Page 72 of Perfect Wives
Go to the police station and confess to Jonny’s murder. Convince the detective you’re all guilty. All of you. You had your chance to kill my ex and you failed. Now you’ll take the blame for this before the police link me to Jonny.
If you do this, I’ll return your children to Alistair and they’ll come to no harm.
‘Oh God,’ Tasha whispers. She crouches down, head by her knees, tears running down her face. ‘This isn’t happening…Oh God, oh God.’
‘Tasha.’ Beth’s voice is cutting in a way I’ve never heard before. Tasha straightens in an instant. ‘You need to keep it together.’
Tasha wipes her face and nods. ‘I’m sorry. I just don’t understand what she’s asking. She’s saying we?—’
Beth cuts her off. ‘Alistair has just messaged. He’s knocked on Keira’s door, but there’s no one home. He’s trying the park.’
‘She’s hiding them somewhere,’ I hiss, fighting back the burn of tears.
‘What do we do?’ Tasha cries.
I take a breath. ‘Be fearless,’ I whisper.
‘What?’ Tasha asks.
‘We do what she’s asking,’ I say. ‘What other choice is there? She has our children. She isn’t just threatening anymore. She’s actually doing this.’
‘So we go to the police and we confess to murder,’ Tasha replies, still breathing hard. ‘And then what? We rot in prison for the rest of our lives?’
‘Our children will be safe,’ I say. ‘That’s what matters.’ That’s all that matters. Even though we’re talking about doing the one thing we’ve said we’d never do – talk to the police – my words hit with the force of a shove. What we do now doesn’t matter. Oscaris all that matters. Not Instagram. Not Magnolia Close. Not my life. Just Oscar.
Beth is staring at her phone. She’s gone completely still.
‘What is it, Beth?’ I ask.
‘Maybe,’ she says slowly, ‘maybe there’s a way to do exactly what Keira is telling us to do that doesn’t end with us getting arrested and charged with murder.’
‘Of course we’ll be arrested,’ Tasha cries. ‘She’s telling us to confess. If we confess, DS Sató is going to arrest us.’
Beth shoves her phone into her bag. ‘Keira’s message said we all have to confess, so that’s what we do. But we go in separately. We each say we killed Jonny, but we acted alone.’
‘How does that help us?’ Tasha asks.
My mind is already racing ahead.Disrupt. Evolve. Own it.Isn’t that what I thought that night in the pub when we first met Keira?
‘It muddies the investigation,’ Beth says, her voice gaining strength. ‘DS Sató will have three different confessions. She won’t know who’s telling the truth. She won’t be able to charge any of us.’
Beth’s gaze darts between us. She must see something in our faces because she takes a breath, and when she speaks again, her words come slower. ‘I used to be a solicitor, Tasha. I know what I’m talking about. The CPS – the Crown Prosecution Service – has to authorise any charges,’ she explains. ‘DS Sató can’t just charge us with murder when she wants. She has to ask them first. If she goes to them with three separate confessions, mixed stories, mixed evidence, the CPS will never agree. They won’t risk taking a case that messy.’
Disrupt. Evolve. Own it.
‘But the children—’ Tasha whispers. ‘Can’t we just go to the police and tell them Keira has taken them?’
Beth looks thoughtful. ‘We could, but?—’
‘But what if they don’t get to her on time,’ I cut in. I’m sick of the sit-back-and-wait-and-see-and-hope-it-all-works-out approach. It’s what’s led us to this moment. ‘She has our children, Tasha,’ I cry out. ‘This is not the time to worry about what happens to us. It’s the time to do exactly what she’s telling us to.’
Beth turns to her, gently but firmly. ‘Keira is clearly desperate and crazy, but she’s not stupid. She isn’t going to risk keeping the children for any longer than she has to. And even she won’t hurt them unless she feels it’s her only option. She’s blackmailing us. We have to believe that if we do what she’s asking, she’ll return them.’
We stare at each other. The silence is loaded before Beth talks again, laying out more details of her plan, making sure we all understand our roles. What to do. What to say and when.
‘I’ll go first,’ I say when there’s nothing more for it.
And with that, the three of us hug each other tight, and I turn and push through the crowd of shoppers. The police station is only a few streets away. I think of Oscar. No matter what else happens, Oscar is special. He is the light that brightens every room. He is what makes me amazing. Because I’m his mum. Nate is wrong. My life is big and beautiful because of Oscar. I will do anything to protect him. Even confessing to murder.
