by LK Chapman
‘I told Natalie, I just ran away from Mikayla after she called the other guy she liked. I was angry and hurt, and I wanted to get away from her. I know that doesn’t help, but I’m not the only one whose movements that morning aren’t fully accounted for.’
‘I know exactly what Gareth and I were doing.’
‘Do you?’
‘He overheard you and Mikayla arguing, then he came and woke me up. I’d fallen back asleep in the tent.’
‘Think about it! You have no idea how long after overhearing us that he came back, because you were asleep. Yeah, it could have been straight away. It could have been thirty minutes later. More.’
‘Gareth had no reason to hurt Mikayla. None at all. He barely knew her.’
‘Really? She saw his house. She saw him shoplifting. You know what she was like about getting involved with people’s lives. Trying to “help”.’
Josh was too infuriated to answer. What the hell was Toby going on about? Why was he talking all this nonsense while Natalie was missing and needed help?
‘When did you see this profile of mine on Hearts?’ Toby asked.
‘Last night.’
‘And Gareth went out of his way to show it to you, did he?’
Josh’s lack of response gave Toby the answer he needed, and he stabbed furiously at his phone screen for a second. ‘Here!’ he said. ‘I downloaded the stupid app, because I don’t even have it on my phone. And I am not on it. There is nothing here.’
Josh looked at Toby’s phone. He was right. There was no profile. An unpleasant prickling sensation worked its way down his spine. He had definitely seen Toby’s profile mere hours ago when Gareth had been at the flat. He went to the kitchen bin and took out the defaced picture of him and Natalie. ‘This was in my kitchen yesterday,’ he said, ‘with all my kitchen knives around it.’
‘What do you mean? You mean someone put them there?’
‘I’m losing my mind, Toby. I thought I saw your profile on Hearts. And I don’t remember doing this with the knives, but it all must have been me. It’s not Gareth–’
The colour drained from Toby’s face. ‘The knives,’ he said. ‘Where are they now?’
‘I put them back in the…’ Josh’s eyes fell on the knife block, and a cold chill spread through him. ‘It’s empty.’ He picked it up to show Toby. ‘Look.’
‘The knives were out,’ Toby said slowly, ‘you picked them up with your bare hands and put them away, and now they’re gone?’
‘Yeah.’
‘And Gareth was here last night, and didn’t leave until you fell asleep on the sofa?’
‘Well … yeah, but–’
‘Josh… we need to find Natalie. Right now.’
Seven hours earlier
Natalie
65
Natalie started driving towards the address Gareth had given her, but as the directions took her away from town and into the countryside, she grew confused. He lived in a flat in the middle of town, didn’t he? She was sure that’s what Josh had said. She called Gareth again. ‘Did you move house?’ she asked. ‘This address you gave me isn’t where I thought you lived.’
‘It’s my second home,’ Gareth said. ‘Sometimes I need to get away for a bit and clear my head.’
Natalie glanced at the map on the car’s navigation. She was almost there. The house was right out in the countryside; all that surrounded her as she drove was darkness. She could see why it would be a good spot to think, but it was surprising that Gareth had a place like this. He didn’t seem like somebody who wanted to go away to think in a secluded place, surrounded by nature. He seemed like a city person. ‘Okay, well, I’m almost there,’ she said.
Pulling in to the drive, Natalie found an old brick cottage, not particularly large, but homely, from what she could make out in the light of her car headlights. She got out and picked her way down an uneven path towards his front door.
‘You found it okay then,’ Gareth said as he opened the door.
‘Yes,’ she said as she stepped inside, glad to be in the warm. She looked around briefly, trying to stop herself from demanding Gareth tell her what he knew that very second. The front door opened straight into a living room, the walls painted a warm terracotta, with a couple of armchairs facing an open fireplace. She took her coat off and Gareth hung it up. ‘Come inside,’ he said with a smile. ‘I’ll make some tea.’
‘This is a nice place,’ she said, forcing herself to make at least a little small talk. ‘I’m sorry to come here practically in the middle of the night–’
‘I was hardly likely to sleep anyway, what with what you told me earlier about your plan with Toby.’
‘I’m sorry if I worried you. But I think I really am onto something.’ Her voice wavered a little, and she paused. The past few weeks had put her under so much strain it was all she could do to stop herself grabbing Gareth and trying to physically shake the answers from him.
‘Sit down,’ he said, ‘I’ll bring the tea.’
‘Thank you, but I’m really just here to sort all of this out. I’m worried sick about Josh.’ She took out her phone. ‘I should message him, or call him, he needs to know–’
‘Leave that for a minute. We need to talk first.’
She put her phone away and followed him through into a cosy snug, with a mustard-coloured sofa and a fluffy rug on the floor. Had he decorated this place himself? It had a lovely feel to it; so warm and inviting. Maybe all that activity he had on Hearts had led somewhere after all – perhaps he didn’t come here alone to think. He didn’t stop in the snug, but led her through into a dining room, and then to the long, narrow kitchen at the back of the house.
‘Okay,’ he said, as he started filling the kettle. ‘So what exactly did your brother tell you that made you think my mum was there? I know you tried to tell me earlier but it was a lot to take in.’
‘He said he saw a woman there, and his description matched almost exactly with a photo I saw at Toby’s house. It was a picture he took of your house with your mum in the doorway. She ran out in front of Rob’s car, and when he stopped she said, “That poor girl.”’
Gareth listened intently as she spoke, his expression impossible to read.
‘Was it your mum?’ Natalie asked tentatively. ‘It was, wasn’t it? And she saw what happened to Mikayla.’
He gave her a long, hard look. ‘It’s such a shame,’ he said. ‘I was hoping, really hoping, that it wouldn’t come to this.’
‘What? Was it your mum who was there? Did she tell you what she saw that morning? Is there anyone else she could have told–’ She trailed off as he placed his hands around the handle of a large, heavy saucepan that sat on top of the range cooker.
‘Gareth, what are you–’
The last thing she saw was him whipping the pan off of the stove. Then he sent it smashing into the side of her head.
Seven hours later
Josh
66
‘We need to call the police,’ Josh said, dread beginning to seep through his body. Toby’s suspicions about Gareth were finally sinking in, and he was terrified for Natalie. ‘If you’re saying what I think you’re saying.’
‘I don’t know what the hell we’d tell them.’
‘Neither do I. But if you’re right…’ Josh trailed off, his conviction faltering. What was he saying? Toby couldn’t be right, surely? This couldn’t really be happening.
‘Gareth is the most logical person for her to have gone to. She was still determined all this was down to me when she left my house. But the only person who really has anything on me is Gareth. Because he heard the argument and he knows about the break-up. If she wanted to expose me, she must have gone to him.’
‘Then what do we do? I don’t know what to do. But we have to help her!’
Toby was silent briefly. ‘Look, let’s just go to Gareth’s flat and see if Natalie is there. If we can’t find either of them, or we think she’s there and in danger, we’ll call the police
then. We’re just going to sound crazy otherwise.’
‘Okay.’ Josh said, trying to stop himself shaking. ‘Okay, let’s go.’
Josh drove in silence through the early-morning commuter traffic while Toby fidgeted at his side, checking his phone, and turning his wedding ring round and around on his finger. Josh tried to ignore him. He had to stay focused.
Toby thinks Gareth took my knives.
He glanced around at Toby, who had gone back to checking his phone again.
He thinks Gareth is going to use them on Nat.
Josh’s chest grew tight. Tears prickled his eyes, and his heart beat so fast he began to shake again. Why would Gareth do this? Gareth didn’t hurt people – he’d always been disgusted by Toby’s bullying.
Finally, Gareth’s modern apartment block came into view. ‘I can’t see Natalie’s car here,’ Josh said, ‘can you?’
Toby looked around quickly. ‘No. What about Gareth’s?’
‘His isn’t here either.’
Josh quickly parked in a visitor’s space near the entrance and they managed to slip inside the building before sprinting their way up to Gareth’s door on the second floor. But once there, Josh didn’t know what to do. He turned to Toby.
‘If I knock, won’t it just alarm him?’
Toby crept closer, until he was pressed up against the door trying to listen. ‘I can’t hear anything in there,’ he whispered.
‘Their cars weren’t here,’ Josh said, with a flicker of hope. If they weren’t in the flat, maybe Natalie had met him somewhere public. Maybe they had had a few drinks, and Toby’s suspicions were all just nonsense. But why hadn’t she gone back to Rob’s house afterwards? It was morning now, and her bed hadn’t been slept in.
They both jumped at the sound of a voice behind them. ‘Are you looking for someone?’
At the top of the stairs stood a young man, eyeing them curiously.
‘Uh … yeah,’ Josh said. ‘Gareth Rennox, I’m a friend of his. I’m a bit worried about him–’
‘He’s not here much,’ the man said. ‘I live next door to him. He used to be here most of the time during the week and not so much at the weekends. Now he hardly comes here at all.’
Josh stared at him. ‘Where does he go?’
One of the man’s eyebrows rose. ‘If you’re his friend, you’re more likely to know than me.’
‘Yeah. I – thanks. We’ll figure it out,’ Josh said.
They stood out of the way to let the man get to his own door. Josh’s mind was racing. Where the hell did Gareth go all the time if it wasn’t to his own flat?
Josh took his phone out. ‘I’m calling Hearts,’ he said.
They made their way back down the stairs as he waited for an answer. Finally, as he was about to hang up, someone picked up, and Josh asked her about her boss, listening in growing horror.
‘She said he’s barely been there for days,’ he told Toby. ‘She can’t get hold of him either.’
‘Right. We’re calling the police. But we’ll carry on looking for her ourselves as well. We might have more chance of figuring this out quickly than they do. Do you know anywhere else he could have gone? Is there anywhere that means something to him? Anywhere significant, any places he likes?’
‘I don’t know,’ Josh said, his panic rising. ‘I don’t … I mean, he’s my friend but I don’t really know him that well. I have no idea what he does apart from work. I don’t know who he hangs out with, where he goes, I don’t know anything.’
‘You must know something.’
Josh wracked his brain. Why didn’t he know anything? Suddenly, he grabbed Toby’s arm. ‘Hearts. He uses Hearts.’
‘He uses Hearts himself?’
Josh thought for a moment. Something was nagging at the back of his mind, but he couldn’t put his finger on what.
‘Let’s go back to your place,’ Toby suggested. ‘I’ll call the police while you drive, and say Natalie and Gareth have both gone missing.’
Josh was shaking as his mind rattled through a hundred awful possibilities. ‘Toby, you don’t really think he’s going to hurt Natalie – he wouldn’t, would he? What if he–’
‘Don’t waste your energy on panicking. We just need to find her, Josh.’
Natalie
67
She woke with a cry, trying to reach up to wipe the cold water from her face, but she couldn’t move her hands. She tried again. No. Her wrists were tied behind her, and she tried to stand, but her ankles were bound too, attached to the legs of the chair she was sitting on. Gareth came into view, holding an empty glass. ‘Hello again,’ he said, ‘sorry it was a bit of a rude awakening.’
Natalie blinked the water from her eyes, each movement causing fresh bursts of pain in her head. What the hell was going on? How had she ended up like this?
‘Gareth?’ she said, in utter confusion. ‘What’s happening?’
‘Ah, well, that’s the question isn’t it?’
Fear gripped her. Why did he look so calm? Happy even? Something was clearly wrong here, badly wrong. Why wasn’t he worried about the state she was in? Why wasn’t he helping her? She struggled more violently against the chair. She was in the dining room, the chair in the middle of a large plastic sheet covering the carpet. The sheet hadn’t been there when she’d arrived earlier. Had he put it down just because he was going to throw water on her? She tried to move her hands again, realisation dawning on her through the pain in her head. Gareth had tied her up. He wasn’t going to help her. He had done it. ‘Gareth, let me go,’ she said, her voice rising. ‘Let me go, now!’
He pulled up another chair and sat directly opposite her. He ran a hand through his dark hair and smiled at her, but his smile made her skin crawl. What was up with him? This wasn’t the Gareth she knew. ‘That’s not going to happen,’ he said. ‘I’ll get to why eventually. But since you’re here, and you’re something of a captive audience –’ he chuckled to himself ‘– let’s have a chat. Firstly, I’ve been curious to know, what’s Josh like in bed? He’s so uptight, I think it must be one extreme or the other; either deathly boring, or he’s into something super weird. Which is it? Obviously I hope it’s the latter.’
Natalie winced as a wave of pain washed over her. What the hell was Gareth talking about?
‘I’m going to have to insist you answer,’ he said. ‘You’re in my house, so we’re going to play by my rules.’
‘Let me go,’ she said again.
‘Oh dear,’ Gareth said. ‘You are not making things better for yourself. Why not just answer me? It’s an easy enough question. Boring, or weird?’
‘Neither,’ she croaked out.
‘Is that right? So Josh is better adjusted than I thought. You know, I assumed he’d stay tragically alone for the rest of his life. His first few relationships were a disaster, after all, and then he all but gave up on trying. I think it’s because of what Toby did. Really fascinating, the effect that had on him. What do you see in Josh anyway? I’d love to know. I just cannot see the appeal myself.’
‘You’re his friend,’ Natalie said, unable to put her thoughts together any more coherently than that.
Gareth got up and went into the kitchen, where he refilled the glass with cold water and threw it over her, before clapping his hands loudly and saying, ‘Wake up, Nat. It’s no fun talking to someone half-comatose.’
‘You can’t do this–’
‘Yes I can. Now, I know what you were getting at. I’m his friend, so I should be talking about him nicely, right?’ He didn’t wait for her to answer. ‘Yes, I do like Josh. He’s amusing. Useful, too, for Hearts. It doesn’t mean I can’t talk about his flaws. I would go through your flaws, but I guess someone made those pretty well known online.’ He grinned at her. ‘Oh, the fun I had reading all of that. Whoever was behind it, I’ve got to hand it to them, it was great entertainment.’
Anger and disgust surged inside Natalie. ‘You really think I let that stuff bring me down? After what I w
ent through in that car accident? How I nearly died? Those stupid comments are nothing compared to that.’
‘I think you did let it get to you, though. The “right thing” is to say it doesn’t bother you, right? To rise above it? But you can’t. Not when it’s day in, day out. Not when I’m sure it’s things you think yourself, on your dark days.’ He paused briefly. ‘But anyway, this is all beside the point.’
‘Gareth, you need to let me go. Please. I can carry on talking a little, if you want, but please untie me at least–’
He pointed his finger at her. ‘You are pissing me off!’ he shouted, the suddenness of his outburst making a little noise of fear escape her. But then he smiled again. ‘It was weird when someone framed Josh for all that. Brilliantly twisted – I didn’t see it coming. But the thing is, your troll, they caused me a lot of bother. Bringing up the lake like that, it was inconvenient.’
‘Let me go,’ she repeated, her voice unsteady. The lake. Why did Gareth care what anyone said about it?
‘I can’t,’ he said. ‘I’m sure you can see why. My mum might be dead, she can’t say what she saw, but you have put too many pieces together. I don’t want anyone out there knowing about a connection to me. And from how you described your conversation with Rob, you didn’t tell him your suspicions about who she was. So it’s just you. You, and me, and this secret that should never have seen the light of day again.’
‘It can go back to being that way,’ Natalie said. ‘I don’t have to tell anyone about this–’
‘No. No, it can’t go back to being that way. You are a loose end. A blemish on my perfect world.’ He laughed and gestured at her face. ‘Well, you know how it feels to have blemishes. I bet you’d do anything to make yours go away. Fortunately, for me it will be quite simple. Very neat. I think you’d be impressed – that’s if you were around to see how it all plays out. ’
Josh