*FIRST DRAFT* The Cover of Darkness (DCI Morgan Chester Series)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Jane stood in the doorway and looked down the hallway. The home they had built together for years now tarnished with deceit and misery. She thought they were the perfect couple; all their friends were jealous of their relationship. Her family called him the perfect man. Oh, how wrong they were.

She stepped over the threshold and wandered into the kitchen. Martin was close behind her, watching her every move. The tube journey from London Bridge to South Kensington was tedious. They did not utter a word to each other even as they walked through the streets to their home.

"What is going through your mind, love?" He leant against the kitchen sink with his arms crossed. Jane refused to look at him. It would break her heart to look at the man who betrayed her once again.

"You broke your promise." She muttered. He exhaled loudly and he apologised. "When did it start?"

"Three months ago."

"How did you meet?"

"In a bar, I was out with colleagues." Her eyes widened. She approached him and slapped him hard across the cheek.

"So, everyone at work knew you were screwing her behind my back?" She spat.

"Nobody knew anything."

"I know about Emma, and the baby." She blurted. He looked up at her as his mouth hung open. "I had a nice chat with a police officer all about that."

"She was going to ruin our lives Jane-"

"No, you ruined our lives Martin. Because you couldn't keep it in your fucking trousers." She screamed and pushed against him.

"I thought I was being careful, I'm sorry."

"They seem to think you had something to do with her death. Is it true?" she requested. He wandered around the kitchen before he eventually sat at the kitchen table. Jane wanted the ground to swallow her up whole.

"Did you kill her Martin?"

Martin's eyes met with hers and he nodded.

"And the girl who was attacked and murdered today. Did you kill her too?"

"This is absurd Jane. Why would I kill a patient?" he argued.

Jane scoffed and stormed up the stairs. She threw open the door to their bedroom and started to pull her clothes from the wardrobe. So, this was how a marriage ended, she thought as she packed her clothes into suitcases. This was not her home anymore, she no longer felt safe. She'll go back to her sister's in Watford and find a job. Anything to get away from him.

With her belongings at the foot of the stairs, she took once last glance. The photographs of her and Martin hung proudly on the walls. The living room decorated with a Christmas tree and lights. Tears rolled down her cheek and she quickly wiped them away and straightened her coat.

"You're not going anywhere." Martin muttered. Jane turned around as he entered the hallway brandishing a large kitchen knife. She stepped back until she was pressed up against the front door. Fear froze her body.

"Put the knife down, Martin, please." She pleaded with him.

His eyes were filled with detest and his facial features demonic. He reached his arm out and Jane yelped as he gripped her hair tightly and forced her to look at him. He traced the knife gently across her neck. She sobbed and begged him to let her go. He tugged at her hair and put his lips to her ear.

"This is your fault Jane."

Jane's teeth chattered as she looked at him. He blamed her for his actions. Confusion clouded her mind.

"Why?" The words felt like daggers.

"Emma reminded me of you in your younger years. It was so easy to manipulate her." He chuckled and his hand went from her hair to her throat. His grip tightened and she gasped.

"She refused to let me go Jane, she begged and cried for me not to leave her. I didn't have a choice. The world is better without her."

Her lungs burned and she choked for air. Martin watched in amusement at her struggling against him. The colour had started to drain from Jane's face, and she fought the battle to pass out.

"Emma used to like it when I put my hands on her throat. She satisfied me in many ways. But then she got pregnant, and I knew she was nothing like you. She threatened to ruin us Jane." His words shook Jane to the core.

He finally released her throat. She collapsed to the floor choking on the air as it travelled into her lungs, her head spun from the rush.

"What about the girl from today, what part did she play in your sick game?"

"She was a mistake. I thought she was Emma. She wore the same dress Emma wore the night I killed her. She laughed at me and I lost control. I knew she would get me in trouble. I had no choice but so silence her for good." he shrugged his shoulders. Jane shook her head in disbelief.

"And you honestly think you can get away with this?" she spat at him and he laughed.

"I know I can if I take care of the loose ends." He knelt to her level and softly moved a strand of hair from her face. She shuddered at his touch.

"I won't tell anyone Martin. Please, let me go." She begged. A sickening smirk played on his lips.

"Why would I do that? Afterall, you were the reason this happened."

With all the energy left inside her, she lifted her arm and punched him in the left cheek. He bellowed in pain and she clambered to her feet. Her fingers trembled on the door. It would not unlock. Martin had fixed the lock. Curse words were thrown at her. She turned and her eyes fixed on the garden door in the kitchen. She strode past him.

His hands caught her legs. Jane tumbled and her forehead exploded with pain as it collided with the radiator. She landed on the wood floor with a thud.

"I'm sorry, Jane." He told her as her sight turned to black.