Down on the path below us, Graham stopped in his tracks and stared up at us on the rocks above. He raised a hand to his eyes for a better view and when he was sure that it was not his cousin who had received a bullet, he picked up his pace.
“You’ve lost your fucking mind,” I shouted, leaning toward Arthur, filled with rage.
“Give me the ring,” he shouted again. “Just hand it over and you can walk away.”
“How do I know that I’m not going to end up in jail anyway?”
“You’ll have to trust my word.” He tried to make his voice sound reasonable but there was no way I was going to believe him now.
“That’s not good enough. Someone is going to find that body sooner or later with all my things with it. I want to know where it is.”
“Give me the ring and I’ll tell you.”
“No,” I shouted. My only hope was that he was so desperate for the ring that it would give me some bargaining room. “Tell me and let Gwyn go and then I will give you the ring and tell you how to use it.”
“For him to just run off to the body? I don’t think so.”
“You’re still the one with the gun, Arthur, nobody is running anywhere,” Gwyn said, inching towards us.
Arthur paused to consider his options. The rain lashed down around us, thick and heavy, making it difficult to see. I stared at the sodden ground beneath Arthur’s feet at the quarry’s edge and willed it to crumble away, to send him falling to his death, but it stood firm and so did he.
“She’s in a shallow grave,” he said. Rainwater ran down his face and sprayed from his lips as he spoke. “It’s behind the barn in the top field, right where I first found you. Now, we had a deal. Hand over the ring and tell me how to get to Elinor.”
There was no way that I was going to trust his word but I was low on options. I could die, I could go to jail or I could try to call his bluff. With the information I needed, I took a step back away from him and he moved closer toward me, pointing the gun at my head.
“I’m going to make sure you’re telling me the truth,” I said, taking another step back and holding my hands up in surrender. I kept my voice as calm and soft as I could. “And then you’ll get the ring.”
He cocked the gun again and took another step toward me.
“That’s not what we agreed,” he screamed. “Hand it over.”
“Tom, what are you doing?” Gwyn called out, but I couldn’t take my eyes off Arthur. “Give him the ring.”
“I’m not losing everything for this maniac. If he wants it, he’ll have to prove he’s as good as his word.”
“Three...” Arthur shouted out as he took another step toward me.
“Tom, he’s pointing a gun at your face, just do as he says.”
“Two...”
“Tom, I mean it, don’t make me lose you. Give him the fucking ring.”
I stood firm, sure that he would back down, but everything fell into slow motion as I looked down the barrel and watched his finger move for the trigger. He was red with rage at being defied and his eyes looked wild. I took a sharp inhale of breath and clenched my eyes closed as I realised I’d gotten it wrong.
“One!”
A shot rang out and I waited to hit the ground, to feel the bullet rip through my skin, but neither came. I opened my left eye first, then my right. In a crumpled heap on the floor in front of me lay Arthur’s body, his blood already washing towards the quarry and over the edge.
I turned to Gwyn to make sure he was alright and in the distance behind him, shotgun in hand and quivering in shock stood Mair. She was as white as a sheet.
“What did you do?” Gwyn’s voice was filled with concern as he ran to his sister and pulled her into an embrace. She dropped the gun to the floor and reached up to grab hold of his arm, her mouth wide but no sound coming out. “Mair, are you ok?”
She nodded her head, her eyes never leaving Arthur's body. “I had to do it.”
“Does anyone know you came up here?” he asked, his tone turning to panic.
“You didn’t come home.” Her voice trembled as she spoke, her eyes vacant. “I came to find you. I heard the gunshot from the field and when I got here he was pointing the gun. I had to do it, Gwyn. I had to.”