‘I don’t know. Luc found her this morning.’
‘Luc?’
My sister thinks… thought seventeen-year-old Luc Donovan was the cat’s pyjamas. This summer especially, he’s all she talked about. Luc’s so good looking, Luc’s so amazing. She adored him. I always pretend to be disinterested when he’s around and I’m sure he thinks I’m a stuck up cow. Pa’s voice interrupts my thoughts.
‘Luc found her next door, in their poolhouse. It was an accident. She… she fell through the glass door…’
‘What? That doesn’t sound right. How can you fall through a door?’
‘I don’t know, Riley. But I’m bloody well going to find out. The guards have got Luc in there. I’m going down to get some answers.’
‘Skye…’ I say. ‘It can’t be true.’
Pa stands up. ‘I’ll be back in a minute. I’m just going to check on your mother.’ He walks quickly from the room and I know he’s crying again. He doesn’t want me to see.
What Pa told me doesn’t make any sense. I have to speak to someone, to find out what happened. Nothing feels real. I haven’t even cried. I open our front door and walk down the block paved driveway. Liam, the new guard, is standing outside our house. I hesitate, wanting to know every terrible detail but at the same time I can’t bear to find out.
‘Liam!’ I call out.
He looks across at me with awkward pity and I can tell he’d rather be anywhere else than here with me, Skye’s sister.
‘Riley, I’m sorry about Skye,’ he calls over, not making any move to come towards me. ‘I can’t be talking to you about this though.’
‘But she’s my sister. I’ve got more right to know than you have.’ It comes out sounding angrier than I meant.
Liam chews his lip and strides towards me. He takes hold of my arm and leads me back up the drive and around the side of the house. There’s a heat haze shimmering up off the ground… or is it my vision blurring? He takes off his guard’s hat and twirls it around nervously in his hands. A grade one buzz cut shows off a nasty scar on his forehead where you can see the stitch marks, but handsome features offset this bullet-proof exterior. I’m pretty sure he’s the coolest person I know.
‘Okay, I’ll tell you what I know,’ he says. ‘But I don’t want to and it’s not nice.’
Chapter Two
I tense, bracing myself for what Liam is about to tell me.
‘There was a struggle of some kind,’ he starts.
‘A struggle? I thought it was an accident.’
‘No. Not an accident.’
I try to process this information. If it wasn’t an accident then it must have been… something else. Something worse.
‘A piece of glass from the door went into her throat which is what… which is what killed her. So at first it looked like a terrible accident. The thing is, she was also partly strangled and there was some bruising which points towards…’
I feel like I’m listening to him from a long way away, like my ears need to pop. His words are merging together. This is beyond normality and I think I might throw up at such a graphic onslaught. Teetering on the edge of hysteria, a scream forms without a voice. My knees go soft.
‘Whoaaa, Riley, are you okay?’ Liam drops his hat and puts his arm around me. He sets me down on the ground. I lean back against the side wall and he crouches in front of me. ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t’ve said anything. I’m an idiot.’
‘No, Liam,’ I croak. ‘You’re brave to tell me this. Please tell me the rest. I might be sick, but I need to know.’ No matter how hard it is to hear to this horror story I make myself listen to the rest.
‘We’re holding Luc as the only possible suspect.’ He pauses and looks at me for a reaction. ‘I know it seems crazy, Luc’s no more a killer than you are, but he found her and there are no other suspects.’
‘Luc?’ I let his words sink in. I can’t believe it. No way can Luc be involved in this, he just can’t be. ‘I knew they were questioning him but he can’t be a suspect. What about Eddie and Rita? They won’t let you hold him.’
‘Actually, Luc’s parents might be the ones who employ us, but security is paid for by everyone here. We’ve told the Donovans we won’t contact the army till we’re sure of what happened.’
‘Right.’
‘Riley, I feel bad telling you all this, but don’t worry about Luc. You just need to think about yourself and your family.’
I nod.
‘I’ve got to go now but I don’t want to leave you like this. Are you gonna be okay? Shall I help you back inside?’
I shake my head.
‘Look,’ he continues, his brow creased. ‘Please don’t tell your father I’ve told you any of this. He told me not to say anything and I think he was right. I shouldn’t have told you, I’ve made you even more upset.’
‘Liam.’ I shake my head again. I can barely speak. ‘I won’t say anything. Go, before you get into trouble. Thanks for telling me. I know that must’ve been hard.’
‘I’m sorry, Riley. I’ll see you soon.’ He touches my arm, retrieves his hat from the ground and walks away.
I stay sitting here on the ground not thinking about anything, letting my mind shrink and expand, trying to keep the bloodied images from clawing their way back inside my head. Skye is gone.
I shakily stand up and stagger towards the house. Putting my hand to my throat, I can feel pain, like someone is strangling me, choking off the air. How can Luc have anything to do with this horror? It must have been accidental. Luc is always so sensitive to Skye and her feelings. He obviously knows she had a crush on him; well it was plain for everyone to see. But he treated her affectionately like a little sister. Our families have been close since before we were born. I’ve got to see Luc, to hear what he has to say.
The doorbell rings accompanied by a sharp knock on the front door.
‘Mr Culpepper, Sir.’ The voice belongs to Roger Brennan, Head of Perimeter Security. I open the door and let him in. ‘I need to see your parents,’ he says.
‘Okay,’ I mumble.
Ma’s still asleep upstairs. Pa gave her something strong to calm her down. I don’t want to think about it, I just have to get through each second at a time. I’m in a nightmare that won’t be over for a long time yet.
Mr Brennan follows me into the kitchen where Pa’s been sitting in silent grief for what seems like hours. Pa looks up at him.
‘Okay, Riley,’ he says, dismissing me from the room with his eyes.
‘No, Pa. I want to stay.’
Mr Brennan looks from me to Pa. Pa slumps his shoulders and nods in resignation. I sit next to him, drawing my knees up to my chin. He looks at the guard and gestures to another chair. Roger Brennan takes his hat off and sits down.
‘There’s been a development. We’ve released Lucas and we’ve discovered a possible murderer.’
I dig my nails into the tip of my thumb until it hurts. Pa doesn’t react.
‘We haven’t apprehended him yet,’ he continues, waiting for us to digest this news.
‘Possible murderer,’ Pa says the words slowly. ‘What does that mean exactly?’ Tears start to roll down his cheeks.
‘I’m so sorry, Sir.’ Roger Brennan suddenly drops his bluff guards’ manner. He bows his head for a moment. ‘I know this must be hard for you. Shall I go on?’
‘Please.’
Mr Brennan squares his shoulders back. ‘His name’s Ron Chambers. He’s an electrician.’
Pa’s head snaps up. ‘Chambers?’
‘Yes, Sir.’
‘Didn’t he work next door at Eddie’s? I’m sure he said he had a man named Chambers working there earlier this year.’