Skin

42

A modern cider pub had been built where the old lock-keeper’s house in Keynsham used to be. Flea, Thom and Mandy went down to the rickety fishing platform so the roar of the weir would blunt their voices and tried to look normal. They’d ordered long pints of thick orangy cider, but none of them felt like drinking. Thom rested his glass on a supporting post and stood with his arms folded, looking down at his toe, which he moved in circles as if he was writing something with it. He wouldn’t look either woman in the eye.

Flea stood shoulder to shoulder with Mandy, gazing morosely into the river. She’d pulled a body out of there once. A seventy-year-old man with throat cancer. While his wife was at Somerfields he’d taken a mallet and bolster to part of the garden wall, chipped out seven bricks, zipped them into a rucksack, which he’d padlocked round his chest, then come out here and stepped straight into the water. A wedding party in the pub grounds opposite watched him do it. His body had been pulled under and held against the weir by the current. It had taken the underwater search unit six hours to get him out, and when they did, his face, some of which had already been removed during his treatment, had slammed into the weir so many times it was like uncooked hamburger.

‘We need to come up with a plan.’ Mandy was wearing a black linen dress that stopped mid-calf, and fading blue Birkenstocks. The heavy tops of her arms had small reddish pimples scattered over them. ‘For everyone’s sake, we need a plan. We need to decide the best way out of this for all of us.’

Flea glanced up at the pub. A few people stood on the terrace. Some wore business suits; some, shorts and T-shirts. No one was paying them any attention. She took a step closer to Mandy anyway, lowering her voice. ‘Look, it’ll be easier than you think. There’s a huge shake-up going on at the moment in the forensic system and most investigative teams don’t have big forensic budgets to start with. The autopsy will show she was hit by a car. With a confession from Thom they won’t look at it too closely. There’d be no reason to order extra tests.’

‘What sort of extra tests?’

‘Tests that would show she hadn’t been out in the open for all that time. That’s the only hot button. If they ever find out she was put in the car…’

‘You’ve thought it all through.’

‘The car has to look right because they’ll test the point of impact. I’ve burnt the boot lining and you’re going to have to take a trip somewhere – London, maybe – to buy a new one. You’ll need to pay cash. I’ll take care of her clothes, get rid of fibres from the boot. The only other thing is her body.’

Mandy winced. ‘Yes. That.’

‘She’d have decomposed differently in the boot than if she’d been in the open. On the roadside there’d’ve been animal artefacts. Rats, mice, foxes. They’re not discerning about what meat’s on the menu.’

‘Jesus Christ,’ Thom muttered. ‘This is a nightmare.’

Mandy gave him a sharp look. ‘Be quiet.’

‘So, this is the crucial part. We’ve got to hide her somewhere it’s plausible she landed, but where she won’t be seen from the road. She needs to lie out there for a night or longer – as long as possible, really, so the animals can do their thing. Move her around. Destroy some evidence, make it believable.’ She took a sip of her drink and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. ‘And that’s where it gets tricky.’

‘What?’

‘It’s in a remote place but someone’s got a view of it. A good view. That’s where you come in, Mandy. I’m going to ask you to distract someone.’

‘How am I going to do that?’

‘I don’t know yet. You like animals, don’t you? Maybe you tell her your cat’s gone missing and you’re searching the neighbourhood.’

‘I’m not an actress.’

‘You might not have to be. This woman’s a drunk. If we time it right you won’t have to work hard to convince her.’

She took another sip of cider, put the glass down and got a pellet of chewing-gum from the packet in her pocket. Easy on the booze – the last thing she needed was to get pissed. ‘And it’s tonight. We’re going to get started tonight.’

Mandy and Thom didn’t speak. They both stared at her.

‘I know, I know. But it’s got to be done. When it’s done we’ll all feel better.’

‘OK.’ Mandy scratched her head. ‘One last thing.’

‘What?’

‘Take me through what really happened again. That night. Because at the time you told me he was in the back garden. I phoned you three times and you told me each time he was in the back garden.’

‘We’ve gone through this.’

‘Just so it’s clear in my head.’

Flea sighed. ‘OK. Like I said, I was covering for him. He went to meet some people about importing chandeliers from the Czech Republic, didn’t you, Thom? He thought you’d lose it if you knew. So we lied. Simple as that.’

‘It’s just that, on the night when I called, you told me, over and over again, he was down at the bottom of the terraces. You said he was pruning some tree or something.’

‘Mandy.’ Flea kept her voice patient. ‘Concentrate. Read my lips. I. Was. Lying. Thom was out. He had a drink with his business contacts and came home drunk. Come on, Thom? Haven’t you explained all this? She’s not listening to me.’

‘I…’ he began hesitantly. ‘I – I don’t know what to say.’

‘Just explain, for Christ’s sake. We’re wasting time.’

He glanced at Mandy, then away. He had exactly the same distant expression he’d get as a kid when Dad would try to pin him down over something. ‘I – I can’t remember,’ he muttered. ‘You know, it’s a bit of a haze.’

‘A bit of a haze? A bit of a haze? Wake up, Thom. This is serious.’

Mandy put her hands into the air. ‘Let’s calm down. Phoebe. We’re only trying to get to the truth of what happened.’

‘The truth? I’ve told you the truth.’

‘Yes, but do you see our point? That’s what you said to me on the night of the accident. You said you were telling the truth then. But you weren’t. You were lying then, so how do I know you’re not lying now?’

‘I’m not fucking lying, Mandy.’

‘No need to shout.’

‘But I’m not lying. Why the hell would I be lying?’

Mandy’s face became calm. ‘To save yourself? Maybe?’

Flea put her hand up to shade her eyes from the lights in the pub and studied Mandy’s face. ‘Are you being funny?’

‘It was you driving the car, wasn’t it?’

‘What?’

‘I said, it was you driving the car. You swore to the cop it was you driving.’

‘Swore because I was protecting Thom. He was off his tits.’

‘Says who?’

Flea let all the air out of her lungs. ‘This is fucking insane. Insane. I can’t believe this is coming out of your mouth.’

‘You were so high-strung that night – you know how you get. You were upset with work – upset about your parents.’ Mandy’s tone was pained, uncomprehending, as if it was not the sort of thing she’d understand but she was willing to be flexible about what others did. ‘You drove when you were upset and got followed home by the policeman. He breathalysed you. There’ll be a record of it somewhere.’

‘Tell me you’re not serious. Tell me you’re not trying to turn this on to me.’

Mandy didn’t answer.

Flea gave a low, disbelieving whistle. ‘You fucking bitch.’

‘Be careful what you say.’

‘Right.’ She put her glass down on the platform. ‘We’re going to the police.’

Mandy didn’t move. ‘I don’t think so. It’s your word against Thom’s. Mine. And the cop’s.’

‘That’s not going to work, Mandy. You take the gloves off, mate, and you lose. I’ve got proof I wasn’t driving the car.’

‘Really?’

‘A photo. Showing Thom hit Misty.’

Mandy sighed. ‘What is it about you, Phoebe, that always makes whatever you say sound so unfeasible? Where is this photo? Shall we have a look at it?’

‘It exists.’

‘Then show us.’

‘It exists, Mandy. You’d better believe it.’

Mandy smiled and put a reassuring hand on her arm. ‘I’m sure it does. Somewhere – maybe in your imagination. But there’s no need for you to invent things because we’re not going to tell anyone anyway. No, you’ve got nothing to worry about from us. We’ll protect you. We’re not going to say a thing.’

Flea snatched her arm away. ‘Don’t fucking touch me.’

She went to the car. Sat inside, windows closed. Turned up the Snow Patrol album as loud as it would go and tapped out the music hard on the dashboard. From the pub balcony one or two people were staring at the little Clio. On the fishing platform Mandy and Thom stood facing her, shoulder to shoulder. Their faces were in shadow but she could tell they weren’t speaking. They were doing nothing. Just watching her.

She thought of Ruth Lindermilk. Remembered the key going down her T-shirt. She imagined how she’d react if she ever found out the real reason the photo was important. Not a woman who’d be scared by the police into giving up a bit of evidence. Especially not to help Flea. She’d sooner destroy it.

Thom and Mandy. Still over there. Watching her like dummies from the jetty. She tapped harder.

PC Prody’s testimony would be that he’d chased her. Not Thom. It’d be that she’d sworn over and again she’d been driving the Focus. Pearce: well, Pearce she didn’t want to think about. He’d tell everyone that Sergeant Marley had been bouncing around some very confident theories about where Misty would and wouldn’t be found. Not in the lake, she’d said. We definitely won’t find her in the lake. Like she knew. Big fat mouth. She’d only said it because she didn’t think someone as groomed as Misty would commit suicide by drowning. It had been a stupid thought – off the top of her head.

She looked at the jetty.

Thom: It’s a bit of a haze.

Mandy: We’ll protect you.

She turned the music off. Got out and came back to the jetty.

‘Flea.’ Mandy’s hand went out warningly. ‘Let’s have a talk about this and-’

Too late. Flea was on Thom. Had him by the shoulders. Slammed him against the post. ‘Tell the truth!’ she yelled.

‘Let go of me.’

She dragged him forward. Slammed him back again. His arms flew out. The pint glass toppled, shattered. ‘Say it now.’

Winded, he slithered down the post to a sitting position. On the balcony people turned in amazement. She got him under the arms and pulled him forward, throwing him down on his face, put her feet astride his back and dropped her weight on his buttocks. Got his hair in her hands. ‘Take some responsibility.’

‘Stop it.’ Mandy scrabbled at her hands. ‘Stop it now.’

Flea wasn’t listening. She was seeing Dad, a million years ago, slapping Thom. The flatness in Thom’s face. The way he didn’t react. ‘Tell the truth!’ she screamed.

He groped blindly behind him. ‘Leave me alone.’ He got his fingernails into her hands and tried to pull them out of his hair.

She clenched her teeth. Leant back and hauled his head up. ‘Tell the fucking truth-’

He threw himself sideways, his bony hips twisting, until he was on his back, facing her. She tried to slam his head down but he stopped her, grabbing her wrists. While she struggled, he lifted his knee swiftly, twice, three times, catching her in the groin. And now Mandy was squatting next to her. Not screaming. Silent. Face screwed up in concentration, her meaty arms grappling around Flea.

‘Get off me, you bitch.’ Flea rammed her elbow out sideways. Missed. A muscle jarred in her shoulder. ‘Get off.’

She flung her weight sideways, hair flying. Back again, trying to break Mandy’s grip. But she was twice Flea’s weight and strong, and she kept her face against Flea’s shoulder, held the armlock grimly, going with the movement. They rolled on to the jetty. She felt a fragment of glass slice into her cheek, felt Thom wriggle out from under them, heard him stand as she struggled with Mandy.

‘Let go of me, Mandy,’ she spat. ‘Because I will kill you.’

‘Get her hands!’ Thom yelled suddenly. ‘Get her.’

Flea kicked blindly as his hands scrabbled for hers. She felt spiteful fingernails in her wrists. Felt herself being lifted. He was strong too. Stronger than she’d ever guessed. Blood was running down her chin. Vague ghosts of people were coming from the bar, shouting.

‘I’ll kill you.’

A kick. Or a punch. In her stomach. Up high, under the diaphragm. She didn’t see who it came from, but it pushed all the air out of her – finished her in one. Mandy released her and she fell forward and lay there, not moving. The cop trained to stand up in a riot was on the jetty with blood coming out of her face, thinking the only important thing was to get another breath into her body.

‘Phoebe.’ Mandy’s voice was just a whisper close to her face. Flea could smell the tang of her sweat. The sweetness of laundry detergent. ‘Phoebe, Thom and I love you very much. Very much indeed. That is why we are going to help you. We’re going to help you sort out your problems, your issues, and together – together – we’ll find a way of not taking you to the police.’