Cherie’s bottom lip began to wobble. She sobbed as she went to climb over the railings. ‘I can’t.’
‘A coward to the end.’
As the woman cocked one leg over, her hand slipped. Gina stepped forward and grabbed her arm. ‘Come on.’
Lucy slid away from her.
‘Cherie Brown, I’m arresting you on suspicion of the attempted murder of Lucy Manders. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.’ She glanced over to Jacob and waved him across. ‘I’ve arrested Mrs Brown. Please take her to the ambulance to be checked over and get her taken in for questioning.’
Gina took a step closer to Lucy. She knew that the charge may not stick due to the circumstances of the confession, but she’d work that one out later. ‘Let me help you, please step over the railings.’ Lucy held her hands out in front of her. She went to touch the railings but snatched her hand back out of the way.
‘I don’t know if I want help. You’ve done enough. Just make sure she pays for what she did, will you? Don’t let her walk.’
‘Please, Lucy—’
‘Please, Lucy,’ the woman mimicked. ‘That’s all she said, and the others.’ She paused and cocked her head to the side. ‘They were all so easy to lure to their death. Alex would turn up anywhere for a fix. Poor Penny thought Isaac was about to tell her about Marcus’s affair. There was no affair. Cherie thought I was Penny. Without question, they all turned up right where I needed them.’
Gina swallowed.
Lucy shook her head a couple of times. ‘Look, I’m sorry for what I put you through. Like I said, I needed you to know exactly how it felt. When you’re interviewing her, take that feeling and use it. That’s what she put me through all those years ago, then there was the torture. You know all about that, don’t you? I didn’t need to show you how that felt, not with what Terry did to you.’
A tremble began to form at Gina’s knees. She turned her head slightly. ‘I do, and it’s horrible, so horrible I wonder how I’m going to get through some days but somehow I do. You will too, Lucy.’ She paused as her dry mouth stopped her from continuing. ‘I can also tell you that you can live with what happened, you can get through this. Maybe you can even help others one day.’
‘I liked you when you came into my café and once I’d heard what happened to you, I knew you were the one. People like Terry, they deserve to die; that’s why I killed my father. He wasn’t the nice man he made himself out to be.’
Gina felt the pressure of needing to be alone so that all her own tears could escape. ‘Did he hurt you too?’
‘He didn’t hurt me, Gina. He hurt you. He used to drink in the pub with Terry when you lived in Birmingham all those years ago. When you started coming to the café, he told me about Terry and the things he’d said about you when he was hammered. I know he locked you in a shed. It’s not a coffin but still, it must have been scary. I know back then that everyone at that pub talked about your bruises. All those people in the pub that knew what he was doing to you did nothing. You can imagine how disappointed I was in the man who brought me up. He gossiped about you in the café when you’d left, telling the other customers about your horrible ex-husband and they were all happy to listen, to take it all in. He even told the press a few little things and that made me sick. That was private stuff, not to be shared with our customers or anyone.’ She swallowed. ‘You know what clinched it? He knew and he could have helped you, just like Penny or any of the others could have helped me to get away from Alex and Cherie. They chose not to, and they had to pay, just like my father. There’s a price to pay for silence, especially when that silence caused so much harm.’
A tear streamed down Gina’s face. When she killed Terry there was no premeditation, but she still killed him. Lucy