Chapter 9 #2
At the window, I hold my breath as I watch Leo head next door. From this distance, it’s hard to gauge the expression on Giles’s face when he opens the door, but my shoulders relax slightly when he leans forward to give Leo a hug.
Leo holds up the bag with Willow’s bowls and food, and Giles hesitates before reaching for it, then they both disappear inside.
With a bubble of nausea in my gut, I scan the other houses, but I can’t see any movement anywhere.
Everyone will know what’s happened to Willow by now – nothing remains hidden around here; I’ve learned that much.
I think of Georgia – how kind she seems – and realise she might be the only person who will speak to me about this. Grabbing my phone and keys, I step outside into the blistering morning heat.
There are no cars in Georgia’s driveway, something I should have considered before I rushed over in full view of anyone who glances out of their window or checks the cameras.
This constant surveillance in Silverleaf Heights makes me unsettled, especially when the messages I’ve received make it clear the threat isn’t far from home.
And I know it’s possible for cameras to be tampered with; that’s the only explanation for the woman I saw not showing up on the camera.
I ring the doorbell, and I’m surprised when the door opens and Declan stands there frowning. ‘Oh, hi,’ he says. ‘I thought you were Mum.’
‘Hi. I’m guessing she’s not home, then?’
‘No, she’s out.’
I turn and glance at Giles’s house; Leo still hasn’t emerged. ‘Um, did you hear anything about Giles’s dog?’
‘Yeah. Sorry.’ Declan stares at his trainers and avoids looking at me. ‘Weren’t you looking after her when she got ill?’
‘I honestly don’t know what happened to Willow. She was fine when I went to bed. She was happy. And then—’
He holds up his hands. ‘You don’t have to explain to me,’ he says. ‘People might be saying stuff, but you don’t strike me as someone who’d hurt a dog.’
Unease seeps through me. ‘What have people been saying?’
He shoves his hands in his pockets. ‘It’s just gossip,’ he assures me.
‘Not even worth thinking about. Um, do you want to come in? Mum just went to the supermarket; I’m sure she’ll be back any minute.
She hates food shopping. Dad’s not here either, if you wanted to talk to him?
He had to go into work. No such thing as a weekend for him.
’ He rolls his eyes. ‘And all for this place.’
I glance back at the house, debating this offer. Declan feels like someone who might actually be onside, and there could be things I could find out from him. ‘Okay, if you don’t mind? I do need to speak to your mum.’
He lets me in and gestures to the kitchen. ‘Do you want to go in there? Or the living room?’
‘Kitchen’s fine. But I’m sure you’ve got stuff to do – you don’t have to wait with me.’
Declan shrugs. ‘It’s fine. I’m up to date with my revision, and I can’t go anywhere till Mum gets back. I’m borrowing her car. Don’t have my own yet, but I’ve been saving up to get one. I reckon about a thousand more should do it.’
‘That’s great, Declan.’
He beams. ‘Thanks. Mum and Dad offered to help, but I said no thanks. I don’t ever want to feel that I owe anyone. Whatever I get or achieve, I want to do it by myself.’
I nod. ‘I admire that. Especially living somewhere like this at your age. It would be easy to feel entitled.’
‘Mum’s good at keeping us grounded.’ He falls silent and stares out of the window.
‘Are you okay?’ I ask.
He nods. ‘Yeah. It’s just . . . this place. I can see how she’s changing. Becoming like all the others. I wish we’d never moved here. We were fine in Dublin. In our old small house.’
I think of my Canning Town flat, how much at home I felt in it, even after what Peter Harvey did to me there. ‘I know this sounds weird, but I think our hearts choose the places that really feel like home to us,’ I say. ‘It has nothing to do with logic or reason, money or square footage.’
Declan frowns, but then slowly nods. ‘Yeah, I get what you mean. Like, we moved here because it’s a status symbol to live somewhere like this. Mum and Dad wanted to feel like they’re moving up in the world, achieving something.’ He shakes his head. ‘But they’re wrong about this place.’
‘What do you mean?’
He sits down and folds his arms on the table. ‘Silverleaf isn’t right,’ he says. ‘The people. Everything about it. All the perfection. It’s a blatant lie.’ He glances into the hall.
I stare at him, my heart thudding. ‘Declan, do you believe I saw that woman being strangled?’
His face creases, and he takes a moment to answer, every second fuelling my hope.
‘I’m sorry, Ria. No idea what happened there.
I just don’t see how it’s possible. Wouldn’t a dead body be, like .
. . heavy to move? And didn’t you rush out there straight away?
I’m not saying you’re lying, I just . . . don’t know.’
Despite feeling as though all the air has been sucked out of me, I quickly recover. ‘You just said you don’t think things are right here. What exactly do you mean?’
‘Can’t really explain it. Just a feeling I get.
It won’t make sense. Silverleaf Heights just isn’t a good place to live.
Anyway, I’m out of here as soon as I’ve saved enough.
My last exam is this week, and I’ll work more over the summer.
I’d leave now, but why waste money on rent when I can be saving it instead? ’
I’m unsure how to respond; although Declan seems to feel the same way I do about Silverleaf Heights, he isn’t going to believe what I saw. ‘Can I ask you something?’
He tilts his head. ‘Yeah.’
‘What are people saying about Willow?’
Declan’s mouth twists. ‘Don’t care about what people here think.’
‘It wasn’t my fault,’ I say. ‘She was fine when I went to bed, and then when I came down in the morning, I found her still and near lifeless. But it doesn’t make sense – there was nothing in the house she could have swallowed.
’ I draw in a breath. ‘I think the vet has got it wrong. Or they’ve got the timeline wrong.
Willow could have eaten something before she came to mine.
’ My mind won’t let me dwell on the alternative, even though the message I received in the early hours of the morning could suggest someone hurt her as a warning to me.
‘When Giles came over this morning, I heard him telling my parents it was antifreeze.’
‘Which I don’t even have in the house!’ I pause. ‘Wait, he came round personally to tell you what happened? What did he say?’
Declan nods. ‘He thinks you must have left some antifreeze lying around. I was in my room, but I came to use the bathroom and I could hear them in the hall talking. He really wasn’t saying anything bad about you, other than that.
Can’t believe I’m defending him, but he didn’t just come to tell them that.
He’d borrowed some of Dad’s tools and was bringing them back. ’
This is a small comfort. ‘What else did he say?’
‘Not much. He just told my parents there’s nothing on the cameras so no one else went into your house that night.’
Once more that sickening dread that’s becoming all too familiar sits heavily in my stomach. ‘Or someone found a way to—’
The sound of the front door opening interrupts us, and Georgia calls out, ‘Declan, I’m back. You can take the car now if you help me unload the shopping.’
I jump up. Giles is convinced that I’m responsible for harming Willow, and I’m sure all the neighbours will believe it, including Georgia, the one friend I have around here.
Georgia’s face brightens when she sees me.
‘Ria! Hi.’ She places two bags on the table.
‘Are you okay? I heard what happened to Willow. I . . . I don’t know what to say about it, to be honest. I mean, it’s devastating.
She’s such a lovely dog.’ She grimaces. ‘But I suppose dogs get into everything, don’t they?
And you never know what’s dangerous for them.
’ She pauses. ‘Please don’t worry – I’m sure she’ll be okay. ’
I nod. ‘But Georgia, I swear to you, there is no antifreeze in our house. Leo knows that! I can’t explain what happened to her, but maybe the vet’s made a mistake.
’ I won’t mention to Georgia that I’m also wrestling with the idea that someone might have deliberately done this, that the two opposing concepts compete for space in my head.
She offers a sympathetic smile. ‘Maybe. But Giles is so sure—’
‘He could be wrong, Mum,’ Declan offers.
I appreciate him jumping to my defence, but Georgia glares at him. ‘Don’t forget the shopping before you go,’ she says.
‘I’m so sorry this happened to you,’ Georgia says when he’s gone. She starts unloading the bags, busying herself so she doesn’t have to look at me.
‘I don’t know what happened,’ I say. ‘It doesn’t make sense.’
Georgia continues putting cans and packets of food in the cupboards.
‘Well, I’m sure it will all get sorted out.
That beautiful dog is a fighter – she’ll pull through.
And in the meantime, we all just have to be there to support Giles.
He’s already lost his wife, and now his pet’s hanging on for dear life.
Poor man.’ She turns to me. ‘Sorry, did you need to ask me something? I forgot to even ask!’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ I say. ‘I just wanted to explain it to you.’ Everything I’d planned to say to Georgia feels far out of reach. And why would she believe me when she barely knows me?