Free The Savages by Matt Whyman Page B

‘I can’t wait.’
    â€˜You’re early.’ Jack slipped his arms around her waist. ‘I wasn’t expecting you for another hour at least, but I know a way to fill the time.’
    Seeing where this was going, Sasha smiled and removed his hand from her behind.
    â€˜Actually, I thought I could help you cook,’ she said, and took a step away.
    Jack grinned, nodding to himself as if somehow he’d just been presented with a challenge.
    â€˜Everything is under control,’ he told her. ‘For you, this evening is all about surprises.’
    Now it was Sasha’s turn to smile.
    â€˜Well, being here beats hanging around at home right now,’ she said, as Jack pulled out a chair for her. ‘It’s so boring when the place gets hired out for shoots.’
    â€˜Sounds cool to me.’ Jack crossed the kitchen floor to inspect a pan on the hob. ‘You must’ve had loads of famous people in your place.’
    â€˜Sometimes,’ said Sasha. ‘But it just means the whole family have to stay upstairs. Nothing interesting ever happens.’

10
    The body of Lulabelle Hart lay face up on the bathroom floor. The skin was beginning to take on a mottled texture, much like the mirror over the fireplace downstairs.
    As soon as Grandpa and Titus had hauled her out of the pan, it was clear that she had died with a look of utter surprise on her face. As a mark of respect, and in case it upset the baby, Angelica kneeled beside the corpse and closed her eyelids. At least then it didn’t look as if the woman was expecting the roof to fall in on her.
    â€˜Have you any idea what you’ve done?’ Titus asked Ivan, who by now was looking very subdued. He spoke quietly, and not just because of the crew downstairs. In times of anger, Titus never yelled at anyone. Instead, with his eyes pinched at the corners, he would voice his true feelings in a whisper that sounded like a bellow just waiting to break out. ‘You can’t just go killing people without purpose. How have I raised a boy who thinks this is acceptable? You’ve let me down very badly here. I’m so disappointed in you.’
    The boy shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other.
    â€˜We could always eat her,’ he suggested.
    Titus closed his eyes for a moment more than a blink.
    â€˜Ivan, we’ve no idea where she’s been.’
    â€˜But we have to do something,’ he said.
    Grandpa eased himself down to take a closer look.
    â€˜It would be a shame to let her go to waste,’ he said, and gently grasped her bicep as if to evaluate the flesh. ‘At least that way we know there’ll be no evidence left.’
    Titus glanced at his wife. Angelica looked down at the body, but Kat was back in her arms and wriggling to be set on the tiles.
    â€˜Normally this takes planning,’ she said. ‘I’m all out of onions, for one thing.’
    Joining Grandpa at ground level, Titus reached forward and grasped Lulabelle by the hinges of her jaw. Carefully, he opened her mouth to its full extent before running a finger along the inside of her upper teeth. He stared at the wall as he did so, concentrating hard.
    â€˜Eating is out,’ he declared, and removed his finger. ‘The tooth enamel has been eroded back there. It’s caused over time by stomach acids coming back up through vomiting. Whatever caused this poor young lady’s problems, she’s not a healthy specimen now. We’d be faced with kidney damage, ulcers, even brittle bones.’
    Clasping Titus by the shoulder for support, Grandpa rose to his feet.
    â€˜That’s a shame,’ he said. ‘For her and for us.’
    When Titus stood up, he found Angelica considering him.
    â€˜You’ll have to drop her off,’ she said. ‘Tonight.’
    Titus had already sensed that this was coming. Even before his wife had made the suggestion, he just knew that his Saturday evening on