Page 12 of Perfect Wives

Sató considers this for a moment. ‘That’s some friendship. Giving up their lives and their families, going to prison for murder so you can walk free.’

I don’t reply. There’s no point trying to explain the closeness we share – how Magnolia Close has made us more than friends. We’re family. I remember my training as a solicitor. Sometimes it feels like another lifetime. Another person. Other times it feels like yesterday. I won’t be drawn into talking – giving more than I intend in the silences Sató is leaving me. I stay quiet, like always. People mistake this as shyness, but it’s not. I just prefer to sit back and watch and listen.

The detective shakes her head. ‘It still doesn’t answer why I should believe you over your friends. Right now, I’m inclined tothink all three of you are lying, so I’ll remind you that wasting police time is a criminal offence. I could charge all three of you.’

I told you she wouldn’t buy this. She’s too smart for you.

I hold back my plea for Sató to listen. Hold back the fear threatening to eat me alive. I’m not scared of this room or this detective. I’m terrified of the reason we’re all here. And that’s something Sató, with her sharp eyes and her neat handwriting, will never understand.

The nausea returns. A roiling wave that starts at the top of my head before moving its way down my body, all the way to my stomach. My fingers fumble with the new bin liner, opening it up, getting ready. I force my gaze up to Sató again. ‘You should believe me. Because I killed Jonny. And I can prove it. I can tell you exactly how I did it – how he died – which I believe hasn’t been made public yet.’

‘It hasn’t.’ There’s a spark in her eyes now. I’ve caught her attention. ‘How did you kill Jonny Wilson, Beth?

‘I stabbed him three times in the stomach with a kitchen knife and then suffocated him with his pillow.’

The words hang in the air, just like Keira’s did that night in the pub when she’d first suggested killing him.

Sató doesn’t move. Doesn’t blink.

I close my eyes, just for a second, just long enough to see Keira’s smirk at the table and hear Georgie’s wild laughter in my head followed by Tasha’s hiccupped giggles. We thought it was a game that night. What fools.

The nausea surges. I clutch the bin liner, hunching forward as my stomach twists inside out.

I feel Sató’s eyes on me as I dry-heave into the bag, my stomach already empty. When I’m done, I wipe my mouth with a tissue and force myself to sit up straight. ‘Do you believe me now?’

I don’t breathe as I wait for Sató’s reply.

17 DAYS EARLIER

Magnolia Mums WhatsApp Group

Tasha

I think I’m dying! Why did we drink so much red wine last night???

Georgie

I don’t feel great either. But it was a fun night.

Beth

It was weird!!!

Tasha

Was it?

Why?

OMG I just remembered!

Beth

We need to talk after drop-off.

SEVEN

GEORGIE