Читать книгу Saving Sophie: A compulsively twisty psychological thriller that will keep you gripped to the very last page - Sam Carrington, Sam Carrington - Страница 19

She’d escaped. A temporary reprieve. Her mum had begun crying, her dad pacing; she was numb. The claustrophobia had been almost too much to bear, she’d felt herself on the edge of breaking down. Outside, the coldness of the early evening air acted as a refresher, triggering a reaction, making her thighs shake, and hands tremble. She drew some deep lungfuls of breath. In … out, in … out. She’d seen her mother do this a lot for the past two years to quell her panic attacks. Was this what it felt like for her?

Sophie sat heavily on the dwarf red-brick wall partitioning their house from the neighbour’s, waiting for Dan to show. Her street only had five other houses: two directly opposite, one either side of theirs and one at the end of the road on the corner. But, she could guarantee that each occupant was currently ogling out of their windows, trying to figure out what was going on. She was surprised that Bill, the nosey bugger from number twenty, hadn’t come across to ask – as the self-appointed Neighbourhood Watch lead he liked to know the ins and outs so he could inform the rest of Ambrook. He was going to have a field day with this.

‘Hey, Soph, you all right?’ Dan appeared from behind her car.

‘How long have you been there?’ Sophie raised herself up and went towards him.

‘Saw the police car. What’s going on?’ Dan’s angular face showed patchy red blotches, the way it always did when he was nervous. A flash of suspicion shot through her mind: he lived in Torquay, didn’t drive – how had he got here? And why was he hanging around outside her house?

‘They’re here about Amy.’ Her voice, flat.

Dan shifted from one foot to the other, staring down at the ground. ‘She hasn’t been found then.’ It wasn’t a question.

What should she say? That they thought they’d found her, or rather her body? Oh, and by the way, I told the copper you might have been the last one to see her alive?

Instead, she managed: ‘The detective wants to speak to you.’

Dan’s head snapped up. ‘Me? Why me?’

‘Well, you were one of the last people to see her, he wants to ask you some questions, like he’s just asked me.’

‘What did you tell him?’ His chest rose and fell quicker than was normal. What did he have to be concerned about? At least he had memories of Saturday night.

‘Nothing.’ She sighed. ‘I can’t actually remember anything. My last clear memory is at Amy’s house with everyone, drinking.’

‘You aren’t serious?’

‘Deadly.’

‘Are you sure? It seems … well, unlikely.’ He avoided eye contact, the tone of his voice implied he didn’t believe her.

‘Yes, I’m sure, Dan. But you do, so that’s all right, isn’t it.’ She shook her head. ‘Best get inside.’

‘I’m not coming in.’

‘You have to. He’s seen your text saying you wanted me to come outside, plus, he can see you through the window.’ She flung her arm up in indication. ‘I’ve already been far too long – he’ll probably be suspicious now, thinking we’re trying to get our stories straight.’

‘What the actual fuck, Sophie? Stories straight, why?’ He grabbed hold of both her forearms tightly.

‘Ow. Let go. What’s your problem? You’re acting weird.’ She spoke the words through gritted teeth. He released her and let his arms hang by his side.

‘I don’t like where this is going, that’s all.’ His voice was shaky.

He was acting strangely, out of character. But then, wasn’t she? She had to admit, none of it was truly sinking in; her own reactions weren’t what she expected. It wasn’t even the worst of it yet, he was going to hate it when he found out there was a body, and they thought it was Amy. Bile burned the back of her throat. She couldn’t be the one to break that news.

‘Come on.’ She tilted her head towards the front door. ‘We have to do this. They’ll be talking to everyone from Saturday night, not just us.’

Dan let out a short, sharp breath, then followed Sophie inside.