She unlocked the car and clipped Jemima back in her seat. Jemima was still clutching the box of raisins as Maddie closed the car door. Mark was standing in the doorway of his house, looking bemused, a phone clutched to his ear.
Maddie climbed into the car and started the engine, her mind whirling and tumbling. She needed to get back and speak to Jade before the police turned up. She looked down at her palm where blood was dripping from between her fingers as she clutched at the steering wheel. She wiped it on her shirt, but the blood reappeared instantly along with a sharp stinging that helped to bring some clarity to her vision. She grabbed a loose serviette from the pocket in the car door and wrapped it around her hand before she sped off.
17
Jade stared at her phone, willing it to ring. Surely Maddie had sorted it by now? It was 7 p.m. and she had heard nothing. She had hammered on Maddie’s door about half an hour ago, but the only person it had stirred was nosy Peggy opposite, who had opened her door a crack, scowled at Jade, then closed it firmly again and slid the chain into place.
Jade poured another vodka and topped it up with the rest of the Coke in the bottle. Great, now she was out of mixer.
She knew Maddie had probably chickened out and was lying low. Jade needed to send her a reminder of what she had to lose.
She put the glass down on the kitchen counter and grabbed a pair of Marigolds from the cupboard under the sink.
Standing on a small set of children’s steps, she reached into the very top corner cupboard and pulled out a plastic carrier bag. She stepped down and took a photo of the bakery receipt with her phone, then sent it to Maddie through Snapchat, the message simply saying, ‘Tick tock.’
She watched for a moment to see if Maddie opened the message. It remained unread.
‘Shit!’
Jade had the feeling something was wrong. Very wrong. Maybe Maddie had done it after all. Maybe she hadn’t been in touch because Mark was lying dead in his front hallway. She smiled to herself, the idea refreshing her like an ice-cold draught on a sweltering summer’s day.
She put the receipt back in its hiding place and stared out of the kitchen window. The occasional trick or treater was still pestering for sweets, but they were few and far between now, with most kids safely indoors eating sausages and chips. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a big 4x4 pull into a parking space outside. It was the same as the one Maddie was driving when she came home earlier.
She thought it a stroke of genius that Maddie had managed to convince her ex’s girlfriend to lend her that car. There would be no signs of Maddie’s own car on the CCTV cameras. The woman was actually quite adept at crime and Jade was secretly impressed.
She was back then.
Jade drained the vodka in three big gulps, then threw her Uggs on her feet and went to find her.
‘Maddie! Open up!’ She hammered on the door, but this time it was flung open almost straight away.
‘SHHH!’ Maddie said, pointing down the corridor. ‘Follow me,’ she whispered, grabbing her door keys from the hook and disappearing back up the stairs Jade had just come down. She didn’t stop at Jade’s door but kept going up the stairs to the roof.
The air up here was chill. The breeze brought with it the smell of car engines and fireworks that flashed in the distance, bright and metallic against the night as Halloween celebrations continued.
Maddie stood at the edge of the roof, looking down onto her own patch of garden. She was wearing a chunky cardigan and had her arms crossed tightly against her body. There was something clasped in her hand, which kept making a static noise, like a radio not tuned in properly. Jade stepped closer to her and could hear thin sounds of breathing and realised that it was a baby monitor.
‘What’s the monitor for?’
‘Jemima is asleep downstairs,’ Maddie said, her back still turned to Jade.
‘Did you take her with you? Wow, that’s sick – and a bit ballsy.’ Jade came right up behind Maddie. ‘So is it done?’
Maddie spun around and glared at her.
‘Is it done?’ Jade repeated.
Maddie took a step away from the edge towards Jade. She dropped her arms and the cardigan fell open to reveal a smear of blood on the T-shirt underneath.
‘I went to see him.’
Jade stared at the blood.
Bloody hell, she’d actually done it.
Jade started to laugh.
‘You actually did it!’
Maddie turned away again and looked out at the night laid out before her. Jade grabbed her arm and spun her around. ‘Just tell me what the fuck happened.’ Then she noticed the cloth wrapped tightly around Maddie’s hand. ‘Did he fight back or something? I hope you cleaned up, didn’t leave any of your own blood at the scene.’
‘Like you care whether I get caught or not.’ Maddie snatched her arm away.
‘So is he dead or what?’
Maddie’s voice was low. ‘I spoke to him.’
Jade’s pulse quickened.
‘I knocked on the door and spoke to him. He let us in and I asked him what he intended to do about Ben.’
‘You weren’t supposed to speak to him. What did he say?’
‘He said there is no case, Jade. He said it’s all lies. So are you going to tell me what’s really going on?’
*
Jade looked like Maddie had slapped her. Panic, surprise and confusion rolled over her face all at once. Jade squinted, looked again at the blood smear, then beyond Maddie to the dark sky, like she needed a second to come up with a
