Chapter 12
I race through the streets – quiet streets, thank God – like a madwoman, Holly’s voice still ringing in my ears.
I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Please come! I should never have sent her away.
I don’t know what I was thinking. Of course she couldn’t handle it.
Her father has just died. No, it’s worse than that.
She has just killed her father, and here I am sending her to a friend’s place with the friend’s parents right there and expecting her to function, to make idle conversation.
And how is your dad, Holly? He’s fine, thank you, Mrs Parker.
What is it I told her? Just pretend that everything is normal.
Be happy. Enjoy yourself. Pretend it was all a bad dream.
I replay the conversation in my mind, but she wasn’t making any sense. ‘Where are you? What happened?’ I kept asking. ‘Tell me where you are.’
‘It’s that woman,’ she was saying between sobs.
‘What woman, Holly?’
‘Oh God, just come. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Please come.’
And she gave me an address that isn’t where Scarlett lives, but I couldn’t get any sense out of her.
How could I have been so stupid? Of course she broke down. Of course she told someone. She cracked. Why wouldn’t she? She’s sixteen years old, for Christ’s sake.
I’ll have to tell them that I did it, that it was me. She’s too young; it’s not fair. ‘He was a horrible man,’ I’ll say. ‘That’s why I did it.’ I’ve got a better chance of convincing a jury that it was the right thing to do – that killing him was the only option in that moment.
But Holly cannot say anything else. That’s what I hissed at her before running to my car, ‘Not another word, Holly. I’ll take care of it.’
I drive like a maniac, and five minutes later I turn into the street Holly told me. This is a quiet, residential street with houses hidden behind tall fences and trees. There’s no traffic, no people. Complete silence.
Where the hell is she? Then I see them up the road, Holly and Scarlett standing next to a car.
A Mini Cooper. Wait… Scarlett’s car?
Both girls are standing near the front, arms wrapped around themselves. Holly turns around just as I pull up. Once I get out of the car, she throws herself against me, knocking the breath out of me.
‘Don’t say anything,’ I urge in a low voice.
‘I’m sorry,’ she wails into my neck.
I grab her shoulders and pull her away to check her over. ‘What happened? Just tell me.’ But I’m confused. I don’t understand why they’re here, why the car is here. Where are Scarlett’s parents? ‘Are you hurt?’ I ask.
‘No…’ she whines, roughly wiping tears off her cheeks. ‘I’m okay.’
‘Who did you tell?’ I whisper. ‘Was it Scarlett?’ I try to think. Maybe it’s going to be all right if it’s just Scarlett. Maybe we can convince Scarlett that she was just making it up. ‘How much did you tell her?’
‘What?’ She pulls away. ‘No! I didn’t tell her anything.’
‘So who did you tell?’
‘Nobody. Are you crazy? Nobody!’
‘Oh my God, Holly, I thought…’ I lean against my car, dizzy with relief. It’s all right, everything is all right. She hasn’t told anyone. She hasn’t told anyone. I put my hand on my forehead. ‘Jesus, Holly. You gave me a heart attack. So what’s going on?’
She looks over her shoulder, and her whole face crumbles in tears. ‘I’m sorry…’
I follow her gaze. Scarlett is standing near the car, shaking, her mouth turned down, her big brown eyes full of tears.
And sitting on the pavement, folded in half, is a woman in running clothes. Her head is down; her forehead is resting on her knees.
I run and crouch next to the woman. ‘Are you all right? What happened? Do you need an ambulance?’
‘I stepped off the pavement and the car…hit me.’
‘Hit you?’
‘Yes.’ The woman looks up. ‘My ankle. I…’
I jerk back. ‘Teri?’
‘Hello, Kate… Fancy meeting you here…’ she says with a grimace.
‘My God, Teri! What happened? Are you hurt? I don’t understand? Who hit you? What are you doing here?’
I’m talking too fast, bombarding her with questions. I force myself to stop.
She presses the palm of her hand between her eyes.
‘When I saw you and Holly before, and you said something about Roscoe Crescent…it just reminded me how lovely it is around here, so I went for my run, and I don’t know…
I’m such an idiot. I had my earbuds in, and I wasn’t looking where I was going, and you know…
it’s so quiet. I just wasn’t thinking and I just stepped off the kerb and… ’
‘And the car hit you?’ I shriek.
She looks down at her foot. ‘I really hurt myself. I’m such an idiot.’
‘All right. Did someone call an ambulance?’
‘I don’t need an ambulance.’
‘You just said you really hurt yourself.’
She looks down at her foot. ‘It’s not so bad. I hurt my ankle. It’s just a sprain. Could you help me up?’
I look down at her. ‘Are you sure you should put weight on it? You really don’t want an ambulance?’
‘God no. I’m fine, really. Except I’m sitting in dog shit.’
Honestly, under different circumstances, I would have laughed. But right now I don’t think I will ever laugh again. I’m still completely confused as to what happened, or why Holly is so upset, and why Scarlett’s Mini Cooper is parked by the side of the road.
‘I’m sorry, girls. I gave you a fright, didn’t I,’ Teri says, leaning against me, one foot in the air. ‘I’m lucky Holly wasn’t driving over the speed limit.’
I stop, stunned. ‘You mean, Scarlett? Scarlett was driving?’
‘Oh, was it Scarlett?’ she says. ‘I thought Holly was driving. It all happened so fast.’
I help Teri into the back seat of my car, my head pounding with fury.
Then I straighten up and turn to Scarlett.
‘You were driving? Was Holly in the car?’ I raise a hand and shake my head.
‘Don’t answer that. I don’t think I want to know.
What the hell were you thinking, Scarlett?
’ I say in bewilderment. ‘How could you be so irresponsible? How could you?’ I keep going, my voice rising with each word, vaguely aware that it’s the fear and anxiety over the last twenty-four hours that are bursting out of me, but I can’t help it.
‘For Christ’s sake! You’re not supposed to be driving without an adult present!
You know that! Do you know what could have happened here?
You could have—’ I was going to say ‘killed her’ but I catch myself.
But Scarlett isn’t looking at me – she’s looking at Holly. Only then do I realise that Holly doesn’t look well. In fact, she looks really very pale, tugging at her fingers, the way she does when she’s really, really upset.
I swallow. ‘Holly?’
She doesn’t reply, but her eyes fill with tears and her face is awash with fear.
And guilt.
‘Oh, God. No…’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘You have got to be kidding me.’
‘I’m sorry…’
I blink. ‘You were driving?’
‘We were just trying it out.’
‘Trying it out?’ I cry.
‘I’m sorry!’
‘Oh, my God.’
‘It’s fine,’ Teri says from the back of my car.
‘It’s not fine,’ I say, my mouth trembling. ‘Not at all! Not by any stretch of the imagination.’
‘I would really like to go home now,’ Teri says, making a face. She’s sitting at an angle, her leg half propped up. I glance at her ankle. It’s not swollen yet, but judging by the look of pain on her face, it wouldn’t surprise me if it blew up to the size of a small tree trunk.
‘I’ll drive you to the hospital,’ I say.
‘Kate, don’t. I just want to go home and put some ice on it.’
I turn to Scarlett. ‘Where are your parents?’
She wipes her eyes with her sleeve. ‘I didn’t call them.’
‘For goodness sake!’ I pull out my phone. My hand is shaking so much I almost drop it. ‘What’s your mother’s number?’
‘No, please, Mrs Price, don’t call my mum. She’ll be really angry.’
‘You think?’ I snap.
‘Kate, don’t,’ Teri says softly. ‘We don’t need to make a bigger deal than it already is.’
‘But it is a big deal!’ I cry. ‘It’s a very big deal! Do you have any idea what could have happened?’ I point at Holly. ‘She can’t drive!’
Teri looks at Holly.
‘I’m sorry…’ Holly says.
‘Come to think of it, neither can Scarlett,’ I say.
‘I’m really sorry,’ Scarlett whispers.
Teri turns to me and lowers her voice. ‘Okay. If that’s the case, maybe we shouldn’t get the police involved.’
My heart skips a beat. ‘The police?’
Holly makes a sound behind me, like a wounded animal.
Suddenly, I can’t breathe. I didn’t think of that, but yes, the police would get involved. There was an accident. That’s how these things work, isn’t it?
‘Kate, please…’ Holly pleads.
And all I can think is, can we be talking to the police right now? Would that be a really big coincidence if I reported Max missing later? Would they think it odd I hadn’t mentioned it in this first interaction?
I have no idea. I can’t think straight.
‘Please don’t…’ Holly mouths.
‘So…no one called the police?’ I ask.
‘That’s right,’ Teri says. ‘Because no one died. Can we please get on now?’
My chest hurts. My head is swimming. I’m going to be sick.
Finally, I say, ‘Maybe we can call them later.’
‘Exactly,’ Teri says. ‘Can we go, please? I’m dying to put this foot up.’
I look at Scarlett’s car. ‘Scarlett, are your parents home?’
She shakes her head. ‘They went out for the day. They won’t be home until later.’
‘Okay.’ I close my eyes, my hand over my forehead. I’m feeling a major headache coming on. ‘Okay. Scarlett, you’ll come home with us. Get in the front with me. Holly, you get in the back with Teri. She’ll have to prop her leg on your lap, okay?’
‘What about my car?’ Scarlett asks.
‘Once everyone is settled and feeling better, I’ll drive you back here and take you home in your car. Then I’ll walk back to my own. You’re only around the corner.’ And I tell myself that, at least, is true. They only drove around the corner, onto a quiet street.
Barely any distance, but a lot of trouble I do not need.