Caroline and Dexter stayed silent for a few moments, taking in and digesting Tom’s extraordinary confession. It had been much as Caroline had come to suspect, but hearing it directly from his mouth, laced with his bizarre delusions and reasoning had been quite the ordeal.
‘Tom, I’m really sorry,’ she said, ‘but you can’t keep people against their will, no matter how right you believe it to be.’
Tom shrugged. ‘What does it matter?’ he said. ‘I’m done for now. What’s the point?’ He lifted the camping knife up slightly and looked at it, considering it.
‘Tom,’ Dexter said, his voice quivering in the cold. ‘Tom, look at me, buddy.’
‘I’ll never have her, will I?’ Tom said to Caroline, ignoring him. ‘Not after this. Not now. I won’t last five minutes in prison. We all know that. This way is easier. Faster.’
‘No, Tom,’ Caroline said. ‘That’s not true. Please don’t do anything rash.’
‘Why not? This is the end. I’ll never have her now.’
‘That’s not true.’ Caroline looked at Amie, locking eyes with her, pleading for her to read between the lines.
She’d come to know Amie. She knew she was a stubborn cow who was only out for herself, but Caroline’s eyes desperately pleaded for her to see beyond the end of her own nose for once. She needed to at least give Tom the impression that she’d be waiting for him. That he needed to go with the police. That prison time would be worth it. She needed to give him false hope. Caroline didn’t know if Amie recognised the message she was trying to send with her eyes, but she knew she had to act quickly. If he took that knife to his neck, he’d stand no chance.
‘Tom, please,’ she said. ‘You haven’t lost it all. Not in the slightest. Amie can see how devoted you are to her. How you’ve dedicated your whole life to protecting her. Can’t you, Amie?’
She locked eyes with her again, desperately pleading with her to play along.
Eventually, Amie nodded.
Caroline tried not to make her huge sigh of relief audible. ‘Women know when a man will do anything for them, Tom. There’s still hope.’
Tears started to glisten in Tom’s eyes. ‘I need to hear that from her,’ he said.
Caroline swallowed. Could Amie be trusted to hold her tongue and play along, just to keep them all safe and ensure justice could be done? If she was honest with herself, she didn’t know, but she had no other option. ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘Shall I take the tape off her mouth?’
Tom considered this for a moment, then nodded. ‘I’m watching you, though. One wrong move.’
‘It’s okay, Tom. We’re all on the same side here.’
Caroline stepped forward, giving Amie a reassuring look. As she gently removed the tape, she silently mouthed the word please. She stepped back into her previous position, allowing Tom to see Amie’s face.
Her phone started to vibrate again. This time, she put her hand in her pocket and pressed the volume-down button, stopping the vibration before Tom noticed it.
‘Go on, Amie,’ she said. ‘Tell him.’ Caroline spoke confidently and calmly, but inside she was bricking it. She looked across at Dexter, trying to work out a contingency plan if this all went wrong, but there was none.
‘I… Tom,’ Amie said, her voice quivering. ‘I know you did this for me. I can see that.’
‘It was the right thing to do,’ Tom replied.
Amie nodded her head desperately. Caroline could see how hard this was for her — how sick she felt at having to go through with the charade — but that she also recognised the importance.
‘Tell me,’ Tom said, the tears starting to choke him. ‘Tell me you’ll wait for me.’
‘I’ll wait for you,’ Amie replied, her voice also cracking with emotion, although entirely different ones to his. ‘I will. Go with them, Tom. Please.’
‘I’ll get twenty years. At least.’
Tears were streaming down both their faces.
‘I know. I know. You’ve spent so long waiting for me, Tom. Longer than that. Much longer. It’s the least I can do. And you’ll be doing it for me.’
‘I do everything for you,’ he said.
‘I know.’
Tom looked at Caroline, then back towards Amie. ‘I… I need you to prove it,’ he said. ‘I need something to take with me.’
‘What do you need?’ Amie asked, shivering, tearful.
‘A kiss. I need a kiss.’
Amie instinctively looked towards Caroline, who’d closed her eyes and clenched her jaw, knowing what Amie’s reaction to that request would be.
Caroline looked back at her, hopeful. They were so close. So close to ending this whole ordeal.
Eventually, Amie nodded and Tom stepped forward.
He stooped low, the cold having long seeped into his joints, and planted a long and desperate kiss on her lips.
‘You held back,’ he said, standing back up and looking at the knife.
‘I didn’t. I’m cold. I’m frozen solid,’ Amie replied desperately, now considering the knife might be intended for her. ‘I promise you, Tom. Sweetheart. Kiss me again.’
Tom looked at her for a moment, then kissed her again. He stood back up and walked towards the campfire, each pace slower than the last. Then he looked up at Caroline and Dexter, tossed the knife into the fire and held his arms behind his back.
52
All Caroline wanted was to go home, but the wheels of police procedure meant that wouldn’t be possible for a few hours yet. There was the never-ending pile of paperwork that had to be completed first, starting with detailed notes in her
