I clean the house, shop, run errands. When I get home, it’s after three and the house is dark, which is odd. I expected Holly to be home.
On the other hand, next door, at Teri’s place, every window is alight. I can hear the thump of music coming from downstairs. I guess she has reasons to celebrate. I just handed her almost ten thousand pounds.
I open the front door.
‘Holly?’
Silence. I go upstairs to check on her, but she’s not in her room.
‘Holly, are you home?’ I call out again. Nothing. It’s Sunday, so I have no reason to worry about Holly’s whereabouts, but I do. I don’t know where she is, and she hasn’t called me back. It occurs to me that when Max was alive, I always knew where she was, who she was with, what time she was coming home…
I feel a twist of dread in my stomach. I pull out my phone. There’s still no contact from her. I call her, but it goes to voicemail.
‘I’m actually getting really worried. I just want to know where you are. Please call me back.’
Finally, I get a text back.Next door at Teri’s. See you later.
28
I stare at the phone. I have to read the text again to make sure I got it right. Holly is next door at Teri’s house?
I grab my keys.
And now I’m outside Teri’s house, banging on the door, ringing the doorbell, trying to get Holly’s attention over the music. I keep calling her name. ‘Holly! Open up!’ I’m banging the door with my fist. The neighbour across the road opens her front door.
‘Everything all right?’
I’ve been shouting, haven’t I? I turn around. ‘Everything is fine, Mrs Patel, thank you!’ I can hear Holly laugh inside, and I have to assume that she can’t hear me, because I would hate to think she’s ignoring me.
Mrs Patel closes her door, but not all the way.
I pull out my phone and call her again. Holly’s phone rings on the other side of the door. The music stops.
I bang the door once more. ‘Holly, open the door.’
It’s Teri who opens it, all smiles, her face a little flushed, her long dark hair messed up. ‘Hey! Kate! Hi. Have you been knocking for long? We were dancing.’
‘Good to hear you’ve made a remarkable recovery.’ I push past her and straight into the living room. It’s marginally tidier than the last time I was here, but it’s still incredibly messy. I guess she spent so much time at my place with me looking after her that she’s forgotten how to look after herself.
But this isn’t any ordinary mess. There are bags, shopping bags from places like Zara and H&M, all over the shabby sofa.
Holly is standing there, also a little flushed, giggling.
‘What on earth is going on here?’ I am shocked at the state of her. Her blonde hair has streaks of blue through it. Her eyebrows are thick and black. On her eyelids is a palette of eyeshadow in bright rainbow colours, and her eyelashes are so dark and thick they must be fake. Her lips are big, plump and red. I’m fairly certain that if I’d passed her in the street, I wouldn’t have recognised her.
‘We were dancing,’ she says, a sheen of sweat on her top lip.
‘What the hell is that on your face?’
‘I did her makeup,’ Teri says, coming to stand next to her. ‘And her hair.’ She rearranges a strand of Holly’s blue hair. ‘What do you think?’
‘Are you out of your mind?’ I say, staring at Holly.
‘What’s the matter with you, Kate?’ Teri asks, head tilted. ‘Don’t you like her new clothes?’
I was so focused on her face that I didn’t even register the clothes she’s wearing. And now I’m thinking,how could I possibly miss that?She’s wearing a red tartan miniskirt, black tights, black boots and a dark green T-shirt. I blink a few times.
‘Where did you get those?’
