One good deed, p.22
One Good Deed, page 22
‘I think it’s time to let Heidi go, if that’s what you mean. She has nothing to do with any of this.’
Darren seemed not to have heard him. ‘It’s a mess. It can’t go on any longer. I know that now. Rebecca and me, we’re not going to get back together. There’s been too much pain. Too many deaths.’
Elliott wondered what he meant. He knew only of Matt’s demise. Yes, one death was too many, but Darren seemed to be suggesting there had been more.
‘Tell me where you are, Darren. I’ll come and get you.’
A mirthless laugh broke through the tears. ‘Too late. It’s all too late. What’s the point of living if I can’t have Rebecca?’
‘Nobody else has to die. It could stop right now, if that’s what you want. Where are you?’
Darren stared into the camera. ‘I should have known you wouldn’t be up to it. But I had nobody else, you see. You were my only hope.’
‘I still can be. I’ll find you the help you need.’
‘I think I’m beyond help. But thank you, anyway.’ He paused. ‘Would you like to say goodbye to Heidi now?’
Elliott saw how Heidi’s breathing suddenly became heavier, her eyes even wider. She grunted noises through the tape over her mouth.
‘Darren, no. Please don’t do this. If you have to hurt anyone, hurt me. I’ll come to you right now, and you can swap me for Heidi. How does that sound?’
He saw Heidi shake her head vigorously: Please stop!
‘What do you know?’ Darren said. ‘You’ve got some balls after all.’
‘So you’ll do it? You’ll take me instead of Heidi?’
Darren licked his lips. He seemed to be warming to the idea. And then he said, ‘What would be the point? It still wouldn’t get Rebecca back. Goodbye, Elliott.’
‘NOOO!’
The screen went spinning again. A clatter as the phone hit the floor. A view of the ceiling, any second now to be obliterated by a spurt of fresh blood. Heidi’s muffled protestations.
What to do? What to do? What to do?
‘WAIT! Darren! A message from Rebecca. I’ve just had a message on my phone from Rebecca. She’s agreeing to meet you. Darren! DARREN!’
Silence.
‘DARREN!’
More silence.
And then …
Sounds. Movement. The phone being picked up. Two faces, both very much alive.
‘What?’ Darren asked.
‘I’ve just been messaged by Rebecca. She’s going to ring me in ten minutes. She wants to arrange a meeting with you.’
‘You’re lying.’
‘What would I gain by lying? Ten minutes, that’s all I ask. Let me speak to her, find out what she’s proposing. Isn’t that worth another ten fucking minutes?’
Darren stared.
Take the bait, Elliott willed. Take it, you fucking son of a bitch.
‘Ten minutes. I’ll ring you back in fifteen. If you don’t answer, it’s over. If I don’t like what you tell me about your conversation with her, it’s over.’
‘I understand. Give her this chance, Darren. This could be it. This could be what you’ve been waiting for.’
Darren remained impassive.
And then he terminated the call.
Elliott checked the time on his phone. 10.07. Fifteen minutes from now would be 10.22.
Fifteen minutes to save a life. It wasn’t a lot. Why hadn’t he asked for more time? Why hadn’t he said that Rebecca would call at 10.30 or even 11.00?
He knew the answer. It was because Darren wouldn’t have gone for it. He wouldn’t have been willing to wait that long.
Fifteen minutes, he reminded himself. Better get working – harder than you’ve ever done in your life.
And you’d better come up with something pretty damn good.
43
Elliott needed to get hold of Rebecca fast. But there was no chance she would answer a call from him.
There was only one solution: get Matt to call her.
Trying not to throw up, Elliott searched the body. He found Matt’s phone in his inside pocket. Grimacing, he pushed Matt’s eyes open and then pointed the phone at Matt’s face, angling it slightly to avoid catching the massive dent in the side of his head.
The facial recognition didn’t work, the phone remaining locked.
‘Shit.’
Elliott ran into the bathroom. He soaked a flannel, took it back into the living room and wiped the blood and gore away from Matt’s face. When he thought the corpse looked vaguely presentable, he tried again.
The phone unlocked.
Elliott quickly opened up the contacts and found Rebecca. He called her.
She answered almost immediately. ‘Hi, babe. You okay?’
‘Rebecca, please don’t hang up.’
A silence. And then: ‘Who is this?’
‘It’s me. Elliott. Please don’t hang up.’
‘Elliott? What … what’s going on? My phone says this is Matt.’
‘It is. I mean, it’s Matt’s phone. He … lent it to me so you’d answer.’
‘He lent it to you? Elliott, what kind of sick joke is this?’
‘It’s not a joke. It’s deadly serious. We have to talk – right now.’
‘I can’t. I’m at a friend’s house.’
‘Then you need to leave.’
‘Leave? Why would I leave?’
‘Because nobody else can know about this. You need to hear what I have to say.’
Another pause. ‘I’m hanging up now. I don’t know how you managed to hack Matt’s phone, but—’
‘I didn’t hack it! Matt is here with me now.’
‘Really? Then put him on.’
‘I haven’t got time. Please, do what I say, and I’ll explain everything. Is your car at your friend’s house?’
‘Yes.’
‘Then make your excuses and go out to it. Call Matt’s phone when you’re there. Okay?’
‘Elliott, if this is about trying to get me to talk to Darren again—’
‘JUST FUCKING DO IT, WILL YOU?’ he yelled, then realised it probably wasn’t productive. ‘I’m sorry. Please, do this one thing.’
He had to wait an age for an answer. ‘All right,’ she said. ‘But this better be good. Give me a few minutes.’
‘I haven’t got a few minutes. Please hurry.’
The line suddenly went dead. Gripping the phone tightly, Elliott paced the room. He kept glancing at the time, watching the precious seconds tick away.
The phone rang. Rebecca’s number.
‘Are you in your car?’
‘Yes. I’m driving home.’
‘Pull the car over.’
‘What?’
‘Please. Pull in somewhere.’
More time elapsed.
‘Okay. I’ve parked up. What’s this about, Elliott? Why is Matt with you, and why have you got his phone?’
‘Matt’s dead, Rebecca.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘He’s dead. Darren killed him.’
‘Darren? You’re not making any sense.’
‘None of this makes any sense to me either, but right now I’m standing here in my living room, looking down at the dead body of your boyfriend.’
‘Matt was still at home when I left the house. Why would he be at your place?’
‘I think … I think he probably came here to have a quiet word in my ear about you. I wasn’t here when he arrived, but Darren must have paid me a visit at the same time. They didn’t hit it off.’
‘No. You’re making this up. Matt can’t be dead.’
‘Is there a landline at his house? Call it. I guarantee he won’t answer. Better still, we can turn this into a video call and I can show you his body. I warn you, though: it’s not a pretty sight.’
The line went quiet once more.
‘Rebecca, are you still there?’
‘He’s … he’s really dead?’
‘Yes, he is. I’m sorry. Now do you finally understand what I’ve been trying to tell you about Darren? He is fucking insane.’
‘I …’
‘Yes?’
He suspected she was overcome with sadness, unable to get the words out through her tears.
‘You’ve ruined everything, Elliott.’
Not the reaction he expected.
‘What?’
‘You’ve ruined everything. You don’t even know how much you’ve messed up my life. Jesus!’
‘Why are you angry with me?’
‘Because … You know what? I’m not explaining this to you. I have to go now. Thanks to you, I’ve got things to sort out.’
‘Wait! This has nothing to do with me. This is about Darren. He’s crazy. He killed Matt, and in less than two hours he’s going to kill my best friend. You have to help me stop him.’
‘I don’t have to do anything, Elliott. I’ve got other priorities.’
‘Other priorities? More important than saving a woman’s life?’
‘What exactly are you expecting me to do about that?’
‘Darren wants to meet you. That’s all he wants. It’s the only thing he’s ever asked for. Please, come with me. Meet him. Save my friend. You owe me that much.’
‘Can you hear yourself? You’ve just told me that Darren is a murderer!’
‘He won’t hurt you. He loves you. He would do anything for you.’
Rebecca lowered her voice. ‘Darren doesn’t love me. He’s infatuated with me. He doesn’t just want a meeting, he wants me to come back to him. Nothing else will do. I can’t give him that. If I meet him and tell him that, he’ll kill me.’
Elliott didn’t know how to counter this. If what Rebecca said was true, how could he possibly expect her to put her neck on the line?
‘Rebecca, if you don’t help me, Heidi dies. I don’t know where she is. The police won’t be able to find them in time, either. Darren told me that he’ll kill Heidi at midnight unless I bring you to him. I’ve got a dead body here that says he will. You’re my only hope.’
‘Elliott, I’m not … I’m not the nice person you seem to think I am. There are things going on in my life that you couldn’t possibly know anything about. I’m a mess. You were kind enough to help me, and I wish I could return the favour, but I can’t. All I can do is what I always do.’
‘What’s that?’
‘I run away.’
‘Where will you go?’
‘I don’t know. But I won’t be answering any more calls. And don’t go to Matt’s house, because I won’t be there either.’
She paused again, and he got the impression she was crying. He started crying too, but they were tears for Heidi.
‘You’re leaving me to deal with this alone,’ he said.
‘I’m so sorry.’
He knew she was on the verge of ending contact permanently.
‘Wait! Give me one thing. If you won’t come with me, just tell me one thing that could help me.’
‘I don’t understand. What is it you want to know?’
‘When you and Darren were together, you must have had some happy times, right?’
‘I suppose so.’
‘Was there a place that was special? Somewhere you would go to be alone. A beauty spot or something?’
‘I … I can’t think.’
‘Please try. Somewhere quiet. Just you and him.’
‘Well … there was this one place …’
‘Where?’
‘It’s not that close, but it’s all I can think of.’
‘How close?’
‘About a thirty-minute drive. Cromley Point on the coast. There’s a tiny car park there where you can watch the sunset. Can’t imagine anyone will be there on a night like this, though.’
Elliott made a mental note. He had a rough idea of the location. He had hoped for something a little closer to home.
‘Thank you,’ he said.
‘I don’t know how that helps.’
‘Me neither. Maybe it won’t, but it’s all I have.’
‘I wish I could give you more. And I wish I could have got to know you better.’
‘Yeah,’ Elliott said, but he didn’t mean it. He didn’t want anything more to do with this woman. Wished she had never come into his life in the first place.
‘Goodbye, Elliott. And good luck.’
‘Goodbye, Rebecca.’
The call ended. Elliott dropped the phone onto the carpet next to Matt’s body. Neither of them would be needing it now.
He watched the clock on the wall, his mind and his heart ticking along at a much faster pace. At precisely the moment marking the end of his allotted fifteen minutes, Elliott’s own phone rang.
‘Hello, Darren.’
‘Hello, Elliott. So go ahead. Disappoint me, like you always do.’
‘Rebecca rang me, just like she said she would.’
‘Go on. Just remember I’m holding a knife at your friend’s throat here.’
‘She …’ He took a deep breath. This was the biggest decision of his life. And of Heidi’s. ‘She wants to meet.’
44
Darren’s tone was naturally sceptical. ‘Why do I always think you’re lying when you raise my hopes?’
Elliott considered his answer carefully. He was committed now, and he knew he was going to have to get every step of this right. He was also going to need a huge dollop of luck.
‘What can I tell you? She rang, she wants to meet. If she doesn’t turn up, you still hold all the cards.’
‘How do I know it’s not a trap?’
‘You don’t. Look, Darren, at some point you’re going to have to start trusting people. You’re going to have to come out of your hole and actually speak to Rebecca.’
‘That’s assuming you actually spoke to her.’
‘Well, that’s for you to decide.’ He allowed anger to creep into his voice – it felt alien to him. ‘I’ve done everything you asked. I found Rebecca, I spoke to her several times, and I got a good kicking in the process. And now I’ve arranged the meeting you have been so desperate for. You, on the other hand, have persecuted me, kidnapped and hurt my best friend, and killed a man in my house. Which of us does that make the most trustworthy?’
Darren gave a low chuckle. ‘Well, when you put it like that … So how do we organise this meeting?’
Elliott thought this was interesting. It seemed that Darren was stumped – as though he hadn’t thought his plans would work.
‘I don’t care. All I want is to see Heidi again. The rest is for you and Rebecca to work out.’
Elliott bit his lip. He wanted it to sound as if he was just an outsider here, that he was not involved in the fine detail. But he worried he might be pushing it too far.
‘And how the fuck is that supposed to happen if she won’t even speak to me?’
‘She gave me a time and a place to pass on to you.’
‘Are you going to tell me?’
‘That depends.’
‘On what?’
‘On you releasing Heidi. Then I’ll tell you.’
There was a long silence. And then … laughter.
‘That’s a good one. You had me going there.’
‘I’m not kidding.’
‘You’d better be. You think I’m really going to tear up my insurance policy? Little Heidi here is the only guarantee I have that you won’t try to shaft me. Think again, genius.’
Worth a try, Elliott thought. And the reaction was hardly surprising.
‘Then I don’t know how we move forward. You’ve got Heidi, I can give you Rebecca. Somehow we need to do a trade.’
‘I’m not letting Heidi walk out the door, just like that. The first thing she’ll do is go straight to the police.’
‘What if we give you our word that she won’t do that?’
‘Forget it. You’ll have to come to the meeting.’
‘What?’ Elliott feigned surprise as best he could, but he’d been expecting this all along.
‘You heard me. You come with Rebecca, and I’ll bring Heidi. We do a swap. Like in a spy film.’
‘But I don’t even know where your meeting’s going to take place.’
‘I thought Rebecca told you where?’
‘All she said was, “Tell Darren to meet me at midnight at our sunset place.” I don’t know what that means.’
Elliott chewed his lip again while he awaited a response.
‘Our sunset place?’
‘That’s what she said.’
‘I know where that is.’ There was noticeable excitement in his voice now. ‘Cromley Point.’
‘What?’
‘Cromley Point. We used to go there to watch the sun go down. She wants to meet me there?’
‘If that’s your sunset place, then I guess so.’
‘At midnight?’
‘That was the deadline you gave me. She agreed.’
‘All right. Okay. Let’s do this.’ Darren sounded like a little kid at Christmas now. ‘Do you know where Cromley Point is?’
‘I can look it up.’
‘It’s about a half-hour drive. Be there at midnight.’
‘Well, wait a minute, Darren.’
‘What?’
‘I’ll need to clear this with Rebecca first. She thinks it’s just going to be you and her. She doesn’t know anything about Heidi.’
‘You haven’t told her?’
‘Of course not. Don’t you think she might be put off a little if she knew you’d kidnapped someone?’
‘Yeah. That could be a problem. Okay, so what if I have the meeting and then tell you where Heidi is?’
‘No way. If I did that, I’d be tearing up my own insurance policy.’
‘You don’t have one anymore. I already know where and when to meet Rebecca.’
‘Don’t play games, Darren. One more phone call from me to Rebecca is all it would take to call this off. I’ll tell her about Heidi and I’ll tell her about what you did to Matt, and then she’ll never dare to meet you – not now, not ever.’
Elliott screwed his face up. The risk was that Darren would threaten Heidi again if things weren’t done his way.
Instead, to his immense relief, he heard another low chuckle.
‘You’re a man after my own heart, Elliott. So what do you suggest?’
