‘You’re in no position to warn anyone of anything,’ he said, putting more weight through his foot and pressing down on her back.
Kim cried out in pain.
‘What now?’ Eric asked his sister. ‘We need to finish her off and take care of this one as well.’
‘Did you bring the rope down?’ Jessica asked.
He nodded and looked to the ground.
‘Okay, tie her up. By the time they find her body we’ll be gone, but we need to be quick.’
Kim understood the panic in both of their voices and the need for speed. The plan to lure Stephanie away to wherever they’d planned to kill her had been precise with very little wiggle room on the timing. The priory was closing any minute and two cars were still in the car park. Someone would come looking. Kim couldn’t move beneath the weight of Eric’s foot. The pin in her right hip prevented her from throwing herself around on the ground. She felt the frustration building within her. She just needed more time.
‘You’re wrong you know,’ Stephanie said quietly.
‘Shut up,’ Jessica snapped. ‘We don’t have time for—’
‘Your schedule not mine,’ Stephanie said. ‘You’re gonna have to drag me kicking and screaming anywhere or kill me right here, but before you do, you have to know you’re wrong. Doesn’t matter what you do to me cos you’re all still gonna be wrong. Same-sex relationships are not all like that; neither are straight ones. It depends on the people not the gender, you idiots. Love of any kind is okay as long as you’re not hurting anyone else. You pair of tosspots. I’m gay and killing me ain’t gonna make it less so.’
Kim felt the emotion rise in her throat. For some reason she was proud of the girl and her speech.
‘Whatever,’ Jessica said, grabbing Stephanie’s arm and pushing her forward. She held the knife in full view for security as she continued, ‘I’ll get this one to the car while you sort her out.’
Kim felt her hands being pulled behind her back.
As Stephanie was pulled past her, Kim saw her chance and threw out her left leg to kick Eric. She missed by an inch.
‘Ooh, you’re a little fighter, aren’t you?’ he said, sitting on her behind while he tied the rope around her ankles.
‘Eric, you’re not gonna get away with this,’ Kim said, trying to wriggle around beneath him.
‘Been doing okay so far, and with you out of the picture, there’s no reason—’
‘Hurry up, Eric,’ Jessica called, holding on to Stephanie just a few feet away from them.
‘My team will have worked this out by now so you’ve got no chance—’
‘Shut up,’ he said, trying to keep her in position to fix the rope.
‘You’d like that, wouldn’t you, Eric? You wanted all three of them to shut up, didn’t you? Neither of you wanted them bad-mouthing Mommy. How did you put on such an act?’ she asked, wriggling around and feeling the fabric of the rope brush her ankles.
‘Eric, for God’s sake, tie her up,’ Jessica called out.
‘Keep fucking still or…’
Kim could feel Eric’s agitation. She was squirming and bucking, and his sister was needling him to go quicker.
‘How did you pretend to be gay so effectively, Eric?’ Kim asked. ‘You must have been pretty damn good at convincing both Jamie and Liam that you were into it. Are you sure you’re not—’
‘Shut up. I mean it,’ he said, yanking at her legs to keep them still.
‘Eric, sort it,’ Jessica called out.
Bryant, hurry the hell up, she thought.
‘Poor Sarah got the short straw cos your sister sure isn’t—’
‘Leave Sarah out of this,’ Eric spat, kicking her in the knee.