The Family Game(62)

Somewhere where men aren’t allowed.

The first place that comes to mind is my gym, and the female-only changing rooms. Going to the gym isn’t going to raise any alarms and there are lockable stalls there. I could listen in safety.

I grab my gym bag and swim things from the closet and slip on my sneakers before retrieving the tape player from under the mattress.

Edward’s head pokes out of the bathroom as I make my way to the front door and raise my gym bag in explanation. Toothbrush in mouth, he gives me a cheerful thumbs up as I head out the door.

The desire to slip on my headphones and start listening as soon as I leave the building is almost too much, but I hold off. I need my wits about me until I can get somewhere where I can’t be disturbed. Robert’s confession isn’t an interesting podcast to be listened to on the go – the future of my family entirely depends on the words on that cassette.

I swipe through the turnstiles at the gym, heading straight for the female changing rooms, which I find, thankfully, empty. I slip into a cubicle, lock the door and plop down onto the cubicle bench. After a moment of welcome silence, I pull my gym bag onto my lap, unzip it, and retrieve its precious cargo. I take a breath and shuffle into a more comfortable position, then flip the tiny cassette over onto the B side, slide the headphones on and press play.





31 The Tape




Part 3

Before we discuss the future – and what it holds for us – I want you to be in full possession of the facts. The body count, if you will.

Bobby started this story. He jumped.

Then Lucy had to go.

Then Alison. And Gianna.

Gianna was the easiest. Her family accepted the version of events presented to them. Their daughter was like that, you see: hard to manage. It was only a matter of time, they concluded, before something like that happened. And accidents do happen. Losing friends can be hard. But I digress.

The point is, if one does one’s homework, people can disappear with surprising ease. It is possible to briefly come into contact with someone and make them slip out of the everyday flow of life. Subtly, ambiguously, conveniently. Gone.

Not your chosen technique for ending a life, I know, Harriet. And while I have never tried your fire-and-brimstone approach, I can see its warm allure. Forgive me if I am being facetious.

My point is, if ending a life is unavoidable, it is usually best to be ambiguous about it. Better not to burn out than to fade away.

I am getting old, Harriet, and the truth is I cannot continue to do things as I have in the past. I cannot contain all of this indefinitely; I alone cannot hold this family together. And that is where you come in. I must share what I know, pass on the baton. These are the names, the places, the dates.

It seems only fair, given I know the details of yours, that you should know these. Quid pro quo, as they say. Do as you wish with the information, but know the consequences.

I expect you’ll want to get a pen.

Lucy Belson, 2002.

Alison Montgomery, 2003.

Gianna Scaccia, 2004.

Aliza Masri, 2020.

Melissa Brown, 2021.

I thought for a period of time that the urge had passed. That it was over and I would not need to intercede in matters again. But it came back – the need, the necessity to correct the errors of others.

These are the facts and this is your area, Harriet Reed. Do your best. Use that sharp mind of yours, but move with care, because I think you know how this all goes if you make the wrong move.

You are not the first person I have divulged these secrets to, but you could be the first person to survive the knowledge. I have faith in you, at least.





32 Cat and Mouse




Wednesday 21 December

I jab the pause button and scramble in my gym bag for a pen, settling instead for my iPhone notes. I rewind the tape, then, phone resting on knee, I hit play.

Once the final name is spoken, I click off the recording and look at my list.

Lucy Belson – 2002

Alison Montgomery – 2004

Gianna Scaccia – 2004

Aliza Masri – 2020

Melissa Brown – 2021



Five names. Five women.

A gap of sixteen years between the two sprees. Two of the deaths are recent. I shiver as I look at the final date. I met Edward around the time of Melissa Brown’s death. I can’t help but wonder if Robert gave her a tape too.

I notice a new name wedged between Lucy and Gianna’s; one I have not heard before. Alison Montgomery. Robert hasn’t mentioned her until now.

There’s a soft rap on the changing room door and I jerk up, sending my iPhone clattering across the floor.

‘Sorry,’ an apologetic voice comes from beyond the cubicle. ‘Just wondering if you’re nearly done in there?’

Shit.

I notice the bustle now coming from the changing room. I hadn’t noticed it till now, but the lunchtime rush has begun. ‘Um, yeah, yeah, sorry, one minute.’ I quickly shove everything back into my bag, iPhone slightly wet and stinking of chlorine. I’m just about to pull open the door when it dawns on me that I’ve come into a changing room and done nothing. I can’t just leave the gym. If anyone was following me, it would almost certainly raise suspicions if I never even made it out of the changing area.

I dump my bag back on the seat, strip off, and slip on my bathing suit.