Page 125 of Deadly Cry

Kim marvelled at the triumph in her eyes. Even now, when she was being led away to police custody, her focus was still on the game.

‘What exactly did you win, Lena?’ Kim asked. ‘You can’t beat someone who isn’t even in the game. You’ve thrown away your whole life to triumph over someone who didn’t ask to be born, just because you were jealous. I once respected you as a strong woman who had succeeded in this difficult environment, but now I see that Chris would have been a much better addition to the police force than you. Somehow, he managed to keep some shred of decency even while committing horrific crimes. He is human but you are not.’

Her face reddened. ‘You can’t speak to—’

‘Oh shut up, I’m not finished yet and you’d better get used to not having the last word. I saw with my own eyes how you’ve manipulated and shaped him. Innocent people have died, and a young boy terrified and taken away from his family in your efforts to be the best, but there is something so incredibly twisted and warped that you don’t even realise yourself.’

‘Like what?’ Lena said, sticking out her chin in defiance of any insight Kim had to give. There was nothing this woman didn’t already know.

‘Everything you said about your brother is equally if not more true of you. You’re pathetic and desperate because you always kept it going. Chris would have stopped but you were always the first. You couldn’t let it go. It was you who wanted the attention, the love, the approval from your brother, so fill your boots with triumph: it’s a victory you can savour and enjoy for the next twenty to thirty years.’

‘Oh, we’ll see about—’

‘Fuck off, Lena. You’re not in control now, and I don’t want to look at you any more.’ She nodded to the officers. ‘Get her out of my sight.’

‘Okay, I think I’m starting to catch up now,’ Bryant said as Lena was led from the room.

‘Not before time,’ she said, leaning against the wall. The room that had emptied around them was now spinning every ten seconds or so.

‘Go on, guv, it’s just us now,’ Bryant said. ‘You can admit it. I saved your life, didn’t I?’

‘By knocking me out cold?’

‘Yeah, but you’re alive, so go on, just between us, you can say it.’

Oh, how he wanted to hear those words. Such a simple gift for a simple man.

‘Bryant, you…’ she paused, ‘…could have got here a bit sooner.’

He laughed out loud and looked to the back of her head.

‘Yeah, definitely no permanent damage.’

She let go of the wall and took a few tentative steps as her aching head caught up with her movement.

Bryant walked beside her, knowing better than to offer her help.

The dizziness had passed, but the rage had not.

She now had to tell three families they’d lost loved ones all because of a fucking game.

One Hundred Six

‘You okay?’ Kim asked Alison as they got back into the car.

‘Allergies,’ the behaviourist said, wiping a tear from her eye.

‘Nothing to do with seeing Archie surrounded by a ton of Lego while his mum beamed with love and relief from the couch.’

‘Nope, nothing to do with that at all.’

‘You helped make that scene,’ Kim said.

Kim had been prepared to visit all three families alone but had decided to bring Alison along for two reasons.

‘I know why you asked me to come,’ Alison said, cutting into her thoughts. ‘You think I’ll return to active service.’

Kim shook her head. ‘That’s your decision. I asked you to come so you could explain the dynamics of sibling rivalry, to offer the families some understanding of what happened.’