Page 109 of A Murder is Going Down

‘Allthe times.’

‘Does that mean all that stuff about you wanting to move to Perth was bullshit?’ I ask Patrick, ignoring the disappointment settling in my stomach like a bad meal alongside the fear that’s been there this whole time.

‘The uni visit was,’ he says. ‘But not the rest. I really have been thinking about moving over here to be closer to Elena.’ His eyes want me to believe him. ‘When Mike told me you thought it was me who flew into Perth before Felix died, it seemed like an easy cover story.’

Just because we’re standing around like family members making weekend plans doesn’t mean I’m not rigid with the tension of wondering:what happens now?

‘I really wanted to tell you,’ Patrick says to me, stepping closer.

I take a step back. ‘Why didn’t you?’

‘I didn’t know what you’d do.’

I try to imagine what I would have done if Patrick had told me. Would I have gone to the police? Confronted Elena? Told Aunty Sam? Maybe some of those things. Maybe all of them. Maybe none of them.

‘Heidi.’ Elena’s hand on my shoulder feels weak. (When did she get so close to me?) Her face looks tired and the hand on her stick is shaking, just a little. ‘I’m sorry.’

Michael looks at Elena and sees what I see. He takes her elbow. ‘You need to sit down. Can we move this inside?’

‘I’m not going in there with you,’ I say.

‘My sister needs to sit down, so if you want to know what happened, I suggest you follow us.’

Michael heads into the house, Elena leaning heavily on him.

Patrick stays where he is. He looks almost as knackered as Elena. ‘I’m sorry,’ he says again. ‘I was trying to keep you out of it. If the police ever figure out what happened, I could be an accessory after the fact or … look, I don’t really know how the law works outside the movies.’

‘Uh huh.’

‘Come inside,’ he says. ‘You know they’d never hurt you, right?’

I absolutely do not know that, but it feels good to hear Patrick say it. I’m still not sure I want to go inside with these people when the rumble of a car engine turns us botharound and we see a familiar Volvo bouncing along the driveway.

‘What the hell?’ Patrick asks.

The car pulls up at a rakish angle and out jump Lilia and Ben. ‘What the hell is happening?’ Lilia asks.

Now

‘Wait a minute,’ Marianne says, holding up her hand to stop me. ‘That’s all very convenient. How did Lilia even find you?’

Then

‘Find My,’ I say. ‘Really gotta stop sharing my location.’

Patrick shakes his head. ‘First, you try to stalk me with an AirTag, Heidi, and now Lilia’s stalking you via her iPhone. What’s gone wrong with our generation?’

‘You knew about the AirTag?’ I ask, shocked he’s only mentioned it now.

‘I got an alert on my phone as I was leaving the café with Elena. When I ran into you immediately afterwards, it seemed kind of obvious.’

‘Right,’ I say. ‘Sorry.’

‘On a sliding scale of recently committed crimes, it’s amateur stuff,’ Patrick says, and he’s smiling.

‘Sorry about Ben,’ Lilia says to me, ‘but I needed a lift to get here.’

Ben looks offended, but, perhaps wisely, doesn’t say anything.