Outside the Savage residence, as stars began to prick the sky, Jack Greenway pressed the doorbell and then took a step back. He glanced over his shoulder. Across the street, standing in the park, the young woman he had come here to impress watched intently.
Man, he thought to himself, Amanda was sex on legs. It was a shame she had a screw loose, but he could live with that. All he had to do was spend a few minutes inside the house. So long as he left in a hurry, it would be easy to convince her that he had murdered a meat eater. Just to be sure, he had picked up a vial of fake blood from the joke section of the local toy store. On leaving, he’d dip behind Mr Savage’s 4x4 and flick it over his chinos or something. It would be enough to convince Amanda that he had carried out her wishes. He’d also have to ditch his trousers, which Jack hoped would happen in her company.
‘See you on the other side,’ he said quietly, and offered her a wave.
Amanda responded with a scowl, having ordered him not to draw attention to her, and faced the other way. Jack turned back to the door. The Savages were definitely at home. He’d heard some activity inside before ringing, only now it had gone silent. He reached for the doorbell again. Before he could press it, however, the front door opened up.
‘You again?’ It was Ivan. Sasha’s kid brother. Immediately Jack remembered the stunt the boy had pulled with the camomile tea and reminded himself that he wasn’t here for payback. He forced a cheery smile. Ivan responded by flattening his lips. ‘We’re busy,’ he said, and moved to close the door.
Jack responded by placing his foot in the boy’s way.
‘I have something for Sasha,’ he said, and produced her earring. ‘She left it in my car the other day.’
For a second time, Ivan tried to close the door. He did so with such force that Jack was moved to push back to stop his foot from being crushed. At the same time, he heard urgent whispers from the kitchen.
‘She isn’t here,’ said Ivan, glaring at him. ‘I’m home alone.’
All of a sudden, Jack began to worry that his simple plan was falling apart. He only needed a very short time inside the house, only now he couldn’t get beyond the threshold. Mindful that Amanda would be watching from a distance, Jack took it upon himself to barge past Ivan and into the hallway.
‘Look, I know you have a special meal on this evening,’ said Jack pleadingly, and clicked the door shut. ‘This really won’t take a moment.’
‘But you can’t—’
Before Ivan could protest further, Jack turned and hurried into the kitchen. There, he found Sasha helping her mother at the counter while her grandfather played with little Katya in the high chair.
‘Jack!’ Sasha sounded a little tense as she turned to greet him. ‘What a surprise.’
‘I hope I’m not interrupting,’ he said, and opened his palm to show her the earring. ‘I just wanted to return this.’
‘Oh, thanks.’ Sasha snatched it from his hand. She looked at him expectantly. ‘Bye, then.’
So far, Jack calculated that he had been inside the house for all of thirty seconds. It wouldn’t be enough to convince Amanda. He needed several more minutes at least.
‘So,’ he said. ‘You’re entertaining?’
‘Any time now,’ she told him, nodding.
Jack looked over Sasha’s shoulder. He found her mother and grandfather looking at him nervously.
‘Impressive spread,’ he said, and nodded at the side dishes on the counter. ‘What’s on the menu?’
Sasha looked lost for words, which Jack found curious. She turned to Oleg, as if seeking some kind of prompt, who in turn faced Angelica.
‘It’s a surprise,’ she said weakly.
Her explanation hung in the air. Jack looked back at Sasha, and wondered if she was about to be sick. It was then that she glanced around him, just for a moment, but with such tension in her manner that Jack couldn’t resist turning to look for himself.
It wasn’t the fact that Titus Savage was hiding behind the kitchen door that persuaded Jack to yelp in shock and horror. It was the bald and battered figure swaddled in kitchen foil. The one Titus was struggling to restrain with one hand clamped across the man’s mouth.
‘Well, hello again, young man!’ said Titus, as if this was just a regular get-together, only to grimace in pain as the bald guy chomped into his fingers. With a roar, he released his grip to nurse his hand.
‘Don’t let them eat me!’ cried Vernon, and threw himself upon Jack. All of a sudden, the stunned young man found himself smothered and pinned to the butcher’s block. ‘I don’t want to be dinner!’
‘Get off me!’ cried Jack, and tried in vain to push him away. ‘You’re freaks! All of you!’
‘Hey!’ growled Ivan, who had been watching from the hallway. ‘This is our house. Have some respect!’
From underneath Vernon, who had him in a desperate bear hug, Jack glared at Sasha. ‘I always thought there was something weird about you and your family!’ he snarled, his face contorted with shock and anger. ‘Now I know I was right!’
Sasha had been trying in vain to haul Vernon off her ex-boyfriend. When she heard this, however, she let go and took a step away.
‘I really thought I’d lucked out when you first showed an interest in me, Jack. You’re at the top of every girl’s list. You’re good looking—’
‘Thanks,’ Jack said through gritted teeth, still fighting to push the man off him.
Sasha glared at him for interrupting, amazed at the same time that he would even acknowledge her under the circumstances, and then continued with what she had to say.
‘Above all, I admired the fact that you called all the shots about the food you eat. That really sold you to me, but then the whole preaching thing kicked in. It might leave you with a clear conscience, Jack, but no meat-free diet can disguise the fact you’re full of crap.’
‘Got to hell,’ snarled Jack, still pinned to the block. ‘And take this lunatic with you!’
Sasha turned to her father.
‘Jack dumped me for a vegan,’ she told him. ‘Only he never had the courage to be upfront about it.’
‘Is that true?’ Titus focused on Jack, seemingly unconcerned by the gibbering weight on top of him. By now, Vernon had clamped his hands around Jack’s wrists. Nose to nose, he was pleading with him incomprehensibly. ‘You ditched my daughter for a… for a herbivore?’
‘Someone has to think of their figure!’ Once again, Jack attempted to push the sobbing madman away. It was then he remembered that the girl who had seduced him into coming here was watching from the park. ‘Amanda, call the police!’ he bellowed at the top of his voice, hoping she’d be within earshot. Immediately, Angelica rushed to close the French windows to seal in the noise. ‘Call the police, Amanda!’
With one almighty heave, Jack finally succeeded in pushing Vernon aside. The private investigator stumbled backwards, regained his footing and looked around as if expecting another assault. For a moment, nobody moved. Then a noise built in Vernon’s throat. At first, it sounded like a whimper, but slowly grew into a growl and finally a battle cry. Then, without further warning, he scrambled over the kitchen table and charged for the French windows. He was out on the patio before the first shard hit the floor, only to stumble and crash onto his belly. With a thud, the crown of Vernon’s shaved head hit a pottery plant pot.
‘Let him go,’ muttered Titus. ‘The man deserves some breaks in life.’
Hearing this, Angelica faced her husband. He nodded in response, as if some unspoken exchange between them had just determined the fate of the family. It was then that all eyes turned to Jack. This time, every single member of the Savage household, including baby Kat, stared at him balefully.