Nicole nods slightly. Alex holds her breath as the energy shifts in the stuffy room.

‘But perhaps you are willing to make this all go away. And earn the money you need to build a wonderful future.’ His hands make the shape of a triangle, neat fingernails meeting at the top. He looks at Alex, then at Evelyn. ‘I must say, the alternative is not good, not good at all.’

Alex closes her eyes, fear gripping her heart. She doesn’t want to touch him, doesn’t want to let him touch her. She thinks back to some of her foster brothers, the things they made her do.

‘Yes, of course.’ Nicole wipes her eyes. ‘Of course we are.’

The professor puts his elbows on the desk. ‘I’m glad to hear that. It’s really very simple. And it’s important to remember that no one gets hurt, that’s the beauty of it.’

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

OLI LEAVES DIANA ON THE PARK BENCH, HER PETITE FRAME HUNCHED over as she pets Hugo. She’s finally free of her secret, but Oli’s not sure it will bring her any peace. She heads back toward Nicholson Street, turning the whole thing over in her head. It makes sense that Julian went to the house that night if he thought he had a chance of sleeping with Nicole, but why did he invite Diana to come with him? He couldn’t have predicted she would get sick. It must not have been planned at all; maybe Diana has it wrong and Julian is giving money to Nicole for some other reason—or giving money to someone else altogether.

Oli peels off her coat, flushed from walking. She crosses at the lights and heads along Hoddle Street. A man holding a toolkit passes by and whistles under his breath. ‘Hey, blondie.’

She ignores him, keeps walking. Even if Diana is right about her husband, none of it explains why Evelyn was murdered. McCrae might be guilty of infidelity, but everyone agrees he left the house by ten. He’s not a killer, but maybe he set off a chain of events that led to her death. Perhaps Evelyn found out about Nicole and Julian, and threatened to tell Diana. Or Alex found out, and somehow Evelyn got caught in the fray, trying to break up the argument? But that doesn’t seem to fit either. Surely Alex wouldn’t be that upset about Nicole sleeping with one of her professors, at least not enough to grab a kitchen knife and stab Evelyn four times. Unless she was in love with him? The housemates taunt Oli, their faces trading places in her mind. She desperately wants to speak to Cooper, even TJ, but neither is an option. Her feet sweat in her boots.