Chapter Six

I had always read about people in shock thinking and doing bizarre things, but this was the first time I had experienced it. As I bent over her listless body, tears falling,!all I could think about was how she was wearing red. Dayna hated red; she always decried it as “not her colour.” It took a few moments for me to realise she was, in fact, wearing white. A white swimsuit that had turned almost completely scarlet with blood. In the moment, it didn’t even strike me as odd that she be dressed in swimwear and it took a good few minutes for me to compose myself and call for help. I exited the station and sat in the long grass staring blankly out to sea as I called Sergeant Andrews. Then Sean. Then my mother.

It didn’t take long for word to get out and a handful of onlookers had gathered before the police even arrived. Someone, I didn’t take in who, had placed a jacket over my shoulders as I sat rocking and weeping in silence. By the time the police arrived, a Summer storm had hit, the kind of rain that roars like a lion and floods roads within minutes.

I watched as Andrews’ and Clark forced the radio shack door open. Clark gagged and wretched as the smell hit the back of his throat, while Andrews’ radioed for a vehicle to come and take the body away. She could barely look at it. At her. The nosy onlookers edged closer, the rain fell harder and I felt frustration building within me. The two of them, Kirkleithen’s finest, may as well have stood scratching their heads. Between the rain and the sick fucks trying to get a peek in the shack, any foot prints or evidence could be being trampled on or washed away. Eventually, Andrews’ grew irate at the onlookers and asked them to stay back whilst they secured the crime scene. Not before time.

       “Blair!” afamiliar voice broke through the sound of the lashing rain. It was Dayna’smother, the crowd stepping aside as she careened towards me.

       She grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me. “Is it her? Blair is it really her?”

I opened my mouth to answer but only a strange squeakingsound came out. I nodded, breaking into a sob. She clung to me, weeping andwailing until Mr Khalid, Dayna’s father caught up to her. He took his brokenwife into his arms and buried his face into her neck.

This was horrible. A nightmare. I felt a sudden sick guilt as I thought of all the murders I had ogled at online over the years. It was a hobby, a curiosity, but not once had I realised just how devastating those deaths might have been to other people. Was this my punishment?

It took almost an hour for the ambulance to arrive from the city and collect the body. Mum had arrived at the scene and was begging me to come home. I was soaked through and shivering, but I couldn’t peel myself away.

“She’s in shock.” I heard Jamie say.

“Poor dear, I can’t imagine how she must feel.” Mrs Laird from the local shop was murmuring to the crowd.

Dayna was finally wheeled out in a body bag and packed into the back of the van. As the crying onlookers stared perversely, I agreed to go home.

I felt numb and utterly heartbroken all at the same time. It was like dads death all over again, only worse. We knew his death was coming, it was slow and had left us time to prepare. Dayna was stolen from us, suddenly and with violence. How the fuck did you process something like that? I knew there was no way I would sleep naturally that night, so once I was home and warm I accepted a tablet from Mum and fell asleep on the sofa as she stroked my hair.

I was wakened late the next morning by the doorbell ringing. I felt groggy and heavy from the sleeping pill as I sat up. Granda appeared in the living room doorway with Sean behind him. He ran towards me and wrapped me in his embrace. I sank into his chest, taking in the sweet smell of freshly cut grass that lingered on his t-shirt.

“I’m so sorry,” he eventually whispered into my ear.

My voice was hoarse and weak. “This can’t be happening.”

I slipped out from his arms and sat back against the sofa.

“My brothers’ been at the station all night interviewing Hannah and Patrick.”

“So… you think they did it?”

“Sounds like the police like them for it. Enough to keep them in all night for questioning.”

I balled my hand into a fist. “I’ll fucking kill them.”

Sean said nothing, he just sat and chewed his lip.

“We should go for a walk, clear your head.”

I shook my head in protest.

“That sounds like a great idea.” Mum had come into the room unannounced. “The fresh air will do you good and I need a few messages from the store.”
I glared from Sean to Mum before sighing in defeat. “Fine. Let me go get changed.”

I lumbered up the stairs, the hushed, concerned voices of Mum and Sean fading with each step. I rummaged around in my wardrobe for ahoodie to wear, pulling at the top shelf. The blouse I was wearing that night fell from its hidey-hole and landed in my hands. As I stared down at the mud stained silk, Dayna’s voice filled my head.

“Jesus Blair, would you just piss off? It’s none of your damn business.”

“But you promised me you weren’t doing this cam girl stuff anymore. Do you know how dangerous it could be; especially now I hear you’re dishing out your number to these creeps?”

“You’re just jealous. Keep your beaky nose out of it!”

“Jealous! Of what exactly? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know exactly what it means you obsessive little freak.”

I remembered the hurt and the rage I felt as she spoke those words. I had snapped and tried to push her over, but I’d slipped down the grassy verge and landed face first. I lay there for a minute or so, my vision blurry with alcohol and pills as she stormed away from me. That was the last time I had seen her.

*

Sean and I spent the afternoon meandering along the beach, skipping stones and silently keeping one another company. I didn’t want to talk about it, or anything. I knew my silence was making him uncomfortable, but just having him there made me feel as if I wasn’t completely alone.

“I’m thirsty.” I finally broke the silence and his face lit up with relief.

       “Let’s head upto the shop and get you something. Have you even eaten today?”

“Not hungry.”

We clambered up the steep sand dunes, the radio shack coming into view at the other side of the bay. It was surrounded in bright yellow tape, as if someone had highlighted it like a quote in a textbook. I cast my gaze away, the memory of the smell and the coldness of her body burning in my mind.

“You know what was weird about Dayna’s…. body.”

        “What?”

“She was wearing a swimming costume and she was stinking of chlorine. Why the hell would she be dressed like that?”

“She went missing around midnight right? Obviously, she wasn’t swimming at the community hall at that time. Maybe she went for a dip in the sea?”
I scoffed. “And risk the salt water drying out her hair? Besides, the sea doesn’t leave you stinking of chlorine.”

       “You have apoint… hey don’t her parents have a hot tub?”

My eyes widened. “Yeah, they have their lodge a couple miles out of town with a hot tub…”

What if she had gone to meet Patrick there? Maybe she had enticed him there to chat after the bust up with Hannah and things had turned…

Sean’s voice broke my train of thought. “Aw shit. Come on let’s go.”
We had almost reached the shop, and coming out of it was Patrick himself. It was as if my thoughts had conjured him.

I grasped Sean’s hand tight. “I thought you said he was in custody?”

“He… he was. They must of…”
I dropped his hand and marched towards Patrick.

“Hey you!” I screamed, “What the fuck are you doing showing your face around here?”

Patrick flinched, his blue eyes looked red raw and his stupid curly hair was stickingout all over the place.

“Blair…” he began.

“Don’t fucking speak to me you fucking bastard! How could you? How could you? You should be locked up for life!”

“Blair calm down! I didn’t hurt her!”

I lunged at him. “You’re a liar!”

My voice echoed up the street as I hit his chest with myhand, my limbs flailing. Soon, I felt Sean pulling me back from him and I screeched as Patrick slunk away towards his car.

       “Blair!”Another voice echoed around us. It was Sergeant Andrews.  Sean let go of me and I did my best tocompose myself, but I couldn’t stop my body trembling.

“Why is he not locked up?” I demanded, pointing towards his car as it tore away down the road.

Audrey Andrews looked as if she pitied me. “Because he didn’t do it. He has an alibi Blair.”
My jaw fell open. I was sure he had done it. It made the most sense to me.

Sean took my hand in his and squeezed it. “So if it wasn’t Patrick… who was it?”

She looked away, as if ashamed. “At the moment we don’t have any leads. I know this is hard on you Blair but you can’t go around attacking everybody we question. We’ve called in a more… experienced detective from Aberdeen to take a look at the case.”

I chewed at my fingernail, processing all the information I had just received. It was pretty obvious to me Dayna had been at her parents cabin. If she wasn’t meeting Patrick then just who was she meeting? I thought back to our argument before she left me lying in the dirt that night. I had to say something. It’s not like she was going to come back from the dead and berate me for giving away her secret.

“Sergeant Andrews,” I said, “I’m afraid I haven’t been entirely honest with you. I think I know who hurt… who could have killed Dayna.”