Page 74 of Perfect Wives
‘Then why are you here, Tasha? Because you told me not two hours ago that you killed Jonny Wilson.’
‘I… I lied.’
‘You lied about leaving the quiz that night, and now you’re lying about killing Jonny.’
‘Yes. I mean, no.’ I scrunch my eyes shut. I can’t think straight. My chest cracks open. The sob rips through me before I can stop it. ‘It wasn’t me. It wasn’t any of us,’ I cry. ‘We didn’t kill Jonny. We’re only here because the real murderer forced us to confess. She has our children. She said we’d never see them again if we didn’t do exactly what she said.’
In the silence that follows, the only sound is my heaving breath.
Sató’s eyes narrow. She still doesn’t believe me. ‘OK, Tasha, who forced you to come here today?’
‘A woman named Keira Philips. She manipulated and blackmailed us. All of this – the murder, the confessions, it’s her.’
I’m changing the plans I made with Georgie and Beth, messing everything up, but right now I can’t think past needing to see my girls. Why didn’t we walk into this police station earlier and tell Sató the truth? How would Keira have known what we were saying to her? These questions seem so obvious now, but I was so swept up in the messages from Keira and scared for my girls, I didn’t stop to question the plan we made.
But getting to my girls – making sure they’re safe – that’s all that matters now.
The words spill out. I tell Sató everything. Everything since Keira’s sudden appearance.
‘We never thought it was real. Until she sent us the evidence. The top…’ I swallow. My throat hurts. Head pounds. This is themoment. I have to make her see. ‘And my dad’s prescription sleeping pills. She must’ve taken them from my bag that night. I don’t know how she got it, but she had a key to Jonny’s house too.
‘She wanted us to kill her ex. And when we refused, she…she…threatened our families.’ I can’t speak the words fast enough. They tumble out, and I’m not even sure how much sense I’m making. It all seems so unbelievable. ‘We went to do it, but we couldn’t go through with it. But it was never about her ex anyway. Keira knew Jonny too. We think she wanted him dead. There’s a photo of the two of them together. Georgie has it. Ask her. Talk to the others. She…made us come here today to confess to Jonny’s murder. She has our children. You have to help us. Please,’ I whisper, praying I’ve said enough, praying she believes me when I was so certain earlier she wouldn’t. ‘Help us. Help our children.’
But when I look up, Sató’s mouth is a firm line. Her eyes locked on mine.
‘And I’m supposed to believe you now? After all the lies you’ve admitted you’ve told me?’
‘We had no choice. She has our children.’
The room closes in. My vision blurs.
Beth said this plan would protect us. She said the police couldn’t charge us if we all confessed separately. But she was wrong. This isn’t the way out at all. All we’ve done is make everything worse. So much worse.
THIRTY-NINE
BETH
INTERVIEW ROOM 3
Time is dragging. My thoughts zigzag between Henry and Oscar and Matilda and Sofia, and everything that’s happened over the past few weeks. Like a pinball rolling into the drain, my thoughts find their way back to Jonny every time, and that day in London when he found me outside the fertility clinic.
I was a mess. Tearful and broken. I went to the clinic to discuss a sperm donor. I felt awful about betraying Alistair, but what other choice did I have? I love him. He’s scatty and forgetful, but so kind. So generous. There is nothing he wouldn’t do for me or our family. How could I not do the same?
Alistair’s sperm count was low, and my age was against us. A donor was a betrayal, yes, but one born out of love and devotion. But the costs were so high and our savings were gone from so many rounds of IVF, and the interest rates on the mortgage had gone up, and we were already counting every penny. There was no way I could afford it.
My heart broke that day as I left the clinic. I’d found a solution, but there was no way to make it happen. I was at rock bottom that day. Barely able to stand. Jonny must have seen ittoo because he was surprisingly kind to me, whisking me into the nearest pub, buying me a drink, and listening to me as I broke down.
‘Let me help,’ he said, and I lifted my head in surprise, blinking back my tears.
‘You’d lend me the money for the donor?’ I asked, allowing the hope to shield me from the alarm ringing in my head, telling me this was Jonny – my rude, awful neighbour. All I saw was a solution.
The door to the interview room flies open so fast, I jump, cheeks flaming, the rock of guilt lodged so tight, it feels like my lies are written across my face. The second Sató steps into the interview room, I know something has changed.
Her movements are less composed. She looks like someone who’s just been given information that’s knocked her off balance and hasn’t figured out how to steady herself yet.
‘Tell me about Keira Philips,’ she says.
No preamble. Just the name, dropped like a hammer.
