Chapter 30

‘It's going to be all right, sweetheart,' I insist as Zelda continues to sob quietly. ‘We'll think of something.' We will think of nothing and all end up behind bars and need therapy to get over the trauma for the rest of our lives. ‘Try not to worry.'

Linda shakes her head, pulls out another cigarette, then, clearly thinking better of it, pushes it back in. ‘If Frank goes to the police, they'll do forensics on this place, find specks of his blood in here, in the garden, not to mention cocaine. We're all accessories to a crime now.'

I rake a hand through my hair, damp with sweat. ‘We need a solid plan.'

‘He'll have us all behind bars,' Zelda sobs. ‘I'm so sorry for dragging you both into this. I was so frightened. I didn't know what to do.'

Linda's face softens. ‘Look, I can't stand the son-of-a-gun. Anyone would've done the same to protect themselves in your shoes. It was self-defence. It's not as if it was premeditated. Any judge and jury will take that onboard once you're in the witness box. They're not stupid.' A pause and then, ‘Shit, what if he collapses in the middle of the street and bleeds to death? The sooner we find him, the sooner we can get him some medical help. Otherwise, we'll all be up on a murder charge.'

My stomach twists. I didn't think of that. Linda's right. ‘Zelda, can you drive? We can cover more space if we try looking for him in a car.' Zelda shakes her head, tells us she'd been drinking too, and isn't in a fit state to drive anyway. ‘Okay, I'll ring Daisy, see if she can come back and help us find him.'

Zelda squats by her garage door and covers her ears, rocking back and forth and chanting What've I done?

Daisy's phone rings out. She must be asleep. I hate to do this to her but I've got to wake her up and get her back here. I hang up the moment I hear her chirpy voicemail greeting and press redial. It rings and rings and rings and then, ‘Hi Bella, everything okay?' she says, voice raspy.

‘Sorry to wake you, Daisy,' I apologise. ‘But is there any chance you could come back to Zelda's? We've got a bit of an issue and need your help.'

‘It's fine.' Daisy yawns loudly into the mouthpiece. ‘I'm still outside.' Another yawn. This woman is an angel sent from heaven. I close my eyes briefly, then give Linda the thumbs up. ‘What's up? Is Zelda okay?'

‘Did you see Frank wandering around outside at all?' I demand. Daisy tells me she didn't, had her head over her phone most of the time, then had forty winks. ‘Okay, I'm going to come out in a moment and I need you to drive me around a few blocks. Will that be okay?' Silence. ‘Daisy?'

‘Um…can I ask why?' I can't tell her the truth. I don't want her involved beyond necessary.

‘Well, you know Zelda and Frank had a fight.' I pause, waiting for a reaction, but am met with silence. ‘Linda and I tried talking some sense into him but he wouldn't listen,' I lie. ‘There was an..um…' My eyes dart from Linda to Zelda who are both looking at me in wide-eyed anticipation. Linda is biting on a red-varnished thumbnail. ‘There was a bit of an accident. He did some cocaine and fell over on the concrete patio in the garden.' Daisy gasps. She's very anti-substance abuse. ‘I think he's hurt himself. There was a bit of blood.' I squeeze my eyes shut, press the phone against my shoulder and take a breath. ‘He stormed out a few minutes ago, but we need to find him …in case…' In case what? In case he goes to the police and tells them that my sister tried to kill him? ‘In case he's hurt.'

‘Oh. Right,' Daisy says. ‘Is he on foot? Only if he's driving, he might've taken himself to AE.'

I didn't see his white VW Golf parked outside when we arrived, but that's not to say he didn't park it further along the road. Is he in a fit state to drive? I doubt it, given the state of him. But if he managed to get behind the wheel, he could be at the police station at this very moment reporting the incident. And just then, right on cue, a siren wails and we all look at each other like deer in headlights.

‘It's the police,' Zelda whimpers, eyes full of terror. ‘They're going to arrest me. Lock me up. It'll be his word against mine. They won't believe my version of events. Frank is too sharp, too clever. Oh, Bella, I didn't mean all those horrible things I said to you. You're a brilliant person. The best sister anyone could ask for.' She draws her sleeve along her nose, wiping away teary mucus. ‘Tom's lucky to have you.'

I go over to her and pull her to me with one arm. ‘I promise you, on my last breath, you won't go down for this.' And then, remembering Daisy's on the line, I let go of Zelda and quickly mute the call, praying she didn't hear any of that. ‘I will fight tooth and nail to prove your innocence and get you acquitted. ‘The sirens scream in my ears. They're getting closer.

‘Oh, fucking hell,' Linda says, frantically. ‘Tell them it was self-defence, Zee, he was going to bloody kill you. You were fighting for your life, grabbed the letter knife to defend yourself, get him off you.' Linda pauses, takes a breath, eyes shining with adrenalin. ‘And then he went outside and collapsed on the lawn … Zelda, are you listening? Stop it, stop.' Linda wrenches Zelda's hands away from her ears. ‘You tried to wake him, couldn't. Felt a pulse. Didn't know what to do. Panicked. Phoned Bella. We came as fast as we could. We were about to call for an ambulance, heard a noise, realised he'd got up and scarpered. Okay?' Zelda doesn't answer. ‘Okay?' Linda yells.

‘Okay.' Zelda is sobbing uncontrollably now, and I just watch her, uselessly, aching with grief. The wailing sirens are longer now and harder. They're moments away.

‘Listen to Linda,' I insist, my confidence waning by the second, ‘she's got an A-level in Law.'

‘They'll go easy on you once they hear all the facts,' Linda promises. ‘It'll be your first offence. Well, proper offence.' A roar in the sky snatches our attention. Overhead, a helicopter hovers like a huge insect, pinning us down with its red and indigo flashing lights. ‘Jesus Christ,' Linda yells as the helicopter's blades belt out above us like machine guns. ‘You're not a serial killer. What on earth has he told them?'

Blue and yellow lights illuminate the road ahead. They're here. They are after my sister's blood. Linda takes a few tentative steps forward and peers at the police car parked diagonally outside Zelda's flat. Zelda screams, sirens yelp on a loop. I cover my hands over my head. I can't let them lock her up. I've got to do something.

‘Shit, they're getting out of the car,' Linda hisses. ‘Shit.'