Page 149 of Dying Truth

She could see the fibres fraying before her eyes.

‘Stop,’ she said again.

Bryant followed her gaze. His face lost every drop of colour.

‘Dawson, stop,’ he cried, seeing the frayed rope.

‘Swing, Geoffrey,’ Dawson called out, building momentum.

He lifted his head and met Bryant’s terrified gaze.

‘Get ready to grab him.’

‘Dawson, you gotta stop,’ Bryant said, unable to keep the tremor from his voice.

‘Get ready,’ he repeated.

The next swing almost reached Bryant whose arms were stretched as far as he could reach.

Stacey’s gaze returned to the rope. It was hanging by a few threads. The weight of both of them was weakening it by the second.

‘This time,’ Dawson said, giving one almighty swing.

The rope travelled further, and Bryant got hold of the kid’s jacket and hauled him to safety.

The rope swung back to the other side of the space.

Just one more, just one, Stacey prayed as Dawson swung away from them. If the rope swung once more, they could grab him. Stacey stopped looking at the rope and looked only at her colleague and friend.

The rope slowed as it swayed at the other side.

Her eyes were locked on his.

He gave her one of his slow cocky smiles as he began to swing back towards her.

‘Kev,’ she said but the word was drowned out by the snapping of the rope as it finally gave way and he disappeared from view.

One Hundred Nine

Kim sat in her office staring out at an empty squad room.

The service started in an hour, but she’d wanted to drop in at the station first. Had wanted to make sure that everything to do with the case had been squared away.

He deserved that.

Hannah Winters had been pronounced dead at the scene, as she had suspected. One act borne of jealousy twenty-five years earlier had ended and fractured countless lives in the present.

Graham Steele had been charged with the murder of Sadie Winters, ShaunCoffee-Todd, Joanna Wade, and the attempted murder of Christian Fellows. The charges for Lorraine’s death were still being worked out, but further crimes would be added to the list that would keep the counsellor behind bars for the rest of his life.

Perversely, there was a sense of relief in Graham’s understanding that he had not killed Lorraine Peters and her child. As yet he seemed not to have connected himself to the present murders, as though they were unimportant to him. His need for vengeance had eclipsed the irony that he was killing children purposely for being tricked into killing one accidentally. The hatred of Laurence had gnawed and festered over the years, spreading through him like a virus with each fresh nightmare or reminder of what he’d done. Sadie’s poem had been the catalyst for it all. Her missing backpack had been found in the boot of his car and her diary in his bedside cabinet. Kim still struggled to picture the man lying in bed at night reading the most intimate and personal thoughts of the thirteen-year-old girl.

Laurence Winters left hospital and had been swiftly charged with the attempted murder of Lorraine Peters. He had retreated into silence and refused to answer any questions on the historic crime, even though Graham was telling the whole story. There would be DNA tests to prove or disprove Graham’s account and Laurence’s involvement, but Kim believed him.

Havers had been charged with the attempted murder of Geoffrey Piggott, after three students confirmed they had seen him exit the bell tower just an hour before sending Geoffrey up there with the key. It appeared that the Spades network operated on a risk versus reward basis. Contrary to his expectation, the Spades had not come rushing to his defence, either drawing the line at attempted murder or unwilling to risk their own reputations for a sports coach. Kim was reminded of the Russian dolls. It was the elite, within the elite, within the elite, and Havers was nowhere near the dolls at the centre.

Thorpe genuinely hadn’t known that Havers had been keeping the Spades alive and had vowed to re-examine all suspicious accidents and ensure that any guilty parties were brought to justice. A lesser man would have run away from the place as quickly as possible, but Thorpe was determined to stand strong and rebuild the battered reputation of Heathcrest.

Once events had begun to sink in Saffie had refused to visit or speak to her father. Added to her own anger was the knowledge of his actions in the past, along with her mother’s death. It would be some time before her life looked anything resembling normal again. Until it did she had chosen to remain at Heathcrest. Principal Thorpe had assured Kim that they would take good care of her, and she believed him.