Bryony Pearce - The Weight of Souls

I looked into his eyes, then past, into Tamsin’s. She was still pale under her make-up, still rattled. If anyone was going to tell the truth at this moment, it was her. “I’m challenging Tamsin.”

Tamsin blinked owlishly. “Me?”

I touched Justin’s hand where it had tightened on my shoulder and nodded firmly.

She echoed her new boyfriend. “What do you want to know?”

I took a deep breath. “I want to know what really happened to Justin.”

Pete gasped, Harley’s eyes widened and Tamsin opened her mouth to deny all knowledge – I could see it on her face – but James’ hand trapped hers. “Respect the rules, Tam.” He glared at me from beneath his sculpted brow. “Oh’s one of us now and we’ve got videos of her we can send to the police if we have to.” He gave me a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Isn’t that right?”

I stared steadily back at him. “I have no intention of going to the police, whatever I hear.”

“You won’t talk to anyone at all.” He still leaned back, but his tone was threatening.

“No one,” I promised.

James released Tamsin’s hand and straightaway she reached for her napkin and began twisting it in her fingers.

“Tell her.”

Tamsin looked at James through her hair. “Can’t you do it?”

He shrugged. “She challenged you.”

Tamsin shook her head. “I wish I’d never seconded you, bitch,” she muttered.

“Tamsin.” Pete’s voice contained a warning, but James was grinning.

“That’s my girl.”

After a moment Tamsin stiffened her shoulders and brushed her hair back. “You’re not one of us, Oh. You might be in the club, but you’ll always be a freak.”

“So Justin’s death wasn’t an accident?”

Her fingers still moved, restlessly shredding paper. She glanced around us, checking that the waitress was nowhere near then she leaned forward. “Are you ready for this? Sure you want to hear our dirty little secrets?”

Under the table I slipped my glove from my hand and opened and closed my fist like I was cocking a weapon. “I’m ready.”

“Fine.” She leaned back. “Justin wanted out of the club.” She looked at James and he gave a slight nod so she carried on. “He was worried about how ‘dangerous things were getting’ .” Her voice spiralled up until she imitated a whine: her impression of Justin. He grunted as if she’d sucker punched him and his hand vanished from my shoulder. I checked and saw him slump at the nearest table to ours, still listening.

“Can you believe it?” Tamsin exhaled. “After all you did to get in, can you imagine anyone wanting to leave?”

I shook my head.

“I warned him. I asked if he’d considered how it would affect me?”

“You?” I frowned.

“Hello, suddenly I’d be going out with the biggest loser in school.” She tossed her hair and the peroxide strands caught the light like a fibre optic web.

I glanced at Justin. His own fists were curled on his knees and I couldn’t see his eyes.

“I begged him not to leave the club. He said if I was so worried about my social life he’d tell someone, get the club shut down.”

“He’d never have told.” I leaned forward. “You guys have videos, don’t you, proof of the stuff he’d done? He was going to Cambridge. It would have ruined his chances.”

Tamsin shook her head. “He was so bloody… honourable.”

My eyes went to the “honourable” ghost. He was pressing his fists into his thighs, shaking his head.

“He wouldn’t have told,” I reiterated.

“I couldn’t take that risk. None of us could. You think he was the only one applying to a good university?”

“So you were worried about a future bagging prawn crackers?” I sneered.

Tamsin curled her crimson lips. “Why not? V is our ticket. You’ve already worked out that we’re not the first generation. There’s a whole network. People in V work for people in V. Members get the good jobs, the chances. How do you think Mr Barnes got to be a head in such a short time? He’s useless.”

I looked at James and he nodded slowly.

“So, if you were afraid you'd lose this network and your chance of a good degree, what did you do?”

Tamsin’s fingers moved faster through the paper. “I spoke to James. He said he’d sort it.”

“Sort it?” My words emerged through gritted teeth and my gaze slid to James. He felt my eyes on him and actually winked at me.

Immediately I returned my focus to Tamsin’s drawl. “James told Justin he could leave without penalty on condition that he did a really serious dare. Then if he tried to go to the authorities about the club, we could grass him up.”

Justin didn’t move.

“So it was an accident?” I frowned.

Tamsin stared at her hands as if she had only just noticed what she was doing. “James asked me to make sure Justin agreed to his conditions. He had to take on a double dare when James gave him the nod. Harley was the one to find the scaffolding.” She dropped the ragged remains of the napkin on the floor. “Pete had to paint a mark on the highest pole, but James gave him oil.”

“ My God ,” Justin whispered.

My gaze went to Pete. Petrol Pete they’d been calling him. His feet were still stretched out under the table and his arms were crossed. But his knuckles strained like tombstones against his skin. “You made me do what ?” His voice was low and strained, verging on an explosion. Slowly he folded his legs under him and sat straight.

“You knew,” James sneered. “Why would I have wanted a paint stripe on the pole?”

Pete swore low and vicious. Tamsin’s eyes widened.

“Language,” James snorted and he straightened up too, a threat in his posture. “Part of you knew exactly what you were doing, Pete. And remember, if you do anything to me or if you decide to tell. Well, I’ve got the brush with your fingerprints.”

Pete swallowed. His fists shook on the table, but he made no move towards James.

I leaned forward, prompting Tamsin. “What next?”

She inhaled. “Pete challenged James to climb the scaffolding.” She ran trembling fingers through her hair. “James double-dared him to cross the part without a handrail. Pete refused – you can refuse a double if someone else will take it on – I gave Justin the nod and he took it.”

Horror squirmed like scarabs in my chest. “So you were all involved.”

She shook her head. “Justin shouldn’t have tried to leave the club. Anyway, it was James’ idea, his plan.”

I nodded. “Maybe that’ll be enough.” Then I spun in my seat, reached across the table and slapped James hard.

“You bitch.” James lurched to his feet. The black Mark glowed on his cheek for a moment; then settled in, as if something had taken a bite from his face.

Harley blinked as if he’d never seen James take a hit before and Tamsin jumped backwards, knocking her chair to the floor. “What’re you doing, you psycho?”

“ I’m the psycho?” I cried. “You effing killed your boyfriend so you wouldn’t have to be like me and Hannah, for what, a year? Because you were worried you wouldn’t get a great university place or a top job if the club was closed down?”

Justin was literally growling behind her. “Mark her,” he snarled.

I raised my hand to show him that the Mark was gone, transferred to James. “Oh no,” I whispered. The Mark remained, oozing over the tendons of my wrist like treacle. “It wasn’t enough.”

“What wasn’t enough?” Tamsin towered over me, the glare from her eyes like a blowtorch. “What’ve you done to my boyfriend’s face, you skank?”