time, he straightened himself up. ‘How?’ he asked.

‘How did I know him?’

‘Yes.’

Doyle had never said this part out loud. Not even to her sister, she thought. They’d never spoken about the events of that sweltering afternoon, despite it being their most cherished memory.

‘You don’t need to know that. What you need to know is that because of you, the man who saved me is on death row. If you hadn’t have got that bitch Ella Dark involved, I might still have my man. Do you understand?’ Doyle checked her watch. ‘I gave her an hour. She’s got ten minutes left.’

‘She’ll be here,’ Edis breathed. ‘Miss Dark... never let me down. I asked so much of her and she…’

‘You need to stop talking, or I might just kill you before she gets here. Don’t make me angry.’ Doyle felt the breeze from the broken window on the back of her neck. Her boys were positioned in the shadows. If Ella Dark stepped in here, there was no way out.