The Perfect Match: An Absolutely Gripping Psychological Thriller With a Breathtaking Twist by Smith Dandy

Author:Smith, Dandy [Smith, Dandy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781471415364
Amazon: 1471415368
Goodreads: 214911326
Publisher: Embla Books
Published: 2023-01-19T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Three

‘Everything is fine,’ soothes Henry down the line.

It’s the morning after Roman’s death. I’m gripping the phone so hard, my knuckles ache. ‘How can it be? How can anything ever be fine again?’

‘The police came. They interviewed enough people to know Roman was drunk. As far as they’re concerned, he wandered upstairs to find a bathroom, ended up in the bedroom and he fell. A tragic accident.’

‘That’s what Ivy said it was. An accident.’ Silence bristles down the line. Though neither he nor I have said it out loud, I feel Henry is as suspicious of her as I am. But if he thought she was responsible for Roman’s death, why did he have her escorted home? ‘Henry, I don’t understand why you wanted me and Ivy away from the party before the police were called.’

He sighs. ‘I didn’t know if you’d been there when he …’ He grapples for the right word. Clears his throat, ‘… when he fell. I didn’t want you getting stuck in the middle of anything.’

‘And Ivy?’

‘She’s important to you, so she’s important to me, too.’

I love Henry. I love him so much. Even though Ivy’s been spiky and difficult with him, he’s protecting her to protect me.

‘Thank you, Henry. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t found us when you did.’

‘Doesn’t bear thinking about.’

The idea of being held and questioned by police fills me with terror. ‘And are you OK?’ I ask, remembering that Henry and Roman were friends.

‘It’s a shock. Roman moved to New Zealand years ago so we hadn’t spoken in a long time. I’m just glad I got to see him again before …’ He trails off and, in the silence, I hear again the wet, bone-shattering thud of Roman’s body hitting the pavement. ‘I think you should move in here sooner,’ Henry says.

The swift change of subject catches me off guard. ‘How soon?’

‘This week.’

After last night, the idea of getting away from Holt House, away from her, is more appealing.

‘Roman’s death made me think,’ he says. ‘I’m not willing to spend another second apart from you, Zara. I can’t. Life’s too short.’

He wants me. Even after my mother, after this dreadful mess with Ivy and Roman, he still wants me. I feel as though I am watching Ivy tumble into the dark and there’s nothing I can do to help. As my relationship with her starts to wither, my relationship with Henry continues to grow. I must lean into that. Into the sun.

‘OK. This week,’ I tell him. His delight sizzles down the line.

And when I ring off, decision made, there is a thorny knot in my stomach because I know she won’t take the news well. I go to her room and stand outside, arm raised, ready to knock. Then stop. She isn’t here. I listen to the silence of Holt House. It doesn’t feel the same without her; it’s as though the blood that runs through the veins of it chills in her absence, leaving the bones of it cold.

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