Page 129 of Good Girl, Bad Blood

‘You’ve been talking to Layla,’ she said. ‘Do you know who she really is?’

‘I haven’t been talking to anyone,’ Daniel said in a low, rattling hiss that made the hairs on Pip’s neck stand end up. ‘No one, you understand? And if I hear a word about this from you again . . .’

He ended the sentence there, leaving Pip to fill in the blank he’d left behind. He stepped back from her and straightened out his face, just as Soraya was returning from the car, her hands covered by blue plastic gloves, gripped around a paper evidence bag.

The Knife

Found in a location that corresponds to Jamie’s step-count data, before his Fitbit stopped recording and his phone was turned off. I think this confirms it was Jamie who took the knife, which means hehadto have gone home between the calamity party and the sighting on Wyvil Road, to pick up his hoodie and the knife. But why did he need a weapon? What had made him so afraid?

If the theory is that Jamie did indeed return home, how does the timing work with Arthur Reynolds’ movements? How did Jamie have enough time to visit Nat da Silva, walk home and grab his hoodie and the knife, all before his dad got back at 11:15 p.m.? The timing isn’t just tight, it’s almost impossible. Something in my timeline isn’t right, and that means someone is lying. I should try talk to Nat again, maybe she’ll be more honest with me about Jamie when her boyfriend isn’t there?

Daniel da Silva

He’s been talking to Layla Mead; his reaction made that perfectly clear. Is it possible he knows who she really is? He was clearly trying to hide any connection to her, is that because he knows something? Or is it just because he wouldn’t want that information getting back to his wife, who’s taking care of their new baby while Daniel has been – presumably – talking inappropriately to another woman online? I got the sense last year that this isn’t out of character for Daniel.

And another observation, we now know three people Layla Mead has been talking to: Jamie, Adam Clark and Daniel da Silva. And here’s the slightly strange thing: all three of these men are in the 29-to-recently-30 range (well, not Jamie, but that’s what his profile originally said). And they all look vaguely similar: white, with brownish hair. Is this a coincidence or is there something to this?

The Farmhouse

Jamie went there on Friday night. Well at least, he was just outside. And clearly the place isn’t as abandoned as we thought. We need to find out who goes there, and why. Whether they are connected to Jamie’s disappearance.

Stake-out tonight. I’m picking Ravi up just before midnight, meeting Connor and Cara there. I’ve just got to wait for Mum and Dad to fall asleep first. I parked my car down the road and told them I’d left it at school, so they won’t hear me when I go. Need to remember to avoid the third stair down – that’s the creaky one.

Twenty-Six

Connor was already there when they pulled up, his eyes alive and glowing in the full beam of Pip’s headlights. They were on Old Farm Road, right before the turning on to Sycamore. Ravi handed her the rucksack, his hand lingering over hers, and then they climbed out of the car.

‘Hey,’ Pip whispered to Connor. The midnight wind danced through her hair, throwing it across her face. ‘Did you get out OK?’

‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘Don’t think my mum was asleep, I could hear her sniffing. But she didn’t hear me.’

‘Where’s Cara?’ Pip said, eyeing her car parked thirty feet up the road.

‘She’s just inside the car, on the phone to her sister,’ Connor said. ‘Naomi must have noticed she’d snuck out. I don’t think Cara was trying to be that quiet on her way out because, in her words, “Both my grandparents are practically deaf”.’

‘Ah, I see.’

Ravi came to stand beside Pip, a shield between her and the biting wind.

‘Have you seen the comments?’ Connor said, his voice hardening. Was he angry? It was almost too dark to tell.

‘Not yet,’ she said. ‘Why?’

‘It’s been, like, three hours since you released the episode and a theory on Reddit has already gone viral.’

‘Which one?’

‘They think my dad killed Jamie.’ Yes, he was definitely angry, a sharp edge to his voice as he shot it towards her. ‘They’re saying he took the knife from our house and followed Jamie down Wyvil Road. Killed him, cleaned and dumped the knife and hid his body temporarily. That he was still out when I got home around midnight, because I didn’t “actually see” my dad when I got in. And then he was absent at the weekend because he was out disposing of Jamie’s body properly. Motive: my dad hates Jamie because he’s “such a fucking disappointment”.’

‘I told you not to read the comments,’ Pip said, calmly.

‘It’s hard not to when people are accusing my dad of being a fucking murderer. He didn’t do anything to Jamie. He wouldn’t!’

‘I’ve never said he did,’ Pip lowered her voice, hoping Connor would follow suit.

‘Well, it’syourpodcast they’re commenting on. Where do you think they got those ideas?’

‘You asked me to do this, Connor. You accepted the risks that came with it.’ She felt the dead of night pressing in around them. ‘All I’ve done is present the facts.’