Swell (Complete)

Chapter Forty-Seven(Part One)

"I've been scratching at the surface,
Trying to find out where it hurts,
Now that I'm dancing with my demons,
I'm making everybody nervous."

....

Adora would never forget the scream as she sliced through his flesh and crawled away from the edge of the cliff.
She turned and faced her stalker, he was between her and the cliff's drop now, and he was on his knees, gripping at his bloodied leg.
"Tom..." Her voice was barely audible and she could feel herself shaky violently. "What are you doing here?" She held the knife up and ready to strike if he moved.
Tom looked up with a pained expression. "I was following you. I've been following you and Will most of the weekend."
"You killed Gus." Her face burned. "Don't move." The bloody hobby knife trembled in her hand.
"No, it's not what you think." Tom sat on the grass and tried to hold onto his calf.
"I'm calling the police." She realised then that he was also between her and her bag, where her phone was.
"Here, call an ambulance too." Tom held out his own phone with a bloody hand and grunted in pain.
Adora reached out with her free hand, unable to stop it from shaking as she snatched Tom's bloody phone from his hand and dialled '000'.

Will ran into the police station and grabbed onto the reception desk.
"Adora?" He said loudly, looking around the foyer. His parents hurried in behind him and Marti found his hands.
"Mr and Mrs Taylor, Tom is being stitched up at the hospital. I'm afraid he's under police custody for now." An officer came out to the family and looked at them all in turn as he spoke.
Will didn't know this officer; it wasn't one of the ones who had originally questioned Tom about the Lancer and Brett's attack.
"Where's Adora?" Marti asked from beside him.
"She's in the back offices with her family." The officer opened the barrier and led them into the back of the station.
"I'll go be with Tom." Mrs Taylor stopped in the foyer and gave Marti and Will a kiss each on the forehead.
Will couldn't speak. The phone call he'd gotten had barely made sense through the tears and sobbing. Adora had mentioned Tom following her.
Iain stood up as they came to the back of the station and Marti ran over to him.
"Is Adora OK? Do you know what happened?" She asked, gripping his shoulders.
"She says she was on the cliffs and she had a knife."
"A knife?!" Will felt his stomach churn. Adora on a cliff with a knife did not put a happy picture into his head.
"Tom came up behind her and she swung around and slashed his leg." Iain finished.

Why the hell was Adora on a cliff with a knife?

Will swallowed a lump and saw Dodge get up through the glass window of another room. He moved over to the wall and looked into the window. Adora and Anne were embracing on a couch; Dodge started pacing and a man in a suit sat opposite the Dodgers' women.
"What's happening in there?" Will asked, turning to look at Iain.
"Just finishing her statement, I think." Iain came and stood beside Will. "Are you and your family gunna be OK?"
Will frowned and turned away from the window to look at Iain. "What do you mean?"
"I mean with Tom being arrested."
Marti's hand took Will's and she stood on his other side. "If Tom did all of this, then he should be arrested."
"You still doubt it?" Iain looked from Will to Marti with a frown.
Will couldn't find a word, or even a sound because he didn't know the answer.
"I don't know." Marti whispered. "I mean, it really does make sense... But he's our brother..."
Had Tom attacked Brett while he'd been drunk at Dodge's party that night?
Left Adora the doll that mirrored Liss' murder?
Will felt his body freeze. Suddenly he couldn't remember when Tom had found out about Liss' murder. Had it been the same Saturday he had? Or was it the Sunday Adora had received the doll?
Why would Tom have killed Liss?
"Will, are you alright?" Marti gave his hand a squeeze.
He felt cold.
Why?
"Um, yea, just in shock, I guess." He blinked himself back to the police station and focused inside the other room.
Adora looked up at that moment and her face pinched for a few seconds before she started to wipe her eyes and bury herself in her mother's arms.
Had Tom killed Gus to be with Adora?
But Tom had mostly been supportive of Will dating Adora, why would he offer to loan the Jeep if Tom wanted to date Adora?

Was his twin capable of murder?

It was another few minutes before Adora, Dodge and Anne came out of the room. Adora wrapped her arms around his waist and cried.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... I panicked." She babbled as he put his arms around her.
"Didn't mean to what?" He asked, giving Anne an uncomfortable smile.
"Hurt Tom."
Marti stepped back a little and Will shook his head.
"Don't worry." He put a hand over the back of her head, feeling the soft, silky locks as he moved his hand down to her back. "Are you alright?" He pulled back and looked at her pale, tear streaked face.
"I don't know." She whispered.
Will felt sick.
If it was Tom who had killed Gus, had he killed Liss too? Would he have killed Will?

"We're here Adora, you're safe." Marti's voice sounded flat, but was loud enough to reach over Adora's sniffs.
Was Marti worrying about why Adora had a knife at the cliffs too? Surely he wasn't the only one worried?
Will closed his eyes as he rested his chin on top of her head. "I'm sorry." He whispered.
Adora pulled back and wiped her face. She looked from him to his sister and moved over to embrace Marti.
Will bit his bottom lip and sidled closer to Iain. "Do we know why she was on the cliffs with a knife?" He whispered.
Iain looked from Will to the ground. "We have suspicions, but haven't asked yet. It's not the right time."
Will felt as though the blade that had cut Tom had sliced through his heart; her family obviously suspected something similar to him.
It was worse than worrying about Adora having a stalker; Adora having a blade on the cliffs alone.
"Oh, Adora, I'm so glad its over." Marti sniffed and Will watched as the two girls held each other. "I'm sorry."
Their father remained silent, standing in the background and watching. Anne and Dodge stood close to Adora and the man in the suit stayed by the door to the room.
"We're done for tonight." He said. "If you think of anything else, Adora, please call me. Tom is going to remain under guard until he is cleared to leave the hospital, then he will be put into a holding cell."
Will couldn't move as he listened to them talk about Tom as a criminal; a confirmed criminal.
They had no doubts; Tom had followed Adora and approached her while she had been alone.
Adora pulled away from Marti and moved between Anne and Dodge. She wiped her face a few more times and nodded. "Yes, Detective Brown." She mumbled.
"Come on, baby, let's go home." Anne draped an arm across Adora's shoulders and Will stood still as he watched the trio walk away.
He tried not to imagine the scene, but visions of Adora alone on the cliff forced their way into his head. Tom creeping up behind her, her scarred arms bared.