Tyrell looked down at Josephina. Saw her round, tear-filled eyes staring back up at him. No, he thought. I’m better than that. ‘I’m not a killer,’ he said aloud. ‘I don’t care what they say, I’m not a killer … ’
His mind slipped back. He couldn’t help it; he was so stressed, it just happened. He was back in the house, back in that room. On that day. With that shotgun cradled in his arm.
He remembered. It had been his mother’s wedding day. And he was so happy for her. He had been out for a walk, round the grounds, away from the house, the family. Enjoying himself. Planning his future. And when he had come back, he had found …
He knew what he had found. Bodies everywhere. Blood. Mess. The man he was trying to call his father. Like something from a horror movie. And his mother. Oh God, his mother … lying next to him. He was holding her, as if he had tried to protect her. Both of them dead. Gone.
That was when he had retreated. Found somewhere in his head to hide, to stay. And he had been there ever since.
But there was something else, some other memory …
Jiminy Cricket. Appearing before him, telling him what to do. And he had done it. Done as he was told. So numb, so dead from what he had just seen, he had done it.
And another memory was there too …
He closed his eyes. Didn’t want to bring it back, yet knew he had to. His mind was a fairground ride now. It might make him feel sick, it might scare him, it might make him wish he was dead. But he had to go through with it. He couldn’t get off until it had ended.
Until it had shown him everything it had to show him.
The other room. His brother. His sister.
Or the two people his mother had wanted him to call brother and sister.
Both lying there. Blood everywhere. But not dead. Moving. Looking up at him. Pretending. Like it was all some game.
He looked across at Amy. And it was like he was suddenly struck by lightning. He knew. He knew exactly what was happening.
‘I’m not a killer,’ he said aloud once more. ‘And I never have been … ’
He stared at Amy.
‘I know who you are.’
She smiled. ‘Well done, Einstein. Now do what you’re told.’
‘I’m not a killer,’ he said. ‘I would never kill a child. Never.’ He clutched Josephina tightly to him. ‘And I won’t let you hurt her either.’
‘Just do it! Do as you’re told. Then it’s time to go.’
‘I would never kill a child. Never.’ He swung the gun round, pointed it at Amy. ‘I know who you are.’
Amy was about to throw back a nasty, glib remark at him, but she saw the look in his eyes, stopped.
‘I know who you are. And what you’ve done to me. And my life.’
She said nothing.
‘You’ve taken my life … ’
He squeezed the trigger.