Page 23 of Wanting Daisy Dead

Dan

No one is happier to see Alex than me. Except perhaps my wife, who is currently clinging to him like a limpet. He’s just walked into the apartment, and the four of us are standing round him, all wanting to say hi, but Georgie won’t let go.

‘You haven’t aged at all,’ she’s saying as she hugs him, then she rests her head on his shoulder. It’s weird to see Georgie cuddly and affectionate with anyone, and I confess I’m jealous.

I catch Lauren’s eye, and she smiles; like me, she sees what’s happening here.

I have to admit that Alex looks really good – still slim and tall, his hair a little shorter, but still thick and curly. He looks young, but I imagine with his money he probably has a bit of help.

He’s obviously doing well. His coat is a floor-length wool trench with brass buttons, presumably designer – Georgie would know. The US seems to suit him. He’s my age, almost forty, but he’s still got this trendy air about him, what the kids would call ‘cool’.

‘So, how are you, mate?’ I ask as he loses Georgie and turns to me with open arms.

‘I’m good, mate. Flew in on the red-eye from the West Coast.’

I bet he flies first class. I think about those air stewardesses, all sleek and shiny like expensive racehorses.

‘You shag any stewardesses in first class on that red-eye?’ I whisper in his ear as we embrace, patting each other on the back.

He doesn’t answer me, just chuckles awkwardly and moves to Maddie, hugging her and nestling his face in her neck.

I’m surprised she isn’t pushing him away.

I wonder if there’s something going on there?

They were quite good mates at uni. he Does he know about Maddie?

I’ll mention it to him subtly. I mean, if he’s hoping for something there he needs to know.

I’ll wait until I get the chance. I can’t say anything in front of Georgie – or Maddie, for that matter.

We’re all standing in the kitchen asking him questions like we’re in the presence of greatness.

‘Tell me all about your company.’ Georgie’s straight in there. ‘I just started a small company.’

‘Oh ... great. What do you do?’ He’s as polite as ever, but still a bit out of it.

And I don’t mean drugs, though it wouldn’t surprise me.

He was a bit of a dealer as a student; he said selling drugs was the only way he could afford to be at uni.

I wasn’t complaining, as having a dealer for a housemate meant we didn’t have to leave home to get high.

Georgie’s looking up into his eyes like he’s some kind of rock star, and it’s really winding me up. I’m not even able to enjoy Lauren in that tight white dress that pulls across her breasts, because my wife’s flirting with a billionaire.

‘Most of the money I make goes into my foundation,’ I hear him say. Wouldn’t you know it, not only is Alex a rich, handsome bloke who looks ten years younger than me, but he’s a one-man climate-saving, environmentally aware, kitten-loving philanthropist. And my wife’s drinking him in.

‘You have a foundation?’ Lauren gasps. It’s almost orgasmic.

‘Yeah, we do a lot of work for education and world peace. One of my personal goals is to establish free public libraries in the Global South. I want to make self-education available to everyone.’

He’s a saint too.

‘Oh, I love that – don’t you love that?’ Lauren’s now looking at him like he’s Jesus.

‘Hey Alex, this is all a bit weird, but it’s the podcast, they keep sending voice notes and we’re being recorded, so be careful,’ I joke, slapping him on the back.

‘So I gathered. They emailed me a document I had to sign about privacy and recording.’

‘Yeah, we’ve all had to sign it too. God, I felt like I was giving away my first-born. Made me wonder if I should have come here.’

‘Yeah.’ He isn’t really engaging with me. Back in our student days he would have been keen to chat. He always laughed at my jokes, but I guess he’s changed, got a bit above himself.

When we arrived last night I was really self-conscious, and aware of the recording, but today I’m more used to it.

Georgie seems to be embracing it, and I notice she’s constantly trying to incriminate Lauren.

I noticed she was speaking really slowly before so the podcast would have all the details about Lauren’s drawing of Daisy, with blood coming from her mouth.

Ugh. Thinking about it, that is weird, and it’s made me look at Lauren in a slightly different light.

Then our phones ping, and a new voice note from Tammy interrupts everyone.

‘As pleased as everyone is to see Alex, he isn’t here by choice. He came because we threatened to expose his secret, just like everyone else.’

The voice note ends, and we all look questioningly at Alex, who holds up his hands and says, ‘I don’t have any secrets as such ...’

‘Go on, we’ve all got secrets, mate,’ I say, slapping him on the back again.

‘I guess what they’re referring to is ... I’ve been to prison.’

Everyone seems suitably shocked at this revelation.

‘You all know I made my money selling drugs at uni – no secret there – but after Daisy’s death I kind of hit a wall.

And instead of the odd bit of weed, I made more and more money from drugs.

What can I tell you? No excuses. I paid my dues, and during my time in prison I took a computer science course, and on release I started to work in IT .

.. and wiped any mention of my brief prison history off the internet.

Hey, there has to be some advantage to being a computer nerd,’ he adds, and everyone laughs.

His smile lights up the room, and he still has that boyish charm, the quirky, self-deprecating humour, and great hair.

Am I jealous of the billionaire? Hell yes!

‘So that’s my secret, I’m an ex-con,’ he’s saying, ‘and after this weekend it won’t be a secret anymore. And you know what, guys, I’m okay with that. I want people listening to know that whatever hand life deals you, you can get up and get out and make a good life for yourself.’

God, he even makes his stint in prison sound like he volunteered for a bloody charity. And the girls are lapping it up!

‘But what the podcast is threatening to expose is your secret about Daisy ...’ I remind him. ‘It’s why you wanted Daisy dead.’

Silence. That went down like a lead balloon.

Alex turns to look at me. He isn’t smiling anymore; his eyes are cold. ‘But I didn’t want Daisy dead – mate .’

I feel instantly diminished. Alex the messed-up little junkie who me and my friends paid to bring drugs to whatever pub we were drinking in has just publicly humiliated me. Who does he think he is?

Georgie is giving me daggers. ‘Alex, what were you saying before you were so rudely interrupted by my husband?’

I shrink a little more. We all had a reason for wanting Daisy dead, and I’m sure Alex did too. A short prison sentence for dealing doesn’t count; it must be something else that The Killer Question threatened to reveal. So what is it?

‘So I worked and worked and along the way I had some good timing,’ he continues.

‘I had a lot of luck and the business flourished, and I’m finally proud of where I am and who I am.

But my greatest gift has been my wife, who is the kindest, sweetest, most supportive – and, yes, most beautiful – woman I’ve ever known.

She went through hard times too, and overcame the odds to make a good life for herself, and four weeks ago we got married. ’

Everyone makes approving comments, and in an attempt to reintegrate I whistle, and make stag-night noises. But it doesn’t ingratiate me with anyone, and the looks I’m getting from Georgie would suggest she may kill me with her bare hands.

‘So, that’s my story,’ he says. ‘I’ve nothing to hide and there’s nothing to see here, so let’s open the champagne.’

There’s another ping and a collective groan as we all look at our phones. Alex turns the sound up on his so we can all listen to what Tammy has to say next.

‘You each thought you were the only one who wanted Daisy dead, didn’t you? Everyone has a secret. Some are embarrassing, some are incriminating, some just need to stay buried to save feelings – but some are Deadly .’

‘Well, that’s got the evening off to a fun start,’ I say, as Alex pours the champagne. No one laughs.

‘In just an hour, dinner will be served, and between courses there will be some very interesting interviews. Drinks are now being served in the dining hall, same as last night.’

As they finish their conversation, I stare briefly into the faces of my old housemates to see if anyone is giving anything away. Particularly my wife.

She’s glaring back at me, her lips tight, and she’s wringing her hands.

I know her so well – she’s trying to be sophisticated and worldly, but in truth she’s dying to start scrubbing surfaces.

And after she’s finished cleaning, she likes to yell at me.

I’m always the focal point of Georgie’s anger, but here and now, she can’t scream and yell.

She has to restrain herself in company. And this in itself creates tension.

And I can feel it building from a few feet away.

But she’s now moving towards me, her eyes warning and wild.

Standing too close to me, she hisses instructions in my ear. ‘Do not say a thing. Don’t even joke about anyone else’s secret. Don’t be a jerk and drop yourself, or me, in it. Okay?’

‘I have no intention of being a jerk ,’ I reply wearily under my breath. ‘ You obviously have a secret too.’

‘I don’t,’ she snaps, unable to resist glancing over at Alex.

‘You shouldn’t be flirting like that. He’s married,’ I say smugly.

‘So are you, but it doesn’t stop you, does it?’ She grabs a nearby bottle and splashes champagne into her glass. I need to fasten my seat belt. I reckon it’s going to get pretty bumpy tonight.

I glance at my wife, who thinks she knows my secret, the one she prevented from getting out all those years ago. But sadly, there’s more than one ... Still, I need to stay on the right side of her.

‘You okay, babe?’ I ask, hoping to soften things. I need her in my corner in this rather threatening environment.

She shrugs.

‘If it isn’t David, it has to be Alex,’ I murmur, looking ahead. ‘God knows what’s going to come out at dinner. I doubt prison is his only secret.’

She turns to me. ‘You need to stop pointing the finger at Alex and look after your own interests. If the police come for you this time there will be no alibi from me. From now on, Dan, you’re on your own!

’ She moves across the room, and Maddie offers her a glass of wine, and despite already clutching her half-full champagne glass, she snatches it and downs it in one.

My marriage is built on secrets, and thrives on the thrill of those secrets. But I have another one that not even my wife knows. And if she ever did find out, my marriage, and life as I know it, would be over.