a big one.
“There’s no drop on the bottom section of the run,” I say. “There’s no way someone could have pushed her off the edge.”
“No, but if she was incapacitated somehow they could kill her and leave her body in the trees. Elliot said himself that he wasn’t sure how the mountains affect the GPS signal. Maybe that’s what he discovered—that she wasn’t in the valley at all. Someone killed her on the piste.”
“Maybe…” But Danny’s comment has tipped off something in my mind. “But just a second, there’s one other problem with all of this.”
“What? I thought we were doing pretty well.”
“It all hangs together except for one thing. How did anyone know Eva was skiing La Sorcière? We’re talking as if someone went after her deliberately in the hopes of catching up with her. But no one saw her leave. No one knew she was skiing that run.”
“Fuck, you’re right.” Danny frowns again, his dark brows knitting together. “How the fuck did they know to go after her?”
“The only person…” I’m thinking, putting two and two together. “The only person who knew she was on that run was Ani. What if she told someone what she saw?”
“If she told someone…,” Danny says slowly, but when he finishes his sentence, it’s not what I expected him to say. “If she told someone, she could be in a fuck of a lot of danger. We have to find out who she told. And quick.”
LIZ
Snoop ID: ANON101
Listening to: Offline
Snoopers: 0
Snoopscribers: 1
“Fucking hell.”
Topher is in my room. Topher is in my room. He is pacing, back and forth, back and forth between me and the door. He looks demented. I don’t know what to do. My room has always been my refuge—the one place I could close the door and shut everyone else out—the smell of beer, the sound of my mother’s sobs, my father’s bellowing voice. Go to your room, Elizabeth. He meant it as a punishment. Instead, it was an escape.
Now my room has been invaded and my escape has been cut off.
“Fucking hell, Liz, this is a nightmare. They’re all looking at me. They all think it’s me!”
“Topher—”
I try to think what Tiger would do in this situation. Would she put her hand on his arm? Give him a hug? The latter makes me feel a bit ill, but I could try the arm.
I stick out my hand, awkwardly, but Topher is pacing. He just brushes straight past it like I was hailing a taxi and he was a driver with a passenger. I am not sure he even sees it. I go to chew my cuticles, then I shove my hand in my pocket to stop myself.
“God, I think I’m going mad. Oh Jesus, Eva. Eva!”
Topher stops and slumps onto my bed. He puts his face in his hands, and then to my horror, he begins to sob.
At least he’s stationary now. I put my hand out, trying to remember how Tiger calmed Carl down. I let it drop onto his shoulder.
But then he gives a huge wrenching sob, almost like he might be about to be sick, and I snatch it away.
“Topher,” I whisper. “Let me—” I look round the room, searching for inspiration. My eye falls upon the empty water glass by my bed. “Let me get you a glass of water.”
I’m not sure if he hears me as I tiptoe into the corridor. I shut the door, leaning against it, breathing hard.
Oh god, this is not what I am good at.
I am good at filing, and taking notes, and making sure everything adds up. I am good at tidying up loose ends and keeping everything straight. I am task-oriented and time-conscious and detail-focused. And I am very, very good at making myself invisible.
In short, I was a perfect PA. But I am not cut out for this.
ERIN
Snoop ID: LITTLEMY
Listening to: Offline
Snoopers: 5
Snoopscribers: 10
Danny and I should be washing up from lunch—it’s no joke, with no dishwasher. The only hot water now comes from kettles we boil on the woodburning stove, and it’s becoming a full-time task just to keep enough clean crockery to serve meals. The greasy crockery from lunch is piled high on the draining board, and cutlery is soaking in lukewarm water that’s fast losing its heat. But important as it is to keep the guests fed, keeping them alive is more crucial, and neither of us wants to leave the other on their own, so there is no discussion over who will