Page 75 of You Lied First
‘And burying her body and going on the run wasn’t? What planet are you even on?’
‘I can’t believe you did that!’ Liv says to her mum. ‘What about “Sara says”? Where was she? On holiday, too?’
Sara’s wiping tears from her eyes. ‘Livvie … I …’
‘The only thing we did wrong was not calling the police,’ Guy says. ‘That’s the only “crime” – if you want to call it that – we committed. Let’s not forget we didn’t kill her. We just pretended we weren’t there. It was an omission, not a lie.’
‘Her family. You hid it from them,’ Liv says shaking her head. ‘All this time.’
Guy shrugs. ‘Unfortunate, I know, but we had no choice. Now – what’s been said here tonight isn’t leaving this room. Okay? You discuss this with no one. You tell no one. This is our secret and it remains with us. Now that she’s been found dead, we’ll all be in even more trouble than we would have been when we were in Oman. And, to be clear, I’m talking about life in jail. Understood?’
Liv and Flynn look at each other, weighing up whether or not they can keep such a huge thing quiet. Whether they even want to.
‘How do we know what you’re telling us is true?’ Flynn says. ‘I’m not sure I believe you. You covered it up. You didn’t tell us. What else are you hiding? What are you capable of?’
‘You know everything now, I promise,’ Margot says.
‘Do we, though?’ Flynn puts his finger to his lip as if thinking. ‘You sure about that?’
And that jogs Margot’s mind. She stiffens as she remembers something. A detail that could be critical: the night-vision trail camera that Guy had bought her for Christmas. She’d taken it with them to the desert and she’d set it up herself. It must have got bundled up with the camping equipment when she and Sara were shoving everything into the car. But she hasn’t seen it since. Had Guy found it when he’d taken the stuff back to Tom and Di? Was he hiding it because it showed something he didn’t want the others to see?
59
SARA
After the Forrests leave, I try to put my arm around Liv but she moves away.
‘Livvie, you have to understand what happened. It wasn’t my choice.’
‘“You can’t choose what happens to you, but you can choose how you react.” You’re always telling me that. So much for “Sara says”,’ Liv throws herself onto the sofa. ‘“Trust your gut.” “Do the right thing.” Do you actually believe in any of that stuff? Who are you, Mum? I thought you’d changed. After all that happened; all that we went through – your court case, me moving schools. I was just starting to believe that you really had changed. That you’d learned your lesson. And now look.’
The bitter tone of her voice makes my chest ache. I don’t know how to put this right.
‘I thought you believed in doing the right thing,’ she says.
‘I do believe in doing the right thing … but sometimes it’s complicated. Sometimes the right thing is simply to protect your child.’
‘Complicated as in: our friend’s died. Shall we call the police? No, let’s just bury her and let her parents search for herfor weeks! It’s not that complicated, Mother! Don’t throw it on me. I didn’t ask you to do anything.’
‘It was the Forrests!’ I cry. ‘They were the ones who said we couldn’t call the police. I said we should.’
‘Yet you didn’t.’
‘Liv! Listen to me! Remember how you came back from your walk on the dunes and Guy told you breakfast wasn’t ready? It was because I wanted to call the police! They needed more time to persuade me to shut up. They told me we’dallgo to jail. You too! Guy was very forceful about it. I believed them. They’d lived there before. They knew what could happen. But, mainly, I was thinking of you. You have your whole life ahead of you. I didn’t want you locked up in jail in a foreign country. All I ever do is try to protect you.’
‘Well, maybe it’s time you stop trying to protect me and started acting with a conscience! You buried her and left her there!’ Liv sobs. ‘I can’t believe you did that!’
‘We didn’t have a choice! And, just so you know, every day since, I’ve regretted it. I feel terrible for Celine’s family. Dreadful.’
Liv gets herself a glass of water then gives me a withering look as she passes me in the hallway.
‘Well, I’m going to bed and I’m going to think about what I’m going to do, now I know that we’re all wanted in connection with a dead body. I’m very sorry that you, age forty-eight, couldn’t make a decent judgement call for yourself. Sleep well,Sara. Sleep well, knowing you were too weak to stand up to your friends!’
She stalks out of the room, leaving me on the sofa in myevening dress with my head in my hands, my make-up down my face and my nerves shattered. The worst thing is, she’s right. I’ve made a terrible mistake – but now we’re all in so deep I’m not sure there’s any way out.
60
MARGOT
