Ben accepted the passport, turning it over in his hands before dropping it into his back pocket. ‘What about my clothes from that night? When do I get those back?’
‘You’ll be contacted about those in due course, but as I warned you before, there’s a chance they’ll hold on to them, at least until the case goes to trial.’
‘You said nothing was found.’
‘There are procedures for these kinds of situations. I’ll ask the forensics team for an update and let you know in due course. Now, I should leave the two of you alone. Enjoy the rest of your night.’
Alice showed her to the door, but the detective didn’t say anything else as she exited and headed to her car.
‘Why did you lie to her?’ Alice barked, bursting into the living room where Ben was now pouring himself a large glass of whiskey from the liquor cabinet. He didn’t answer, instead necking the entire drink and refilling the glass.
‘I didn’t lie.’
‘Bullshit, Ben! You were holding something back.’
He sneered at her. ‘You’re out of your mind.’
‘I overheard you and Dave arguing earlier on today. I was behind this very door when you said: is everything still in place with Abdul. You remember that?’
Ben narrowed his eyes and took another large gulp of his drink. ‘That was nothing to do with this! What do you take me for? You think if I knew Abdul was guilty of murder I would cover for him?’
He sounded hurt, and she didn’t want him to think she didn’t trust him. ‘It’s not that, it’s—’
‘And why were you eavesdropping on my conversation with Dave? What have you got against him?’
‘Nothing, but you must admit he brings out the worst in you. I know he’s your best friend, but trouble follows him around like a shadow. If it wasn’t for me picking you up tonight, you’d probably be in a cell yourself right now; that’s because of him.’
Ben looked like he wanted to shout something back, but he reached for the bottle of whiskey instead and stomped out of the room, heading into the kitchen and placing the glass and bottle on the side while he opened the freezer for ice cubes.
He sighed loudly. ‘I don’t want to fight with you, Alice. I swear to you I didn’t know about Abdul, and I know you’re right about Dave being dangerous, but he’s like my brother and I can’t turn my back on family; my dad raised me to leave no man behind. Let’s not fall out because of other people’s fucked-up ways.’
He was right and it pained her to admit as much.
‘I’m going to go and check on Faye and Isabella,’ Alice said, turning on her heel, needing to get away from the toxic atmosphere. She hoped to find Isabella asleep and Faye available to chat, but as she reached the landing and looked into the guestroom, she found Isabella fast asleep, tucked up in bed, and Faye lying next to her, gently snoring. Alice didn’t want to disturb the two of them. Instead, she found a blanket and rested it over Faye, then switched off the light and closed the door.
Slumping onto the top step, she couldn’t help imagining what she’d be doing now had they made their flight on Sunday night. None of this nightmare would have unfolded and it would just be the two of them alone, enjoying the well-deserved break. Still, at least they had their lives, and each other. What did Finn Valentine have left? No father, no mother and a life full of uncertainty. It was time to start counting blessings, not cursing them.
Taking a deep breath, Alice was determined to put the mess behind her and to be the bigger person – she would apologize for shouting at Ben. He needed her support as much as she needed his.
As she neared the bottom of the staircase, there was an awful banging at the front door. The guards hadn’t radioed to announce a guest, at least not that she knew of. Opening the door, she immediately wished she hadn’t, as Dave’s muddy and scratched face swung into view. Before she could close the door and stop him entering, Ben appeared and pulled the door open, supporting Dave’s body weight as he slumped inside.
‘Jesus, man, what happened?’ Ben asked.
Dave could barely put weight on his left foot, his left wrist looked twice its normal size, and deep crimson scratch marks raked both arms.
‘I managed to get away, but I tumbled down a ravine. It stung like a bitch, but it probably saved my bacon. You got any painkillers? My foot and arm are in agony.’
They’d already made it into the kitchen before Alice’s voice of reason engaged.
‘He can’t stay here, Ben. He’s a fugitive now. Even if they didn’t identify him at the bust at the services, they’ll have his car and they’ll find out it’s registered to him. Then they’ll find the two of you are friends, and it won’t be long before the police come knocking at our door again. I’m sorry, Dave, but you need to go.’
‘I know, I know,’ he grimaced, reaching for Ben’s bottle of whiskey and putting it to his lips. ‘Just help me get sorted and I’ll be on my way. I swear.’
Ben glared at Alice. ‘It’s fine, mate, whatever you need. I’m here for you. How the hell did you get back here anyway?’
‘I hitched a lift with a truck driver who was headed this way. I think my wrist is broken. Have you got anything I can use to strap it? Maybe a sling too?’
Alice could contain her frustration no more. ‘Goddamn it, Ben! Either he goes, or I do. I’m not prepared to watch you get dragged in by the police again. You hear me?’
FIFTY-SIX
Alice wasn’t one for ultimatums. She didn’t enjoy confrontation at the best of times, and she’d never dared give Ben an ultimatum before, but enough was enough! If she’d learned one thing from the last week it was that secrets – no matter how innocent – could have devastating consequences. It was time to stop allowing Ben to mess things up; if someone needed to step in and take control of their lives, then she was prepared to do whatever was necessary to achieve that.
The fact that she was now virtually home alone told her a lot about where Ben’s loyalties lay. Isabella and Faye were still sound asleep upstairs and thankfully hadn’t been woken by the argument that had ensued after she’d dropped the ultimatum.
‘Babe, you know I’d pick you a thousand times over,’ Ben had declared. ‘It’s you and me first every time. But …’
That was the moment she’d dreaded. There hadn’t needed to be a ‘but’. He could just as easily have left things as they were, shown Dave the door and allowed them to move on with their lives.
‘I can’t just feed Dave to the wolves. He’s my brother and I owe him more than you’ll ever know.’
He’d quickly backtracked, maybe sensing her rising anger, or maybe seeing her glowering cheeks.
‘I’m not siding with him, but look at the state of him; he’ll get barely a hundred yards before he can’t go on, and then how would that look? Him being anywhere near our place is as bad as him being physically found here. The police will see that we were involved in his absconding.’
She hadn’t thought that far ahead, and it had troubled her slightly that he’d been weighing up such angles.
‘Let me drive him somewhere safe. Yeah? Somewhere far away from here, to give him half a chance to sort shit out. Don’t forget that the only reason we were at Burley services was to fix the mess your stepbrother caused. If Scott wasn’t a junkie, he’d never have asked Dave for help, he wouldn’t have fucked up and shot at the dealer last Saturday, and he wouldn’t have been busted at the airport. None of this is Dave’s fault, not really.’
She hadn’t been prepared to let Dave off that easily. ‘He could have told Scott to get himself cleaned up, or to get some help. Nobody made Dave set him up with a new dealer.’
‘Give me an hour,’ Ben had continued. ‘I’ll take him somewhere he can sort out his injuries, and we won’t speak again of this night.’
That had been forty minutes earlier, and there was still no sign of Ben returning. He’d left his mobile at home so that if anyone later tried to trace his GPS they’d find he was here the whole time.
As Alice snuggled on the sofa, the television on mute in the background, she wrapped her arms around her knees, pulling her legs closer. She had no idea what time it was, but it was pitch-black outside the French doors, with only a shard of moonlight to show that there was a garden somewhere in the abyss.
After some time to cool down, she’d decided she wasn’t angry that Ben had agreed to drive Dave away from the house – it showed loyalty to his friend and it showed consideration of her feelings. At the same time, she’d rather he was here with her now instead of risking his neck. For all she knew, the police could have picked the two of them up by now. Without his mobile, she had no way of knowing what was happening.
She was tempted to head up to bed – she was certainly tired enough to sleep – but she wanted to be awake when Ben got back, as it was important that they talk before either turned in for the night. Her father had taught her not to go to bed on an argument, and she also wanted reassurance that there would be no further run-ins with the law. Her life in the past week had become a real-life soap opera, and she didn’t want that additional stress. She deserved her own happily ever after.
Trying to picture a future with Ben and a young family, her thoughts returned to the lost life of Kerry Valentine – where was her happily ever after? Snatched away by a man Alice barely knew. Dave had said Abdul was the one who’d sourced the vacated bar for them, and she was sure he’d said he was an estate agent, so obviously he was someone relatively familiar with the town and surrounding area. Did that possibly mean he’d have known somewhere to hide Kerry’s body after what he’d done? Hazelton had said the body hadn’t been dumped in the river immediately, which meant Kerry’s body had to have been stored somewhere. Somewhere the smell of a rotting corpse wouldn’t be noticed. Alice couldn’t begin to imagine what kind of place that was, but if anyone would have an idea, an estate agent probably would. And, hadn’t Abdul also supplied the rope they’d tied up Ben with? She hadn’t thought anything of it at the time, but it seemed a little convenient that he’d just happened to find rope lying around – surely it was more likely that he’d taken it with him.
She pictured their meeting at the wedding – his dark skin, goatee beard, and shaved head, how warm his hand had felt when he’d shaken hers, how he avoided eye contact with her as he’d said he would go to the police station with Dave to offer the police a witness statement. She should have known something suspicious was going on then.
At least he would get his comeuppance now. Even though he and Ben had been close at university, the fact that she hadn’t met him until the wedding suggested the two of them weren’t as close as they once were.
Another memory flashed in her mind. Ben and Dave’s argument earlier: have you spoken to Abdul yet? Is everything still in place?
Did that conversation have anything to do with Abdul being arrested? What was it that was still in place?
Standing, she moved across to the French windows and rested her back against the glass. This was getting her nowhere. She didn’t know enough about Abdul to be certain of his motives for killing Kerry. Had he gone after her and tried to have sex? Had they somehow become embroiled in a fight? Did he know her before that night? Was it possible he was one of her regular clients? She desperately wanted answers, but she knew that in all likelihood she would never really know what had happened, and that made her feel like she was letting down Kerry and Finn.
The living room carpet was suddenly bathed in white light as the security cameras in the garden were tripped. Spinning and pressing her face against the window, Alice searched for any sign of an animal that could have triggered the sensor, but what she saw was a figure in a wide-brimmed hat emerge from the trees at the far side of the garden and race forward across the dry lawn.
Alice froze. She knew she should get away from the imminent danger, but the signal from her brain to her legs was blocked by sheer terror. The only way this man could have emerged from those trees was if he’d scaled the tall fence, or … if he had been there all along. He was clutching something in his hand and was making a beeline straight towards her – he must have seen her backlit by the lamps in the living room. Only the French doors and twenty feet separated them, and Alice could now see there was definitely something familiar about the figure beneath the hat. With only ten feet to go, though, two of the guards in black emerged and rugby tackled the figure to the ground.
They’d underestimated just how strong the man was, and how determined he was to get the letter in his hand to the intended recipient. He rolled over onto one of the guards, using his elbows to fight off the guard immediately on top of him, and as the two men in black loosened their grip, the figure was suddenly back on his feet, stumbling across the patio towards her. As he drew closer, Alice desperately wanted to peel herself away, but her feet wouldn’t budge.
Suddenly he was pressed against the outside frame of glass, but the two guards caught up with him again and slammed him into the window. In doing so, they knocked the hat from the man’s head. Alice’s eyes widened as her colleague Andrew’s large eyes met hers.
FIFTY-SEVEN
‘Please, Alice,’ Andrew’s muffled voice called through the window, ‘I need to speak to you. Please?’
Alice blinked several times, certain her eyes were playing tricks on her. How could such a friendly and shy colleague be the same person who’d been leaving her letters, making unproven allegations against Ben? She would never have believed it if she wasn’t seeing it with her own eyes.
‘Please,’ he called again, as the two guards gripped his upper arms and peeled his face from the window.
Alice managed several steps backwards, but her eyes never left Andrew’s rapidly shrinking image. Finally, she allowed herself to breathe, and the sudden gasp of air was enough to charge her brain with a reaction. Rushing into the kitchen, she unlocked the back door and marched out into the decidedly cooler air.
‘Wait,’ she shouted towards the guards who were manhandling Andrew around the side of the property, where they were presumably planning on holding him until the police arrived. ‘I want to know why. I want to know why he’s here and what he thought he’d achieve.’
The guards stopped still, and exchanged a curious look.
‘Our orders are to call the police,’ one of the men shouted back.
‘I know him,’ Alice challenged. ‘Bring him inside until the police arrive.’
She headed back into the kitchen and pulled out one of the kitchen chairs so they could sit him down. He looked far less intimidating without his hat, and as Alice sat on the remaining unoccupied chair, she watched as the two guards pulled Andrew’s coat down over his arms to keep him restrained, before frisking him for weapons. All they located was a set of keys to a motorcycle, and a wallet.
There was panic in Andrew’s eyes as the men’s hands moved over his body, as if he feared for his life, but once they were satisfied there was nothing hidden on his person, one of the guards excused himself. The other remained halfway behind Andrew and the now-locked back door.
The creased letter lay on the table between them, this time without sticky tape. Had he planned to hand deliver it? Or maybe just leave it on the doormat for her to find the following morning? He must have seen the guards patrolling the front gate and decided to take his chances with the fence, though Alice had no idea how he could have scaled it given his rotund physique and age.
He looked different without his large spectacles, and she couldn’t be certain whether he had come without them, or if they’d been knocked off during the struggle. Either way, their absence was clearly causing him difficulty as he squinted awkwardly, his face a mess of sweat and dirt where he’d been tackled to the ground.
‘Well?’ Alice growled when she could take the silence no more. ‘Are you going to tell me what you’re doing trespassing on my property? How did you even know where I live?’
His face crumpled into a look of shameful regret. ‘I’m sorry if I scared you,’ he said quietl
y. ‘The last thing I wanted to do was cause you unnecessary stress, but I had to see you; I had to tell you the truth about your husband. I found your address on the staff directory.’
Alice snatched up the envelope before he had even finished, tearing it open and pulling out the single sheet of typed paper, with the same font and size as the others.
Dear Alice,
You’re not safe with Ben, and now I have proof.
I’ll share what I know if you’ll give me the chance.
I know that you love him, but that’s blinding you from the truth.
He’s killed before and he’ll kill again.
She felt the nausea growing before she could stop it and only just made it to the sink before throwing up the undigested remains of her fast-food dinner. What was it with all the men in her life and the lies they told? All these years she’d seen Andrew as a lonely but ultimately sweet acquaintance. Now she discovered he’d been plotting against her – for what reason?
Running the tap, she ducked her mouth beneath it and spat out the hideous taste, before washing the contents of the sink down the plughole. Returning to the table, she couldn’t control the shaking of her hands and legs, and it was all she could do to sit on the chair without knocking it over. The security guard stepped forward to help her, but she batted his hand away.
‘Do you hate me, Andrew? Is that why you’re trying to destroy my marriage?’
The look of shame remained as he gently shook his head. ‘Quite the opposite in fact.’ He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. ‘I’ve been in love with you, Alice, since the first time I set eyes on you. You probably don’t remember, but I was the first person you met at school on the morning you came for your first interview. I was chatting to Tina on reception when you entered and asked where the head teacher’s office was. I offered to escort you there. I was so shy, and I knew you could never be attracted to a bumbling old fool like me, but that didn’t stop me dreaming that a friendship could one day blossom between us. When I heard you’d got the job and would be joining us at the start of the new school term I thought it was fate’s way of confirming that we would become good friends.
Till Death Do Us Part Page 27