Page 54 of The Black Trilogy

“It was easier than I ever dreamed. I just told George I saw her walloping Samara, and the gullible old fool believed me.”

Luke recalled his recent visit to the vet. The way Ash had stepped in to stop that teenager from hitting her horse, he couldn’t imagine Ash hurting an animal herself.

“So you lied, and Ash lost her job?”

“Well, yeah. But something like that was bound to happen sooner or later. Everyone knows she’s psycho. Arabella heard from Bethany at school that she got done for assault on her ex-husband. She might even have escaped from prison. Nobody’s quite sure.”

“You’ve got no idea what you’re saying,” Luke said, his chest tight.

“Yes, I do. You should be thanking me. I saw her here at the weekend, standing in the kitchen like she owned the place. She’d soon have stuck her claws into you and taken all your money.”

“You saw her? I didn’t even know you were here.”

“Well, I didn’t come in, obviously, not after I looked through the window. I didn’t want to walk in on the two of you naked.”

“That’s not why she was here.”

“Oh, please. I’m sixteen, not stupid. She was wearing your underwear for goodness’ sake.” Tia’s voice rose an octave. Ouch.

“You don’t know her. She’s not interested in my money,” Luke said, teeth gritted.

More than ever before, he felt the urge to throttle his sister.

“Of course she is. She works on a farm. She earns less in a week than I spend on manicures.”

“So? That doesn’t make her a bad person. Wait a second—how much do you spend on manicures?”

“I’m not going to a cheap place. The polish chips too easily, and it’s a false economy. Anyway, Ash is a nasty cow. She even told you I’d been taking drugs. Then you told school, and I got called in to see the counsellor. Do you realise how embarrassing that was?”

Luke resisted the urge to cover his ears. Tia’s voice was so high, he half expected the neighbourhood’s dogs to come running.

“Well you had been taking drugs, hadn’t you?”

“That’s not the point.” Tia came back with impeccable women’s logic.

Luke knew he’d never win that argument, and he wasn’t going to waste time trying. No, he had something more important to do: find Ash.

He turned his back on his sister and tried calling. Voicemail. Flipping voicemail. He cursed under his breath before the beep.

“It’s Luke. Can you call me? Urgently?” He rattled off his number again, just in case, then grabbed his car keys. He’d deal with his sister later.

The Porsche slewed to a halt in front of Ash’s place, leaving a line of black rubber. Luke leapt out and hammered on the door. Nothing. The trailer was in darkness, and nothing stirred inside She’d left already, hadn’t she?

Next door, the curtain twitched. By the time Susie answered his hasty knock, she’d had time to cover herself in perfume and put on some lipstick. The cloud of scent that wafted out made Luke cough.

“Luke, what a nice surprise! Would you like a cappuccino?” She twirled her hair around one finger and stuck out her chest.

Couldn’t a girl have a normal conversation with him, just for once?

“Save it, Susie. I need to find Ash. Do you know where she went?”

Susie’s face fell, and now he felt guilty. He’d get Blanche to send a box of chocolates or something.

“I’ve got no idea. George sacked her over some ridiculous story about hitting a horse, but I don’t know what happened after that.”

“Does she have any friends around here?”

“No, I don’t think so. She stayed with Carol in Melrose for a while, but she seemed glad to get out of there. She reckoned Carol bugged her room.” Susie paused, still twirling. “She can’t drive, so she must have walked or gone by public transport. Cabs are pricey, and George pays a pittance. Maybe the bus? Or a train? That would be faster.”

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