‘It wasn’t like that,’ Angelica tried to reason. ‘Lulabelle was an accident.’
‘Is this why Dad was in such a strange mood when I came home? I fully expected to be grounded for being late. Instead, he hugs me like I’ve been missing for months.’
‘It’s just made him aware how precious his family is to him.’ Angelica gripped her daughter by the shoulders in a bid to calm her down. ‘This wasn’t about a feast. It was just a prank that went wrong.’
‘A prank.’ Without hesitating, Sasha swung around to face Ivan. ‘So, you killed her.’
‘Not on purpose,’ he said, shrugging at the same time. ‘It was meant for you.’
‘Oh, great!’ Sasha rolled her eyes and returned her attention to Angelica. ‘You know, since meeting Jack I’ve begun to feel like a normal, average teenager. It’s a first for me and I like it. Now, Jack certainly isn’t perfect, but he does manage to resist an urge to murder for the lols!’
‘Now that’s enough!’ Angelica pulled back and glared at her daughter. ‘As a family, we stick together. What happened was unfortunate, but your father has dealt with it. As a result of his efforts, there’s no evidence in this house that could link us to the death of Lulabelle Hart. So relax, Sasha. As far as you and Ivan are concerned, you can continue with your lives as normal.’
‘But, Mum,’ said Sasha. ‘We eat people. That’s not normal.’
‘Tastes good, though,’ Ivan pointed out, only to shrink from his mother’s attention.
Angelica let a moment pass before beginning again.
‘One single aspect of our lives is… different, and that difference is down to your dad. He’s just trying to give you the best start in life, as it was for him as a boy. Everything else marks us out as a typical family, and if we’re going to get through this without attracting attention then it’s vital that we all carry on just being ourselves.’
‘With the exception of Ivan,’ Sasha pointed out. ‘He’s out of control, Mum.’
‘Well, yes, your brother really ought to call a halt to the body count,’ agreed Angelica, ‘and then we all just need to move on. In fact, now would be a great time for your father to meet Jack.’
‘Please don’t bring him into this,’ said Sasha. ‘It won’t end well.’
‘It’s perfect,’ she insisted. ‘An everyday kind of event that happens in households with nothing to hide.’
‘Mum.’
‘You know he genuinely wants to meet this boy now,’ Angelica continued. ‘Inviting Jack just shows your father is keen to bring him into the fold.’
‘Better in than out, eh?’ said Ivan, who seemed very pleased not to be the centre of his mother’s attention now.
Sasha’s eyes opened wide before she blinked.
‘But he’s vegetarian,’ she said, and seemed prepared to spell it out for her if necessary.
‘We all have our faults,’ said Angelica, who had anticipated her eldest leaping to the wrong conclusion, ‘which is one more reason why your dad is keen to find out what you see in him.’
13
As a private investigator, Vernon English mostly picked up a newspaper to hide behind. Reading them didn’t interest him much. He liked the TV at the end of a long day, and maybe some talk radio on long stake-outs in the van. On this occasion, sitting at the window of a café that smelled of bacon and bleach, he found himself paying more attention to a small article on the page he’d opened at random than to the figure in the steak house across the street.
‘Lulabelle Hart,’ he said to himself, on reading of her demise, and then set the paper down for a clear view of the man he was here to observe. ‘I wonder what tipped her over the edge?’
Vernon was well aware that the model’s last assignment had been at the Savage house. He had retrieved a copy of the call sheet from the bin outside. According to the report in the paper, her behaviour that day had been described by some crew members as ‘tense’ and then ‘erratic’. Sadly, nobody present on the shoot had realised quite what turmoil the poor soul was in. According to the police and a source from the coroner’s office, this was just a tragic event. Ms Hart’s death was not being treated as suspicious.
Having read the article twice, Vernon tightened his gaze on the diner opposite. Titus Savage was just finishing a business lunch. His companion, the mole from the company Titus planned to take over, was doing a lot of talking. This came as no surprise to Vernon, given that Titus had earlier handed him a small fold of cash under the table. The private investigator had been quick to snap a picture, but there was something more going on with Titus Savage, and he was determined to find out what. Take his disappearance on the drive out following the shoot. Vernon still bitterly regretted pulling in for a bite to eat, but just where had Titus been heading? There was no sign of his 4x4 in the airport car park, and Vernon didn’t need to look at a map to know that a turn off before the motorway would’ve taken him towards the coast. Was Lulabelle’s death connected to the Savage family in some way? Now he could take what he knew to the police, or he could find out for himself. The private investigator washed down the last of his coffee, including the dregs, before tearing the article from the newspaper. This was a case he could handle on his own, he decided. Because if he could prove there was a link then not only would it kill the takeover bid, but Vernon English would secure his reputation at last and the offers of work would come flooding in.
Watching Titus ask for the bill, he found himself looking at this case in a different light. Through Vernon’s eyes, the man had just become his meal ticket to success.
That lunch break, Sasha joined her friends on the skate park ramp. It was the first time that they’d had a chance to talk since her date with Jack. Naturally, everyone wanted to know details.
‘Did you sleep with him?’ asked Faria, who was tapping away on her BlackBerry at the same time.
‘Obviously that would be a no,’ said Sasha, who had just been leaning back on her elbows, enjoying the midday sun on her face. She sat up and rested her arms on the safety rail. ‘I’m not saying never. If things work out then maybe.’
‘But he tried, right?’
‘He isn’t like that.’ Sasha examined her nails, in case the others caught her eye and saw right through her. ‘Not really.’
‘Right.’ Faria looked up from her BlackBerry, smiling to herself. ‘So he went to all that effort cooking just for a kiss on the cheek?’
‘It was more than that.’
‘How much more?’ asked Maisy, who had been listening closely. ‘Did you get to see his cucumber?’
‘That’s none of your business!’ Sasha tried hard to sound outraged.
‘Does that mean it was more of a marrow?’
Faria’s question was met by silence, but only for a moment.
‘Let’s just say I had to deal with a lot of vegetables that evening.’
This time, all three girls laughed together.
‘So, really, what was supper like?’ Faria asked. ‘Apart from light on the chicken.’
‘Good,’ said Sasha, and then caught her eye. ‘Healthy.’
‘You mean boring,’ said Faria, nodding to herself.
Sasha chuckled and looked to her lap.
‘How about the conversation?’ asked Maisy.
This time, Sasha failed to muster even a smile. Maisy and Faria glanced at one another and grinned.
‘That was boring, too?’ asked Faria. ‘Don’t say that, Sasha. Jack is a babe. You’re killing the dream.’
‘In your shoes,’ said Maisy playfully, ‘I wouldn’t be that interested in his mind.’
‘But I’m not like you,’ said Sasha, thinking at the same time what an understatement that was. ‘Look, I was flattered by the effort he made to cook for me. Jack is genuinely into his vegetarianism, too. I do admire him for that.’