by M A Comley
She glanced over her shoulder to see the limping Patrick, his face crimson with rage, coming towards her.
She screamed, hoping the noise would bring someone else out of their home. Nothing, no one offered to help her. There was nothing for it, she had to continue running. She had the upper-hand on him, at least, or she thought she did. He wasn’t capable of sprinting—she was. She filled her lungs to capacity and bolted down the alleyway she spotted between the houses. It wasn’t until she was halfway down the narrow passage that it occurred to her it could have been a dead end. Fortunately, it wasn’t. Her breath was ragged as she struggled to synchronise her breathing and running.
Someone shouted behind her, “Oi, you, leave her alone. I’ve called the police, they’re on their way.”
Thank you, thank you, there must be a God up there, after all. Lucy emerged from the alley and found herself in the main road. Horns tooted and jeers rang out from some of the drivers. She ignored them and headed towards the church spire in the distance. All she wanted was to feel Matthew’s arms around her.
A car drew up beside her and the passenger door flew open. “Lucy, bloody hell. Get in. Where have you been? I’ve been going frantic. What the hell happened to you?”
“Oh, Matthew…” She got in the car and melted into his arms. Horns blasted. The lights had changed and they were holding up the traffic. Nervously, she glanced over her shoulder to see Patrick standing at the end of the alley, glaring at her. “Please, go. Let’s get out of here, Matthew. I’ll explain everything, just go!”
“Who did this?”
“Go, please, listen to me. We need to get out of here. I can’t marry you, Matthew. I need to talk to you. Once you’ve heard what I have to say, you’ll probably want to dump me.”
His eyes narrowed. “What are you wittering on about? Don’t you love me any more? Is that why you want to call the wedding off?”
She looked back and then pleaded, “Just go!”
He put his foot down and an awkward silence descended between them. Twenty minutes later, he drew up outside a quaint thatched pub close to the river. “I’ll get us a drink. I think we’re going to need one.”
In his absence, she contemplated how to tell him about her messed-up life and the lies she had told. Let’s face it, our whole relationship has been one big fat lie.
He came out of the pub. “Come on, let’s go and sit down by the river.”
“As long as you promise you won’t be tempted to drown me.”
“What are you saying? Are you crazy? Nothing you could tell me would ever make me want to do that, Lucy.” He shook his head.
They walked in sombre silence. Matthew carried the drinks over to the picnic table close to the riverbank. Lucy stared at the ripples in the water for a while and then turned to look him in the eye.
“What’s going on, Lucy?” His face was pale as if all this had taken its toll on him.
She inhaled a breath and let it seep out slowly. “First of all, my name isn’t Lucy, it’s Jill. Up until today, I thought I was a murderer.”
He leaned back and almost tipped off the seat. “What? I don’t think I heard you right. Run that past me again.”
“You did! Five years ago, I was married to Patrick Maxwell. Throughout my marriage he abused me. I suffered daily beatings at the hands of that man. He even killed the child I was carrying during one of his thrashings. And no, I’m not using that as an excuse, it’s a fact. I couldn’t take it any longer. He hired a plane; he had a private pilot’s licence. I came up with a plan to attack him during the flight. I didn’t care if I died with him at that point. But then I spotted a parachute on board and decided to escape instead. Once I’d landed and dusted myself off, I heard the plane crash on the other side of the mountain. I thought he had perished in the wreckage. Only Trisha knew the truth. She was aware how much I’d suffered at his monstrous hands. She helped protect me. She was the one who sourced a new identity for me.”
“Holy shit! I don’t get it. So what happened today? Wait, let me tell you one thing first. I found the driver of the car unconscious in the garage, that’s why I came looking for you. Trisha told me the wedding car had gone in a different direction. I’ve been out of my mind with worry, and driving around, searching for you ever since.”
“The driver turned out to be Patrick. He’s still alive, Matthew. I didn’t tell you, but for weeks, I’ve had a man with a limp stalking me.”
“For Christ’s sake! Why didn’t you tell me, Lucy?”
She smiled and placed her hand over his. “I couldn’t. I was dumb enough to think he was something to do with your mother and Jake. That they had paid him to scare me, enough for me to want to give up on our life together.”
He snatched his hand away, ran it through his hair, loosened his tie and undid his top button. “What the hell are you talking about? What’s my family got to do with your ex…er…your husband?”
“Your mother and Jake have been suspicious for weeks. They’ve been hounding me to tell them the truth about my past. They cottoned on a while back that I had something to hide, but they hid their suspicions from you. None of this was intentional. The last thing I anticipated was falling head over heels in love with you. You’re my soulmate.”
“What? Oh God, what the hell are you telling me? All this has been a lie, Lucy?”
“Yes and no. I had to shield the truth from you, but my love for you is real, I swear it is.”
“Hang on, there’s also the fact that you were prepared to become a bigamist in all of this.”
“No, I wasn’t. You’re not listening to me. I thought, no, I presumed, he was dead.”
He ran a hand over his face. “I can’t get my head around this. You’re not making sense. If you thought he was dead, why did you go to the bother of changing your name and your identity?”
“I was confused at the time. I thought if the authorities discovered his body and worked out that Patrick had been murdered, the police would come after me.”
“Okay, I get that. I think. Bloody hell, this is all such a mess. What now? He’s still out there, he won’t let things lie, will he? I wouldn’t if I was in his shoes.”
“I don’t know what to do.”
“How did he know where to find you?”
“He told me he saw us together when the pictures of the charity ball were released and knew instantly it was me. Yes, I’ve changed the colour of my hair over the years, but my facial features are still the same.”
“Jesus, you need to go to the police.”
She bowed her head and stared at her glass. “I know I do. I know I have no right asking you this, but will you come with me?”
“Why should I?” he snapped.
She rose from the seat and headed back to the car. He caught up with her, spun her around to face him, and then hugged her.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. Of course I’ll come with you. I want this sorted out as much as you do.”
Tears of relief spilled down her cheeks.
Epilogue
Six months later
Lucy, who had now reverted back to Jill, had accompanied Matthew to the police station on the day of their wedding. After she had laid out the truth to DI Warren, he wasn’t best pleased with her but, after he’d calmed down, he told her he understood why she had gone to the lengths she had to get away from Patrick.
Here they were now, she and Matthew, still hiding out at the family’s holiday home in Scotland. Matthew had forgiven her and sworn that he would never leave her side until Patrick had been captured. He’d lived up to that promise.
They were walking hand in hand along the private beach when the news broke. Matthew answered his phone and smiled at her. She stood back, her hands clutched together, praying that Patrick had been caught. He had.
They danced around in a circle and tumbled to the sand, elated by the news. The past few months, which they had spent living on their nerves, were over now. He was no longer out there. Th
ey were free.
They packed up and returned to Bath, to their respective homes. She’d missed Trisha so much and regretted that she was absent during her reconstructive surgery on her face which had taken place three months before. Her skin was still showing signs of recovery, but all in all, the surgery had been a huge success.
The police spent two days questioning Patrick. He’d pointed the finger at Jill, told the officer in charge that she should be arrested for attempted murder. However, DI Warren refused to believe a word that came out of his mouth and arrested him for the murder of Shirley as well as the attempted murder of Trisha and Jill. Her parents’ deaths were still being investigated but Warren told her Patrick would likely be charged for those too, soon. The counter charges Patrick tried to file against Jill were rejected. There was a new law which had recently come into force in the UK, protecting abused women and the lengths they were prepared to go to, to keep themselves safe.
The next step had been to face Matthew’s family. She found it exceedingly tough explaining to them and apologising for the terrible lies she had told. Graciously, they had accepted her apology, and to her relief the wedding was back on and due to take place once the divorce from Patrick was finalised.
After that meeting, Cynthia had taken her to one side and given her a piece of her mind. Jill hadn’t been perturbed by that, as she would’ve probably done the same thing in her shoes.
Once everyone’s life reverted back to normal, Keith had welcomed her back as manager at the travel agent’s after she’d revealed the truth. He told her Shirley would have wanted it that way. She was bowled over by his willingness to forgive all her sins. If it hadn’t been for Shirley taking her on, her dear friend wouldn’t have been killed. Keith assured her none of that mattered now.
A few weeks later, on her day off, while she was in the process of packing boxes ready to move into Matthew’s gatehouse, she rushed to the bathroom and heaved. Trisha shoved a pregnancy test under her nose. “Use it.”
“What? You think I’m pregnant?”
“Doh!”
After she did the test, Trisha linked arms with her, and together, they watched the blue line develop. Cheers rang out and they jumped up and down. All this proved to be too much for Jill and she ended up heaving down the loo again.
“Wow, what’s Matthew going to say?” Trisha asked.
“I’m not sure. Bloody hell, it’s not him I’m concerned about, it’s Cynthia. Shit, she’s going to hate me all over again when she hears about this.”
“She won’t. The fact you’ll be carrying her first grandchild will make her think twice about going over the top, I’m sure.”
“I hope you’re right. I need to think of a way of telling Matthew. We’ve been through so much together in the last year. What if this news is too much for him and he decides to leave me?”
“Now you’re talking out of your arse, girl. He loves you. Seriously, do you think he would’ve stuck around all this time, if he didn’t?”
Jill sighed. “Fingers crossed.”
“Think positive. Why don’t you tell him you want to cook him dinner tonight, a special meal and tell him then?”
“Good idea.” She called him at work. “Hello, it’s me.”
“I know it’s you. Is everything all right?” She could sense the smile on his face.
“Of course. I wondered if I could come over this evening to cook for you.”
“Now that’s an offer I’m not likely to turn down. What’s the special occasion?”
“Cheeky. I’ll tell you later.”
“I’ll look forward to hearing it. I’ve got to go, I have a meeting planned. Love you.”
“See you soon.”
She and Trisha spent the rest of the morning sorting out a menu, not that she had much of an appetite as her morning consisted of visiting the toilet a few times.
Together, they finally decided on a menu of steak in a pepper and mushroom cream sauce with a sticky toffee pudding for dessert, reminiscent of their first meal together.
Matthew greeted her lovingly, the way he always did, admiring the dress she’d chosen to wear. “You look stunning, some might even say radiant. Have you had a good day?”
“The best. Trisha took a sickie and wagged some time off with me.”
“That’s unlike her. I’m glad you spent the day together. I know how much you’ve missed her lately. Have I got time to change?”
“Of course.”
He made an effort, like she had, and put on a smart pair of trousers and contrasting cream jacket. She served up the steak and they chatted about general things all through the meal.
“Wow, that was amazing. Your cooking sure has improved lately.”
“Cheeky sod. What are you saying? I was a crap cook before?”
He held out a hand and she took it. He drew her onto his lap and kissed her. “Nope, you’ve always been perfect to me.”
She chewed her lip, hesitating.
“Something wrong?”
“I was just wondering how you would react…”
“React to what?” he frowned.
“To being called…daddy.”
“What? Are you serious?”
She held his hand over her stomach and smiled. “Yes, we’re with child.”
He beamed and kissed her. “I do believe you’ve just made me the happiest man alive.”
“What about the wedding? What will your mother say?”
“Who cares about the wedding? We’ll elope. She might not be too thrilled about that but she’ll be over the moon about the baby.”
“Elope?”
“Yes, we’ll go back up to Scotland at the weekend.”
She laughed. “While I love your enthusiasm, I think it’ll be too late to expect an opening at the weekend.”
“If you don’t ask, you don’t get.” He pushed her off his lap and reached for his mobile to place the call. Ten minutes later, after making several calls, he announced, “We’re sorted. The registrar can fit us in Monday morning.”
She laughed. “However did I cope without you being in my life?”
“I’m not sure. Happy?”
“That’s the understatement of the century. I love you so much, Matthew.”
“You’re the reason I get up in the morning. The baby will only make me love you more than I do right now, if that’s possible.”
A note to you, the reader -
Dear Reader,
What a twisted read that was.
An intriguing tale nevertheless, I’m sure you’ll agree.
If you enjoyed I KNOW THE TRUTH perhaps you’d be interested in reading one of my police procedural thrillers.
Pick up your copy of the first book in the DI Hero Nelson series here. TORN APART
Thank you for your support as always. If you could find it in your heart to leave a review, I’d be eternally grateful, they’re like nectar from the Gods to authors.
Happy reading
M A Comley
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