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“It’s like a never-ending nightmare,” I say, pushing to sit up.
“I know you’re trying to help me,” he says, “but please don’t put yourself in danger because of it. I’ll find a way to get rid of Jolene.”
“What if she gets pregnant?” I ask, my voice quiet.
“I don’t know,” he replies, shrugging. “I hate myself right now, and I tried to end it with you so we wouldn’t have to feel like this—me full of guilt and you full of hurt. But you told me to stay focussed, didn’t you?” I nod. “So, you have to do the same. She uses you as a threat constantly, and I’ll do anything to keep you safe, including shit I don’t want to do.”
“It’s just hard knowing you’ve . . .” I sigh heavily. “It’s just hard.”
He nods. “I know. The whole situation is fucked-up.”
“I terminated the pregnancy with Grim,” I admit.
“You don’t have to tell me, Angel. I admit it pissed me off when I found out, but it was shock, that’s all. You did what you had to do, and it’s your past.”
“It was after that I realised that I didn’t hate the thought of babies as much as I thought I did. But it was too late, I’d already done it, so when Hadley told everyone she was expecting, it broke my heart. I was happy for her but so sad for myself. Then, I shut it down and told myself I was fine without kids. I’d probably only mess them up, anyway.”
“Don’t say that. You’ll make a great mum.”
“I just feel like it’s going to happen all over again. Jolene’s going to end up making that big announcement instead of me.”
Arthur kisses me on the forehead. “It’s not going to happen, Meli. I promise. Now, get up and dress. Rosey is waiting for you.”
Rosey looks serious when I find her at the kitchen table. “Did you sleep?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “I took Ollie to school and then sat here to work out what we say to the police.”
I take a seat. “Okay.”
“We go with the truth. It was a date, but we were weirded out when we arrived and it was just those two in an empty bar, and when we tried to make an excuse to leave, they got nasty. But we say Curtis was aggressive. We tell them what he said about Danny attacking you and that Jolene hired them to do it because she was jealous you had a fling with Arthur.”
“It’s practically the truth,” I say, nodding.
“Exactly. But when Curtis said all that, Danny got mad, they argued, and Danny smashed the bottle and threatened Curtis. He laughed at him, said things like he was weak and the screw-up of the family, so Danny stabbed him. We mention I went to remove the bottle in a panic, so I could help him, but you told me if I removed it, he would bleed out. That covers any DNA from me. Say Danny was acting crazed after he hurt his brother, muttering that Jo would kill him. I questioned him on that, and he told us Jolene killed her husband by pushing him off a rooftop. If they ask, we don’t know who her husband was. We tell them that Danny told us she’d hired them to kill her own brothers, we say we didn’t believe him and we told him that, so he told us they were placed in acid at a warehouse on Tarrant Street.”
“Tarrant Street,” I repeat. “Got it.”
“It’s important you sound natural. Pause and act like you’re trying to recall details. Don’t reel all this off.”
I roll my eyes. “I know how to talk to the police, I’ve been doing it my whole life. What do I tell them about me and Arthur?”
“Just that you were sleeping together, but it ended. Don’t tell them he’s with Jolene, just that she likes him and he keeps giving her the brush-off.”
“Won’t they check on that? Her stuff is in his room.”
“It won’t be by the time the police get there.”
“Did you find the hit person?” I smile with relief until she shakes her head.
“No, not yet, but with the club on lockdown, you’ll be safe, and so will Arthur’s brothers. Albert is on the way to collect their mother as we speak. Mav tracked her to Jolene’s apartment.”
The two male officers take notes while I speak. I occasionally blow my nose and wipe my eyes for effect. “I thought he was going to kill us all,” I continue. “When he started talking about Jolene and how she was crazy, I really got worried. I was scared he’d call her and she’d come.”
“Why did he say she was crazy?” asks one of the officers.
I shrug. “I’m not sure. He was acting terrified, saying she was going to kill him for what he’d done to his brother. Rosey laughed at him because Jolene doesn’t seem the type. I mean, she’s a cow, don’t get me wrong, but she seems a bit dim. He said it’s all an act and that she killed her husband.” They both stare at me with wide eyes. “I didn’t even know she had a husband cos she’s been flirting with Arthur like she’s single. Anyway, Danny said she killed him so . . .” I shrug.
“Did he say how she’d done that?”
