Killer Princesses: Gripping and gritty, a twisty and tantalising thriller...

by Jennifer R Hollis

  Debbie: I thought Renee was behind the murders and ‘Princesses.’ I wanted to warn Gillian. You can imagine how stupid and awful I feel about that now.

  Karen: I went with Debbie. She – I mean we – thought Gillian was in danger. When we got there, we realised what was going on, between Renee and Kevin. You know, the affair and the pregnancy. And we were about to leave them to it. But then Gillian appeared and blocked the door to the room we were in.

  Officer: What happened directly before the shooting?

  Karen: Gillian was saying we were all a threat to her, that she didn’t want to kill us, but we’d left her no choice. Debbie was so brave. She said to Gillian, ‘you can do the right thing, you could stop ‘Princesses’, turn yourself in.’ But she didn’t want to do that.

  Renee: Kevin said he wouldn’t let her harm us, that we were all leaving together, but then Gillian pulled out the guns. Then he stopped because we were all unarmed and she had two guns. She pointed one at me, and I can’t remember much until, well, until Kevin pulled the trigger.

  Debbie: Gillian gave Kevin an ultimatum. She said, if he killed Karen and me, she’d let him leave with Renee. Gillian said she’d blame ‘Princesses’ and all the murders on them. She didn’t know that you’d already figured it out.

  Officer: Who shot Gillian?

  Debbie: I can’t be sure, because I closed my eyes, I didn’t see it happen, but surely, there’s only one thing that could have happened? Kevin shot her.

  Renee: You have to understand; she was forcing him to kill Debbie and Karen. He had no choice but to turn the gun on her. And you know, even if he’d done it, killed Debbie and Karen, Gillian would have killed me anyway. He saved our lives, all three of us, and our baby’s, so if you find him, please remember that.

  Karen: It all happened so fast. Kevin pointed his gun at Debbie, and Gillian was counting down, pointing hers at Renee, and looking at him. She said, ‘do it now, Kevin, or I’ll kill Renee.’ Then she turned her head to look at Debbie and me like she wanted to watch us die. But that meant she couldn’t see Kevin, and at the last second, he turned away from us and shot Gillian instead.

  Officer: Why do you think Kevin ran?

  Renee: Because he’s scared. Look at what happened to Debbie! Locked up for two weeks even though she wasn’t involved. He ran because he knows he’ll get the blame for it all, but he doesn’t deserve it. He had no choice but to kill Gillian, and he didn’t kill Dawn, he looked me in the eye and said it.

  Debbie: Look, he saved my life, and I am so grateful. And he genuinely loves Renee. They love each other, that’s obvious. But that doesn’t make him innocent. I saw him, the night Dawn died, and I still don’t believe she killed herself. And even if Gillian was running it, how could he not have known about ‘Princesses’? He must have known where the money was coming from. He must have known why Gill sent him to kill someone, even if he didn’t do it in the end. He ran because he has stuff to hide.

  Karen: I don’t know Kevin. And I can’t tell you whether he helped Gillian with the murders or with ‘Princesses’. But think about what he went through this evening. He found out the woman he loves is pregnant, so he agrees to this new life with her, to run away. Then we storm in and start accusing her. His wife appears with guns and makes him choose between Renee and us, and then he has to kill Gillian to save three innocent people and his child. The fact he ran doesn’t make him guilty or not guilty. I think he ran because he was in shock and wanted to buy himself some time.

  Epilogue: Rosie

  Monday 27th May 2019 – Renee

  Renee stood in the middle of her garden on a warm Bank Holiday Monday. She frowned as she absent-mindedly prodded the food sizzling on her barbeque. She’d turned the burgers a few times, but she hadn’t paid attention to the instructions on the packet.

  “Rachel!” she shouted, and Marie’s partner ran down the stairs from the patio to join her.

  “Are these done, do you think?” asked Renee, as she prodded the food again. “I don’t want to lose another colleague by accident…”

  “Oh, Renee! Why don’t you leave me in charge of this, so you can go and greet the guests? They’re arriving now, and Marie is trying to welcome them, but, well, you know...”

  “Oh God, say no more!” chuckled Renee.

  She passed the tongs into Rachel’s more capable hands and made her way towards the house. Through the patio doors, she could see a group of her aunts and cousins in a huddle. Jade was in the middle of them, holding a tiny bundle in her arms.

  Renee’s cousin, Claire, looked up from the crowd with a smile.

  “Finally, Ren, someone’s getting more attention than you!”

  Jade passed the baby to an aunt and turned towards Renee and Claire with a sigh of relief.

  “You’re a natural, Jade,” commented Claire, and Jade smiled and blushed.

  “She’s a Godsend,” sighed Renee, as she put her arm around Jade and kissed her on the head.

  “She’s staying with me for a little while, aren’t you? She’s working full time and helping me out with Baby.”

  “That’s amazing,” replied Claire. “Then what, are you off to Uni or something?”

  “Oh, no,” replied Jade. “My friend Ethan, he’s going to study law in September, but I’m staying here. My new boss has got me onto a management training scheme at the supermarket.”

  “Speak of the devil,” announced Renee, as she peered out the window. “Here she is, mine and Jade’s new boss.”

  Claire followed Renee’s gaze towards the woman and her family walking through the front gate.

  “And do we like her, this new boss?” whispered Claire.

  “Well, she can’t be worse than the last one,” muttered Jade, with a glint in her eye.

  Renee burst out laughing as she swung the door open.

  “Renee,” greeted Debbie, with her arms outstretched. “You look amazing, and it’s only been two weeks since you gave birth, it’s not fair!”

  “Oh, stop it. Not everything is back in shape yet, let me tell you…”

  “You’ve met my husband Joe, and these are our children, Marco and Abbie,” interrupted Debbie, as Renee ushered them in.

  Debbie’s son gave Renee the slightest of glances as he hurried in, and turned a dark shade of red.

  “Well, where is she then?” asked Debbie, as she looked into the crowded living room.

  “Here,” answered Renee as she reached over and retrieved Baby from the group of family members. “Here’s Baby, her real name to be confirmed soon.”

  “Oh, look at her!” gasped Debbie, as Baby wiggled her arms and opened her eyes for a few seconds at a time. “She’s adorable, Renee, just perfect.”

  “Apple didn’t fall far from the tree,” commented Joe. “She’s gorgeous.”

  Debbie raised her eyebrows and gave Joe a sharp look. He continued to stare and smile at Baby, oblivious to his faux pas.

  “Don’t worry, Debbie,” whispered Claire. “I think Renee’s learnt her lessons about messing around with her boss’ husbands.”

  “Jesus, Claire!” laughed Renee.

  Debbie’s eyebrows lifted even further, and Joe turned his head in shock.

  The doorbell rang again; Claire opened it for Karen, who stood at the door hand in hand with both Steve and her daughter.

  “Ahhh!” she beamed as she stepped inside and looked at Baby. “Renee, she looks just like you! Look at her hair, Steve.”

  “Claire, this is Karen and Steve,”

  “Oh, the ones who...”

  “Yes, I told you, they had an affair,” stated Renee, as Karen’s daughter frowned. “Terrible behaviour, obviously, but now they’re together, which is lovely. Come in, come in.”

  “Thank you, Renee, for the introduction,” grimaced Steve, as he wiped his shoes on the doormat.

  After an hour or so, Renee had lost track of time again. Everyone seemed to be well fed and watered, thanks to Marie and Rachel. Princess the cat kept a watchful e
ye as the guests passed Baby around. She hissed and pawed at Renee’s leg whenever Baby seemed unhappy.

  When some of her older family members had left, Renee noticed Karen, Debbie and Jade talking on the patio. She grabbed Marie and a fresh glass of fizz and joined them.

  “I think we should have a little toast, don’t you? To the Supermarket Supervisor Survivors Group!” she announced, and they all raised their glasses.

  “That’s not a thing, Renee!” said Debbie, with a roll of her eyes.

  “It is! Look at us all, still standing after Gillian Prince’s reign of terror. Just you wait until they start with the TV documentaries, the dramas. We could play ourselves!”

  “Renee,” implored Marie. “Four people died...”

  “You’re not drinking, Marie,” interjected Karen, gesturing to the glass of orange juice in Marie’s hand. “Are you pregnant too?”

  Renee and Debbie exchanged a glance as Marie scowled at Karen with narrowed eyes.

  “So,” said Debbie, breaking the silence. “When are we going to hear the name, Renee? You must have one by now.”

  “Oh, not quite yet,” smiled Renee. “Though I suppose we can rule out any variation of ‘Gillian.’”

  “Renee!” Debbie and Marie objected, as both Karen and Jade stifled a giggle.

  “Oh, come on,” laughed Renee. “The therapist said we should try and joke about it if we need to, you know, lighten the mood. It’s good to talk about what happened to us!”

  “Have you heard from Kevin then?” asked Karen, eagerly.

  “Nope, nothing,” sighed Renee as she shook her head. “I thought, maybe after Baby was born, I would hear something. The police thought so, too. They’ve been here twice in the last two weeks asking me if he’s been in touch. But he hasn’t, and they can’t find him. He must have made it abroad somehow, I suppose.”

  She sighed and looked down at her glass.

  “He had a lot to answer for, Renee,” said Debbie, as she reached out to touch Renee’s arm. “You and Baby are going to be fine without him. Look at everyone you have here to support you.”

  Renee took a deep breath and nodded. Since Kevin fled on Christmas Eve, she had tried to push him from her mind, but she hadn’t succeeded. He always hovered on the periphery of her thoughts.

  Often, she slipped into a daydream of a different life, that featured only herself, Kevin, and Baby happy and safe together. Despite everything that had happened, she would embrace it all in an instant.

  Half an hour or so later, she saw the last guests out. Her eyelids felt heavy, and she craved a lie-down. In the garden, Marie and Rachel laughed and joked as they packed up all the food. In the kitchen, Jade was part-way through a massive stack of washing up.

  “Leave some of that for me, Jade,” yawned Renee from the sofa, where she’d sprawled herself.

  “Don’t be silly,” replied Jade with a smile. “Why don’t you take Baby upstairs and have a nap with her. She’s almost asleep too, look.”

  Renee peered into the little Moses basket and saw her daughter rubbing her eyes for the first time. Her heart jumped, and she felt another wave of love course through her. With a weary smile, she carried Baby up the stairs.

  She placed her gently in the middle of her bed. She could see why everyone thought Baby was the spitting image of her. The thick dark hair and the chocolate brown eyes flecked with gold were a giveaway. And whenever Baby yawned or made a noise, two little dimples appeared on her cheeks, exactly like Renee’s.

  But as she stroked her daughter’s head, she looked for a resemblance to her father as well. And although she was only seventeen days old, Renee found shades of Kevin in the shape of her eyes and the arch of her eyebrows. She lay down next to her and pulled a light blanket over them both. She placed one of her fingers in her daughter’s hand, and she gripped it tightly in return and yawned again. It was the most heart-warming, adorable thing Renee had ever seen.

  “Goodnight, Rosie Kay Beck,” whispered Renee, as they both fell asleep.

  Her name was Rosie. It had been Rosie ever since the doctors told Renee she was expecting a healthy little girl. And for a short while longer, her name would stay Renee and Rosie’s secret.

  The End

  Acknowledgement

  A massive thank you to the readers who have made it this far! This is my debut novel - the first of many more to come. I very much hope you've enjoyed it. If you did, I’d be so hugely grateful if you’d leave a review and recommend it to others. It is difficult for self-published authors to compete with the giants - but with your help and a solid word-of-mouth campaign, I’m giving it a go.

  Thank you to my sister Cath, and my wonderful friend Becca, who both read various drafts and gave me the encouragement I needed to publish. I acknowledge that my other sister, Lucy, has agreed to give feedback following the release of an audiobook version!

  Thank you to Martin, for the much needed and thoroughly executed proofread of the final draft. And to Drew (for making me go through a final proofing phase, and) for so brilliantly designing one of the two front covers.

  About The Author

  Jennifer R Hollis

  Jenni is an author from Croydon, South London. She dreamt up the characters and story for her debut novel, Killer Princesses, while working in local supermarkets.

  One the past ten years, she has worked (and continues to work) in political and communication agency roles, observing mannerisms which will no doubt feature in future novels.

  She currently lives between Surrey and South Wales, with her partner Carlie.

  Follow her on:

  Twitter: @JenniferHollis

  Instagram: JenniferRHollis

  Website: www.JenniferHollis.uk