Don’t Turn Around: A heart-stopping gripping domestic suspense. Amanda Brooke

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      I don’t like the shiver that runs down my spine that has nothing to do with fear. I don’t need that kind of reminder. ‘And you look like you don’t give a shit who you hurt. Some things never change.’

      ‘Clearly not,’ he says, dropping his voice so we’re not overheard. ‘You can’t leave me alone, can you?’

      Rather than answer, I look over his shoulder at the group of supple bodies bending and stretching. ‘You enjoy humiliating and controlling people, don’t you?’

      With his hands on his hips, Lewis swivels around to check on his acolytes. ‘I’m not doing anything wrong. These people pay good money for me to shout at them.’

      ‘You need to go back to Newcastle,’ I tell him. ‘Slither back to whatever life you made up there and leave us alone.’

      ‘Me leave you alone?’ he asks, his words crackling with anger. He uses his hand to wipe away the sweat trickling down his face before adding, ‘Ruth publicly shamed me and now you’re stalking me. If anyone’s being victimised here, it’s me. Isn’t it time we all got on with our lives?’

      ‘Meg’s dead.’

      His eyes close briefly and I wonder what image of my cousin forms in his mind. I doubt she’s smiling. In those two years we all spent in sixth form, I have more memories of Meg’s eyes full of tears than I do of them sparkling with laughter, but what is Lewis’s enduring memory? Could it be her dead eyes? Hanging is not a pretty or peaceful way to die and that image must surely haunt him.

      ‘How can you live with yourself?’ I ask, my voice low with emotion.

      ‘How can any of us?’

      His cold stare turns my blood to ice and, frozen to the spot, I couldn’t turn away if I wanted. ‘Everything was fine until you showed up.’

      ‘I bet it was. How is Charlie?’

      ‘None of your business,’ I reply.

      There’s an imperceptible shake of his head. ‘What do you want, Jen?’

      ‘You could start by telling me what you did to Meg that day. What was in the missing section of the note?’

      I listen to his breath, exhaled through his nose like a bull that’s ready to charge. ‘This again? There was no note. I wasn’t there.’

      I flinch from the force of his words. His anger thickens the air between us and as I breathe it in, my throat constricts. ‘You’re lying. You hurt Meg and she was going to tell everyone.’

      ‘Why do you all insist on painting this perfect picture of Meg? As much as I loved her, she was a fucked-up bitch who messed with all of our lives. Ask anyone in our group. Ask Charlie.’

      ‘That fucked-up bitch was my best friend and my cousin,’ I reply, but it’s more of a croak.

      ‘So at least we’re agreed she was fucked up,’ he says, his smile returning.

      ‘Is that how you live with yourself – by blaming her?’ I scoff. ‘Take a long look at yourself, Lewis. You need help.’ I glance over at the collection of women bending and stretching on the grass. ‘You have to find a better way of dealing with your anger than taking it out on women.’

      ‘It would help if they didn’t make me so fucking angry. I thought you were better than this, Jen,’ he mutters, his eyes softening as he attempts to draw me in.

      He’s playing with me. I should know by now that my energies would be better served helping the victims, not the perpetrators. ‘The solicitor’s letter isn’t going to make us go away and neither will the nuisance calls. We’ll call the police if you don’t stop.’

      He shakes his head. ‘Nuisance calls? Seriously, I don’t have time for this. Go away, Jen. Get the fuck away or you might just regret it.’

      ‘You’re a bully, Lewis,’ I hiss before his warning has a chance to sink in. ‘You bullied Meg and I bet you’re bullying your new girlfriend too.’

      ‘Iona?’

      At last I’ve wrong-footed him. I know Ellie’s real name now. I can’t suppress the smile.

      ‘Have you been stalking her too?’ he demands.

      I’m tempted to break all the rules on confidentiality and mention Ellie’s phone call – it’s not as if it should come as news – but Lewis’s growing agitation stops me. My stomach clenches as I consider the possibility he doesn’t know she’s spoken to me. His girlfriend might have leapt to his defence of her own volition. Then another thought occurs: what if I’m completely wrong about Ellie being his girlfriend? But who else could it be? ‘No, I’ve not seen or spoken to her,’ I say, no longer sure if this is the truth or a lie.

      ‘Well, make sure it stays that way,’ Lewis says as he closes the gap between us. His body radiates hatred and I can smell the sweat soaking into his vest top. ‘I came back here for my family, not for you, and I’ll do whatever’s necessary to protect the people I care about. Don’t put me to the test, Jen. If you come near Mum or Iona, I will retaliate. Take this as your final warning.’

      With my chin raised in defiance, I look past Lewis’s snarling features. The woman who had been leading the group’s cool down is standing directly behind him and our eyes meet briefly. I force myself to smile, hoping my feigned confidence is convincing.

      Confused, Lewis looks over his shoulder and I enjoy seeing him recoil. ‘What do you want?’ he snaps.

      Shannon clears her throat. ‘We’re all done,’ she begins.

      I don’t hear what she says next because I’m already on the move, heading for a set of steps hidden behind The Club House. Not stopping when I reach the bottom, I race out of Liverpool One towards Lord Street. There aren’t as many shoppers milling around as I’d like so I rush into a shop. It’s an opticians and as soon as I step through the door, I’m accosted by an assistant. I’m out of breath and I can’t talk. I feel like an idiot. I am an idiot.

       9

      Ruth

      The book I’d planned to spend a lazy Sunday devouring lies abandoned on the cushion next to me, while my open laptop is balanced on the arm of the sofa. My hands hover over the keyboard as I dare myself to watch the video recordings of Meg I’ve so far avoided; those last months and years of her life when I was too busy talking at her to listen.

      The clips I have indulged in over the last week – the footage of holidays in Cornwall; the birthdays with clowns that enthralled Meg and terrified Jen; the snatched moments of Sean playing pranks on his sister – they tell me nothing I don’t already know. Meg had a happy and contented childhood. There were the expected mood swings during her early teenage years but nothing remarkable. I have to search beyond the summer she passed her GCSEs to discover more about the troubled young woman Meg would become.

      I scan the thumbnails of the videos Geoff has catalogued in chronological order but I’m scared of what I СКАЧАТЬ