Chapter 29

‘For fuck's sake,' Linda cries. ‘Where is he?'

Zelda falls to her knees, palms pressed together. ‘I didn't kill him. Oh, thank God.'

‘Shit,' Linda continues, elbowing past me and peering over the back gate, ‘do you think he wandered off into next door's building site?'

‘God knows,' I reply, heart whacking against my ribcage like a squash ball. I'm glad he's alive, although he doesn't deserve to be. But at least my sister hasn't got blood on her hands. That said, I haven't got a clue what to do now. Frank isn't going to just let this go.

‘Why would he wander into the building site?' Zelda asks, scrambling to her feet. ‘There's nothing in there and he knows the owners are away.'

I pull my dressing gown around me tightly, blocking out the chill. ‘I'd imagine he's gone to AE to get that stab wound looked at. That's what I'd have done.' Via the police station to report Zelda for assault, but I don't tell her that. The last thing I want is to freak her out again. ‘But we'd best check all the same,' I suggest. I look at the back gate, which is swung open. He must've left it open in his haste to get away. ‘Let's go out the front and have a look. He can't have gone far, not with an injury like that.'

We hound the streets, each of us in different directions, eyes like scanners, but Frank is nowhere to be seen. He seems to have disappeared into thin air. ‘Let's have a look down the driveway, see if he left a trail, spots of blood, something we can follow,' Linda suggests, and Zelda yelps, like a frightened dog, clutching the sleeve of my dressing gown. ‘Come on, there's no time to waste.'

We walk along the downward slope of the shared driveway, negotiating our way around three concrete gully surrounds, bags of sand and several stacks of chipping stones. The moment we reach the excavation, I hear the sound of running water. I gather my dressing gown around me. It's darker and creepier than I remember back here. Maybe it's because there's no friendly light on next door and the upstairs is vacated, pitch black.

‘God, Zelda, how can you live here on your own?' Linda says. ‘I'd shit myself.'

‘It's all I can afford.'

‘What's that noise?' Linda whispers. ‘It sounds like a stream.'

‘Next door's drains. They've got a leak,' Zelda explains. We inch closer. The cavity is deep and dark. I pull out my phone and shine the torch in the excavation.

‘Can you see anything?' We all peer into the pit. Linda and Zelda shake their heads. Zelda was right, it's full of rubbish, rubble and stacks of builders' shipping pallets. My eyes race over the litter. A white carrier bag, flapping in the wind, desperately trying to free itself from the neck of a large bottle of cola catches my attention, next to it lie several empty pizza boxes and yellow polystyrene food containers, with smears of red sauce and bits of food stuck to them. I can see now why Zelda says it's a haven for vermin. No sign of Frank. ‘Let's go further in,' I suggest, ‘along the side slope and look inside the pit properly. Does that lead into the garden?'

‘There's no way I'm fucking going down there,' Linda shrieks, taking a step back.

‘Zee?' My sister is transfixed on the excavation as if she's under some kind of spell.

‘Sorry, yes, it does,' Zelda says, tuning back in. ‘But he wouldn't have gone down there, Bella. There's no exit at the bottom of the slope. It's closed off and dangerous. You can't go down there without a hard hat. Ian popped in and explained it all to me last week and Frank was here, so he knows it's a no-go zone.'

‘We've got to do something, girls, and fast,' Linda insists, pulling out a box of Marlborough Lights from her crossbody bag and lighting up. ‘We should've called the police right away. Are they Frank's?' She blows smoke from the side of her mouth, closing one eye.

We follow Linda's gaze. There's a pair of army green wellingtons at the side of the garage. ‘No, they're my gardening boots. I was meant to put them in the garage this morning, but forgot.'

‘Right.' Linda blows the smoke high and I look at it longingly. ‘Here,' she says begrudgingly, handing me the fag, ‘it'll take the edge off.'

‘Look, we know Frank's injured,' I point out, flicking ash off her cigarette. ‘So, he can't have gone far.' I take a deep inhalation, relishing every second.

‘But I didn't kill him,' Zelda says.

‘Did you drive here or get a cab?' Linda asks me, ignoring Zelda.

I shake my head, blowing out smoke. ‘Daisy dropped me off, but I told her to go home if I wasn't out in ten.' I give Linda her ciggie back and check the time on my phone. ‘That was over an hour ago.'

‘Why don't we just leave it,' Zelda pleads, shuffling from foot to foot. ‘He's gone now, so must be okay.'

Linda takes a final lug and then stamps the cigarette out with the sole of her shoe. How she walked half a mile to Zelda's in the middle of the night in those heels is a skill in its own right.

‘Listen, I know it was self-defence, lovely, but you stabbed him, remember,' Linda warns gently. ‘It's still a criminal offence. And the fact that you didn't call the emergency services is going to make you look guilty if he decides to press charges. Depending on his story, you might get done for attempted murder.' Zelda's face pales and I can see that the idea of Frank lying to the police, blaming her, didn't cross her mind.

‘We've got to find him and make sure he doesn't report it,' I say, ‘Bribe him again, offer him more. I can get a hold of ten grand, more if I have to. Sell a couple of Mum's paintings, that should fetch another ten, twenty grand.'

‘You can't sell our heirlooms,' Zelda groans. ‘They're Georgie's. Might be worth a fortune one day. Besides, why should we pay him off? He was the one who tried to kill me.'

‘You're absolutely right, Zee,' Linda says. ‘Look, we can still call the police and tell them everything. It's not too late.'

‘Of course, it's too late, Linda, it's been over two hours since the assault. They're going to want to know why Zelda didn't report it immediately. It's going to make her look like the guilty party now.'

‘Hmm…he is the one with the stab wound and Zelda has got previous with the police.'

‘They're going to arrest me, aren't they?' Zelda quivers, her panic returning. ‘I'm going to prison. This is the end of my life. Frank has ruined me.'