Page 95 of Darling Girls

‘Yes,’ Alicia said. ‘It’s an opportunity for us to get justice for Amy.’

Norah came to stand on Jessica’s other side. Miss Fairchild watched them, her face twisting bitterly. ‘For God’s sake, when will you girls ever let up aboutAmy? The police already decided she was nothing but a fantasy.’

‘When they identify the body as Amy’s,’ Norah said, ‘which theywill, when the coroner sees her extra toe, you’re going to have some explaining to do.’

‘Except they won’t identify her – because it’s not Amy.’ She sounded so sure of herself.

‘Who is it then? Some other child you killed?’

Miss Fairchild took a breath, as if suddenly overcome by emotion. ‘Do you really think I’d kill a child? What kind of monster do you think I am?’

She looked to Jessica for help. The fact that she expected support from Jessica after everything she’d done filled Norah with sudden rage.

‘What I want to know is how you knew to get rid of Amy that day,’ she said, narrowing her eyes at Miss Fairchild. ‘Did you know we were planning to report you, or was it just a coincidence?’

‘Oh.’ Miss Fairchild’s gaze flicked to Jessica, and for a moment she seemed almost amused. ‘You didn’t tell them?’

Jessica’s cheeks flamed. Norah wasn’t sure what was going on, but she took a protective step in front of her sister.

‘You girls always seemed so perplexed when I knew things,’ Miss Fairchild continued, seeming happier now. ‘Meanwhile, the school was always going on about how smart you were, Norah!’

Norah glanced back over her shoulder. Jessica’s head remained down.

‘I had an informant, of course. Jessica told me everything.Everything. Right up until that final day.’

‘What?’ It took Norah a moment to reframe her memories. And then she realised: it was obvious. All the little things that no one knew but the three of them. Of course Jessica told her. How else could she have known?

She turned to face her sister. ‘Youtoldher?’

She recalled the day they’d reported Miss Fairchild. Jessica running back inside for her schoolbag.Jessicahad tipped her off that she needed to erase every trace of Amy.

‘How could youdothat?’ Norah cried.

A tear dripped off Jessica’s chin.

‘You three might be thick as thieves now,’ Miss Fairchild said, clearly enjoying herself, ‘but Jessica was loyal to me before she even met you. She probably always will be.’ She looked triumphant.

Norah’s fists began to clench.

‘Just to be clear,’ Alicia said to Miss Fairchild, ‘there’s only one person we blame for any of this, and that’s you.’

Miss Fairchild rolled her eyes. ‘Lucky me,’ she said. ‘Getting to be the scapegoat for all of your troubles!’

She gave an odd little laugh as she walked a few paces towards her car.

‘You’re only a scapegoat if you didn’t actually do the thing you’re being accused of,’ Norah said.

Miss Fairchild stopped, turned. ‘Which is what? Killing a child?’ She laughed. ‘What I want to know is, if I’m supposed to be a child killer, why did I let the three of you live?’

It was a good question, Norah realised. One that none of them had an answer for.

‘The truth is,’ Miss Fairchild continued, turning back towards her car, ‘I’m as keen as you are to find out who is under that house and how they got there.’

49

JESSICA

‘Ibarely touched her,’ Norah said to Meera, who was already asking questions.