Deep Water by Mark Ayre (best big ereader TXT) 📕

"She's not," said Abbie. "She's turning thirty tomorrow."

Alex spun to Abbie, wide eyes filled with horror. "What an awful thing to say to a person."

"Worse than gun-toting maniac?"

Alex huffed, shook her head, stood.

"Many happy returns," said Abbie, earning herself another glare as Alex twisted and left the table.

Tony tried to rise, and Abbie grabbed his arm, yanked him down. They watched Alex sweep from the cafe and disappear down the street.

"Get off me," Tony snapped, shaking free of Abbie's arm. "Why’d you let her go?"

"I dunno," said Abbie. "She was pretty mean, but, given she didn't attack or threaten my life, she's still my favourite of your sisters. I'm happy to let her do as she wishes."

"Like jump back into bed with a murderer?”

"No chance you'd sleep with me then? If you found me naked in your bed, given that's your attitude."

"I, well, I, that isn't, I..." Tony trailed off into an embarrassed babble, looking back to his coffee as his ears and cheeks flushed red.

"If I believed Louis was a danger to your sister, I wouldn't have let her go," said Abbie. "But I don't, so I did."

Glancing back at the waitress, who still watched them, Abbie shook her head and gathered her sandwich and coffee.

"Come on," she said. "Let's go for that walk before Miss Nosey commits our faces to memory."

A sulking Tony by her side, a delicious sandwich in her hand, Abbie led the way from the cafe back to the beach.

Tony kept quiet en route. Fine by Abbie. It gave her time to eat her sandwich and process her discussion with Louis. There wasn't much to consider. The conversation had confirmed some of her suspicions, primarily that Louis had not killed Aurora and wasn't planning to kill Alice. Still, if Angel or Ariana murdered Jacob or Kyle in retaliation for the crime they believed Louis had committed, his fury would know no bounds. Unlike Alice, he would have no doubt who was to blame and would strike with the force of a natural disaster. Angel and Ariana would be his targets. In his rage, his crossfire could easily kill Alice or Tony. Louis would feel no guilt until later. By which point it would be too late.

As Abbie had told Louis, the best play was to unite and stand against Angel and Ariana. If Alice could stand with Louis and say to her daughters he had not killed Aurora, they might back off. Whatever Angel and Ariana said, they loved their mother; there was every chance she could circumvent disaster.

And if Alice failed, Abbie would act. Aurora's death was a tragedy. Abbie wouldn't allow Angel and Ana to shed any further blood.

At the carpark where she had parked earlier that day, Abbie ditched her sandwich wrapper in the bin and followed Tony down the stone steps to the sea with her coffee. Two men, one bald, one blonde, who had been following her and Tony for at least ten minutes, carried on by. Baldie kept his eyes fixed ahead. Blondie could not resist glancing Abbie's way. Abbie pretended not to see but descended the stone steps, already preparing for what would come next.

It was a cold day. The beach was not empty but close to. The families, dog walkers, runners and couples who shared the sand with Tony and Abbie were all to the east. The strip of beach to the west, leading to Tony's home, still showed signs of the previous night's party. That was enough to keep people away, and that was the direction Tony and Abbie travelled.

After a few seconds on the hard sand, drinking her coffee, Abbie turned to the sulking Tony.

"This'll be hard for you to hear because you've already made up your mind, but I don't believe Louis killed your sister."

Tony faltered but didn't stop. They carried on, keeping close to the concrete wall which marked the manmade world from nature's beach and ocean.

"You can't know he's innocent."

"Of course I can't," said Abbie. "But I've spoken with him and examined the situation. I think the chances he's the killer are slim, bordering on minuscule. I know that isn't what you want to hear."

"Because it's not right. The police said—"

"I know what the police said. That doesn't mean it was Louis."

"You can't be right."

"No, you refuse to be wrong. You want it to be Louis because it's easy."

"You think losing a sister is easy?”

"No," said Abbie. "I know full well it isn't. I mean, you seek closure but are coming up against the same problem as every person who loses a loved one to a hideous crime. You know someone is responsible, and how can you move on if that someone is still out there, living the free, happy life that was denied your sister? People go mad trying to figure out what happened to their loved ones, Tony, and I think you're worried you'd go mad too. That's what I mean by easy. Because if it's Louis, you already have your answers. He was angry at your mother, so he killed your sister. All that remains is to kill him. Your sister's murder will be avenged, and you can mourn her death, cherish her memory, and move on with your life. I get that, I do, and I wish I believed it was Louis because he's an arsehole. I could happily kill him and take away your pain. But I won't tell you it's him if I don't believe it, just to make you feel better. That's not who I am."

They continued towards Tony's house. Up ahead, Abbie could see the spot where she'd met Charlie, and beyond that, where concrete became uneven rock. Abbie drank her coffee and gave Tony time to process her speech.

"I had it in my head that you'd make him confess," said Tony. "I thought you might kill him."

Abbie said nothing. Tony was reasoning with himself, trying to process what had happened and how he felt. Perhaps working towards a