Page 27 of The Serial Killer's Sister
‘Kirsty’s my best friend. Get over it.’
‘Kirsty’s a sheep, Anna. She’s not special or unique.’ Henry’s glare focuses on Kirsty. ‘Look at her. She follows you around; copies you. It’s sad.’
Anna huffs and mutters under her breath. ‘That’s rich, coming from you.’
‘What did you say?’ Henry lunges at her, gripping her wrist.
‘I said,whatever.’ Anna snatches her hand away and takes the riddle out of her hoody. ‘I need to make a start on this.’ She unfolds it, her face intense as she reads it. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Henry laughs.
‘This one took me ages,’ he says, proudly. ‘You’ve got one hour from …’ He twists the dial on his watch, setting a timer. ‘Now,’ he says.
Anna lets out a sigh. She’s meant to be doing her homework, not faffing about with riddles. She’s about to tell Henry this, but when she looks back up, he’s already disappeared. She turns around and can’t see him, so she sneaks back towards the cedar tree.
‘Hey,’ Anna says as she approaches Kirsty. ‘I know what you’re going to say, but I’ve only got an hour and my mind is a blank.’
‘Fine. Right, bugger off, Dean,’ Kirsty says, shooing her brother away. ‘I’ll catch you later.’ Dean shakes his head, but does as he’s asked. Anna and Kirsty huddle together.
‘Thanks,’ Anna says. ‘I can’t risk him doing something bad if I don’t do it.’
‘He’s getting worse, mate,’ Kirsty says, her hand on Anna’s. ‘You’re encouraging him by playing along. He needs help.’
‘I know. But who’s going to step in to do that, eh? It’s always been just him and me. No matter how awful things are, he needs me.’
‘Until he doesn’t.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘One day, Anna, he’s going to go too far. And what’s that saying? We always hurt the ones we love the most?’ She shakes her head sadly, then turns her attention to the riddle. After a few silent minutes, they both slump down, leaning against the tree trunk.
‘Ugh,’ Kirsty says, lying down, staring up at the sky. ‘Not seeing it.’
‘Me neither.’ The paper is on Anna’s knees – she staresat it so intensely her head begins to ache. She throws it and it flutters in the air before coming to rest on the grass, then she lies down next to Kirsty. ‘Sorry for dragging you into this.’
‘So you should be.’
‘What were you and Dean talking about?’
Kirsty rolls her head towards Anna. ‘This and that,’ she says, shrugging.
‘My ears were burning,’ Anna says. ‘I know you think I’m pathetic.’
‘No, that’s not true.’ Kirsty sits up. ‘I’m just worried that you’re being sucked into his bloody delusions. You’re never going to escape him.’
Anna watches the clouds scudding across the sky, tears running down into her hair, a sense of defeat flooding her. Kirsty is right. She’s always right. Henry is wrong about her – she’s the only person shecantrust. They’re kindred spirits; know each other inside out. If it weren’t for Kirsty, her life wouldn’t be worth living.
‘Hang on. Hold the front page!’ Kirsty’s excited voice makes Anna bolt up.
‘What?’ Anna sees Kirsty has folded the paper in half. She points at the letter each new first word starts with.
‘He’s trying to be clever.’
And then Anna sees what she hadn’t before: the letters make another word.
Chapter 17
I remember. The riddle all those years ago had spelled out a clue only when it was viewed differently. I fold the paper in half and look at the words that are now first – ignoring the top line as it’s set apart from the rest of the riddle.
that’s cheated or lied.
