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Well, she would do, wouldn’t she? But why would I kill him?
POLICE
You seem very calm, Mrs Page, if you don’t mind me saying.
CP
Because I knew something like this would happen in the end. [Pause.] Louise always said if she couldn’t have him, no one else would. I guess she meant it, didn’t she?
The day of the party
Chapter 43
Caz
I stand by the sofa, watching Andy sleep. People are always supposed to look defenceless and innocent when they’re asleep, when their guard is down, but all I see is a liar. He’s betrayed me so many times, in so many ways. I’ve always come second to Louise. Second wife, second choice.Always. But that’s not why I’m doing this. I made peace with my place in Andy’s life when I married him. This is aboutjustice. About doing what I should have done years ago, in a different time and in a different place, to a different man.
My mother wasn’t strong enough to do what needed to be done, butIam. I should’ve done it last night, but the commotion my stupid blunder caused knocked my plans off course. I still have some instinct for self-preservation: I’ll go to jail if I have to, but it’s not my first choice. I’ll come under suspicion no matter what; the spouse is the first person the police always suspect. But in this case, there aretwoof us. All I need to do is create reasonable doubt. My intention had been to do that by acting during a period of time in the eveningwhen no one knew exactly where everyone else was, but thanks to the furore I kicked off, that didn’t happen. So Andy earned another twelve hours of life he didn’t deserve.
He didn’t even speak to me when he finally got back last night. His contempt is more embarrassing than a row would have been. I’ll tell the police we fought; it’ll sound more believable.
It’d be easy to kill him now, while he’s sleeping, but I need to be seen out this morning, to establish a clear window of time when Andy was alone and give myself an alibi. So I make sure I’m remembered going down to the beach. I throw a scarlet linen tunic over the top of my red bikini, and then saunter up the path to the hotel. I wouldn’t normally give the two middle-aged tennis players limbering up for a match the time of day, but this morning I go out of my way to comment on the glorious weather and wish them luck. Two bored waiters straightening chairs on the terrace get the benefit of a wide smile. I can feel their eyes follow me all the way down the wooden steps towards the lagoon.
The tiny beach is surprisingly busy this early in the morning, with a number of swimmers already in the sea. I strip off, and wade out into the lagoon, diving below the surface and swimming underwater until my lungs feel tight. Even in July, the water is cold. Adrenalin courses through me.I’m not a victim anymore.I’m finally taking charge of my own life again, and it feels good.
When I emerge from the waves, a woman about my own age is coming down the wooden staircase in a redbikini very similar to my own. It’s an unexpected stroke of good luck: one blonde in a red swimsuit looks much like another. Another sign the gods are on my side. I wait till she’s swum out to the floating pontoon in the lagoon and settled herself in the sun, then tuck my wet hair up under a nondescript baseball cap and throw on a plain denim dress from my beach bag, which now holds the eye-catching red tunic. Reasonable doubt. That’s all I need.
