Page 91 of The Psychopath Next Door

He wasn’t smiling. ‘I need to talk to you. I’ve been texting and calling you but you didn’t answer, so I came here.’

My phone was charging in the back office. ‘What is it?’

A customer was watching us, which made Dylan say, ‘Can we go somewhere quieter?’

‘Of course.’

I led him into the back room. What was going on? Dylan had never come into the shop like this before. I could hardly remember ever seeing him look so agitated.

He ran his hands through his hair. ‘The estate is full of cops, parked outside Iris’s house. I went over to try to see what’s going on but the police are making everyone stay away. They’ve strung up crime scene tape all around the house. All the neighbours are going crazy and I heard one guy say that Iris had been murdered.’

It didn’t sink in for a second. ‘Murdered?’

‘Yeah. He said he’d spoken to one of the cops and they’d told him it looked like a burglary, but Iris must have disturbed them and they ... they killed her.’

‘She can’t be dead.’ What he was saying didn’t make sense. ‘She’s meant to be in Canada.’

Dylan opened his mouth to say something but I interrupted him.

‘Where’s your mum? Why have you come here on your own?’

‘If you’d read the texts I sent you ... She and Rose have gone out.’

‘Gone out? Where?’

‘I don’t know!’ He was raking his fingers almost maniacally through his hair now. I wanted to grab his wrists, make him stop. ‘You’re not allowing me to speak.’

‘Okay. I’m sorry. Go ahead.’

Iris.Murdered?It still wouldn’t sink in. I’d stood with her in her house less than twenty-four hours ago. She was meant to be on a plane.

Dylan sat down in a chair that was surrounded by piles of boxes, gathering himself before he spoke. He looked like someone who was about to confess some terrible crime.

‘Last night, when you were out, I was in my room chatting with Keira on Discord, and I don’t know what Fiona and Rose were doing but at about ten someone knocked on the front door. I was going to go down but Rose answered it. I could hear her talking to someone. A woman. Ten minutes after that, I heard the front door close again and ... You know how you can tell when you’re suddenly on your own?’

‘I do.’

‘Well, it was like that. I went into your room and peeked out and I saw them.’

He stopped.

‘Who?’ I asked.

‘Rose and Fiona. They were outside Iris’s house. Fiona was kind of standing to the side, like she was planning to jump out and say “Boo!” – and when Iris opened the door, that’s exactly what she did.’

‘She jumped out and said boo?’

He huffed. ‘I couldn’thearher, and it was too dark and too far across the street for me to see Iris’s face, but I got the impression she was freaked out. And then they all went inside.’

‘And then what happened?’

‘I don’t know. Keira was messaging, asking where I was, so I went back to talk to her and got distracted. A bit later I realised I wasn’t on my own anymore, that Rose and Fiona were back in the house. And I didn’t think anything more about it until all the police turned up this morning.’ He blinked at me. ‘Dad, you don’t think ...’

‘That Fiona and Rose had something to do with Iris’s death? Of course not. Rose? Don’t be silly.’

‘But . . .’

I waited.

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