“Oy! Brigg! You still there?” The yell was Matt’s, echoing down from the dark house.
Hunter walked across to the corner of the shed, where he planted his feet apart and shone a torch upward.
“I’m still here,” he called strongly.
I backed away from the police cars into the shadows by the wall, from where I could see the house yet remain hidden. A figure crouched at the casement of the big upper window, which had been thrown open. I recognised Matt’s silhouette, but his face was a tangle of darkness, impossible to read. There was no sign of the gun.
Krista huddled alongside me. “Exciting,” she whispered.
“Come out into the open where I can see you properly!” shouted Matt, his voice as harsh and uneven as the rough stone at my back.
Hunter stepped out into the pool of yellow lamplight. “Where are Bryony and Selena, Matt? I’d like to see them.” He sounded steady, clear, unworried. “Are they both all right?”
“At the moment.”
“What was the gunshot? Is anyone hurt?”
“Not yet.”
“I’d like you to verify that, please. I’d like to see them.”
Matt gestured, and Bryony appeared at the window, haggard in the torchlight. She was hugging herself with her arms across her chest.
“Are you injured?” Hunter called.
She shook her head, uncertainly. “I’m sorry,” she said. “He got the key to the gun safe off me. I couldn’t stop him.”
“But nobody’s been shot?”
“It fired through the floor,” said Bryony.
“Where’s Selena?”
“She’s all right.” Her voice was small and shocked.
“Where is the gun now?”
“I’ve got it,” said Matt. He raised it for a second above the level of the window frame.
“Matt? We need to talk. We know you were at Griff’s flat this evening. We know you were involved in an assault on Griff.”
“Griff’s flat?” Matt said in astonishment and contempt. “I assaulted Griff? Who told you that? He didn’t! That’s a fucking lie!”
“We want this to end now,” said Hunter evenly. “We don’t want anyone to get hurt. I’d like you to release the two women. Just let them come downstairs and out to us.”
Selena charged into sight and gripped the window-frame. “I’m not going anywhere!” she yelled down at us. “I haven’t done anything wrong. This is my house! You can’t take me away from here!”
“All right, that’s enough,” said Matt savagely, and he elbowed her away.
“Let Bryony go at least,” called Hunter.
“No chance!” said Matt. “When I’m ready.”
“And when will that be?”
“I’ll let you know,” said Matt. “Now fuck off. You’re trespassing.”
Hunter retreated around the corner of the barn again, back to the other police officers. “Have we heard from Armed Response yet?”
“They say they’re on their way,” said Fiona, “but still half an hour at least.”
“Christ! We need back-up here, and quickly.” He was very tense. “Tell HQ, and try and get hold of Larry again. Find out if he’s still in Keswick.”
Fiona nodded. “Will do.”
Hunter looked across at Ruby. “Have you not got rid of her yet, George?” he snapped at the young PC.
The constable gestured helplessly. “I can’t get her to go.”
“Hunter, I want to help!” exclaimed Ruby. “I’m sure this is all just a terrible misunderstanding. Selena must have got Matt entangled in her fantasies somehow. He’s such a sweet boy, he can’t mean this.”
Hunter spoke in his most formal voice. “I’d appreciate it if you could move right away, please, madam. The situation is not safe.”
“But I could talk to Selena! She responds to me.”
“No. Go back to your own house. We will notify you when the situation has been resolved. PC Gardner will escort you.” Hunter sounded perfectly collected and in control. But when he turned back to the lamplight I could see the sweat glistening on his forehead.
“Christ! That’s all I need, an audience. You go away too, Eden. Go back to Raven How with Ruby. I want everyone out of here.”
“If Armed Response are coming,” I said, “surely all you need to do is wait?”
Hunter gazed towards me, looking through the dark at something that I could not see. “You don’t understand,” he said. “I’ve already got it all wrong. Driving up here with all lights blazing when Matt didn’t even know we were on his trail. That’s why he fired the gun: we panicked him. I bet he only meant to collect Selena and run.”
“Don’t blame yourself, Hunter.”
But he shook his head. “I’ve blown it. I should have stuck to getting him to give up the gun and not let on about the rest. I should never have mentioned Griff. I’ve just totally fucked up. Now he knows that we know everything, and he’s desperate.” He looked at his watch. “Christ,” he muttered. “Half an hour?”
“Hang on,” I said. “How does he know we know everything?”
“Blue lights? Sirens? And you heard me– I just told him we found Griff.”
“But he doesn’t know what exactly Griff has said. And he doesn’t know I’m still alive. He doesn’t know that he’s up for a charge of attempted murder. Like Ruby said, this might just be a big misunderstanding. He’s trying to work it out, Hunter.”
“Christ,” said Hunter. “So am I.” He was wound up like a spring. He stalked over to Fiona and had another fierce murmur into the radio.
Meanwhile the young PC Gardner was still remonstrating uselessly with Ruby. In the end he gave up and came over to reassert his authority by herding me firmly away from the police cars, his determined hand glued to my arm. We both stopped at another shout from the farmhouse.
“Oy! Brigg! I want to talk!”
Hunter walked out into the heavy fall of yellow light. It encased him like a theatre spot. Matt was leaning carelessly on the open window frame: a catcalling spectator in the gallery. The gun was out of sight.
“Griff lied to you,” said Matt. “He’s not reliable.”
“I admit that I’m confused,” said Hunter carefully. “I’m not armed, as you can see, so there’s no need for any impulsive action on your part. We came along to clarify exactly what happened between you and Griff this evening.”
“How did you know I was there?” Matt challenged him.
“Griff was discovered by his wife suffering a minor knife injury and in a distressed state. There were signs of a struggle but there was no sign of his temporary carer, Eden Shirer,” said Hunter with a measured formality that conveyed the mundane nature of these events. “Griff was able to indicate to us that you were somehow involved. That’s all we know. You need to enlighten us.”
“He indicated? How? He’s a bloody nutcase. His memory’s fucked. You know that, don’t you?”
“I know.”
Matt stared down at Hunter as if weighing him up. “And did you know he was violent? As for that Shirer kid– she started it. I knew she was a jailbird, but I never thought she’d pull a stunt like that! It was shocking. It really put the wind up me. She should never have been left alone with him.”
“So it seems,” said Hunter evenly. “What actually happened?”
“I went round there to look for Freddie,” said Matt. “I knew he was meeting up with Griff’s wife and I was trying to find him.”
There was a faint commotion to the side of me, by the farm track. I couldn’t see who it was: but then I heard Freddie’s voice whispering to Fiona.
“You’ve got to let me past! I’ve been driving all over looking for him. I saw the blue lights and heard the sirens... Please! I’m his best friend. I might be able to help.”
“I’m sorry, sir. Stay well back, please.” She guided him to the shelter of the shed where I was already lurking.
Freddie recognised me in the darkness. “Eden, is that you? What on earth–”
>
“Ssh! Quiet!” The punctilious PC Gardner hissed him into silence and took a firmer hold of my arm.
Matt’s voice floated down to us again, echoing around the yard. “Things haven’t been so good between me and Freddie lately, you see. I was hoping we could talk things through. Use Muriel as a mediator.”
Freddie sighed and hung his head.
“Well, Muriel and Freddie weren’t at the flat, but that Shirer girl was,” said Matt earnestly. “She asked me in, all nice and polite at first. She put the kettle on – and then she began to – well, she began to taunt Griff.”
“Taunt him?” enquired Hunter.
“Asking him over and over about things he couldn’t remember. She was enjoying it. He was getting all confused and upset. I could see it, and I didn’t like it. So I asked her to stop.”
“I see,” said Hunter steadily. “What happened next?”
I glanced round at Freddie, not wanting him to hear this. It sounded too realistic. He was immobile, staring at the ground as he listened.
“Well, next she started messing the place up,” said Matt. “She dropped things on the floor. Pushed them off the mantelpiece. She found a picture of Selena and mocked him about it. She knew he liked Selena. He was getting more and more upset, and she was laughing, getting off on it. I tried to restrain her. But she pulled away and then Griff–”
His voice broke. He turned his head away, shaking it heavily. “Griff hit out at her. He grabbed her by the hair: and then she pulled a knife and slashed at him. She went crazy. Tore the place up. Ripped the sofas. I tried to get the knife off her, but she slashed my jacket too. I can show you. I was shouting, trying to stop her...”
Matt took a deep, gasping breath, leaning on the window-frame.
“In the end I managed to get her to turn on me instead.”
“How did you do that?”
“I reminded her who she was.” Matt laughed, humourlessly. “Told her how she’d end up back in jail. Well, she didn’t like that. She chased me out of the place waving her knife. I just ran. She was shouting how she’d shut me up, she’d make sure I never got the chance to tell anyone what happened.”
“How did it end?” asked Hunter quietly.
“I managed to get away from her. I found my car and drove straight here.”
“Why here?”
“I knew Selena had a shotgun. All I could think of was how to protect myself – and Selena too. The Shirer girl had been ranting about what a whore Selena was, how she’d led Griff on.”
“That’s a lie!” Selena yelled, grabbing at his arm. “I’m not a whore! I never led Griff on!”
“We know, we know that,” said Matt impatiently, shaking her off again. “She was lying, Selena. But I was worried that she’d come back here and...” With an expressive gesture he drew a hand across his throat.
“Let me get this straight,” said Hunter. “Griff was stabbed by Eden Shirer?”
“He wasn’t badly hurt, was he? I thought it was just his clothes that got cut. If only if he hadn’t lashed out at her… Maybe I could have stopped her then, but she was out of control…” Matt’s voice was full of sorrow and remorse as he confessed my guilt.
“So you left Griff alone in the flat?” asked Hunter.
“Yes. I shouldn’t have. I wasn’t thinking straight.” His voice quivered with anguish. “I should have rung the police, but I was too shaken by her chasing after me with that knife. So I came back for the gun, but then I – well, I lost my head when I saw the blueys. I fired it by pure accident: I didn’t mean to. It was just the shock.”
“When you saw the police cars,” supplied Hunter, like a grave schoolmaster.
“Right. I thought Shirer might have told some story, put you on to me. She really had it in for me. I thought she was following me on her scooter. She didn’t go back to the flat, did she? I should have thought of that. Is Griff all right?” Matt put his hand to his mouth as if in sudden shock. “Oh, my God, she didn’t meet Muriel? Or Freddie? Tell me she didn’t meet Freddie!”
It was a bad story, but he was a good actor. Freddie, who had stood immobile as a statue all this time, moved suddenly.
“It’s all right, Matt!” he called out, his voice cracking. “Everything’s all right! You don’t need to worry. I’m safe. And Eden’s here. The police have got her.”
And, pulling at my arm, Freddie yanked me forward, with the startled young constable still attached to my other side. The lamplight threw its gilded curtain over us.
“Jesus!” snapped Hunter. “Get them out of here!”
Matt jerked back, staring down at me in shock. I gazed up at him with my damp hair draggling down my shoulders. The drowned girl.
He whirled round at Selena.
“You stupid fucking slag! You told me she couldn’t swim!” He reached down and there was the gun, coming up, talking aim out of the window.
Hunter flung himself at me and Freddie like an irate rugby forward. We all went sprawling across the cowshit-splattered concrete: at the same time a shot exploded through the yard. There was as noisy rain of gravel all around me.
I landed on top of Freddie and Hunter landed on us both. He rolled over and dragged Freddie, who seemed unable to move, back behind the fortress of the shed.
“Hunter,” I gasped, “are you all right? Did he hit you?”
“Get right back over there, both of you,” he said roughly. “Freddie, stay out of this. You shouldn’t be here.”
Freddie struggled painfully to his feet. “But I’ve got to talk to Matt!”
“Freddie, Matt just tried to shoot us,” I said. “And he tried to drown me.”
“Oh, dear God,” said Freddie, as helpless as a lost child.
A shriek pierced the lamplight. It was Selena, her tumbling words so incoherent that at first I could not tell what she was screaming or to whom.
“Don’t you call me a slag! I’m no slag. You liar! You called me a whore! I’m not a whore!” I stuck my head around the corner to see her trying to pound Matt with her fists. He shook her off.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he said, “don’t be an idiot. Just belt up or I’ll tell them exactly what you used to be.”
“I’m not! I’m not!” Selena brought her knee up sharply. As Matt doubled over with a groan, she wrenched the shotgun from him, turned it round and aimed it at him.
“Stop!” yelled Hunter, at the same time as the shot erupted.
We saw them both jerk backwards: Matt crumpling one way and Selena thrown the other by the rebound. Freddie cried out wordlessly. PC Gardner shouted.
Hunter did not shout. He ran across the yard to the door, smashing his shoulder against it. I ran after him, as did Fiona. The lock splintered, and Hunter staggered through into the kitchen. By the time Fiona and I got there, he was already starting up the stairs.
“Stay here,” panted Fiona. I ignored her. Hunter reached the top of the stairs, shouldering the bedroom door once, twice: at the third shove it flew open with a crash.
Selena stood there, looking at us, her face distorted as if in dreadful pain. She lifted the gun in both hands, aimed it at Hunter and pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened. Hunter reached out, took the gun from her and broke it. He handed it to Bryony.
“I’m not what he said!” Selena shouted. With a sudden jerky movement she dashed over to the open window and began to scramble up on to the sill. For a horrified instant I thought she was going to throw herself out: but Hunter got there first. He grabbed her by the waist, kicking wildly and screaming, and swung her back down before slamming the window shut.
“Where are those other two muppets?” he panted at Fiona, who was bending over Matt lying prone and motionless on the floor.
“Trying to keep Freddie and Ruby away. We need an ambulance here. He’s losing a lot of blood.” As she spoke she was hurriedly folding a towel which she applied to Matt’s abdomen. He lay still, just his feet twitching, his eyes open and startled, watching her.
“I’m not what he said!” gasped Selena. “It’s not true. It’s not!” She slid down the wall to the carpet and began to sob hysterically.
“Hush,” I said. “We know you’re not. We know Matt was lying. He lied about everything. Hush now, Selena.” I knelt by her and took her hands. She did not resist my grasp.
I turned to Hunter. “You radio. I’ll see to her.” And I began to murmur reassuring fibs to Selena, telling her she was fine and everything would be all right, stroking her hair aside until her sobs shuddered to a standstill and she gazed at me passively, half-hypnotised, just as she had when I painted her. Only when the two PCs appeared and officiously snapped handcuffs on her did she abruptly come to life. She began to swear and spit, yelping curses at them as they dragged her down the stairs.
Freddie stumbled in and knelt down slowly next to Matt. The blood was already seeping through the layers of towel. I fetched another from the bathroom and gave it to Fiona.
“Matt,” said Freddie. “Matt.” His hand went, trembling, to Matt’s head; tenderly it stroked his cheek. Matt watched him and said nothing. His face was very white, his lips almost blue.
“I know you lied,” said Freddie. “I know you lived a lie. I know you didn’t love me. I don’t care. I love you, Matt.” Still Matt’s eyes stayed fixed on him, his eyelids china-white, his expression unreadable.
“Hang on, Matt,” murmured Freddie. “Keep breathing, Matt. Hang on in there for me.”
Matt sighed. The eyelids closed.
Chapter Thirty