Page 52 of Runner 13

I close my eyes, reliving that moment. My body is shaking.

‘I wanted to call the police. But she refused. Glenn had threatened her – and taken the spiked bottles with him when he left. I told her that she was the evidence, but she didn’t want that.

She was so afraid. So ashamed. No matter what I said, how I assured her she wouldn’t be alone, she refused. All she wanted to do was go home.

‘Maybe I could have done more; I could have taken her to the police myself. But she’d already lost so much control.

I couldn’t take more from her. She just wanted to forget it all and get away.

I helped her sort a flight and made sure she got to the airport.

By the time I came back, Glenn had gone.

He’d checked out in the middle of the night, probably once he heard me go into Yasmin’s room. ’ I sigh.

A curtain had fallen from in front of my eyes that night, and on the other side of it was the truth of who Glenn really was.

And I had this awful feeling it wasn’t the first time.

Other runners had confided in me in the past about nausea, sickness, even weird blackouts in the mornings and pain where there shouldn’t be pain.

Glenn had attributed it to their female bodies reacting to the extreme, super-intense training he’d put them through, using their own biology against them.

Later those women would be dropped from Glenn’s roster.

He would denigrate them, claiming they didn’t have what it takes.

But I began to see things differently. Now the wall was down, I realized what had been happening was something far more sinister.

Of course I understood why Yasmin felt she couldn’t come forward.

The power imbalance between her and Glenn …

she was too afraid. But the mother inside me had stretched up and roared.

I could see the future laid out in front of me – Glenn continuing his camps and assaulting more women.

More athletes’ lives ruined. I allowed the rage to take hold and got ready to burn everything I’d worked to build.

I’d had enough of staying quiet about the things women had to endure just to be in the same space as men.

So, like Ethan on the sidelines shouting his outrage at the umpire for a bad call, I did the only thing I felt I could – something so impulsive and stupid and yet, in the moment, so right.

I look up at Matt. ‘I couldn’t let him get away with it. So I went to the police and I said he’d attacked me. They found him at the ferry port and detained him. I posted on social media to warn other women in his sphere or maybe allow his previous victims to know they weren’t alone –’

There’s a crash from above us as the wind takes a chunk of the roof and sends it flying into the abyss.

I dive over Mariam, sheltering her from the debris.

It takes a while for the gust to subside, while Mariam clutches at my arms. She’s still shuddering in pain.

Where is the damn medical help? I want to scream.

‘I know why you did it,’ she whispers into my ear. ‘But without any proof your effort was just wasted.’

‘I wanted him to pay,’ I say, my voice choking. ‘She came to the camp because of me.’

‘You couldn’t have known what he was doing.’

When it settles, I sit back again.

Matt’s eyes are still closed. He shakes his head slowly – but I don’t think it’s denial. Reality is hitting.

‘I never understood why my mother moved us so far away from him,’ he said. ‘I guess … she must have known all along. At least suspected. God. Was it you, then?’ Matt’s eyes flick to me. ‘Did you kill my father?’

I swallow. ‘Matt, he died of a heart attack.’

‘I don’t believe that.’

‘I had nothing to do with Glenn’s death. The news was as much of a surprise to me as to anyone.’

‘But you saw him that day.’ He says it calmly.

My stomach clenches. But I quell my initial reaction to say ‘no’.

No more lying. ‘Yes, I did. That morning, as I was packing my bag for the race, I heard that Yasmin had passed away. That broke me all over again. I had to confront him. He had used me – my reputation – to lure Yasmin in. I felt responsible. He had made me complicit in his plans. I had to say my piece. But when I left, he was alive and well.’

Mariam stares at me, looking pale. She’s shaking uncontrollably now.

‘Your father’s death was not my fault,’ I repeat to Matt, watching carefully for his reaction. ‘Mariam needs help.’ I shift my bodyweight towards her.

‘Don’t move,’ he says. He pulls his backpack towards him. ‘You know, after the initial checks, they don’t bother looking at fun runner packs again. They don’t care if we carry extra food or take pills or bring a fucking kitchen sink.’

My breath catches in my throat.

He still wants revenge. That’s what Jason’s note had said. Now he’s got us right where he needs us. He’s heard the story. He’s got the answers he wants. And we are vulnerable. Weak. With nowhere to go.

He unzips the backpack and puts his hand inside. But what he pulls out is worse than a knife.

He’s got a gun.