An explosion of puke lands in the sink, once, twice… Christ, I’m going to die here. Sweat drips from my forehead. There is still a massive row unfolding above my head. From the banging and crashing it sounds like she must be breaking everything. Whatever the fuck happened, Faye is not happy. In fact I’ve never heard her this distraught in my life. Her hysterical voice is crashing into every wall in the house and I can’t move to help her. All I can think about is how ill I feel.

I turn the tap on. I’m unable to wish or think or help… I look out through the window to the statue at the bottom of the garden, to the overgrown shrubbery. Something looks different. Cupping my hand below the flowing tap I lift some water to my poisoned lips and drink it. I’m standing still but I can feel everything changing around me.

Chapter Thirty

This morning was endless. Coffee after coffee, cake after cake, sandwich after sandwich. No phone call from Faye. My anxiety danced through my body all day, shooting off the charts one minute, taking a rest for another before bouncing back into action.

Muriel is no fool; she kept looking at me, saying nothing, watching me check my phone every few minutes. Faye never called. The sooner Andriu arrives, the better. I’m looking forward to seeing him at the airport tonight. Amy has agreed to drive me there to pick him up at seven thirty. It’s so long since I’ve seen him.

At least then I’ll have an ally. Andriu will be able to confirm to the detectives that Avril Ryan wasn’t a friend of ours. She was never even in the house. He’ll be able to tell them we never heard of her, that someone else pushed the lid off that slurry pit and put her body inside.

A shiver runs down my spine when I picture Avril Ryan’s body lying there. Her cold, wet, distorted corpse left to rot like a rat in a sewer. No one deserves that ending. The final goodbye should be peaceful, surrounded by people who love you. There should be no physical pain, just the angst of loss, lessened by the heightened belief that, yes, we will see one another again someday. A loved one should be holding your hand, tightly, helping you make the transition to the next world with dignity and peace. A smile where possible. Tears at a history well remembered. A life that was worth living.

But Avril Ryan didn’t get that. Her life was robbed from her. There was violence, fear, evil. No one smiled through tender tears when Avril took her last breath.