A chair scraped the floor in the kitchen and Anya felt relief flood through her. Martin!
The man held the knife against her throat again and froze.
“This is going to stop now,” said a woman’s voice. “Right here, right now!”
For the first time, Anya saw fear in the man’s eyes.
51
Martin pulled up in front of Anya’s neighbor’s house. The old woman would no doubt complain, but she whinged about everything.
“You ready?” he asked.
“Dad, why is Mum’s house all dark?”
Martin checked his watch. “She’s probably held up somewhere. Just like usual.”
Ben didn’t respond and continued to play his hand-held computer game.
“I’ll check anyway.” He got out of the car and knocked on the front door, studying the small jade plant in a pot near the path while he waited. It was a plant they were given when they got married. For luck, supposedly. It had always been healthier when Anya looked after it.
No answer.
He climbed back in the car and undid the window. “Guess we wait a few minutes. Her car’s there.” He pointed to a blue Toyota Corolla, two cars ahead.
“Maybe she’s gone to get bread.” Ben zapped another couple of aliens.
“Either that or she took a taxi this morning. She does that when she goes into the city to save on parking. We’ll give her a few more minutes,” he said, flicking on the radio.
The man stared over Anya’s shoulder at the intruder.
No one moved as they heard the knock on the door. The man shoved his hand over Anya’s mouth, muffling her attempts to call out and restricting her vision. There was no second knock.
Anya’s eyes welled. Why hadn’t the woman reacted, she wondered.
“Get off her.” The strange woman’s voice sounded familiar. “Now!”
Without taking his eyes off the woman, he complied and slowly rose to his feet.
Anya sat up and moved backward to get away from him.
“Stay there!” He leaned toward her with the knife. “I’m not finished with you.”
In the shadows, Anya could make out the woman’s shape and the glint of metal reflecting from the TV. It didn’t make any sense.
“How did you get in?” He sounded nervous.
Anya braced herself to run.
“Luke, I know you. You always leave the back door open.”
Anya realized that Desiree Platt was in the house with a knife in her hand.
None of this made sense. Why had Desiree come to help her? Did she know her husband was a rapist?
Luke inched his way along the side of the coffee table. “Des, what are you doing?”
“I can’t believe you’d do this to me,” she blurted. “I trusted you.”
“Calm down, Des. It’s not what you think.” He held one arm out like a peace offering. “How’d you know I was here? Did anyone follow you?”
“No one knows I’m here.”
Anya’s heart hammered. How could a heavily pregnant woman overpower Luke? Her breathing quickened and her fingers began to tingle.
Desiree sounded angry. “I saw the way you listened to Nick talk about her. That’s how I knew you’d come.”
Luke leaned forward. “I’m sorry. I’ll get help this time, go to counselling, whatever it takes. It won’t happen again.”
“You promised! No more women,” Desiree cried.
He kept advancing slowly. “Don’t do anything silly. If you just put down the knife.”
“Not yet…” Her voice trailed off.
She was no physical match for Luke. Once on the ground, she wouldn’t stand a chance. If Anya moved, he could get to her in a lunge. But Desiree was standing even closer.
Anya had to distract him, so Desiree could get help.
She leapt over the arm of the lounge, shouting, “He’s got a knife. Desiree, run, get help!”
As her elbows hit the wooden floorboards, Platt had her hair in his grip again. Pain shot through her arms and knees.
“You stupid fucking bitch!” he said, and thumped the back of her head with something like a rock.
It felt like her head exploded. Dazed, she scrambled to pull free, disorientated by the blinding sensation.
He dragged her back onto the lounge and she felt the metal dig into her cheek again. “Don’t move a fucking muscle.”
Head throbbing, she hoped Desiree had got away. She could cope with almost anything if she knew help was coming quickly.
Clutching her head, she looked across. Her chest tightened. Desiree stood where she had been, frozen.
“The father of my child is a good man,” she said calmly. “You won’t take him away from me.”
Anya didn’t understand. She couldn’t process what was going on.
“You’re right, Des.” With one hand, Luke slid the coffee table to his left, clearing the path to Desiree. With his right hand, he kept the knife pointed in Anya’s direction.
“What about Elizabeth Dorman?” Anya put pressure on her throbbing scalp.
“Don’t you get it?” Luke’s voice strained as he shook the knife. “It was Willard. He did it, just like he killed Eileen Randall.”
Anya hesitated. When he was in control, she had no chance of escape
If he lost control, he might do anything. She had to risk it. “Geoff Willard didn’t stab Eileen. She was already dead when he found her. I know because I’ve got the evidence to prove it.” If he came for her, she’d dive and roll. Maybe he’d reach her legs, but not her body.
Luke panted loudly. “You’re lying. Willard killed Eileen. Des even saw him do it.”
“Shut up, Luke! She’s messing with your head. Just like the others did.” The knife glistened again. “She wants to seduce you. She’s exactly like the others.”
What others? Anya didn’t understand. What was Desiree doing? The whole moment seemed surreal with
Platt began to pace and bumped his knee on the coffee table.
About ten meters and she could make it to the front door. Her muscles tensed in readiness.
“Honey, you need to go now,” Desiree said calmly. “I’ll stay and sort this out. We can meet at that kiosk where we had lunch last month.”
He froze. “What do you mean, sort it out?”
“I forgive you, Luke. The baby does too. I know it’s not your fault that women seduce you. They were all just affairs that didn’t mean anything.”
Anya slowly edged one leg over the arm of the lounge. Desiree was more unstable than she had thought.
“I told you not to fucking move!” Luke yelled, and the knife jolted closer again.
“I saw you,” Desiree said. “I know where you went when you were supposed to be working. Sometimes I even followed you. I could see the Dorman bitch inside her house, prancing around with the lights on. You always went around the back so no one could see you.” She sniffled and her voice broke. “I’d wait outside, knowing what was going on in there night after night. Do you have any idea what that felt like, every time you went there to see her?”
Suddenly, it became clear. Desiree thought Luke had been having affairs with his victims. She had watched him stalk them and maybe even sat outside while he committed rape. The woman was delusional.
