Page 46 of The Psychopath Next Door

Rose fidgeted and shifted her position on the rug. Then, finally, she admitted it: ‘I guess I felt ... curious? Wondering why it had happened? Once I realised it was because of his allergy, I didn’t understand it. You told me there weren’t any nuts in our cookies.’

Fiona had expected all this. Numbness. A lack of empathy. Cold, scientific curiosity overwhelming emotion. But it was still too early to tell Rose everything.

‘I know. I didn’t understand it at first either. But here’s the thing: I told you a little lie.’

‘A lie?’

‘Yes. Those cookies. I didn’t make them. I bought them from a bakery. I was feeling too lazy to bake and, well, I didn’t want you to know that. I brought them home from the bakery and rubbed chilies on them, for the prank, thinking it would be enough, but I guess it must have come off in the bag or I didn’t put enough on ... I don’t know.’

Fiona glanced up at Rose. Was she buying this? She didn’t want her to believe it entirely. She wanted her to figure it out herself – with Fiona still having plausible deniability, just in case Rose didn’t react the way Fiona thought she would.

‘So ... there were nuts in the cookies you bought?’

‘There must have been. Or maybe they’d just been baked in a kitchen where there were nuts around. It only takes a tiny amount. Thank God I didn’t eat any myself, eh?’

Rose furrowed her brow. Fiona could see her struggling, trying to figure out whether to believe this. She would be asking herself,Why would Fiona lie?Because if Fiona was lying, didn’t that mean she had intended to kill Max?

Fiona needed that to remain a question in Rose’s mind.

‘The problem,’ Fiona said, ‘is that if anyone knows that we gave Max that cookie, we’re going to get asked a lot of questions. Difficult questions.’

‘Like ... they might think we did it on purpose?’

‘Exactly. The police might not believe it was supposed to be a harmless prank. I’ll get into a lot of trouble.’ She flicked her eyes towards Rose. ‘We’ll both get into a lot of trouble.’

‘Me?’

‘I’m afraid so. I mean, it was you who actually gave him the cookie that killed him.’

Now Rose looked scared. She didn’t seem to care that Max was dead. But she clearly did care about getting the blame for it.

‘It’s okay, though,’ Fiona said. ‘Nobody saw us with the cookies. You just need to be careful not to tell your mum and dad. Because even if they say it was all my fault ... well, even in the best-case scenario – where I don’t get charged with murder or manslaughter – they won’t let us see each other again.’

Rose had gone pale. ‘That would be the worst thing ever.’

‘I agree.’

They sat in silence, listening to Karma purring from her bed in the corner.

‘So whatever you do, don’t tell anyone we gave Max those cookies, okay? Promise?’

Rose nodded, then spoke very softly. ‘I promise.’

She opened the door to Ethan. It was still bright outside, pink-tinged clouds stretching languorously towards the horizon. It was the first time she had seen him since the barbecue, forcing herself to flirt with him that evening when she would rather have pushed his face on to the hot grill.

She conjured a smile from her repertoire.

‘Hi Ethan.’

He cleared his throat. ‘Can I have a word?’

‘I was about to get in the shower,’ she said, letting the words linger, noticing how his eyes strayed to the open neck of her robe. Her clavicle. A hint of cleavage. So predictable and easy. ‘Is it urgent?’

He tore his eyes from her flesh. ‘It’s kind of urgent, if you don’t mind.’

‘Of course.’

She gestured for him to follow her inside, taking him into the kitchen.

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