Page 122 of Deadly Cry
He pointed the knife at her and nodded. ‘It has to end, and it will only end in death.’
‘Don’t be so ridiculous,’ Lena cried, having found her voice. ‘You’re out of your mind. You’ve fixated on me. Don’t believe a word he—’
‘I believe him,’ Kim said quietly as the final pieces fell into place.
The first murder and the third murder had taken place on Monday and Wednesday. Both days that Lena had been in the area for the INEPT meetings. Her derision of Chris at the meetings had nothing to do with viewing him as inferior. She simply hated him.
Lena had been in close protection about ten years ago before joining the police, Chris had told her. She must have helped protect Nicola Southall during the death threats. That’s how she had her phone number.
‘You called Nicola and arranged to meet. You knew she’d see you because you’d protected her from abuse and threats in the past.’
Kim remembered what Alison had said about competitive siblings ending up in the same line of work. Lena was a police officer and Chris had tried. He had been set to join the force until that one incident of public order had ended that career path; instead, he had made a career in private security.
‘Nicola who?’ Lena asked, keeping up the pretence, but Kim could see the wavering in her eyes.
‘You’ve been goading him the whole time. Using your scratches to keep score, to flaunt in his face that you were ahead and then sending him a message to goad him into following suit.’ She turned to Chris, the knife forgotten for the moment. ‘What the hell happened to you as kids?’
She glanced between the two. Lena’s gaze was no longer filled with confidence. She had put more together than she’d imagined.
‘I happened,’ Chris said. ‘I was born, and Lena didn’t like that very much. She’s abused me since I can remember. She was almost three when I was born, pinching and scratching me when I was small. As I got older, she’d creep into my room at night to hurt me. She’d put a pillow over my face to try to kill me.’
He glanced at her as though waiting for some kind of rebuttal. She simply stared at him with cold hatred in her eyes.
‘Our parents were not the loving or demonstrative kind, but they did like babies. When I came along, Lena got no attention at all. I tried to tell them what she was doing, but they wouldn’t listen. They called me careless and clumsy and almost convinced me I was hurting myself. They didn’t want to believe they had a child capable of violence and hate at such a young age, and if they did believe me they hoped it would just sort itself out.’
‘So what did you do?’ Kim asked, wondering what he could have done as a small child being physically abused by his sister, with parents who turned a blind eye.
‘One night I waited for her to come and I punched her in the face. I thought it would stop. I thought that if I stood up to her she would leave me alone, but she didn’t. The torture just changed, and as we grew up we competed for attention, stupid stuff at first but Lena would always raise the stakes. She’d do something and then tick me for my turn.’
‘But couldn’t you just walk away?’
He shook his head. ‘No, because I want to win too. I have to beat her. I have to show her she’s not in control, that she’s not better than me. All my life she’s been there, in my ear, haunting me. It’ll never end as long as she’s—’
‘Oh, you pathetic piece of shit,’ Lena said in a tone filled with boredom.
Kim wondered if she’d forgotten who was holding the knife.
‘You are ridiculous. You’ve always been a follower. You’re weak and have no will of your own. I define you, you ineffectual prick. Everything you have is because of me. I made you. I moulded you. It’s beyond ridiculous that you would ever consider hurting me. You think you want this to stop? I’m the only person in your life that has meaning. No wife, no girlfriend and no real friends, because you’re invisible, you’re nothing. No one ever remembers you. You’re like a glass of water: colourless, tasteless, devoid of personality and totally forgettable.’
Kim watched silently as every barb hit its mark. Still he didn’t use the knife. She could see the control that Lena had over him. Right now, this was between the two of them and Kim had no clue how to stop him using the weapon in his hand.
Lena continued, ‘I validate you, you pointless wanker. Everything you’ve achieved was because of me. You’ve followed and tried to compete on every level. You think you’re better than me when all you do is equal what I’ve done. You never get ahead.’
‘I took a little boy,’ he said in a childlike voice.
‘And brought him back unharmed, so what was the fucking point in that?’
As the exchange continued, Kim saw two things: the way their lives had always been and something else – Chris was also seeking approval from his older sister. And then she got it: if Lena was the only person who had paid him attention as a child, it was her attention he craved now, as well as her approval.
And if Lena had the sense to understand that, there was a chance they could all leave this room unharmed.
She now understood that Chris had reached out to her specifically because she’d stood up to his sister in that first meeting. It was what a small part of him wished he’d done years ago.
Kim was silently praying that Lena would use her influence to ensure everyone’s safety, because right now no one knew where any of them were.
‘You’ve never surprised me, Chris,’ Lena said with a heavy sigh. ‘You’ve never exceeded my low expectation of you. Not once have you taken the initiative and proven yourself worthy of any affection or respect.’
Yes, she got it, Kim realised. Lena knew what he wanted from her. She could use that influence to ensure everyone’s safety.Tell him to drop the knife, Kim thought.He’ll listen.
