Chapter 37 Carla #2
As we sip our coffees, I have second thoughts about asking Iris about Olivia. I don’t want to ruin what is turning out to be a lovely day. But it’s now or never.
‘Iris, I wonder if I could ask you about something. Just say if it’s none of my business, OK? I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable or stick my nose—’
‘Mum, you can cut out the preamble,’ Iris says. ‘Get to the point?’
‘Right. Well, it’s about the Rohypnol. And, er, Olivia. I—’
‘How did you know I was talking about Olivia?’
I don’t tell her I didn’t know for sure. ‘Olly said something to your dad. He said she was sexually assaulted by some guy at a party.’
‘Yeah. She was drugged and raped.’
‘Do you want to tell me what happened?’
‘Not really, Mum.’ Iris sighs and turns away from me, shielding her eyes from the low sun and looking at the ocean. Then she pulls down her sunglasses, which were holding her hair back.
‘OK. That’s fine. I’m just concerned, you know? I don’t know how best to protect you, how to protect Margo. I think you were right about Margo, by the way.’
I probably shouldn’t have said that – Iris has had enough problems of her own to deal with and I don’t want to burden her with more – but it gets her attention. Her head snaps back and her eyes lock onto mine.
‘What do you mean?’
I have to tell her now. ‘I’m convinced Jordan and Jasper spiked Margo’s drink the night she spent at Hilltop House. It might sound stupid, or paranoid, and perhaps it is, but—’
‘Nah. That makes sense.’
‘—they were trying to sell pot outside Millie’s house on the night of her eighteenth birthday party as well. It doesn’t mean they push all sorts of drugs, but—’
‘How on earth do you know that?’
‘Your dad saw them when he went to pick you up that night. Anyway, I went round to Yvonne’s and demanded answers.’
‘Did you get any?’
‘No. I think Yvonne deliberately kept Margo at Hilltop House until the drugs were out of her system before taking her to hospital. I think she would have brought her home instead of going to the hospital if she’d managed to get hold of you the first time she rang.
Or perhaps when Margo regained consciousness, Yvonne got really worried that there might be something seriously wrong with her and decided to play it safe by taking her to A she wears different masks.
‘Iris,’ I say gently, ‘what happened to Liv and what happened to Margo …’ Iris nods. She knows what I’m going to say next. ‘It was at Hilltop House. Both times.’
‘Yeah,’ she says. ‘In the actual summerhouse both times, too.’
I scowl, unsure what to make of that coincidence. Is it a coincidence?
‘Josh … he … er … supplied the drugs,’ Iris says, making me wonder if I asked my question aloud. ‘I only found that out afterwards. A long time afterwards. But he was selling drugs. Marijuana, Rohypnol, ecstasy.’
I swear to God, if that kid hadn’t already been killed, I would kill him myself.
‘But, Iris,’ I say, ‘this means that other people might have had motive. Someone else might have wanted Josh dead.’ I was so sure Iris was guilty and now that I’m considering my daughter might be innocent after all, a feeling of shame bowls into me.
‘Why didn’t you tell your dad and me about this at the time?
Why didn’t you tell us Josh had been dealing drugs? ’
Iris looks out towards the sea again, studiously avoiding eye contact.
I follow her gaze. The water has crept several metres nearer to the shoreline than before.
The sun is dipping into the ocean, its reflection a single orange brushstroke across the dark water.
It’s getting late. And cold. We should get going.
I wait a few seconds longer in case Iris says something, but she has clammed up, as if she realizes she has said too much.
As if she has given something away. But I get the feeling she hasn’t told me everything.