Page 84 of The Best Friend
‘Your wife here was about to commit suicide,’ Darcy says.
‘What!’
‘But then you got all nosey and angry, so now it looks like she’ll be taking you and Joe with her. She’ll be driving off a cliff into a quarry tonight and you’ll all be going along for the ride.’
‘What the actual fuck are you talking about?’ Jared shouts.
‘You were supposed to leave,’ Darcy yells back, her composure ruffled. She takes a breath through gritted teeth and lowers her voice. ‘But you didn’t. So now I’m going to have to kill you. Or, more accurately, Callum here is going to kill you. And, to make it look authentic, I’m afraid Joe is going to be part of this family trip to the quarry.’
Jared is shaking his head. I’m starting to hyperventilate. Surely she’s not going to include Joe in her psychotic plan. Not my baby boy. I try to yell, try to break free, but it’s hopeless.
‘I don’t believe this,’ Jared murmurs. ‘Louisa was right about you all along. You’re mad! You’ve been targeting her, playing us all. Why didn’t I see it before?’
‘Because I didn’t want you to see it,’ she replies.
‘Why?’ he asks. ‘Why did you do it?’
‘Oh, I’m not going into all that again,’ she says. ‘I’ve already explained it once this evening. Callum, shut him up. Gag him or something.’
Callum starts to protest. ‘I haven’t got anything to—’
‘Use his frigging scarf or something.’ She puts a hand to her forehead as Callum quickly does as she asks.
Jared turns to look at me, a mixture of emotions in his eyes – anger, fear… an apology.
‘What did you mean?’ Callum asks, straightening up and turning to face his sister. ‘You said I have to kill them.’
‘Isn’t it obvious?’ she says. ‘You’re going to kill them all.’
‘No. Not the little boy,’ he says.
‘It will be better,’ she explains, ‘cleaner. More believable. And it will ruin her reputation even further if it looks like she’s killed her husband and son along with herself. No one forgives that sort of behaviour.’
‘I… I can’t, Nic. You’re the one who does the killing. I can’t do it. I always do the other stuff. I’m good at the other stuff.’
‘You have to man up, Callum,’ she says, her accent slipping. ‘Yes, it’s always me who does it. Now it’s your turn. I have too many other things to organise – planting Mike’s murder weapon, leaving the suicide note. Tying up all the loose ends. All you have to do is put on a pair of gloves, knock them out, put the car in first gear and send them off the edge of the cliff. Easy. Jared and Joe will be tied up anyway because she’ll be killing them against their will.’
‘No, I can’t.’
‘What do you mean, “no”?’ she spits. ‘Don’t tell me “no”!’
‘These are nice people. They’re not nasty. They never did anything bad to us. Not really. Especially not the little boy.’
Darcy shoves his chest with the heel of her hand. ‘You’re so pathetic,’ she sneers. ‘Always snivelling and moaning.I don’t want to do it, Nic. Do we have to, Nic?You’re weak. You’ve always been weak and stupid.’
‘And you’ve always been a bully,’ he replies softly. ‘Just like Mum.’
‘I’m nothing like Mum!’ she cries. ‘You take that back!’
‘No. Because it’s true.’
‘You ungrateful little shit.’ Darcy raises her fist like she’s going to punch him. She’s obviously not used to her brother talking back like this.
‘You always make me do things I don’t want to do,’ he says. ‘And I always do them. I never say no. But not this time.’ Callum takes something out of his coat pocket and holds it out in front of her. It’s a black and silver Swiss army knife. He flicks open the blade.
Darcy laughs and lowers her fist. ‘What are you going to do with that, Cal? Pick your nose with it?’
He ignores her and walks over to Jared.
