‘This changes everything. Remember when you said the teeth marks in the hearts were slightly different? It wasn’t the same man wearing a mouth guard, it was two different men.’
‘Oh my god,’ Graham said softly.
‘And what is that?’ York hit pause. ‘Does the second kid’s face look dirty, or is that a shadow?’
Graham leant in. ‘I don’t think that’s mud, Nick, or a shadow. If I didn’t know better, I’d say it was a birthmark.’
58
The Indian Ocean, 2011
‘All this time,’ Abbey murmured. ‘It was you.’
Emerging from the mist Anthony’s marked face appeared as if in a dream, his left cheek smudged with blood. He glided towards her, his unsmiling demeanour gone, replaced by the confident grin of a man in total control.
‘I’ve missed you, Abigail.’ The Deep South American brogue had vanished, traded in for nobleman English, and for the first time, Abbey became aware of her malfunctioning legs.
‘Since the first time I saw you, hiding in the corner of that dark room, watching me, I reserved a special place for you in my heart. You don’t know how long I’ve waited for this day. It’s our greatest moment, our greatest achievement.’
‘I…I don’t understand,’ Abbey whispered, her voice cracking. ‘They sent you to Broadmoor. You’re supposed to be rotting in a cell.’
Anthony's left eye twitched as if trying to recall the existence of any such ordeal. ‘It destroyed me when I was locked away, because I couldn't be near you, Abigail. But I knew one day we would be reunited. I have watched you your entire life. I was there on your first day of secondary school, I was there in Edinburgh when you graduated, I was there at your wedding, your honeymoon in Cuba.’
Goosebumps rose on her arms as she listened intently to Anthony as he gave an accurate account of her life. ‘You’re making no sense, Anthony. If you were in Broadmoor, how could you have been there on all those occasions?’
He looked confused. Then he said, ‘Do you doubt me? Is my information incorrect?’
She could not reply.
Moving closer, he said, ‘I couldn’t believe our fortune when the plane went down. It was like a sign that our reunion was imminent. I’m sure you felt it too. For days I’ve marvelled at the wonder of it all, the carnage instilled just so you and I could be together again.’
Anthony’s words snagged at her seams. ‘If what you say is true, you could have killed me any time you liked. The fact that I’m still here contradicts you.’
Anthony’s crooked smile dashed her confidence. ‘What makes you think I want to kill you? Quite the contra, Abigail, I’d be lost without you. All these others, they have no place here, they don’t belong.’ Gauging her frown, he said, ‘I’ve become quite fond of you over the years. I don’t want to hurt you. That would negate everything we have achieved.’
‘Why do you keep saying “we”?’ she asked. ‘Like I’ve had anything to do with this. How can you stand there and suggest we’re something of a team? Watching me from afar doesn’t mean you know me. It doesn’t mean you understand me or care for me…’
‘I have been more intimate with you than any other individual in your life!’ he said abruptly. Anthony flinched. ‘You think physical contact means anything? Edward, James, their love for you is mere smoke compared to mine. And that is why our reunion is so important. You belong at my side, Abigail.’
Finally her legs corresponded with her brain and she took a tentative step backwards. If Anthony noticed, it didn’t bother him. ‘None of this makes sense,’ she muttered. ‘You had your head bashed in. I carried you back to the camp myself.’
‘It’s amazing what the human being is capable of,’ he said nonchalantly. ‘When he puts his mind to it.’
‘What?’
‘Ever tried knocking yourself unconscious with a rock? It's more difficult than it looks.’
‘You’re insane,’ she trembled.
‘No!’ he yelled. ‘No, no, no! You don’t get to say that to me, do you understand?’ He advanced towards her. ‘I stood in. I kept my eye on you when your parents died.’
Another step back. ‘When you killed them…’
‘I freed you from them!' said Anthony frantically. 'They were despicable people, Abigail, they didn’t deserve you, they didn’t deserve life. They grew remorselessly rich by the most abhorrent means. Don’t ask me to apologise for what I did to them, they got off lightly. Don’t you see, I’ve been the only solid figure in your life, the only constant. I have been your guardian, your mother and father combined, your brother, your lover, your everything!'
As the day grew warmer, Abbey trembled harder. The mist had begun to lift, the gruesome effigies of Elaine and Sol growing more defined. Their chests on display, it was impossible to miss the ragged hole cut into each. With only a handful of feet remaining between Anthony and herself, she looked back to Elaine. ‘Wait,’ she stammered. ‘You were with me when Elaine was murdered. We watched it happen together.’
Anthony smiled, calmer now. ‘Ah, yes, the irresolute Oliver. Haven’t you wondered why the old chap hasn’t been looking too great? Needless to say, it’s not food poisoning. His quite sickening guttural responses have been down to nothing more than vivid recollections. He even braved the storm last night in search of Eric. Old boy feels kind of guilty, you see.’
‘No, I don’t see.’
Anthony looked impatient. ‘Oliver killed Elaine. Under my supervision, of course.’
‘No,’ she murmured disbelievingly. ‘He…he wouldn’t.’
‘He would and he did. I simply told him I’d gut every single one of the survivors should he not do as I ask. It was the perfect ruse, was it not? How could he know that I intend to do that anyway? When only you and I remain, everything
