The Girl in the Mirror(84)

I nod slowly. The truth hurts. I don’t want to think about it. I need to think about Ben, my brother. I’ve neglected him for so long, but I can’t afford to do so any longer. I try again to get to my feet, and this time I manage. Ben moves away from the edge and looks away from me, back toward the parking lot. This is my chance. I have to make sure Ben doesn’t get arrested. I take a deep breath and clutch the armpits of my sister’s corpse. One great heave and her head and upper body slump over the edge of the bridge, leaving a trail of dark blood on the concrete. I let go, pausing to catch my breath.

Was that a twitch? No. Surely not. Ben killed her. I’m just cleaning up the mess. I push her legs, and she rolls, and now she’s falling.

A splash. She’s in the water now. She’s with the crocodiles. Instantly, I see movement on the bank. Long dark shapes glide into the water.

“What the hell have you done?” Ben shouts. “Now we look guilty!”

“It’s the only way,” I say. “I know what I’m doing. We can’t come clean. It’ll be a disaster for both of us. You’ll lose your scholarship. Even if you don’t end up in prison, this will ruin your life.”

Ben is as white as ash. “How can you do that to her?” he cries. “Think what will happen to her body!”

My eyes are drawn to the river, but I mustn’t watch. I don’t want Ben to see me looking, and in any case, a cloud has rolled over the moon, cloaking the river in darkness. But I can hear something. A disturbance in the water. The predators striking. The death roll. Something churns in my belly. Is she still alive? Can she feel that? What does it feel like to be eaten?

I can’t let myself think about it now. It doesn’t make any difference. The important thing is that there will be no body, no evidence.

“I did it so you wouldn’t have to, Ben,” I say, “because I love you. We need to stick together now. You’re the only one who knows who I am, and it has to stay that way.”

I take my brother’s arms and pull him to his feet. “Come on. The keys are in the ignition. I have to get back to Tarky. He’s home alone right now. How did you get here?”

“In my rental car,” says Ben.

“And the rifle?”

“It was Dad’s.”

“Does anyone know you had it?” I ask.

“No. I snuck into the garage at the beach house and took it from the safe.”

“No one saw you?”

“No one.”

“Good. Now get in the car and go. And never mention this in an email or on the phone. It’s best we never talk about tonight again. Go back to New York.”

“You can’t be serious,” he says. “What about Adam? How are you going to handle him?”

“Adam?” I repeat. “I don’t know what to think about Adam. She said he was in on it, but maybe she was just taunting me. She said that he had dreamed up some nasty ways to kill me, but I can’t believe it of him. He’s been so kind to me.”

“Come on, Iris, isn’t it obvious?” says Ben. “They’ve been planning it for years. Everything about Summer’s life was designed to pull you in. I wondered why they bought Bathsheba when Summer hates sailing. Adam had to be in on it.”

“Even if you’re right,” I say, “it doesn’t mean he agreed to the murder. Neither of them knew I was going to turn up tonight. I was meant to stay in the hospital. I think Adam’s plan was to let me take Bathsheba and leave. I’m sure he cares about me. Anyway, don’t worry about it. It’s my problem, and I’ll handle it.”

Ben is so virtuous that he would rather tell the truth even if it ruins his life. I will have to work hard to keep him from confessing. It’s the least I can do for him. She was going to kill me.

It’s perfect this way. I’ll be Iris for Ben and Summer for everybody else. Adam I’ll play by ear. Everybody gets the twin they love the most.

I’m in the car, turning the key, when Ben knocks on my window. I roll it down.

“You know, if I had arrived a few seconds later back at the hospital, you would be dead now,” he says. “And I would never know about it. Summer would have succeeded.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t tell you guys apart. I’ve never been able to. If I hadn’t seen you sniffing those iris flowers I would never have guessed who you were.”

“I still can’t believe you guessed,” I say. “I thought I was doing such a good job. You’re a legend, Ben.”

“Please don’t congratulate me,” he says. “I keep thinking, I didn’t give her a chance to drop the gun. I just shot her.”

“That’s true,” I say. “Why didn’t you?”

Ben makes a derisive noise. “If it had been you holding the gun, I would have reasoned with you. But come on. We’re talking about Summer. That bitch would have shot you without breaking a sweat.”



At noon on my birthday, Bathsheba arrives in Wakefield Marina, just in time for the memorial service to be held on board. We have to keep things brief; I haven’t made it to the hospital today yet. I had to take care of Tarky and clear away the broken phones.

My instinct last night was to put Ben on the first flight back to New York, but he decided to stay. It’s always possible that someone reported hearing a gunshot or finding bloodstains on Carmichael Bridge, and if this were somehow connected with Ben or his rental car, it would look bad for him to have fled the country. My sister’s body will be safely disposed of by now, but crocodiles don’t eat rifles. It seems unlikely that someone will fish my father’s rifle out of the river, but you never know. So Ben changed his flight again and slept the night at Mum’s. It’s uncomfortable for me, having him here today under false pretenses, but it’s the least I can do after he saved my life.