Find Them Dead

55 Tuesday 14 May

Trembling, Meg put the phone down on the table, fed Daphne, then poured herself a large whisky, really worried where all this was going and how much danger she, her daughter and Cassie and God knows who else that she cared about were in.

She sat down at the table and drank a large gulp. Thinking. Staring at the photograph of the two happy girls. Feeling so desperately alone and scared. And aware that anything she said might either be listened to, live or recorded. She sipped some more, then stared in surprise at her empty glass.

Did I just drink that?

Sod it. She refilled her glass and sat back down. Feeling emboldened, suddenly, she picked up her own phone and dialled Laura. Hell. They hadn’t spoken in over a week, she was entitled to call her daughter, damn you, you evil shit.

To her relief, Laura answered almost immediately. ‘Hey, Mum!’

‘How are you, darling?’

‘Oh my God, Mum, it’s so good to hear you! I sort of shouldn’t tell you this cos I know you will worry but we were a bit freaked out. Don’t panic though, we are totally fine now, I promise.’

‘What, darling, what on earth has happened to you?’

‘Oh, honestly, Mum, chill, it’s nothing major. We just had a couple of beers and we were both out of it — I mean after just two beers. We think they were spiked — apparently you have to be really careful about that here. We’re on the lookout from now on. We both felt really strange until this morning. Thank God we got back to our rooms OK and just slept it off. Apart from that, we are having the best time!’

For some moments Meg felt in the grip of fear. She desperately, desperately wanted to tell Laura to come home. But she couldn’t, and even if she did plead, Laura wouldn’t agree. Instead, lamely, she said, ‘Please, please, be careful, Laura. It’s really important you look after each other. Promise me you will.’

‘We will, we will. We’re fine, Mum.’

And she really sounded as if she was. From her voice, she seemed so happy, so carefree. They chatted for several minutes, as Laura wanted to know how all her pets were. Then she asked, ‘So, how’s jury service? Have you got a really nasty villain?’

Meg hesitated before replying. ‘Well, I can’t really talk about it, I’m not allowed to.’

‘Is it a murder trial?’

‘I can’t say, darling. So, what are your plans?’

‘We’re going to this place tomorrow everyone says is amazing — a gorge that goes into rapids — and we’re going to do a zip wire right over the rapids!’

‘Zip wire? Isn’t that dangerous?’

‘Mum! Honestly!’ There was reproach in her tone. ‘If it was really dangerous, would I do it?’

Yes, you probably would, Meg wanted to say. Instead, she said, ‘Please be careful. Check everything, especially your harness. And if you don’t want to do it, just don’t do it, OK?’

‘I’m always careful,’ Laura said, solemnly. Then, her voice brightening, she said, ‘Mum, we saw hundreds of iguanas in a park today. A public park where you can just walk through, and the iguanas are literally all around you! It is amazing.’

Meg had to bite her tongue not to give away she’d already seen the iguanas. She had always loved Laura’s passion for animals. ‘So, I’m guessing the next addition to your menagerie here is going to be an iguana?’

‘That would be so cool!’ Then the tone of her voice changed. ‘Cassie reckons there’s a guy following us around. This creepy-looking man with a big camera taking pictures of us. We both saw him in the park this morning. She reckons she’s seen him a couple of times before. She doesn’t think he had anything to do with the spiked drinks because he wasn’t in that bar. We’ve decided if we see him again, we’re both going to challenge him.’

‘No,’ Meg cautioned, alarmed. ‘Just ignore him, don’t encourage him.’

God, she so wanted to warn Laura. To tell her to take a flight back home, today if possible. She’d happily pay for their fares. She felt so damned helpless.

‘The bus is arriving, gotta go, Mum!’

‘I love you, darling. Be safe.’

‘I love you, Mum. Cassie says hello!’

‘Hello back!’

Meg put the phone back down and sat, deep in thought. Not guilty.

How?

Gwen was having a toxic influence over the jury.

The trouble was, based on what they had heard so far, the bloody woman was right. All the evidence they had heard against Terence Gready was compelling. She sat for a long time at the kitchen table, deep in thought.

Who was the juror on her side? Coerced like herself? Pink? And who was the one about to be taken care of? Please God, make it Gwen.

And then?

The remaining nine.

Hopefully one of the witnesses still to be called, or Primrose Brown, would come up with something. Something strong and convincing enough for her to be able to persuade her fellow jurors that there was reasonable doubt.

Her thoughts went back to the voice of her caller. Then the voice of her daughter.

She shook with fear.

Zip wire.