She whimpers through his words, wanting them to go away. She looks over to her brother again, a look of revulsion on her face.
“How could you have been so stupid? I mean, you knew they were going to find his body?”
“I know, I know… I mean, I tried to get home on time… But, I...” he sighs again, “it was just hard. It’s like something happened that night. Like a light just went off inside of my head. Everything went downhill. I went back to uni in the autumn and I just… Fell apart. Turned to drink, drugs, anything that anyone would give me. Anything to just take the pain away. I failed my second year. Not showing up for exams or handing in coursework. But I couldn’t tell you all. I felt too ashamed, so I just… Kept pretending.”
“That’s why we couldn’t go to your graduation this summer,” she shakes her head, “and you said you were working.”
His grave face darkens.
“I know, I took a photo in my friend’s cap and gown, pretending it was a laugh, but I was going to send it to you all this winter… Pretend that I had actually graduated.”
“So, what have you really been doing for almost three years?” Danielle blinks rapidly, realising she doesn’t know her own brother either.
He shrugs.
“Bits and bobs. I could never really hold down a job. I arrived drugged-up or drunk, or just didn’t show up at all. That’s why I couldn’t afford flights back to move the body once I knew work was starting on the house. And of course, I had to consider the rental car, petrol and a cheap Airbnb. The shitty jobs I was doing, they barely covered my rent. I got by with living on takeaways. And stealing from housemates. Be it drink, drugs or a pack of instant noodles.
“I managed to eventually get back at about two o’clock in the morning on Thursday. I was intent on moving the body then, especially after seeing all the machinery already. I knew they weren’t going to be long finding him. But 12 hours later? I mean, come on. Give me a fuckin’ break… Anyway, I landed from Belfast and came down to move him, but there were kids spray painting the house. Then, someone else landed and scared them off. I don’t know who it was bu-“
“It was me.”
The trio gasp and turn around to see Michelle standing back by the conservatory, deep in thought and staring at a plant. None of them had heard her approach them. How long had she been standing there?
“Michelle!” Danielle gasps, “what the hell are you talking about?”
“I tried to move him. I saw you two,” she nods towards the boys, “that night. I was up getting a glass of water and I saw Chris walk around towards the garage. I was wondering what he was doing. I sneaked out the back door and looked around the side of the house… And I saw you two… Burying him.”
Danielle shakes her head. No. This can’t be happening. They all knew. They were all in on it.
“I couldn’t remember where abouts specifically that you buried him, and obviously the barbeque was gone… I started making a bit of progress, but the builders arrived early. Really early. Like 5am early. So, I had to scatter before they saw me.”
“I ran off because of you,” Ritchie almost laughs, before realising what situation he’s in, “if I had have known it was you… Maybe we could’ve avoided this.”
“’Avoided this?’” Danielle almost screeches turning back towards her brother, before composing herself and whispering once more, “’avoided this?’’ What, so just continued to live a lie? Lie to us and to yourselves? And what the hell were you going to do with the body, eh? Just throw it in a skip with the barbeque?”
Michelle continues down the garden and slides into the place where Steph was only moments ago as the two boys share concerned glances before looking away.
“We didn’t have a plan, D...” Chris shakes his head, “short of him bein’ in the house after your da went missing-“
“Oh, don’t give me that shit!”
“- we genuinely haven’t spoken. I mean, we never had each other’s numbers and there’s no way for me to contact him as he has no social media. And I didn’t know until there now that Michelle saw us. Did you?”
Ritchie shakes his head as he stares at his former friend. “I went to your house that night last week too. I was told you moved up the road, so I wanted to make contact with you… But obviously, being the middle of the night it isn’t like I could exactly ring the doorbell.”
“Wait…” Danielle physically grips her head to try and get her mind around this. Counting days on her fingers. “Thursday night, when I met you at the airport… You were here all this time?”
He nods.
“But why now?” Danielle almost laughs hysterically, “what took you all so long to try and move him? I mean, you had three years.”
The boys stare at their feet and Michelle bites her lip.
“We were scared, Danni,” Chris says, going to put a hand on her before she spits ‘don’t touch me,’ “well, I can only speak for myself… But I was scared of gettin’ caught.”
“But you didn’t kill him?”
“I wanted to protect ye, as well as your family… And myself, selfishly. I wanted ye to just live in ignorance, because, like Ritchie, this secret has eaten me up for years. I haven’t been the same since that night either.”
“And do you two feel that way too?” Danielle turns to her siblings, “scared?”
They nod.
“I wanted to do it so many times that summer…” Ritchie glares into space, memories creeping back. “But I just couldn’t. I had nightmares of seeing his corpse. His rotten flesh… Anytime I seen a fox or rat in the garden I just begged that they hadn’t found him. I was half expecting to see
