‘Maybe they’re psychopaths, luring girls into their lair and killing them. You have heard of the Craigslist murders, right?’
I sit up. ‘What? No.’
‘This psychopath guy put an advert on Craigslist, advertising for lonely single men to come and work on his ranch. When they arrived he hunted them. Actually shot them like they were deer.’
‘Where was this?’
‘In America somewhere.’
‘So what are you saying? Elspeth is putting adverts in a newspaper for a companion only so she can kill her?’ I laugh. ‘Do you know how ludicrous that sounds? Matilde was here for two years before the accident. And, okay, Jemima was only here for a few months but …’ I shake my freshly washed hair and a wet tendril hits me in the eye. ‘No. It’s crazy.’
‘The Craigslist murders are true. These things happen. There are some right weirdos out there. You’d be surprised. I see many of them in the hair salon.’ She chuckles at her own joke but then she sobers up again. ‘Just be careful, that’s all I’m saying.’
‘Kathryn and Elspeth aren’t secret psychos. I think Elspeth has trust issues and she’s obviously got a chip on her shoulder about her elder daughter for some reason. She’s just very private. And I shouldn’t have been asking questions anyway.’
‘Jeez, you’re entitled to ask questions. Who told you about Viola?’
‘The cook, Aggie.’
‘Hmm … Kris, get off me, I’m on the phone …’ There’s a rustling sound and then Courtney says, ‘Sorry about that. Kris is being a twat. He’s gone out now. Band practice.’
‘How is living together working out?’
She groans. ‘Okay. I suppose. Are you coming out tomorrow night? The usual place. Vince will be there but that’s okay, isn’t it? He said you two are friends now. He’s really sorry for the way he acted, you know.’
‘Courtney …’
‘I know you can never go back there. He fucked you over. I know.’
I swallow the lump that’s formed in my throat, wishing I could go back. To before Mum got ill, to before Vince ‘fucked me over’， as Courtney so eloquently put it. I blink back tears. But, of course, I can’t. This is my life now and I have to get on with it.
We hang up, promising to see each other tomorrow night, and I lie on the bed for a few minutes. I get up and, to be on the safe side, I lock my bedroom door.
A noise wakes me. I blink in the darkness, feeling disoriented for a few seconds. I hear it again. The creak of floorboards. I rub my eyes, propping myself on my elbows and notice that my door is ajar, letting in a sliver of silvery light from the landing. I remember locking it before I went to sleep. I know I did. Is someone in my room?
I’m wide awake now and sit up straighter. I start when I see a figure by my wardrobe and then realize it’s just my dress on a hanger that I never got around to putting away. My throat is dry as I swing my legs out of bed. I go to the door, peering out onto the small landing. Nobody’s there. I hear a cough from Elspeth’s room. There’s only the two of us in the house. Does she need me? I pad downstairs to her bedroom, cold in my thin cotton pyjamas, and poke my head around her bedroom door. But she looks as though she’s asleep, her eyes closed, her chest rising and falling gently. Why do I have the feeling she’s pretending?
I leave, but as I do so I have the strange sensation that someone is behind me, their breath hot on the back of my neck. I run to my room and shut the door, my heart pounding. Oh, God, what if there’s an intruder and they’re now in my room? I feel like a kid as I frantically check under the bed and in the wardrobe, relief coursing through me when there’s nobody. I know I locked the door before I went to sleep and the only people with keys are Kathryn and Elspeth. I poke my head into the en-suite, just to be sure, but it’s empty. I take the key from my bedside table and lock the bedroom door again. And then I drag the chair from my desk over to it and jam it under the handle. Only then do I feel safe enough to return to my bed.
The next morning I hear Kathryn arrive early, but as it’s my day off I peer over the duvet to make sure my door is still locked and the chair in place. When I see that it is, I pull the duvet over my head and go back to sleep. By the time I wake up later the house is blissfully quiet. I dress quickly in a jumper and jeans, making sure to choose the ones without holes in the knees after Elspeth made a remark about my needing to darn my trousers, then go down to the kitchen. Aggie is clearing away the breakfast things. She looks up when she sees me, her big friendly face breaking into a smile. ‘Hello, ducky. Do you want something to eat?’