Till Death Do Us Part

by Stephen Edger

  ‘Ray,’ Alice coughed. ‘Ray … Ben’s dad, he … he …’

  The beeping behind Alice’s head grew louder and faster.

  ‘Calm down, Alice, you need to relax,’ Hazelton soothed. ‘Okay? Are you in pain? Do you want me to call the nurse in?’

  Alice was suddenly back in the Range Rover, watching Ray’s lips confess to killing Kerry and watching Mary’s mother die. The words wouldn’t come out in a logical order. ‘Murder … cover-up … Ben … Kerry dead … he did it.’

  Hazelton pressed a cool hand against Alice’s forehead. ‘It’s okay, Alice, we’ve arrested the man responsible for Kerry’s murder. Remember? Abdul Farrar is in custody. Stay calm.’

  ‘No, no,’ Alice said, her eyes filling as she shook her head.

  The door at the far side of the room flew open, and a woman dressed in blue came over to the bed, firing questions at Hazelton and reading the output from the machine.

  ‘He did it,’ Alice tried again, taking shallow breaths, trying to compose herself.

  The nurse moved around to the opposite side of the bed and adjusted the dial on the intravenous tube in Alice’s arm, and suddenly the pain and the angst evaporated.

  The light behind the blinds was fading when Alice next came around. The effect of the painkillers had now vastly reduced and the dull throb in her leg was suddenly more apparent. Propping herself up on her elbows, she surveyed the room. It looked almost identical to the room they’d kept Faye in after her attack, but Alice doubted it was the same one. That was the problem with hospitals, they all tended to look the same. Though this time she noticed the small bunch of flowers in a glass vase on the cabinet to the right of her bed.

  Her leg, covered in an enormous plaster cast, was being held in the air by some kind of harness, and as she attempted to wiggle her toes, she was relieved to see them jiggle slightly.

  Everything after the moment she’d climbed into the Range Rover was a blur in her memory. Pressing her hand against her temple, she could feel the raising of the skin where a large bump remained, presumably caused when the car had collided with her.

  She froze at this fresh memory. Ray had tried to kill her. He’d driven straight at her, and it was blind luck that she’d survived.

  A knock at the door was followed by a much more alert DC Hazelton entering. Now dressed in jeans and a thin sweater, she no longer carried the air of a crime fighter. To an untrained observer, she could have been Alice’s sister.

  ‘Ah good, you’re awake,’ Hazelton said, placing a small brown paper bag on the cabinet next to the flowers. ‘Grapes,’ she clarified, pulling one from the stalk and popping it in her mouth. ‘I know it’s a cliché, but it felt weird turning up empty-handed. How are you feeling?’

  ‘Like I was run over,’ Alice replied, her throat feeling as if it hadn’t been lubricated in weeks.

  ‘Here,’ Hazelton offered, moving a plastic beaker from the cabinet and placing the straw between Alice’s dry and cracked lips.

  Alice sipped, grimacing at the pain as she swallowed. ‘Thank you.’

  Hazelton returned the beaker to its place on the cabinet, before pulling the seat over and perching on the edge. ‘Has the doctor spoken to you yet?’

  Alice shook her head, feeling an ache in her neck.

  ‘I’ll let them explain why they’ve had to put pins in your leg. The short version is you’ll live, and were lucky to escape with a few bumps and bruises. They did X-rays of your neck and back as soon as the bleeding in your leg was sorted. It was touch and go for a bit – it was lucky you were brought in when you were.’

  Back on the road in Ray’s Range Rover, she’d hoped for the kindness of a stranger to save her from Ray, and now it sounded as though the prayers had been answered.

  Events felt clearer in her mind, even though the blur of memories of Ray’s confession felt more like the fragments of a dream. Taking a deep breath, Alice said, ‘I know who killed Kerry Valentine. It wasn’t Abdul.’

  Hazleton pressed her fingertips together, like she was summoning the courage to speak. ‘I know. A lot has happened since you were brought in last night, Alice. I checked the hospital’s security cameras, and it was Ben’s friend Dave who brought you in. He was wanted in connection with an incident in Ringwood yesterday: a drugs bust. He was caught trying to board a ferry from Portsmouth early this morning, and admitted to finding you in the ditch. He wanted me to let you know that he’s sorry for any pain his actions have caused. He didn’t say any more than that, but I could see in his eyes how fond of you he is.’

  ‘Ben’s dad killed Kerry,’ Alice sighed, unsure why she felt guilty uttering the words.

  Hazelton nodded. ‘We know.’

  Alice frowned in confusion. ‘You do? How?’

  ‘Ben called me and asked if I would come out to the house this morning. He told me his dad attacked Kerry and then forced Ben and Abdul to help cover his crime. He also wanted me to know that you knew nothing about his involvement, and that only the three of them were in on it.’

  Alice’s hand shot up to her mouth. ‘He told you that?’

  Hazelton raised her eyebrows. ‘It came as a surprise to me too. Ben is at the station now making a formal statement of his actions following events in Bournemouth.’

  ‘What about Ray?’

  ‘We haven’t located him yet, but it’ll only be a matter of time until we catch up with him. We’ve spoken to his wife, but she claims not to know where he is.’

  Alice’s frown deepened. ‘I don’t understand. Ray is Ben’s hero. He would never betray his dad.’

  ‘It seems there’s someone Ben loves more than his father. Ray must have told Ben what he’d done to you, and that was all the motivation Ben needed to decide who meant more to him.’

  The ache in Alice’s heart grew. ‘So you know that Ray stabbed Kerry and that the shirt Ben gave to your forensics team wasn’t the one he was wearing that night?’

  ‘Ben’s account was very detailed. Only time will tell, but my instinct is he’s telling the truth. If only he’d done so when we first spoke to him on Saturday, all of this mess could have been avoided.’

  ‘Will Ben be charged?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Hazelton said, though her expression suggested she was trying to spare Alice’s feelings.

  Alice felt fresh tears splash against her cheek, but didn’t bother to wipe them away. ‘Will Kerry’s son be told? That his mum’s killer will be brought to justice?’

  The expression on Hazelton’s face changed – not quite a smirk, but somewhere between incredulity and indifference. ‘What is it with you and that kid?’

  Alice couldn’t answer.

  ‘I don’t know whether he’ll be told,’ the detective finally sighed. ‘It’s up to social services now. The important thing is that a killer is off the streets.’

  SIXTY-TWO

  Wincing, Alice lifted the large plaster cast into the foot well of Tara’s Mini. Even with the passenger seat cranked back as far as it would go, she still needed to lean onto the driver’s seat and pull and shuffle the cast until it was in place. By this point, she could no longer reach the door handle to pull the door closed, but thankfully Tara was on hand to slam it for her.

  ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ Tara asked, once she was seated in the driver’s side and had helped Alice secure her seatbelt.

  Alice placed a protective hand across her middle. ‘I have to do it. Please don’t ask me why, it’s just … I just need to. Okay?’

  Tara started the engine and pulled out of the driveway of Alice’s mum’s house, where Alice had been recuperating since leaving the hospital. Three weeks had passed since then, and although she was getting steadier on the crutches, moving about still required a lot of effort, and she was ashamed to admit she’d spent most of her time lying on the sofa.

  Tara glanced over several times without speaking, but the silence between them was comfortable. They’d practically lived inside each other’s pockets since Alice
had been released from hospital, with Tara fawning over her friend.

  The radio was playing cheesy pop music, but at least it was upbeat, and it was important for Alice to keep her spirits up, especially today. The sun was shining overhead and the traffic on the M3 crawled along the route to Winchester. It didn’t matter though – they had plenty of time to reach their destination.

  Despite Alice’s efforts to get a message to Kerry’s son Finn, all Hazelton had said was that she would try. Alice wished there was some way – any way – she could make amends for what her family had done to his. Her attempts to contact social services had been in vain too. For now she would need to carry the burden.

  Ray was discovered hidden beneath a pile of coats in the back of an old military friend’s car as he attempted to board the Eurostar three days after Ben’s confession. The arrests of Ray, Ben, Abdul and Dave had made the national news. The story had been broken by Liam O’Neill who constantly seemed to be on the television sharing his inside knowledge. Alice had done her best to avoid reading or watching any of it. Their day in court would come soon enough, but she had yet to decide whether she would attend the trial or not. Part of her wanted to see the look in Ray’s eyes when the jury passed their verdict, but the other part didn’t want to step foot in the same room as him ever again.

  The new school term was due to start on Monday, but with Alice’s leg likely to remain in the cast for a few more weeks, she had been granted extended leave with a substitute teacher scheduled to watch over her class until at least half-term. Alice was determined to get back sooner, but she would follow the doctors’ and physio’s advice.

  Spending every day at her mum’s had taken its own toll. Scott was still in Switzerland, as the two nations debated where he should stand trial for drug smuggling. Whatever the decision, his professional cycling career was over, and that would take him a long time to come to terms with. Cycling was his only real passion, and their mum seemed to be feeling the strain as much as he was.

  They would find a way to get through it. If Alice had learned anything over the last month, it was that her will to fight and succeed was stronger than she’d ever realized. If she could survive the events since the wedding, she could survive anything.

  ‘We’re nearly there,’ Tara said as she left the main road and turned into a residential estate. ‘Are you ready for this?’

  Alice bit her lip and nodded. She’d deliberately avoided thinking about what she was about to do so that she couldn’t convince herself not to go through with it, and as the satnav flashed up to say they were only yards from the address, she was suddenly keen to turn around.

  ‘Do you want me to come in with you?’ Tara asked, pulling past the building and parking at the side of the road.

  ‘It’s something I need to do alone,’ Alice replied.

  Exiting the car, Alice used the crutches to lift herself from the seat, looping the strap of her handbag over her head and shoulder and allowing her eyes to follow the enormous redbrick building to the sky.

  Once inside, the transition through security was awkward. She had to show her identification several times, continually repeating the prison number Ben had been assigned upon his arrival at HMP Winchester, where he would remain on remand until trial.

  Placing her handbag in the locker she was directed to, Alice held tightly to the envelope she’d brought with her. She was finally led into the large canteen, where she located Ben – equipped with beard – sitting at a table.

  He stood to kiss her as she approached, but she shook her head gently. She was proud that he’d taken responsibility for his actions, but it would be some time before she felt able to trust him again.

  Lowering herself into the chair across from him, the crutches clattered to the floor as she attempted to stand them against the table.

  ‘How are you?’ Ben asked, his features tight with concern. ‘If I’d known why he wanted to drive you to your mum’s, I’d never—’

  Alice reached for his outstretched hand and squeezed it. ‘I know. You don’t have to explain again.’

  His attempt to smile made his eyes shine more. ‘He’s in here too, but on a different wing. I haven’t asked the guards how he’s coping.’

  The thin envelope felt heavy in her hands, and she knew the sooner she shared the news the sooner she could come to terms with it. Slipping her finger beneath the envelope’s edge, she gently prised open the flap and pulled out the contents, lying them flat on the table before him.

  Ben stared at the three black and white images with confusion, until his mind processed what he was seeing. ‘Is this …?’

  Alice nodded as she strained to keep the tears breaking free.

  ‘You’re pregnant?’

  She nodded again.

  Ben’s mouth opened and closed, and when his eyes made contact with hers, she saw the deep remorse that cloaked him. A hand shot up to his eyes and wiped at them without success. ‘Oh my God, that’s incredible. I mean, wow! Um, I … I can’t believe it.’

  ‘Due in early February,’ Alice said, her lips curling up for the first time since she’d seen the blue line on the pregnancy test. ‘I knew the dress felt tighter on our wedding day.’

  ‘I don’t know what to say,’ Ben said, his eyes back on the images of the round blob. ‘Are you okay? Are you happy?’

  Alice couldn’t answer, instead looking up at the clear sky streaming through the glass in the roof. Her dream of raising a family with a loving husband in a beautiful home no longer felt achievable, and that saddened her just as much as the prospect of Ben spending years behind bars for his part in Kerry’s death. It was impossible to know what the future held for any of them, but what she was certain of was the bond already blossoming with the being growing inside her. Whether she allowed Ben back into her life, or chose to continue her journey without him, their child would know love every day, and she would strive to make he or she her priority, as Kerry had with Finn.

  Enjoyed Till Death Do Us Part? Make sure you’ve read Stephen Edger’s previous novel, Little Girl Gone, available now …

  Will she ever see her daughter again?

  It’s every parent’s worst nightmare. Alex Granger only turned her back for a moment – but a moment was all it took for her world to be destroyed. Her two-year-old daughter Carol-Anne has vanished into thin air.

  Alex’s husband Ray is a detective, so he’s used to dealing with horrific cases. But nothing could have prepared him for this. Forbidden from aiding the inquiry, he is forced to confront the fact that he might never see his daughter again.

  With no suspects, no DNA evidence and no promising leads, the investigation stalls. Then Alex receives a note, telling her exactly what to do if she wants to see her daughter again … And Alex must ask herself, is she really prepared to do anything to save her child?

  Click here to order a copy of Little Girl Gone

  A Message from Stephen

  Thank you for taking the time to read Till Death Do Us Part. If you enjoyed it, please post a review on Amazon or Goodreads and share the story with your friends. If a book is written to entertain, then the reader is the target audience, and I feel honoured that you chose one of my books to read.

  Please don’t be afraid to contact me via Facebook or Twitter to let me know what you thought of the story. There’s nothing more joyful for an author than hearing from a reader who loved one of their books (believe me!). I really do respond to every message.

  If you’d like to keep up-to-date with all my latest releases, you can join my mailing list (www.stephenedger.com). Your email address will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

  Thank you again for reading my book. I hope to hear from you soon.

  Stephen Edger

  Website: www.stephenedger.com

  Facebook: /AuthorStephenEdger

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  Acknowledgements

  Thank you to my editor Kathryn Cheshire for pushing me to make Till Death Do U
s Part as strong as it can be, and for getting the cover spot on. Also thanks to Janette Currie for her swift responses to copyedits, and for picking up those moments where a stray character name appeared. This book is so much better because of your input and questions.

  Thank you to the wonderful Carol E. Wyer who took time out of her own busy writing schedule to read an early draft of the book, and for providing such positive feedback.

  Thank you to all those who requested, read and reviewed an ARC of the book ahead of publication day. I don’t think I understood what a difference reviews of books made until I started writing (they really are so important!)

  Special mention as always to my friend Parashar Ramanuj who is always on the end of the phone when I have any weird medical / psychology questions that Google won’t answer.

  Of course I have to acknowledge my wife and soul-mate Hannah who has the patience of a saint when I drone on about the latest exciting twist I’ve devised, and she smiles even though she has no idea what I’m on about. I used our own wedding ceremony to help shape the day that Alice and Ben experience (thankfully I wasn’t arrested).

  Final mention goes to the fabulous followers of my Facebook and Twitter accounts. Your comments, posts, and messages of support make such a difference, particularly when I’m feeling low of confidence about my writing. Please don’t stop messaging me, as it always brightens the day.

  Also by Stephen Edger

  The DI Kate Matthews Series

  Dead to Me

  Dying Day

  Cold Heart

  The PI Johnson Carmichael Series

  Trespass

  Fragments

  Downfall

  Standalones

  Snatched

  Blackout

  Then He Was Gone

  Little Girl Gone

  About the Author