The body was lifeless. A pool of blood had begun to collect on the floor. Brooke couldn't stop staring.
"Brooke, " Kane tried to get up, but the pain was too much. "What happened?"
She couldn't answer that, she didn't even know herself. Her hands had a mind of their own; it wasn't her. All she could do was cry.
Kane had to get up. He managed to use the nearby sofa to support him, and when he turned around, nothing could have prepared him for what he saw. His brother, the brother who had tormented him all these years, dead on his living room floor. He felt numb, not glad.
"I'm so sorry Kane, I thought he was gonna do something to us, and my hands were shaking so much and I just shot. I'm so sorry." Brooke couldn't even look at her remaining brother.
There was no breathing and no pulse was felt. His mind was racing, trying to think practically, blocking out all emotion. "We need to call someone."
"But what'll they do? I shot him. They're gonna ask questions."
"He's dead Brooke, what are we going to do with him?"
"I don't know, Kane, I don't know." How could her life change so much in the space of minutes? Now it was over, at least it could be. "We could take the body. Hide it. No one need know."
"Hide the body? How could you even…contemplate that after what you've done?"
She instantly regretted her previous statement, but she could hardly think before speaking. Tears continued to run down her face. "I know, it's the wrong thing to do and I shouldn't have said it, but I'm running out of options Kane. I always do the wrong thing."
"Don't worry, " he said before realising what a stupid thing he'd just said. It was difficult not to worry. "I'll sort it out, I'll call the police. You just … get some rest."
"I don't think I can."
"You're gonna have to try. Calm yourself down."
"Will I have to speak to the police? They'll put me away."
"They wont. I'll talk to them. When you calm down and we get our stories straight, then you can talk to them. I know how cops work."
"Ok." She took a deep breath. "I'll just be in my room then."
Kane watched his sister make her way to her room, then cast his eye on his dead brother. The situation seemed unreal, yet it was all in front of him. Slowly, he picked up the nearby phone, and began to dial.
Kirsty woke up feeling like everything was going her way. Her family hadn't suspected anything about the wedding and were acting like she was the perfect daughter; even Jade asked her how Kane was doing. It was almost like there was no wedding, except Kirsty knew she had the photos stored on one of those disposable cameras she'd bought on the ferry. They'd be a nice memento for her, until she had to tell her parents. She'd even hidden it in a pile of clothes on her floor, or so she thought. Her floor was clean; Beth had taken the clothes downstairs to wash.
"Jade, did you see a disposable camera anywhere?" she asked her sister, who was practically ready for school.
"No. What was on it anyway?"
"Just some random photos I wanted."
"You should have kept it safe."
Kirsty silently agreed. It had to be in this room, and even if it wasn't, what was the chance of someone developing the photos and looking at them. It had to be downstairs with the rest of the dirty washing. She ran down the stairs into the utility room, and was dismayed to see clothes in the washing machine, and no camera on the side.
"What're you looking for?" asked a nearby Max.
"Oh just a camera. You didn't see it did you?"
"Oh yeah, Aunty Beth had it. She took it to the chemists for developing, since she was going there anyway."
"All before nine in the morning?" Kirsty tried not to panic, there was still time. The photos would take days to develop, and she could get the receipt to collect them before then. No one would know about the wedding.
However, during the school day, Kirsty couldn't help worrying. There was always a chance that Beth put the photos in for one-day processing, and could get them before she had a chance to see her. Then she'd tell Rhys, who'd go to Kane — Kirsty couldn't bear to think about it.
"Brooke!" Finally, someone she could talk to about the situation. Brooke was just about to dash to her next lesson, she was already late. "I need to talk to you."
"Oh?" She tried to keep calm. Kirsty couldn't possibly know what had happened by looking at her face.
"You know the wedding photos, " she whispered. "I've lost the camera, and Beth has developed the photos. I'm freaking out."
"You'll get them back." Brooke wished that recovering lost photos was all she had to worry about.
"I hope so. Dad will kill me when he finds out!"
"That is kind of inevitable, Kirsty. People always find out in the end. You can't put it off, " said Brooke with a hint of uncertainty, after all, she wasn't following her own advice by letting Kane deal with everything. After he phoned the police, he'd given her some blankets and told her to sleep in the gym, just in case. It had been a lonely and sleepless night. She had no idea what had happened since.
"Well, I'll see you later then." Brooke looked slightly disheartened, but Kirsty put it down to jealousy. She didn't know much about Brooke's love life but it seemed kind of bleak compared to hers.
At the end of an ordinary, Kirsty practically ran home to see if Beth was home. Luckily, she was cooking the dinner early.
"Hi Kirsty, how was your day?" Beth tried to connect with her wayward stepdaughter, who recently had become a bit distant.
"Great, " Kirsty tried to make the change of subject sound natural. "Did you happen to find a camera in my room?"
"Yes I did, I took it to the chemists this morning. Sorry I didn't tell you, but I had to go there anyway."
"That's fine. When will they be out?"
"Hopefully tomorrow."
"Great." Kirsty breathed a sigh of relief and was about to go upstairs, when the phone rang.
Beth picked it up. "Hello? — Yes she is. Kirsty, it's for you. It's the police."
Kirsty froze, thinking that it could be something to do with the marriage. "Hello?"
"Kirsty Phillips? It's Sergeant Squires here calling from Yabbie Creek. I'm afraid your husband Kane has been arrested for murder."