Page 54 of 12 Ways to Kill Your Family at Christmas

‘I say we put it back. I don’t want Madge getting into trouble.’

‘Okay… just hurry. I’ll watch the corridor.’

Miles slunk into the dark room. I looked up and down the hallway, every creak of the house setting my nerves on edge.

He emerged moments later and gave me a curt nod. We hurried back to our room. As we turned the corner, we practically crashed into Jeannie.

‘What on earth are you doing?’ she chided. ‘You almost gave me a heart attack!’

‘We– I, erm…’ Miles stammered.

‘We’ve run out of toothpaste. I don’t suppose you have any spare?’ I asked, heart hammering.

‘Yes, I do,’ she replied curtly. ‘I shall bring it to your room. Was it really a job for the two of you?’

‘Olivia gets a bit scared,’ Miles said. ‘Y’know, it’s an old house…’

She eyed me shrewdly. ‘Somehow I doubt this one scares easily.’

I had to admit, she was kind of right there.

We headed off to our room. As soon as Jeannie brought us the toothpaste, we waited until we heard her door click shut, before locking our door and putting a chair under the handle.

That night the wind howled, and rain pelted the windows relentlessly, and neither Miles nor I got a wink of sleep.

15

SILENT NIGHT, SAVAGE TEENS

The next morning, I awoke to Miles shaking my shoulder gently. I hadn’t even realised I’d fallen asleep.

‘Liv,’ he whispered. ‘Come look.’

I rubbed my eyes and followed him to the window. The storm had passed, leaving behind a transformed landscape. The endless white fields were now dotted with slushy patches of brown and green where the snow had begun to melt.

‘The roads should be clear soon,’ Miles said, relief in his voice.

I nodded, feeling a weight lift from my chest. But as I watched a flock of birds swoop across the brightening sky, a nagging worry remained. We might be able to leave soon, but what about everything else? The knife, Toots in the pantry, the tension between the family simmering just beneath the surface…

I showered and pulled on cream trousers and sky-blue polo neck, leaving Miles to get ready. Heading down the sweeping staircase, I was startled by the sound of the gold letterbox clanging. Letter after letter plopped through the front door onto the mat. Mrs Harlow rushed around the corner, a silver tray in hand.

‘Oh, thank God,’ she muttered under her breath. She saw me and straightened, a stiff smile drawn across her mouth. ‘The postman’s been.’ She pointed down at the scattered envelopes. ‘That means we should be able to leave the house today. And?—’

I nodded and smiled. She didn’t need to finish the sentence.And we won’t have to be under the same roof as a dead body much longer.

‘Would you make a call to the coroner again, please, Madge, and remind them to come as soon as possible?’ I didn’t like asking Mrs Harlow to do things, it wasn’t my place, but I knew she would already have the number and we were all keen to be rid of the shadow that seemed to loom over the house.

Mrs Harlow bent to collect the letters and said, ‘Of course, I’ll do it now.’

‘And, Madge?—’

‘Yes, dear?’

‘There’s no need to worry about…’ I locked eyes with her. ‘Aboutthe thing.’

She nodded, as unsure as I was whether we in fact did or did not need to worry about Jeannie having a knife under her bed. She bustled off and I headed to the kitchen to find Callum eating a piece of toast at the island.

‘Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you up willingly before noon. What’s the occasion?’