It was distressing for Claudia to empty everything from the garage, but she knew it was coming once she’d convinced Shaw to blow up the school. She’d left no prints or DNA evidence on the bags containing the explosives and Kennedy’s body parts. She thought the police would turn up after they arrested Shaw, but it had been twenty-four hours since then, and they hadn’t appeared. She was ready to deny anything Shaw claimed.
She entered her house and went to the kitchen; the occasion deserved the best champagne she had. She opened the fridge and got the bottle. It was hard to keep the grin from her face as she poured a glass. It was incredible how little Bev Shaw, Shaw the Claw, had fallen into her lap.
Shaw is easily manipulated.
Conway had written those words ten years ago and how prophetic she’d been. She took her drink and went into the living room. She was two steps inside and close to slumping into her favourite seat when she realised someone was sitting there.
‘Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?’ The woman leant forward, her British accent stinging Conway’s ears.
‘How… how did you get in here?’
‘You’re wondering why your camera alarms didn’t trigger? I cut the electricity to the house before I picked the lock on the back door.’
‘What do you want?’
‘It’s impressive how quickly you’ve emptied the place of anything linking you to Beverly Shaw’s crimes. The garage is particularly sparse.’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
Conway’s heart rate didn’t increase. She felt no fear or pressure, her initial surprise having vanished in a flash. She strode past the intruder and placed the glass of champagne on her writing desk. Then she moved to the other side and sat down.
‘You were her teacher when she was a student at the school, and now you’re her boss, but I still can’t work out your murder connection. I don’t think you’re long-time partners. This has to be a recent thing.’
Conway picked up her glass and sipped at it. This was a game, and she liked playing games; the more dangerous, the better.
‘I suppose you’re about to tell me what this is all about, Ms…?’
‘You can call me Astrid.’ She crossed her legs and settled into the sofa. ‘Did you get sick of the sadomasochistic scene, or did it lose its edge for you? I’ve been down that route, and it gets dull very quickly.’
Conway’s interest was piqued. ‘Is that where you’re from? Are you someone I spurned a long time ago?’
A rejected lover, just like Jack. How quaint.
Astrid shook her head and smiled. ‘No, that wasn’t me. That was Kennedy. Having read his work, I can see why he was a failed writer, but he liked to wax lyrical about you. Were you aware he called you Claudia Dominatrix? Not exactly original, but he poured his heart out in those pages. Is that your link to Beverly Shaw and Adam Church?’ She twisted her gaze around the room. ‘Is this where you killed him?’
‘I’ve never killed anyone.’
‘Do you know, I believe you. I think you enjoy the manipulation, the watching, while others do your work and people suffer. What I don’t understand is how you tricked Shaw into believing you’d help her. I know she’s afraid of you. It’s a mixture of hatred and terror, which is why she’s keeping quiet about your involvement so far. Once I tell her about my visit here, I’m sure she’ll change her mind. She won’t trust you then.’
Claudia Conway pushed the glass to one side and opened a drawer in the writing desk. She stood and removed a gun from it.
‘Trust is good, but control is better.’
‘Do you think you can end all this by shooting me?’
‘You broke into my house and attacked me. I can kill you without batting an eyelid. This isn’t Britain. We do things differently in America.’
Astrid placed a hand on her knee. ‘I read your hidden school reports; that’s two decades of fascinating stuff you’ve written.’
Conway stepped from the desk, the revolver still pointing forward. ‘How did you see those?’
‘Shaw copied everything on your computer. It was on an external hard drive I found in her house. They are very detailed, very dedicated. Have you been manipulating her for a decade or more? That’s some long-time grooming if you have.’
Conway’s laugh was low. ‘No, of course not. She was barely on my radar until she returned to the school as a teacher, and even then, she was nothing to me. It was only when she came here to kill me that I took a real interest in her.’
‘You wanted to control her again like you did when she was your student.’
Conway continued to grin. ‘It was effortless; there was no challenge to it. I convinced her to torture and kill Kennedy. I even gave her the videos and photos I’d taken, making sure there was nothing to connect me to them, knowing it would be another piece of evidence to convict her once I’d finished.’
Astrid uncrossed her legs and got up. ‘Shaw came here to murder you. She hated you and read the horrible things you’d written about her, yet you managed to convince her to kill Kennedy and join you in blowing up the building. I’ve met plenty of killers in my time, but that’s impressive.’
‘I have to admit, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It was a disappointment she didn’t destroy the school, but you coming here now, giving me the chance to talk to someone nearly my equal, has just about made up for it. And I’ll be able to visit Bev in prison. That will be fun, but confusing for her.’
‘Confusing?’
She was only a few feet from Astrid, the gun aimed at her head. ‘I told her I was dying, which was a lie, and that I was going to blow up the boiler room in the school, another lie, while she destroyed the main hall. Of course, I never placed any explosives there, only what remained of poor Jack, plus the tools Bev used to torture and kill him.’ Conway’s eyes sparkled. ‘It’s a shame we can’t play this game any longer, and I do usually hate having to do stuff like this, but I’m afraid it’s time for me to send you to meet your British ancestors, Astrid.’
Conway was grinning as she pulled the trigger.
For the second time in successive days, she was disappointed when an explosion didn’t happen. She pulled the trigger again and again, with the same results.
Astrid smiled at her. ‘Do you think I’d come here without checking the place for weapons?’ She reached into her pocket and removed six bullets. She used her free hand to lift her arm and speak into the cuff of her jacket. ‘You can come in now.’
Detective Hicks and three armed officers marched through the living room door. Conway stood there like a victim of Medusa.
‘You set me up?’
Astrid walked to her. ‘You were right, Claudia; manipulating people into doing things against their best interests is fun.’
Forty-eight hours later, Astrid was on a plane back to England. Her phone was in her hand, her sister’s number on the screen. There was no point calling, she wouldn’t be able to get a signal, but as soon as she’d left Conway’s house, she’d made a promise to herself: go home and speak to Courtney. She was ready to sort out the thorny problem of getting regular access to Olivia.
And no more trips abroad.
Evie squeezed past her and took the window seat. ‘You need to show me the sights of London when we get there. I’ve always wanted to explore Hampton Court.’
Astrid gripped on to the phone. ‘There’ll be plenty of time for that later. You’ve got your first meeting with your literary agent, and then the rearranged auction.’
She was surprised the publishers had agreed to it once Evie told her agent she was off to London for a month.
Evie grinned in acquiescence. ‘You’re in control, Snow.’
We’ll travel across the country when Evie’s book auction is over. And once I’ve finally put my past behind me.
She continued to stare at her sister’s phone number as the plane climbed above the clouds and the temperature dropped.