Warhol's Prophecy

99

‘I THOUGHT YOU were going to burst into tears when he told you,’ said Hailey acidly.

Rob merely shook his head. ‘I can’t believe it,’ he said quietly.

‘What? That she’s dead? Or that it hurt you so much to hear it? You still care about her, don’t you?’

‘Jesus Christ, Hailey, she was fucking stabbed to death,’ Rob snarled angrily. ‘How am I supposed to react? It was a shock hearing it. Whoever it was, I would have felt the same.’

‘But the fact that you knew her so intimately just made it worse,’ Hailey said, her voice heavy with scorn. ‘And she’d even kept some of your letters – how touching. And gift tags? What kind of presents did you buy her, Rob? How much money did you waste on that fucking slag?’

‘You’re glad she’s dead, aren’t you?’

‘I won’t shed any tears over her.’

Rob shook his head. ‘I don’t expect you to.’

‘She had it coming,’ Hailey said flatly.

‘You’re a cold bitch sometimes.’

‘Perhaps it was someone else whose marriage she’d ruined. She seemed to make a habit of that. Who else had she fucked other than you, Rob? How many other married men had she used?’

‘Give it a fucking rest, will you?’

‘Why? Is the memory painful?’

‘It was over between us, Hailey – you know that. How would you feel if some copper walked in here and told you that your friend Adam Walker had been murdered?’

‘There was nothing between us.’

‘I’ve only got your word for that.’

They regarded each other angrily for long moments.

‘I’d have thought you’d have been pleased, too,’ Hailey exclaimed. ‘I mean, if she thought that much of you, why did she get her brother to beat you up and nearly kill you?’

‘You heard what Tate said. He didn’t think she knew anything about that business.’

‘He didn’t think she knew.’

‘Perhaps he was the one who tried to run me off the road that night.’

‘And the one who pushed dog shit through the letterbox? And slashed your tyres? And broke into the house?’

Rob shot her an angry glance.

‘What are you talking about? What break-in?’ he demanded.

She told him about the dolls.

‘Why the fuck didn’t you tell me about that?’ he rasped. ‘Why didn’t you tell the police?’

Go on: tell him the truth. At the time you thought it was Walker. You were protecting him, weren’t you?

‘It doesn’t matter now,’ Hailey said. ‘He’s gone too. They’re both out of our lives. That’s all I wanted.’

‘Well, you got your wish, didn’t you? I hope you’re happy.’

‘You don’t know what he might have done next, Rob. What if he’d attacked Becky? Or me?’

Rob exhaled wearily. ‘Well, we won’t know now, will we?’

He glanced at his watch.

‘You’d better go,’ he said. ‘You’re going to be late. You don’t want that, do you?’

She put a hand on his shoulder.

‘What happened to her, and to her brother,’ she said quietly, ‘it’s for the best. You’ll see.’

‘Are we sending flowers to the funeral?’ he said flatly.

Hailey smiled humourlessly.

‘That isn’t funny, Rob,’ she told him.

She left him sitting alone.