I shivered. I must stop being so superstitious. This was a beautiful house. We were lucky to be staying here, even for just a few days. But I did not like it, I didn’t trust Flo, and I couldn’t wait to be away tomorrow morning. I wondered how early I could decently leave. Nina and I had seats on the 5 p.m. train, but my ticket was flexible.
‘Are you OK?’ The voice came from behind me, followed by a long exhalation of cigarette smoke, and I turned and saw Nina standing there, fag in one hand, the other arm wrapped around her ribs against the cold. ‘Sorry. I know you said you wanted to be alone. I just … I needed a fag. Needed to get away. Ugh, that Flo! She gives me the heebie-jeebies. What was all that weird stuff about knowing secrets about us?’
‘I don’t know,’ I said uncomfortably.
‘It was probably just bullshit.’ Nina dragged on her fag. ‘But I must admit, I was sitting there ticking off all the stuff I’ve told Clare over the years and it wasn’t a very comfortable feeling, thinking about what she might have passed on to Flo. And Tom looked pretty shaken up, didn’t he? Wonder what the skeleton in his closet is?’
‘I don’t know,’ I repeated. The cold was starting to strike through to my bones, and I shivered.
‘I think Melanie had it right,’ Nina said at last. ‘Flo’s not normal. And her weirdness about Clare – “not healthy” is an understatement. All that copying Clare’s clothes – it’s a bit Single White Female, isn’t it? If you ask me, she’s a couple of Xanax away from re-enacting the shower scene in Psycho.’
‘Oh for God’s sake,’ I snapped. Flo was odd, but that was really not fair. ‘She’s not psycho, she’s just not very confident. I know what it’s like, always feeling second best. Clare’s not always the easiest person to be friends with.’
‘No. No, don’t try to make excuses for her, Nora. The clothes and stuff – I mean, whatever, it’s weird, but if Clare wants to put up with it, it’s her call. But that little exhibition tonight was directed squarely at us, and I’m not having it. Look, I was thinking, tomorrow— I know we’re booked on the five p.m., but—’
‘But can we go early? I was thinking the exact same thing.’
‘I’ve had it up to here, to be honest. If I was sober I’d go tonight but I’m in no state to drive. What do you reckon – straight after breakfast?’
‘Flo will flip,’ I said soberly. There were more activities planned for tomorrow; I wasn’t sure what, but the instructions had been clear – leave at 2 p.m., not before.
‘I know. I was actually thinking …’ Nina took a long drag. ‘I was thinking we could just slip away. Is that cowardly?’
‘Yes,’ I said definitely. ‘Very.’
‘Oh all right.’ She sighed, exhaling a cloud of smoke, white in the moonlight. ‘Maybe I can invent some sort of hospital crisis. I’ll think of an excuse tonight.’
‘How would you know?’ I said. ‘Given there’s no mobile reception and no phone?’
‘Well that’s another fucking thing, isn’t it. Supposing the crazed locals do come up the hill, banjos playing, pikes alight, what the hell are we supposed to do? Throw snowballs at them?’
‘Don’t be so melodramatic. There aren’t any crazed locals. Flo’s aunt probably torched the place herself as an insurance job and blamed it on the farmers.’
‘I hope you’re right. I’ve seen Deliverance.’
‘I’m happy for you, but back to the problem in hand …’
‘Oh, I’ll just pretend a stray text got through overnight. Anyway even if Flo doesn’t believe me, what can she say?’
Plenty, was my guess, but unless she barricaded the door, I didn’t think it would work to deflect Nina.
There was a long silence, Nina blowing smoke rings with her cigarette into the still night air, me huffing out clouds of white breath.
‘What happened back there?’ Nina asked at last. ‘That little panic attack, I mean. Was it the message?’
‘Sort of.’
‘But you didn’t think it was about you, did you?’ She looked at me sideways, curiously, and blew out a smoke ring. ‘I mean, what could you have possibly done to kill someone?’
I shrugged. ‘No, not really. Anyway, it might not have been murderer. It could have been murder. There were so many repeats I’m not sure what the word actually was.’
‘What, like a warning you mean?’ Nina asked. ‘The crazed locals coming up the hill with their pitchforks?’
I shrugged again.
‘I’m not going to lie,’ she puffed out another ring, ‘I thought maybe it was directed at me. I mean – I’ve never killed anyone purposely, but there’s people who’ve died because of mistakes I made, for sure.’
‘What – you thought it was a genuine message?’