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‘At home.’
‘Is anyone with him?’
‘I don’t think so. Let’s face it – he’s not the type of guy to have a dependable support network. He was slurring a bit.’
‘I presume he’s called the police?’
‘They told him Drew’s not vulnerable or at risk, so he needs to hang tight a while.’
‘Useless,’ Erin says. ‘One of us should drive over there, make sure he’s OK – and that he’s letting all the right people know.’ She glances at her watch, then at Joseph. ‘Maybe the two of us should do it.’
Joseph nods, even though Enoch’s is the last place he wants to be, because to do otherwise would look strange. To Tilly, he says, ‘What happens when you call Drew’s phone?’
‘It was ringing earlier. Now, it goes straight to voicemail. I’m guessing it ran out of charge.’
Joseph prays that the phone isn’t hidden in Max’s room,and that the boy was telling the truth about Drew leaving it at home last night. ‘Don’t you have one of those tracking apps?’ he asks. ‘Where you can keep tabs on each other’s location?’
‘Not really Drewster’s thing.’
Erin turns to her stepson. ‘You’re pretty quiet. Any thoughts?’
Max pauses with a forkful of chicken fried rice halfway to his mouth. He glances at his father, then back at Erin. ‘Thoughts on what?’
She blinks, fractionally tilts her head. ‘Have you not been listening? On Drew’s whereabouts. And what might have happened.’
A coldness spreads across Joseph’s shoulders as he considers what Erin might be thinking. He’s been sitting here, fearful that she’s been putting together the puzzle pieces and steadily assembling his picture, but maybe she hasn’t been doing that at all.
Saturday morning, she’d pressed him about his three-a.m. conversation with Max. To throw her off the scent, he’d told her about the boy’s covert relationship with Drew. Now, that deflection might be about to bite him hard. Erin had agreed to keep quiet about what she’d learned, but Joseph knows her promise won’t hold in an emergency. Worse, he hasn’t even given Max a heads-up that his secret has been shared.
‘Why shouldheknow anything?’ Tilly asks, looking up from her phone. Her gaze moves from her mum to the fork still suspended halfway to Max’s mouth. The tension in the room skyrockets, suddenly too obvious to miss. ‘Mum?’
‘Max?’ Erin asks.
Carefully, Max puts down his fork. ‘I have no idea where Drew is.’
Tilly is frowning, now. Again, she looks around the tablebefore her gaze returns to her mother. ‘I don’t even know why you’d ask him.’
Joseph watches his son, utterly impotent. He wants to communicate a message, but anything he says will likely implicate them both. In the early hours of Saturday, he’d assured Max that everything they talked about would remain between them, for ever. He’d vowed that he wouldn’t even tell Erin – especially not Erin. Across the table, Max looks like he’s trying to work out how much of that promise his father has broken, and the consequences of being caught in a lie.
‘What’s going on?’ Tilly asks. ‘Seriously, you’re all scaring me. I’m sure Drew’s fine. She’s probably just holed up with this new guy somewhere, and they’ve lost all sense of time.’
Erin reaches out, touches her stepson’s wrist. When she speaks, her voice is melodic, mesmerizing. ‘Max, look around you,’ she says. ‘Look around this table. I know I’m not your mum, and I know Tilly’s not your sister, but weareyour family. And in a family, even a blended family like ours, especially like ours, there aren’t any secrets. This house is your sanctuary, a place where you can be honest – about anything. Whatever happens out there doesn’t affect what happens here. Whatever we talk about within these four walls stays between them. There are no recriminations, only love. I’m sure your dad’s told you that – I know Tilly would, too, if we asked her – but it’s important you hear it from me.’
When Erin’s in the zone like this, she’s difficult to resist. Even Joseph finds himself being hypnotized, and he’s not the subject of her attention.
Max stares at his stepmother, unable to look away. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he mutters, but there’s no conviction in his words.
Erin squeezes his wrist harder. ‘Your dad told me everything, Max. I’ve known for two days. I haven’t said a word to anyone outside this family, but I need to hear it from you, and then we can discuss the implications.’
Joseph, unable to catch his son’s eye, is reduced to slowly shaking his head and hoping that Max will notice. The boy looks like he’s about to confess everything – the killing not just of Angus Roth but also of Drew; and even Joseph’s part in the cover-up.
‘Pleasetell me what you’re talking about,’ Tilly begs.
‘I think we need to hear it from Max.’
Joseph feels like his head has been packed with explosives and his wife has just lit the fuse.
‘OK,’ Max says finally. His gaze moves around the table, from Joseph to Erin and, finally, to Tilly. ‘OK, I’ll tell you.’