Mac walked away but his words seemed to hang in the air, circling round her brain in a bizarre sort of dance, which made her sick and giddy.
She shuffled right up close to Ralph, who put an arm round her shoulders and squeezed tight. Meanwhile, her head was suddenly so unbearably heavy she could hardly support it, and it fell against his chest.
* * *
It was completely dark by the time they sat down for supper, so black, Edie felt as if she were floating in a cauldron of dense, sticky coal tar.
Only the flames of the candles could pierce through the lightless void; human eyes were useless.
She’d grown so accustomed to the loud, rhythmic clicking of the cicadas that she scarcely noticed them, but they all heard an owl, hooting eerily in the distance. Once or twice, a bat fluttered by, quite close to Edie’s face, and made her squeal.
‘They’re harmless; they won’t hurt you,’ Ralph reassured her, but chills ran up and down her spine all the same.
The scent of the sausages cooking on the barbecue had made her stomach rumble. They smelled of smoke, meat and wholesome, aromatic herbs and tasted even more delicious than she remembered.
Hannah, who wasn’t eating, had opened two bottles of wine – one red and one white – and Edie found herself greedily gulping the alcohol. Soon, her head was pleasantly buzzing, she felt her muscles relaxing and, at long last, her mind began to quieten down.
The others were clearly craving a release just as much as she was and they, too, kept reaching for the wine to top themselves up. Soon, both bottles were gone and Ralph went inside to fetch some more.
‘Wouldn’t it be amazing if Jessica rang now, out of the blue?’ Edie commented, with a forkful of food suspended in the air in front of her.
‘Yes,’ Ralph agreed, plonking two more wine bottles on the table. ‘If only.’
Edie’s phone was beside her plate and she’d checked it several times since sitting down. They were all doing the same and now it was Hannah’s turn to have another try.
‘I’ve got this awful feeling we’re not going to see Jessica again,’ she said, glancing at her screen before shaking her head and setting her mobile aside.
‘Don’t!’ Edie replied, with a shudder, noticing for the first time that Hannah’s face was deeply flushed. Her eyes looked glossy and adrift, too, floating aimlessly round her surroundings.
Edie hadn’t been watching how much her friend was drinking, but it must have been more than the rest of them. No one else was wasted.
She was quite relieved in a way, because it was harder to take Hannah’s gloomy prediction seriously.
Ralph made no comment and took another swig of red wine, but Mac banged his fist on the table, making everyone jump. ‘Why would you say that?’ he said, through half-clenched teeth. ‘You don’t know anything more than the rest of us.’
Hannah’s mouth was slack and drooping slightly on one side. Her eyes, though, stopped drifting and descended on him. ‘No, but I knowyou,’ she said, jabbing a finger clumsily in his direction.
Her gaze floated off again briefly before refocusing. ‘You and your filthy temper…’ She paused to hiccup. ‘You killed her, didn’t you? Hic… You did the dastardly deed.’
The last two words were accompanied by emphatic nods. She didn’t need to underline them, though. No one could mistake the meaning.
Edie’s mouth dropped open and Ralph froze like a statue. Meanwhile, Mac’s expression switched from anger to shock. ‘I can’t believe what I just heard. You’re insane!’
His upper body swayed slightly from side to side and, even in the gloom, Edie could see his face had turned pale, almost grey.
Hannah, oblivious, ploughed on. ‘It’s obvious, isn’t it?’ She was slurring her words. ‘As soon as Jessica said she was going to Nosh-er-Knossos… suddenly, you… you were dead keen on running… hic… not that you normally run… in fact you’re pretty bloody lazy most of the time, noallthe time…’ She laughed and her arms flailed clownishly.
‘I reckon you whacked her on the head… hic… didn’t you? See? I’m Miss Marple…’ Another laugh. ‘You whacked her on the bonce and chucked her in a… in a gully, or whatever you call them… Job done.’ She dusted her hands off, as if wiping them clean of something. ‘Nice one, Mac.’
She tried to high-five him across the table, but he backed away sharpish and seemed to shrivel into his seat like a snail retreating into its shell.
Edie was speechless and felt dazed and panicky. She couldn’t forget the fact she, too, had thought it slightly strange when Mac had suddenly decided to go for a run. Also, that he’d failed to buy the shopping, which had been the main purpose of the trip.
Although he’d come back surprisingly soon, he’d probably still have had enough time to harm Jessica and even hide her body somewhere, too. What’s more, he’d arrived home covered in dirt. When Edie had asked him about it, he’d dismissed her concerns, claiming he’d fallen over but wasn’t hurt.
Perhaps it was all untrue and at this very moment, Jessica’s poor body was lying in a shallow grave somewhere on the mountain. Edie had a painful lump in her throat when she tried to swallow and her eyes felt hot and stingy.
Marina’s strange words from earlier came flooding back.
