‘What do you mean?’ cried Jodie.
‘I’m calling it a day. We’re done, Babe. Can’t do it anymore.’
I sat still, trying to be invisible, uncertain about which way this was going to go.
A spark from the fire cracked and made me jump.
Karen finally said something. ‘Mark’s got problems – haven’t you Mark? He’s not in his right mind.’
‘Yes, I am. I know exactly what I’m doing,’ he said absently, flicking bits of ash that had fallen on the rug. ‘I should have ended it ages ago – it was just so easy to carry on as things were.’
‘But why now? After all these years together?’ I said.
He threw his eyes over to Jodie. ‘Because she’s been banging on and on about settling down and it’s driving me nuts.’
‘YOU were the one who first mentioned marriage,’ Jodie screamed, glaring at him. ‘At Uni, remember?’
He ran his hand through his hair. ‘That was pillow talk… I wasn’t…you know…’ He turned to face Karen. ‘You have no hold over me anymore, so I’ll have it back, if that’s alright with you.’ He got to his feet and held out his palm. ‘We can end this stupid little farce right now.’
‘I told you – I haven’t got it. We had an agreement.’
He rubbed his stubble, shaking his head. Jodie looked like she’d just come up for air after a longer than comfortable period underwater. Her hair was all over the place, her cheeks wet, her eyes puffy and she was panting heavily. Shock and outrage had claimed every muscle in her body.
‘Karen’s been doing something pretty nasty,’ said Mark. ‘She’s been blackmailing me over my little affairs. Why do you think I agreed to come here? It certainly wasn’t for the sun, sea and sand.’
He’d given her the ten thousand pounds and now he wanted it back, hence the time I caught him snooping around in her room.
‘You didn’t tell Jodie, did you, Mark?’ said Karen in a superior tone.
‘Tell me what?’ she sniffled.
‘Mark won twenty grand in a game of blackjack a few months ago,’ she said breezily.
Mark sank down on the sofa arm with a loud sigh.
‘What are you talking about?’ Jodie whined. ‘He’s been borrowing money from me all the time. He hasn’t got any.’
‘Jodie, I hate to tell you this,’ said Karen. ‘But Mark has a serious gambling problem. It’s not just fruit machines anymore, is it Mark? I take it you didn’t know.’
Jodie’s face said everything; she looked completely blank.
‘That’s why he keeps slipping away,’ Karen said. ‘He’s got no Internet connection here so all his online gambling sites are out of reach.’
Jodie turned to him, disbelief twisting her face, waiting for him to challenge what Karen had said. Nothing happened.
Suddenly Jodie was on her feet. ‘I don’t care about the money. I care about what you two DID!’
She looked like she was going to throw a punch at Mark, then spun round to Karen. ‘You were my friend. You’ve played me for a fool all this time – you bitch!’
She grabbed something from a plate in the hearth and flung herself at Karen. The prongs of a fork sank into Karen’s bare arm and she squealed. I pushed Jodie away and she fell into Mark, almost toppling him over. He got up to keep her at bay.
The fork hung out of Karen’s arm at a right angle and for a second she stared at the blood trickling down in four thin lines. Then it fell to the floor.
‘You crazy bitch!’ yelled Mark shaking Jodie.
I ran for a tea towel and soaked it in cold water. I nudged Mark out of the way and gently held it against Karen’s wound.
Where the hell was Stuart? Why wasn’t he here beside me, like he said he’d be?
Mark shot his arm out and jabbed his finger at Jodie. ‘You. Upstairs. Now. Pack your bags.’
He turned to me. ‘Alice. Ring for a taxi. I want her out of here. And one for me. We’re both leaving.’
I was happy to do as I was told. As it happened, it was exactly what I wanted too.
Within the next hour, the dynamics at the cottage changed dramatically. A taxi arrived and Jodie left for good. In a flash, Mark was gone too.
It was just the two of us – and Mel – again.
Karen joined me by the fire once Mark’s taxi had driven away. Silence billowed out across the room. Mel had managed to sleep the entire time. Karen must have dosed her up with sedatives again. The quiet after the ferocious storm was like a soothing, but prickly, blanket. A false sense of security.
‘I thought you might have gone too,’ she hissed through gritted teeth, cradling her arm. I’d bandaged it while we waited for the taxis.