Don't Let Go by Michel Bussi

Author:Michel Bussi [Bussi, Michel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781474601788
Amazon: 1474601782
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Published: 2017-04-25T23:00:00+00:00

26

The Woman in the Car 9.03 a.m.

The hairy hand on my mouth is choking me.

I can’t breathe.

I am suffocating. Suffocating with fear. I want to bite the hand, tear into it with my teeth like a wild animal, rip off each finger and spit it out, one by one.

Behind me, the monster breathes hot air against the back of my neck.

‘Shh, Sopha. You mustn’t scream. Whatever you do, don’t scream.’

Papa?

The hand releases its pressure. I turn around, confused.

Papa?

Papa is standing in front of me. He crouches down so that his face is level with mine. His eyes look into mine.

‘Calm down, sweetheart. I came running as soon as I heard you screaming. Please don’t start again. I’ve closed the garage door, but the neighbours could still hear us. They could call the police. They could . . .’

I don’t want to listen to Papa any more. I put my hands over my ears and scream.

‘She’s dead, Papa! The old lady with blue hair is dead!’

Papa strokes my hair, his hand cold and hairy like a spider.

‘Shh, Sopha. You mustn’t think about that. We have to leave. Quickly.’

A huge and deadly spider.

‘The old lady has a knife sticking out of her neck, Papa. You killed her.’

My eyes look into his.

‘It’s you, Papa. You’re the one who killed her!’

Papa moves closer.

The spider rests on my shoulder, its legs creeping up my neck.

‘Of course I didn’t, Sopha! How could you believe that? You must never say anything like that to anyone, Sopha. Do you hear me? Never. You have to trust me, always, always, no matter what people tell you, no matter what you see. Now, come on, we have to leave. We have to get the bag and go.’

I’m shivering. I don’t care. I won’t move.

‘I know you killed her, Papa. We’re the only ones in the house.’

‘Don’t talk nonsense, Sopha. I was with you the whole time.’

The spider moves down towards my heart, while another one comes to rest on my hair again. I’m trembling. I’m crying. I know I’m right.

‘You didn’t take a shower! You killed the lady to get her car. To get her house too. And her things. And these boy’s clothes I’m wearing.’

I realise I’m yelling louder and louder. Suddenly the spider flies towards my face. At first, I don’t understand.

The slap makes my cheek sting.

I take a step back, shocked into silence.

‘That’s enough, Sopha! We don’t have any time to lose! Turn around!’

‘No!’

The spider is lifted into the air again, threateningly.

This time, I give in.

Papa opens the passenger door of the yellow car. Very quietly, almost without making any noise at all.

Even if I don’t look, I know what Papa is doing.

He is taking the old lady out of the car. He doesn’t care about the blood on the seat. He doesn’t care that the grandma is dead. He doesn’t care that she can never again play with the boy whose shorts and shirt and trainers I’m wearing.

He doesn’t care about anything.

All he wants is a car, so the police won’t catch him.

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