Don't tell me bye bye (mystery/ thriller)

Chapter 26

I need to get Jennie and get out of here.

I put the journal under my arm and jump to my feet. My legs don't remember how to function properly but I straighten up and clamber over to the door, knocking books and pens onto the floorboards as I go. I look up, a gasp rushing from me as a figure blocks the doorway, and my way out.

"Hello, Y/n. Where do you think you're going with that?"
I freeze like a hopeless rabbit caught in murderous headlights. "Dan, I, I..."

Dan walks towards me and I step backwards, tripping over my feet until I'm pressed against the shelves. I look past him but there's no sign of Jennie. He stops a couple of feet in front of me, his hands clasped together as if he's about to start a reading in church. He's smiling at me, but it's miles from reaching his eyes.

He raises his eyebrows at me and cocks his head. "You, you, what?"

"I...you're probably wondering what I'm doing here." Great Y/n, really great. Now he probably won't try and kill you.

"I think we're a bit beyond wondering now, aren't we, Y/n? How much of my son's private property have you read?" I look at the doorway again. "Ah, there's my answer. You've read enough. That is a shame."

"No, I, I haven't read-" I squeak, my mouth dry.

A smile slices his face and he shakes his head. "Please, don't lie to me as well as breaking into my house. Besides, doesn't it feel good to finally be honest? Now, give me the diary.

He puts out his hand, waiting for me to give it to him, but I can't move, the journal fused under my arm. I recoil as he snatches it from me then he drops into the armchair and crosses his legs.

He flicks through the journal like he's choosing his next holiday read in a book shop.

"So, tell me," he says resting his chin on his fist. "What did you think? It's got everything hasn't it? Mystery. Intrigue. Murder. And then right at the end, there was a little twist that I couldn't see coming. A little twist in the shape of you."

Dan closes the diary, slapping the pages together. The last few lines of what I read linger in my head like gas snaking around me, making me dizzy. I'm fighting to stay upright, and willing the chunks in my stomach to stay where they are. Dan looks at me, his eyebrows raised as if he's inviting questions.

I shake my head. "I can't...poor Tae. No wonder he...why didn't you call the police? Even a five year old could see that's what you should have done."

"How exactly do you think that would have turned out for Tae, andyou for that matter? You would have been taken away. Both of you."

"I'm not five anymore, don't try that on me. It was clearly an accident."

"That's not how people would have seen it. Do you know how hard it is to build up a community, to become part of it and gain people's trust? To follow in the footsteps of someone who was in charge of this parish for over thirty years? To get sent away to prove myself before he would consider recommending me for holy orders? All of that before I even started to study. When people found out what my son, my offspring, did, that would all of have been for nothing. We would have lost everything, the church, this place, my power, everything."

"Your power?" I repeat.
"Leading a parish, it comes with a great deal of power, Y/n. The more power you have, the more good you can do for your community. You'll realise that when you're older." "That doesn't sound right to me."

He waves his hand, dismissing me like an annoying fly. "My position in this community isn't something you can understand. The Lord directed me to handle the situation in the only way possible. It's unfortunate what happened to that girl, but I did what I had to do to allow us to move on."