It happened so fast. Ned grabbed Lina by the arms and pushed her against the wall, pinning her there with one hand while he covered her mouth with the other. I saw Lina’s eyes widen, heard her muffled protests as she twisted her head, then her body, trying to break free. She tried to grab Ned’s arm, dislodge his hand from her mouth, but her red tote slipped from her shoulder and dropped to her elbow, dragging it downward. She kicked out with her foot but Ned pressed his hand harder against her mouth, and her nostrils flared in and out in rapid movements as she tried to draw in air. I tried to move but my whole body was paralyzed by a mix of disbelief and denial—this wasn’t happening, what was Ned doing, why was he now pinching Lina’s nose with his fingers, his other hand still pressed over her mouth?
Lina’s feet started scrabbling on the ground, the pointed heels of her bright red sandals slip-sliding on the polished wooden floor as she tried to get purchase. Realizing that it was real, it was actually happening, I tore from my hiding place and launched myself at Ned.
“Get off her! Leave her alone!”
The force of my body crashing into his knocked him away from Lina. She crumpled to the floor, clutching her throat, making terrible sounds as she struggled to draw in breath.
“Lina!” I crouched down next to her, tried to get her to sit. For the briefest of moments, our eyes met and I saw that hers were filled with fear and warning.
“It’s alright, I—”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Ned’s shadow looming over me. A blow to my head knocked me off my feet. My head hit the floor and there was an explosion of stars before my eyes. Then everything went black.
* * *
The sound of labored breathing reached me. Lina. I snapped open my eyes and lay for a moment, fighting the pain in my head. I was crumpled along the bottom of the wall and realizing that Ned was there, just inches away from me, I became very still, only my eyes moving as I looked desperately for Lina. She was lying on her back not far from me, her body skewed at a strange angle, her long legs bent, her arms spread wide. I couldn’t see her face because Ned was bent over her. It was only when he straightened up, breathing heavily, that I saw her eyes were wide and staring, saliva pooling from her slack mouth. And, in that moment, I realized she was dead.
A scream rose up from inside me but terror trapped it in my throat. Ned was picking up Lina’s bag from the floor. I saw him dump it on her stomach, then move to stand behind her head. Stooping, he put his hands under Lina’s arms and began dragging her body down the hallway, toward his study. I stared in horror as first Lina’s head, then her legs, then her feet disappeared slowly from my view. I heard the door to Ned’s study open, followed by the sound of Lina’s body being dragged inside. Then Ned’s voice.
“Amos, I need your services, you need to come now.” His voice was urgent, commanding. “Come to the side door, I’ll get rid of my security guard.” A pause, followed by the sound of something clattering onto his desk. “And Amos, I’ll need you to find her passport, it’s not in her bag. We need to be more thorough this time.”
Then a short silence, then his voice again. “Hunter, I need you to go to the office, there’s a file I need urgently. Call me when you get there, I’ll tell you where it is.”
The air around was suddenly charged with danger. I needed to move—but when I tried to lift my head, the dizziness was so bad I had to close my eyes. I waited for it to pass and when I opened them again, Ned was there, crouched down beside me.
“No!” I began scrabbling away from him, using my heels to push my body back. But he reached out and pressed a hand down on my chest, stopping my movements.
“Listen to me very carefully, Amelie.” His eyes found mine. I wanted to look away, look at anything but him, but I couldn’t. “In a minute, I will take you to your room and you will stay there until the month is up and then we will announce our separation as agreed. And you will be free to leave. But if you mention to anyone anything of what you might have witnessed today, if you even think of going to the police, I will kill your friend Carolyn, and then I will kill you. Do you understand?”
A terrible shaking took hold of me, so violent that my teeth chattered with it. Ned watched dispassionately for a moment, then asked me again.
“Do you understand?”
Speech was impossible, so I nodded, my head wobbling against the floor.
“Good.” He stood, pulled me to my feet. I fell against him, too dizzy to stand and he half-carried, half-dragged me up the stairs to my room.