Page 72 of The Psychopath Next Door

‘What the hell?’

He tried to stand up, but she pointed the knife at him. ‘Stay there and listen to me. I didn’t have anything to do with your brat’s accident, even though I might wish I had.’ She spoke the lie with conviction. ‘You’re going to leave me alone. You’re going to stop asking questions about me. Otherwise I’m going to show the pictures and messages you sent me to your wife. Got it?’

‘You bitch. You drugged me!’

‘Shut up. Tell me you understand. Or I’ll go over there the moment she gets home and tell her how you’ve been harassing me. I’ll tell the whole neighbourhood about what a disgusting pervert you are. Everyone will also know that you’re so pathetic you can’t even get a proper hard-on when you send a dick pic.’

He seemed even more concerned about that than he did about the prospect of his wife finding out.

‘One more thing: you don’t say anything to Emma about seeing me with Ethan, all right?’

‘So are you shagging him?’

‘Shut up, and tell me you understand.’

‘I understand.’

‘Good. Now pull your undies up and get out.’

He did exactly as she asked, glancing at the knife one more time before getting up and rearranging himself.

‘I know what you’re thinking,’ she said. ‘You’re wondering how you can get my phone, delete the photos and messages. Well, they’re already backed up and I’ve sent everything to a friend. If anything happens to me, she’ll send everything to the police – and to Nicola.’

So that was it. Tommy’s threat had been eliminated – for now at least. She didn’t think he would let this go forever, especially if he didn’t believe her denials about her involvement in the accident. She might still have to do something about that.

For now, though, she had given herself breathing room.

‘We’re almost there,’ she said, as if Maisie were there in the room with her. ‘Just one to go.’

This was it. The final stages of the plan. And the person she needed to complete her plan – and move into the next stage of her life – would arrive home tomorrow.

25

I checked Rose’s room in the holiday cabin to make sure she was asleep, then looked in on Dylan. He was sitting up in bed, playing on his phone, headphones on. I gestured to ask him to lower them.

‘You okay?’ I asked.

‘I guess.’

‘Pretty dramatic today, huh?’

He shrugged.

‘Did you ... see anything? Between Rose and Henry, I mean? Before his accident.’

‘I just know that she hates him. Like she hates everyone at the moment.’

‘She doesn’t hate you.’

‘Huh.’ He was looking at his phone screen, rather than me. Avoiding eye contact. ‘She’s so angry with Mum. I think the only person she cares about right now is Fiona.’

I sighed. ‘I’m sure that’s not true. But ... you’re not a big fan of Fiona’s, are you? Why is that?’

He didn’t reply straight away. He fiddled with his phone, tapping at it, and I wondered if he was too distracted by his game to answer. But then he said, ‘There’s something sketchy about her. Like, when she doesn’t know you’re watching her, she changes.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I can’t explain it properly. But it’s like, all the emotion disappears from her face and she goes blank. Like, I dunno, a robot or something.’ He went a little pink as he said this, and I wondered if it was because, in order to make this observation, he must have spent a lot of time looking at her. ‘Also, the other day, when Rose got back from their day out in the countryside, I saw them outside whispering to each other before Rose came inside, like they had a big secret.’

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