Page 107 of My Killer Blind Date

I glance at Brooke, who’s gone still again. Her eyes are rolling back in her head. For the first time, I notice the nearby easel with color blocking in yellows and blacks and the vague human figure starting to take shape at the center – Brooke’s portrait. Incomplete. The only reason she’s still alive.

I try to keep my voice calm as the horrifying vision unfolds of what Zoe was up to while we were living together, as she skipped out in the morning to go about her day.

‘So you kidnapped Kayleigh, brought her to Devin’s house and made her sit.’

‘It took a couple weeks to complete,’ says Zoe, letting her gaze drift away from mine, as if she’s seeing things I can’t. Her expression hardens. ‘She was so impatient. So much whining. It’s not like I didn’t feed her! But even after I’d painted her to the best of my ability, I knew there was still something missing. Some essence I couldn’t grasp. Some vital energy, that spark that would guarantee it was my breakout …’

I don’t speak. I couldn’t even if I tried.

‘I thought maybe I’d mix some of her blood with the paint. But then it hit me – ashes would be perfect to add dimensionality, that something extra. I didn’t need a lot of ashes, just enough so the texture would really help it all come alive. I couldn’t let Kayleigh go at that point anyway. She’d turn me in. So I killed her and chopped off her foot.’

‘Why her foot?’ I whisper.

She smiles with her lips but not her eyes. ‘Easy to slip into work with. It fit in my purse. But it felt symbolic too. Kayleigh had all this religious shit on her socials. There was this verse she posted that caught my eye … Something about “how beautiful are the feet of him that brings good news.” She did the opposite. She brought hatred with her. So it seemed poetic. Deedee taught me how to use the retorts, and I was right. The painting was magnificent. I knew this was finally it.’ Her lips are no longer smiling. Her eyes are glossy, though no more tears fall. ‘The problem was, now there were people looking for her. So we had to keep her body in Deedee’s deep freezer until the police lost interest.’

‘Zoe—’ I gasp, because it’s too horrible, but she’s not done.

‘That would have been it. I swear. But the gallery loved the first one. They wanted more.’ Her face glows with a strange radiance. ‘Three more. A series of four. It was the biggest opportunity I’d ever been given.’

Oh, God. No. Simon … if he’d known what he did, asking for more …

‘Then I met Crystal.’ Zoe licks her cracked lips again. ‘I knew right away she was perfect for my second subject. The way she described the submissive lifestyle—’ Her mouth curls. ‘She deserved to be silenced. It’s what she wanted anyway, deep down.’

I feel sick with compassion. Sick with revulsion. Tears pour out of me, hot tears that burn my skin. I want to make it better. But it’s too late.

‘Why are you crying?’ asks Zoe, as if noticing me for the first time in a while.

‘Because you killed them,’ I repeat in a ragged sob. ‘Because you’re not who I thought you were.’

‘Haven’t you listened to anything I’ve just said?’ Zoe implores. ‘Margot, they were traitors! Turncoats! They were anti-woman! Anti-us!’ She shifts her weight between the crutches. ‘Yes, I killed them. I did it for me. I did it to create the most meaningful, impactful art I’ve ever made. But, Margot, I did it for you too. And for women. If we’re ever going to rise up against the patriarchy, we need a sisterhood of allies, OK? And if you’re not an ally, you’re not just complicit. You’re the enemy. You have to understand!’

‘No!’ I cry. ‘Can’t you see how fucked up this is? You’re murdering women just because they’re different from you! Zoe, that’s controlling! You’re doing the exact thing you hate! We have to have the space to – to – fucking try different things! To be ourselves! Even to be wrong!’

Zoe’s eyes are spitting fire. ‘You know what’s becoming obvious to me right now? Your fucking privilege, Margot. You have no idea what oppression truly tastes like.’

I release a bitter laugh. ‘And you do? Oh my God, your view of yourself as some kind of victim of the world is so screwed up! You had it all, and you can’t even see it!’

Brooke groans again. Time is ticking.

‘What did you do to her and Liam?’ I say, crouching by Brooke and touching her forehead. It’s alarmingly cool. I have to get us out of here, away from Zoe.

‘Just a sedative. I still need her. Her portrait isn’t done. It’s called Bread. It’s going to be incredible when I’m finished. But I will have to kill Liam. Now that he knows.’

‘Zoe!’ I stand back up. ‘No! You can’t do that! He’s a good person. You have to let me take him and Brooke to the hospital. Now.’

‘They know too much.’ Her lip trembles, her expression turns pitiful and she sags on her crutches. ‘I’d go to prison. And I can’t – I can’t be caged, Margot. I can’t let them put me away. I can’t risk it.’

‘How did you think this was going to end?’ A sudden, hot anger rolls over me. ‘What was your big plan? To keep killing people while you hide out in Devin’s house forever? What kind of a life is this?’

‘I just wanted to complete the series,’ she pleads. ‘This is all your fault! I never wanted to hide out here – or anywhere. But I had to, when I realized you were on to me.’ She smiles suddenly. ‘But hiding out here has turned out to be the best thing that could’ve happened to me, because I was right, Margot. My pieces are getting a ton of attention. I had Devin drop them at the gallery. Have you heard there’s a bidding war?’

‘I wasn’t onto you, Zoe. How could I ever have imagined you’d do this?’

She ignores me. ‘I’m going to use the art money to buy a new identity and start over. I like the name Hillary. That’s nice, isn’t it? Hillary Mueller, or maybe Hillary Hodge. What do you think?’

She’s talking like this is all so rational, but it’s not. She’s tipped over the edge and there’s nothing I can do to pull her back.

‘You have to let me leave,’ I say, trying to make my voice sound calm and in control. Also, I need to get my stun gun ready. My purse is still slung over my body. Discreetly, I slip my hand inside. ‘Let me walk away with Brooke and Liam.’