Chapter 60

‘Liam Cooper?' Mum's on the edge of her seat. ‘That young layabout you went out with and wanted to marry?'

‘Yes, Mum,' I say wearily.

‘He's dead? How?' Mum's eyes are round and wild.

I run a hand over my face. ‘I can't go into it now, Mum.'

‘Frank may still be alive,' Daisy pipes up, and Mum's eyes rocket towards her. ‘But I'm telling you the truth, Sandra. They left him for dead in the garden.' Zelda and I steal an anxious glance at each other. This is more than PTSD and hemophobia.

‘Okay, we had a fight,' Zelda swears. ‘All couples do. Yes, it got a bit heated but I didn't attack him.' I look at Zelda who has her hands behind her back and I know that she has her fingers crossed. ‘Daisy's confused, maybe because of the blood loss.'

‘There's nothing wrong with my brain, thank you very much. I know what I heard.' Daisy looks at me with such loathing, that I can almost feel the pain physically, like a vapour of hatred seeping through my skin and squeezing my heart. ‘You thought he was dead and just left him there, didn't you?' Yes, yes, yes!! We did. It's all true.

‘Now you're being ridiculous,' Zelda snorts.

‘Bella,' Mum says, clearly upset. ‘Please tell me none of this is true.'

I put on my best poker face. ‘Of course, it's not true. Zelda's right. It was a lovers' tiff. I went round there. Frank was alive and well,' I lie, ‘Honestly, Daisy, I don't know where you…' But my voice is lost in the sudden cacophony of their brawl. Daisy is contradicting Zelda – Zelda is telling her she's hallucinating, imagining things.

Mum is on her feet now, towering over Daisy, demanding answers.

‘Fine,' Daisy yells. ‘Your perfect daughters almost killed a man, Sandra.' My heart crushes. I don't think I can move. ‘They're murderers.'

We all fall silent. Mum looks at us, a slight tremor in her hand. ‘She's talking nonsense. Bella?' Holding my chin, I nod, mouth, she's not well. ‘I'll excuse you this time because I know you're suffering from PPI.' I bite my lip, sealing in a nervous laugh. ‘But I'd like you to take that back, please.'

‘Dream on, Grandma,' Daisy scoffs. A thump against the wall snatches my attention, followed by drilling. They must be putting up shelving or pictures.

‘Right, that's it. I want you to leave,' Mum says, pointing at the door. I think it was the grandma reference that did it. ‘I won't have malicious lies spread about my daughters,' she yells above the noise. ‘Come on, get out.' But Daisy just sits there, a wry grin playing on her lips. ‘Come on. Out.' Bang, bang, BANG. ‘I said out.' Mum goes to manhandle Daisy but she won't budge. ‘Get out, get out, get out,' Mum shrieks at the wall, veins in her neck protruding.

The noise next door suddenly stops dead. Daisy shuffles to the edge of her seat, injured hand aloft, and unzips her handbag. She's fishing around for her keys, thank goodness. ‘I'll need to move my car,' I say wearily. ‘I've blocked you in.' But instead of leaving, she pulls out a tube of sweets, pops one into her mouth and settles back into her seat, arms folded. ‘Oh, Countdown,' she announces, parking the sweet on the side of her mouth. ‘Put the volume up, Sandra. Me and Mammy used to love this, even though she was useless at it.'

‘What kind of person are you?' Mum whispers. ‘My daughter takes you in, puts a roof over your head, food in your belly, and this is how you repay her?'

‘I'm not a charity case, Sandra.' Daisy sucks on the sweet loudly. ‘Bella was at a loose end. I helped her out.' She looks at me, eyebrow raised. ‘In more ways than one.' Sweet mother of God.My lovely temp has been possessed by Satan. I fold my arms, glance at my watch. Where the hell is Tina? What's keeping her?

‘This has gone far enough,' Zelda interjects.

Mum throws her hands up in the air. ‘Call the police, Zelda.' Zelda and I exchange glances. The police? After what Daisy has accused us of? I don't think so. We didn't kill Frank, but Zelda did stab him and we failed to call 999. Linda said that's conspiracy to murder. We'll get locked up if Frank decides to give a statement, especially with Daisy's testimony. ‘Well, don't just stand there like two bloody statues.' Mum's voice makes me jolt. ‘Oh, for God's sake, if you want a job doing.'

Mum goes to walk past me. I block her with a sidestep. ‘Mum, she's clearly not well,' I whisper.

‘Well, I can see that.'

‘They might section her if you call the emergency services, especially after the knife incident earlier.'

‘Well, maybe that's the best thing for her.'

‘Oh, Mum, don't. Her auntie is on her way to collect her. She'll be gone soon.'

‘I'm not deaf, you know,' Daisy interjects, getting to her feet. ‘Go ahead, call the police. I've got a thing or two to tell them about your family anyway, and while I'm at it, I'll tell them how you tried to stab me as well.' Daisy thrusts her bandaged hand out at Mum, taking in the length of her in disgust. ‘The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?' Mum shakes her head, muttering to herself. ‘Oh, stop fretting, grandma. I'm going.'

Daisy knocks into my shoulder as she thunders towards the door. Zelda looks at me pleadingly, arms and legs crossed, bottom lip clenched between her teeth. I hesitate, mind racing. Should I go after her? She's already threatened to tell the police everything. And what did she mean by me needing her help to hide the weapon? Did she follow me to Waterlow Park that day? God, she'll direct the police straight to the evidence.

‘Daisy, wait,' Zelda says, as if she's reading my mind. ‘Please don't go, not while you're so upset.' In the mirror above the fireplace, I watch as Daisy pauses, one hand on the doorframe. ‘We overreacted,' she says to her back. ‘And we're sorry. Aren't we, Bella?'

Daisy turns around, holding my gaze in the mirror. ‘Yes, we are.' I shake my head so violently it hurts. ‘We're very sorry.'

Daisy seems to like my endorsement. Shuffling back in, she sits on the armrest of the sofa, legs wide, speckles of blood on the hem of the right leg of her flared jeans. ‘You two must think I was born yesterday.' I look at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room. Bloody Tina Anderson. What's taking her so long? I rue the day I ever set eyes on her.

‘What's the matter, Sandie?' Mum hates being called that. ‘Cat got your tongue?' Daisy glares at Mum. Mum looks horrified. I bet she wasn't expecting this homecoming while she was sipping her GT on the flight back to Heathrow.

‘Daisy, what do you want from us?' Zelda asks.

‘If you need money until you sort yourself out,' I offer.

‘I don't want your money,' Daisy says coldly.

‘Then what do you want?' Mum pleads.

‘What's going on?' Our heads swivel towards the loud voice. Tina is standing in the doorway in black chinos, a red blouse with huge pointed collars and a beige trench coat. An A4 manila envelope is clutched to her chest. A pair of expensive looking glasses are hanging from her elegant neck on a chain.

‘Oh, thank God you're here, Tina,' I manage. ‘Daisy's very upset. She's not herself…'

‘Darling, what's wrong?' Tina asks Daisy, ignoring me. ‘What happened to your hand? What's all that blood on your clothes?' Her head snaps up at me. ‘Did you do this to her?'

‘What? No. Daisy had an accident.'

‘Bella's right,' Mum concedes. ‘We were in the middle of cooking and…'

‘Let me see that.' Tina puts her glasses on and frowns at Daisy's bandaged hand. ‘Come on, I'll take you to AE.'

‘There's no need, Tina. I cleaned it up for her.'

‘I'm okay.' Daisy says. ‘Well, I will be once I get away from this toxic lot.'

‘Toxic?' Zelda snorts with fake mirth. ‘Is that why you can't bear to leave my sister's house?'

I take a lungful of breath. ‘Daisy, I've done my best for you. I'm sorry if you feel let down. The job was only temporary. That was clear from the start.' I turn to Tina. ‘We've treated her like family.'

‘I should hope so.' Tina's mac swishes as she sits down, showing a bit of the lining - Burberry.

‘Tina, I know you're protecting your niece and family comes first but…'

‘Uh-ah, she's not related to me.'

‘What?' I say, flicking a worried glance at Zelda. ‘But you…'

‘Daisy's your sibling, actually. Well, half-sister,' she says. And then everything stops, freezes, as if someone has hit a pause button.

‘Right,' Georgia says, charging back into the room. ‘What have I missed?'