Shannon
I was a mess.
I’d barely moved from where I stood in my kitchen, trying to comprehend that Margie could possibly be behind all this. I wanted Jace to be wrong so badly, but if she really were Cai’s sister, then it made far too much sense. I’d known her for over two years, had confided in her with so much personal stuff, and she’d been lying to me the entire time.
Needing something to help me calm down, I grabbed my fake vape and took a long puff of cherry flavoured air. It didn’t help to relax me like it normally did. Not one bit.
Maybe Jace was wrong. All the stress had gotten to him, and he was clutching at straws. Maybe, by sheer coincidence, Margie resembled Cai’s sister, and Jace had jumped to conclusions because he was so desperate for the mystery to be solved. Yes, that was it. He was stressed out and trying to pin the crime on anyone who could fit the bill. I didn’t blame him. I might’ve done the exact same thing in his position.
I became aware of the noise of the bins being collected, the loud, rumbling of the collection truck outside. On autopilot, I walked out to bring my empty bin back in when suddenly Viola was there. Her flowery perfume stung my nose, her coiffed hair so perfect it bothered my eyesight.
With the morning I was having, she was the last person I wanted to deal with.
“I’d like to have a word with you about those cameras you’ve installed, Miss Guerin.”
Of course, she did.“What about them?”
“You do realise it’s against the law to film anything outside of your property line, so if there’s a view of the street or our house next door, you’ll need to adjust the camera angles.”
“The angles are fine. We made sure nothing was being captured other than my own front and back garden,” I said, about to leave, but then I paused. I was so sick of her uppity attitude, not to mention the fact that she never gave a hoot that I was almost run over by a car right in front of her. Not once had she enquired about my wellbeing.
“You saw what happened to me that day with the car. I could’ve been injured or worse. Incidents like that need to be recorded, so perhaps filming the street wouldn’t be such a bad idea. In fact—”
“Yes, well, if you didn’t get into fights with your own friends, then maybe they wouldn’t try to run you over. Honestly, Miss Guerin, the company you keep—”
“What?” I interrupted, confused. That was exactly what she’d said the day it had happened. Viola had looked down her nose at me and tutted,“The company you keep, Miss Guerin.”I had no idea what it had meant at the time, but now, with a dawning sense of horror, I thought I might.
“The blonde who’s always stopping by your place,” she went on, looking pleased to deliver the news when she saw I was clueless. “I was sitting in my window nook having breakfast, like usual, when I saw her park up just outside Mr Morris’ place. I thought to myself, oh, Miss Peroxide got herself a new car. Then I thought, well, she and Miss Guerin must’ve had some falling out because she walked right up to your house and dumped a bag of litter all over the pavement. Then I saw her return to the car and put on a big pair of sunglasses and a hat. I was about to step outside and give her a piece of my mind about littering, but you’d already come out to pick it up. That was when I spotted her driving towards you at speed. I mean, what do a pair of friendsfight over that one tries to run the other over? Then again, I don’t keep company with unsavoury types, so I wouldn’t know … Miss Guerin?”
I was already walking away from her in a daze, hurt and anger and shock clogging my throat. I couldn’t believe it. Margie was the one driving the car? She’d wanted to hurt me? Viola might’ve been a pain, but she had no reason to lie.
Everything fell on top of me like a tonne of bricks, so heavy I could barely breathe. I was back in my house, hyperventilating and panicking, a migraine thumping through my skull when the vibration of my phone broke through the noise.
It was Jace.
“Hello?”
“Shannon.” His voice was urgent. “It’s not Margie. I was wrong.”
“No, you—”
“It’s Dixon. Dixon has been behind the whole thing. Bloody hell, my dad did a background check on him, and he’s been doing this for years. Conning people online with false identities, taking their money.”
“Wait, Jace. I don’t understand. Margie’s the one who—”
“He’s gone!” someone shouted in the background. It sounded like Jace’s dad. “What do you mean he’s gone?” Jace replied, distracted from our call.
“I mean, he’sgone. Vanished. We just tried to call him, and he’s not picking up. I don’t know how he got the jump on us, but we’re about to head to his apartment. He might’ve gone back there to pack his things before doing a runner.”
“Jace, what’s going on?” I asked, perturbed.
“Listen, Shannon. Is Isla still outside your place?” I walked to the window and peered out. Isla sat in her car, singing along to some song on the radio while watching the street. “She’s still here,” I told him.
“Good. I’ll call her to be on alert in case Dixon shows up. Stay inside and lock the doors until I call you back. Okay?”
“Okay, but Jace—”
“I’ll be there soon to explain everything. I have to go.”
