Page 50 of Perfect Wives
I stare at my phone. The group chat is still open, but the voice note is already gone. A heaviness builds in my chest that isn’t just fear. It’s confusion and frustration and a what-the-fuck? feeling that threatens to eat me alive.
Did she really think we were serious that night in the pub? We were just drunk and angry and venting into our wine glasses.
The police believe Jonny knew his killer, but that doesn’t make sense. Keira had no connection to Jonny. So if the police are closing in, then they’re chasing the wrong person. This isn’t just about Jonny anymore either. It’s about another man. And a murder she wants us to commit for her.
My fingers fly across my phone screen, thumbs stabbing furiously at the glass. A second later, I press send.
You can’t just decide to kill someone and expect us to do the same!
‘I’ll check on Beth,’ Tasha whispers, wiping her face. ‘I feel like she should be here for this.’
I barely register Tasha leaving the room as I stare at the screen. At the notification that appears telling me Keira is online. Keira is typing. The reply comes a minute later.
It’s a bit late to develop morals, Georgie! It’s simple. I did something for you, and now you do something for me. And if you don’t, I’ll send the recording I made to the detective along with some evidence I took from Jonny’s house. I’ll also make sure everyone at the school and in your pretty little Magnolia Close finds out.
I gasp, pushing my phone onto the counter, like physical distance will make her words any less sharp. This is exactly whatwe just talked about. The knowledge that it isn’t just the police we have to fear. It’s everyone in our lives. This community we’ve built for ourselves and our children.
A second later, another message from Keira lands.
Not sure Nate, Marc and Alistair will understand!
Before I can think of a reply, Beth and Tasha return to the kitchen. Beth looks paler than ever against the terracotta tiles and matching walls. I glance around the kitchen, taking in its homely vibe. Dried herbs. Jars neatly stacked with pulses and rice and pasta. Everything has a home.
Everywhere I look is a reminder of Beth’s determination. Even with the infertility and all those years of failure, she never gave up. She tried everything. New diets, new health kicks. I wish I could be happier for her about the pregnancy, but with Jonny’s murder and now this…we’re all scrambling.
‘So Keira is saying we have to kill her ex tonight?’ Tasha says, voice trembling. ‘And if we don’t?—’
‘She’s going to make sure everyone thinks we killed Jonny,’ I finish, sharper than I mean to be, but there’s no time for Tasha’s tears right now. ‘The police and our husbands. Everyone.’
Tasha sniffs, trying to gather herself. ‘She never once mentioned us wanting to kill her ex. How can she think we’d do this?’
‘Tasha, we don’t have a choice,’ I reply. ‘And she knows it. There’s a recording of us talking about killing Jonny. Even if the police see past it, no one else will. Once that’s out, who’s going to believe we didn’t do it?’
It feels like the world is collapsing in on us, brick by brick.
Beth is quiet. She’s deathly pale, sipping a glass of water. Tasha stares at the floor. My own panic claws beneath thesurface. I press my thumb to the bone of my wrist, grounding myself the way I always do when the world spins too fast.
I will not let my fear control me.
That’s the mantra. That’s the rule. But even as I repeat it, something inside me cracks. I don’t know how to fix this. I always know how to fix things. I talk my way out of trouble, smile my way through it, reinvent myself when I need to. But this time? There’s no spin. No way out. Only a choice that doesn’t feel like a choice at all.
I have a flash of memory of Jonny the evening of the quiz, when he caught me on my way to the school.
‘I had a little dig through my boxes the other day,’ he said, stepping too close. The overwhelming scent of his aftershave and the whisky on this breath hit me like a wall. ‘A trip down memory lane and all that.’
I managed to sigh like I was bored. ‘What do you want, Jonny?’ I asked.
He grinned. ‘What I’ve always wanted, Georgie. You,’ he said simply. ‘If you want me to keep my mouth shut about your past to Nate and all of your precious friends, then you need to give me something.’ He winked, making it clear what that something was.
‘How is your marriage right now, Georgie? Think it can withstand Nate learning the truth?’ he asked before moving back to his car, throwing his final comment casually over his shoulder. ‘I’ve been patient for long enough. I want an answer tomorrow.’
Except there was no tomorrow. Because Jonny was murdered just hours later. And Keira has the recording of us planning it. And if Nate hears it, hears the hate in my voice, the fantasy of Jonny’s death falling from my lips, he’ll start digging. He’ll connect the dots I’ve tried so hard to keep hidden. He won’t stop until he knows everything. And when he does, he’ll leaveme. And he’ll fight for full custody of Oscar. He’ll use my past to claim I’m an unfit mother.
I’ll lose everything.
Power comes from action. You have the power. Take the action.
‘Georgie,’ Tasha whispers, ‘you’re not seriously suggesting we actually do this?’
