Amy took another step back but I saved her the trouble by knocking the vase onto the carpet. I pressed the knife so close to her skin that it drew blood.
“And then, when Aiden came back, you logged into Hugh’s Facebook account and you checked him in at a Las Vegas airport. That… that, the police might be able to trace back to you—”
“They won’t,” she snapped. “I covered my tracks. Hugh showed me how. He learned all kinds of tricks on the internet when he was feeding his habit.”
“Then I suppose I’ll have to serve out my own justice,” I said.
“I didn’t hurt any kids,” she said. “It was… I…”
“What?” I snapped. “Spit it out. Tell me your justifications for doing what you did.”
“We took drugs together, all right? We took drugs and we experimented. It all got a bit out of hand. He used to strangle me sometimes and we’d talk about things in bed. We told each other the darkest parts of us.” Her eyes glittered and she smiled at me. I was tempted to cut the smile from her face but I couldn’t. Not yet, anyway. “I bet you don’t know what that’s like, to crave that kind of darkness. You’re so… normal. Boring. You never deserved Rob.” She sneered, her frightened puppy act slipping. “You’re so… vanilla. You don’t understand what it’s like to live on the edge. I wanted to help Hugh because he was… free. Knowing that I’d helped him was enough for me. I got to go to work every day with the knowledge that I knew what had really happened to your son. I knew every day. Hugh even let me go down there once, while Aiden was sleeping.”
“Why the fuck did Hugh trust you?”
“Because he knew me!” she exploded. “He was the only one who did. That’s why I protected him when Aiden came back. I knew the police would sniff around his house if I didn’t do something to account for his disappearance. That’s why I logged into his Facebook. Everyone thought he was having an affair, but I figured out what must have happened.”
“You weren’t protecting him, you were protecting yourself,” I said. “You thought the affair you had with Hugh might come out and lead back to you. But you’re an idiot, Amy. You’re not good at this at all, not like Hugh. You craved your fifteen minutes of fame when you should’ve been keeping quiet. Didn’t you realise that Aiden would start talking eventually?”
“I thought he’d come back wrong,” she said. “I figured he was retarded and would never say a peep.” She shrugged. “He is your son, after all.”
I ignored the dig. “You’re weak. Hugh was controlling you and you can’t even see it,” I said. “He was controlling everyone. You. Me. Josie. Aiden. That’s what he wanted. Complete control.”
“No,” she said. “I allowed him to.”
“You’re pathetic.”
“Whatever,” she replied. “You’re a bitch. You never noticed me. None of you. I was nothing to you all. A follower. The dirt on your shoe. You never deserved Rob. He’s better than you.”
“You’re sick,” I said, pressing the knife harder against her skin. When a red bead trickled down her face she started to cry.
“Don’t hurt me! Please!”
I let out a long, hot breath right into her face. “Do you know what it felt like to kill Jake? I saw the life fade from his eyes. I tasted his blood when I ripped his wrist open with my teeth. I could rip out your throat right now.” She whimpered and closed her eyes. “The only reason I won’t do that is because I’m not an idiot like you. I’m not about to waste my life over a cretin like you. I have a life now. I have my son back and I have Rob back. I have a daughter. What do you have? A stack of newspapers with your name in them. You’re not worth going to prison over. So I’m going to tell you exactly what you’re going to do. You’re going to sell this house. You’re going to quit your job. You’re going to take the blood money you received from the lies you told and you’re going to move far away from here. You’re never going to show your face again, because if I see you, I will plunge this knife into your belly and I’m going to keep cutting until I reach your lying mouth. Do you understand?”
She nodded.
*
It was a steep climb. My legs ached and my back was sweaty, but the view was beautiful. I lifted Gina’s hand and waved to the tiny, scurrying people below. She was strapped to my chest, nuzzled against my skin.
“Do you remember this place?” I asked.