Page 62 of The Best Friend
Twenty-Four
‘Louisa, look at me,’ Beth says, trying to get me to concentrate. She’s sitting where Locke was sitting only a few moments ago, her blue eyes concerned yet focused. ‘You’re white as a ghost. When did you last eat?’
‘I don’t know. I’m not hungry.’
‘You need food, or you’re going to keel over. Here.’ She reaches into her bag and offers me a granola bar.
I screw up my nose and shake my head.
‘Eat it,’ she says in a tone that brooks no argument.
I take it from her, tear the wrapper and take a bite. It’s like chewing sweet cement, but I force myself to swallow.
She pushes the cup of water towards me, and I take a swig. ‘Now, tell me what happened,’ she says. ‘From the start. Don’t leave anything out.’
‘Even the Darcy stuff?’ I ask. ‘The things I told you before.’
‘Tell meeverything. Especially the Darcy stuff.’
I slide the unfinished granola bar onto the table and start to speak. My throat is already dry and swollen from too much talking, but I do my best to be rational and clear, to not become hysterical. When I’ve finished, I have to ask: ‘Do you believe me, Beth?’ Even to my own ears, my accusations make me sound delusional. I wipe away a tear, the first one I’ve cried tonight.
Beth leaves her chair and comes around the table, crouching in front of me. She puts her arms around my quivering body and whispers that everything’s going to be okay. That she’ll find out what’s going on and get to the truth. My mind is closing down. I’m so tired and so confused by everything that I can’t seem to latch onto any more coherent thoughts.
‘Louisa!’ My sister’s voice cuts through my woolly brain. ‘Louisa, snap out of it, and listen.’
I blink and try to refocus: I’m at the police station… they think I’ve killed Mike… Beth is here to help me. I almost want to laugh it’s so absurd. Am I dreaming?
‘Listen,’ she says, taking my hand. ‘I know you didn’t do this. There are no witnesses. You have no motive. And you, yourself, called the police. Okay?’
I nod. Mute.
‘It’s all good,’ she says. ‘And unless they get more evidence, I don’t think they’ll charge you, in which case they’ll have to release you today… or tomorrow at the latest.’
‘More evidence?’
‘Look, don’t freak out,’ she says, ‘but they’ve gone to search your house.’
‘What! Joe’s asleep! Jared’s going to go nuts.’
‘Jared won’t go nuts. He’ll let them in. You’ve got nothing to hide.’
‘But Joe—’
‘They’ll try their best not to disturb Joe. It’s not a dawn raid, Lou. They’ll be civilised. They’ll go in with minimum disruption.’
My fists are clenched, my teeth grind together and the blood whooshes in my head. This is all Darcy’s doing. She’s behind it, I know she is. ‘Don’t they need a search warrant?’ I say.
‘Not in situations like this,’ Beth replies.
‘Murder, you mean?’
She nods.
‘Jared will go mad, Beth. He’s already pissed off with me over all the Darcy stuff. This will tip him over the edge.’
‘Jared’s your husband and he loves you,’ Beth snaps. ‘He’ll support you, and if he doesn’t, I’ll cut his bollocks off.’
I smile despite myself.
