Forty-Three

Before dawn, Pip and Ravi return to the Hastings house with Max’s car nearly out of fuel. Pip goes in alone to minimize risk. She wipes the car keys with Max’s hoodie, treks crime-scene mud upstairs, hides Max’s muddy trainers in his wardrobe, replaces his cap, lightly washes the bloodstain on his hoodie and buries it in his laundry, and restores his phone to the table. She cleans and refills his drugged water bottle, confirms Max remains unconscious, and removes the duct tape from the exterior cameras.

Outside, Ravi waits to ensure Pip’s safety. They walk home in silence, exchange I love yous, and separate. Back in her room, Pip breaks down briefly, then resumes the plan. She mixes and drains bleach, then lays out all contaminated items: clothing, gloves, tape, a rubber tube, and other materials. She cuts everything into small pieces, planning to flush them so they enter public sewage and become untraceable.

Through the early morning, Pip alternates between the upstairs and downstairs toilets, flushing small handfuls to avoid blockages. As she works, she imagines police and DI Hawkins being alerted by the fire and then finding the bloody scene and Jason Bell’s body, counting on their time-of-death assessments to align with her setup. By around 7 a.m., she finishes flushing the last pieces and showers.

When her parents wake for a Legoland trip with Joshua, Pip convincingly claims a night of vomiting and diarrhea, explaining the bleach smell and toilet activity. She urges them to go without her. After tender exchanges with her mum and dad, they depart, giving Pip the house and time she needs.

Using her dad’s drill, Pip destroys both burner phones (hers and Jason’s), removes and snaps the SIMs, and distributes sealed trash bags: trainers under rubbish on West Way, SIMs and batteries on Romer Close, and the drilled phones on Wyvil Road. With bin day imminent, she ensures they will be irretrievable.

Exhausted and shaking after the night’s operations, Pip returns home and collapses. With the framing complete and evidence eliminated, she resolves to do nothing conspicuous—no searches or drive-bys—and simply wait for the news that Jason Bell has been found and his death ruled a homicide.