‘No. I guess you’re right.’ Louisa’s head shook involuntarily with shock, yet also an element of relief, as she attempted to assimilate this new information. ‘I just can’t believe it. I thought it was me. That I’d killed her. I can’t understand why Oliver would tell you now, though.’
‘Guilt. It’s what made him seek me out in the first place. He’d murdered my sister, with his bare hands, and then dumped her body. Covered it over with earth, leaving her to remain undiscovered for however many years – forever if he was lucky. Ensuring her family never got closure. It wasn’t until the night of your party, when I finally confronted him, that he dropped the pretence. He never really loved me. I was just his act of atonement. He tried to make amends for his actions by being there for me, supporting me, but of course, he couldn’t have ever told me the real reason he’d asked me out before – the reason he’d asked me to marry him – or he’d have lost me. I was his only source of redemption. He’d been willing to keep his hideous secret, the real reason he was with me, from everyone. And if it wasn’t for me coming here, meeting you, he’d likely have succeeded.’ She tutted and looked away.
‘Why would he make me believe that it was me?’ A surge of pain, hot, seared inside her stomach. ‘Did his feeling of guilt not reach as far as me?’
‘He saw an opportunity I imagine. Thought he could finally offload the guilt onto you. Then he’d finally be able to get on with his life. With the sister of the woman he murdered. Makes me sick.’
‘So your disappearance …?’
‘I was angry, hurt. Mentally and physically. I had to get away from him. But I wanted to make him pay. Make you pay as well.’ She smiled thinly. Louisa opened her mouth to speak, to put up some sort of defence, but no words came out.
‘Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you,’ Melissa said, as if sensing Louisa’s fear. ‘I’ve had time to think, and I can see that he took your life too, in a way. He didn’t know you couldn’t remember that night, and he left you here to face it all on your own while he went looking for redemption through his victim’s family. How warped is that? He could’ve saved Helen, Louisa. But he chose to let you take the blame for ending her life instead. What you did is unforgivable, but it was an accident. You were young and you turned to someone you loved and trusted to help you. He let you down too.’
‘What are we going to do now?’
‘There’s not a shred of evidence that will link Oliver with Helen’s disappearance, and without a body … well, there’s very little we can do. And trust me, Oliver is never going to say where she is; I tried and failed. I’ve even considered the possibility he doesn’t remember precisely where he disposed of her. We have nothing that can damage Oliver. But you, Louisa – you have evidence that can damage me. The footage on that drone doesn’t prove anything other than I was at the scene the day Tiff died – and don’t forget you’d been there too – but as I’m the one faking my own disappearance, questions will be raised. Links made. I can’t afford that to happen.’
‘He tried to kill you. Isn’t that evidence enough?’
‘He’ll say it was an argument that got out of hand, one spawned by my jealousy of finding out he’d come back here for you.’
‘But he didn’t come back for me, he came back to offload his bloody guilt!’
‘It’s his word against ours.’
‘He could still be charged with actual bodily harm—’
‘It’s not enough, Louisa. Not nearly enough. He has to be punished for what he’s done. To Helen, to me. And to you.’
‘Don’t you think your disappearance is punishment enough? The police feel he’s behind it, so do a lot of people. He’s lost you and he’s under suspicion.’
‘Knowing what you do now, do you think that’s enough?’
‘No. No, it isn’t.’ Something was still niggling her about Melissa’s story, though. ‘Why were you bothering with Tiff, after all the years that had passed?’
‘You don’t need to know the full story, Louisa. It’s best you don’t. Like I said, I was trying to find out more about Helen’s disappearance, and seeing Oliver going in and out of hers made me think she knew more than she was letting on, that she’d been in on it too. She’d known Helen and she was your best friend. I saw red when all she did was deny everything. She said you couldn’t know anything, that what Oliver was saying about you was malicious and unfounded, and you’d have confided in her if it were true. That’s when I knew everything was falling apart all over again – my belief that I was beginning to pull things together shattered in that moment. I was never going to find where my sister’s body was. So, I wanted all of you to suffer.’
Louisa realised she’d been gullible up to now and had absolutely no reason to trust the woman standing in front of her. All that came from her mouth could be lies. But against her better judgement, she believed Melissa. What she was saying made sense now, given all the facts, the supposed facts, the fragments of memory, the way Oliver had come back into her life and manipulated her.
‘I get that. I know I should suffer. I’ll hand myself in to the police, tell them everything I know.’
‘No. It won’t stick. You may well get arrested but they will only have your story. Once they speak to Oliver, he’ll give his account. And I’m not being funny, I don’t know you, but from what you’ve said about the amnesia, a good lawyer would take you apart.’
‘Then what? What do you want from me?’
‘I want Oliver to suffer. I want him to pay for what he did then, and for what he’s been doing since. He’s destroyed my life whilst being beside me, holding my hand while he’s doing it. He’s evil, Louisa. He’s spun all these lies for years and now made complete fools out of both of us.’
‘I’m not sure where this is going …’ Although her twisting gut informed her otherwise.
‘We need to confront him together,’ Melissa said firmly. ‘Tonight.’
49
THE TRAP
‘I’m planning on going out with some of the old crowd tonight, would that be okay?’ Louisa held the mobile phone so tight to her ear that it hurt. Every muscle in her body was taut, like a coiled spring awaiting its release.
‘Of course. I think it’s great that you’ve hooked back up with them.’ Brian’s voice sounded far away, despite only being down the road at her parents’. She wondered if they were making it awkward, whether they were as hard work as they had been the last time Louisa visited them. ‘You could do with some company, a bit of fun,’ he added.
‘Not sure how late I’ll be, though, so don’t wait up or anything. I’ll take house keys.’
She waited as Brian’s muffled voice relayed this information to her mum and dad – why he felt the need to do so was beyond her.
‘I’ll get takeaway for us all and stay here then,’ he said finally. ‘You go – and try to enjoy yourself.’
As much as Louisa felt the urge to question what on earth her mum and dad would eat from a takeaway, she let it go so she could get off the phone. He’d obviously been far better at building bridges than she’d thought, and her parents wanted them to stay. That had to be a positive thing, she guessed.
‘Thank you. See you when I get back.’
Louisa ended the call then got dressed into an outfit that would look as though she were going out to the pub, not to the common on the edge of the village. She couldn’t dress down too much, or Brian might query it when she got home later. If he was still awake of course. She put her flat shoes on – she had to walk for about ten minutes to the back lane running out of Little Penchurch to reach the common where she was going to meet Melissa.
And Oliver.
When Louisa had returned home from Court Farm earlier, she’d felt exhausted, confused, conflicted, angry and full of indecision about what to do. Melissa had been clear, though. She had talked Louisa into setting up a meeting with Oliver. And then, as planned, Melissa was going to ambush him. A bizarre ‘surprise’ she was imagining to be even
more awful than her fortieth party. Louisa’s stomach twisted with nerves just thinking about it. The two of them, confronting Oliver about what he did. Her confusion came from why Melissa seemed prepared to overlook the fact it was Louisa’s irresponsible and dangerous behaviour that had caused the accident in the first place, and was instead wholly intent on making just Oliver suffer.
The most worrying aspect to Melissa’s ‘plan’ was not knowing the outcome. Once they’d confronted him – what was going to happen then? She had no idea how, exactly, Melissa intended to make him suffer. That part of the plan hadn’t been discussed, and that’s what set Louisa’s heart rate soaring. The unknown. She was walking into this with her eyes only partially open. Melissa could be operating on a completely different agenda to her.
What if her plan all along was to get her and Oliver together so she could punish them both at the same time?
She shouldn’t go. The best thing would be to leave well alone. She should go to her parents’, join in on the takeaway evening instead.
But at the same time, she wanted to see Oliver’s face, wanted to hear Melissa’s rage hit him full force. She wanted to hear his side of the story; find out why he’d purposely sought out the sister of the woman Louisa had hit in the lanes, years after it’d happened. The thought he’d done that – gone as far as to marry her, too – made her skin crawl. Oliver really wasn’t who she’d thought he was. He’d lied to Melissa. Lied to Louisa. Lied to everyone. Melissa was right: he’d be unlikely to be found guilty of Helen’s murder – unless her remains were found. And Melissa understandably believed he shouldn’t get away with it. Louisa knew if she could help that process a bit, she had to take that opportunity. And besides, she’d told Melissa she’d do it now, so she owed her. Justice for Helen, for her family, had to prevail.
Was the truth, and confronting Oliver, justice enough for Melissa though?
The evening was crisp, and Louisa pulled her black mac tightly around her to keep the chilly air from sneaking through the gaps. She set off at a brisk pace, but slowed as she passed the church, an ache causing her to clutch her tummy. Tiff’s funeral was tomorrow – she’d already seen the plot that had been dug in preparation when she’d walked through the churchyard with Noah. Was that yesterday, or the day before? She’d lost track.
All she knew was she wasn’t ready for it; it seemed too soon to be burying her friend. But it’s what her parents wanted – Shirley had said she needed to get that part over with, so they could begin the grieving process properly. The newly dug grave was against the far wall of the churchyard, next to the meadow that stretched on for acres and backed onto Tiff’s house. Her final resting place would be next to one of the oldest graves in the cemetery. A lovely spot, if there was such a thing in a graveyard – under one of the two huge oak trees. Tiff would have been happy with that. The reality had hit Louisa when she’d seen it, though – the hole in the ground signifying the end. The end of Tiff. The end of their friendship.
Louisa gave her arms a rub and, head down, carried on to the meeting place. A few minutes later, with the darkness beginning to envelop her, she came to the entrance of the common. She gave a furtive glance around her. The road was quiet and the small tarmacked area on the opposite side where people often parked their cars whilst visiting the common was empty – a chain looped across its narrow entrance. She slipped through the kissing gates without any hesitation – the time for that had long passed – and took the right-hand path that led to the top of the disused quarry.
Why hadn’t Oliver asked the reason she wanted to meet him; queried the location?
Louisa knew he’d taken many walks at the common since Melissa’s disappearance, which was one of the reasons she’d suggested it – that and the fact it was most likely to be deserted in the evening. Since the quarry had been totally fenced off, even the teenagers had abandoned it as their favourite drinking spot and started using the back end of the park behind the skatepark as their meeting place. The quarry no longer held the sense of adventure and danger, so walking that far just to be out of sight had lost its appeal to them.
Louisa held her mobile out in front of her and used the flashlight app to guide her along the bumpy, muddy path to the fenced quarry. As she turned and began to ascend the incline, a figure came into view – a dark shape motionless against the fence. If it wasn’t for her phone, she’d be unable to make out anything but the trees; the light was fading fast, the night stealing it.
Louisa didn’t like it; she’d never felt so vulnerable. Unsafe.
‘Hello, Oliver,’ she said when she reached him, her breathing shallow from the excursion. From her nerves.
‘This is all rather cloak-and-dagger, Lou-Lou.’ He grinned. ‘I think I like it.’
God, did he think she was there to have an illicit encounter with him? Perhaps that was why he hadn’t questioned the meeting place – he’d naturally assumed she’d chosen it as a good place where they could get up to no good without being caught. The thought both horrified and excited her. If it hadn’t been for Melissa hiding somewhere close by, would she allow something to happen between them – to punish Brian’s attempted infidelity with Tiff by doing the same with Oliver? She had to admit, she would’ve been tempted once. But that was before.
Before she knew what a low-life liar he was.
‘Don’t get too excited. It’s not what you think.’
She could see disappointment hit him first, followed by confusion.
‘Why are we meeting here then?’ His brow lowered, making his eyes appear even darker than usual.
‘I didn’t want to be overheard. Wanted to be somewhere away from my family. Common ground, so to speak.’
His smile wavered. ‘Riiight. So, what did you want to discuss?’
‘Don’t pretend you don’t know.’ Louisa’s voice caught. She felt sure he was playing with her.
He shrugged. ‘There’s been rather a lot going on lately. I’m not a mind reader.’
Louisa swallowed down the urge to yell at him and took a slow, deep breath to remain in control. ‘Yes, there certainly has, but I mean, you know – the thing you told me—’
‘Oh! Of course. The woman in the lane …’ He gave a wry smile.
‘Yep. Her for starters,’ Louisa snapped.
‘I know it was a terrible shock for you, to hear from me what you’d done after you’d buried the memory for so many years. You’ve always got me to talk to about it though – you know that. We are the only ones who know what you did. What I did to cover it all up. It’s our secret.’ He reached forwards, taking hold of her upper arms. ‘As I said before, the guilt is a huge burden, but now we’ve found each other again, we can share that weight. We can be each other’s support.’ His confident smile sent a sharp shiver down her back.
‘Yeah, about that. I’m not sure we are the only ones who know. And I think you are well aware of that.’
‘No, Lou-Lou,’ Oliver said, taking her in his arms and holding her tightly. ‘I promise, I haven’t told a soul, never would. I’ll protect you until the end.’
‘Protect me?’ She pulled out of his embrace, so she could look directly into his eyes. ‘Are you sure about that, Oliver?’
‘Yes, I’m sure. What you did was something many people have done – drinking, smoking dope, then driving – you won’t be the only one who’s done that. You were unlucky that night.’
‘No, Oliver – I was wrong that night. Wrong to get behind the wheel, wrong to drive through the lanes, wrong to call you for your help. Wrong to go along with you.’
Louisa watched as the words sank in – catching Oliver’s expression as it hardened, his jaw tightening.
‘That hurts,’ he said, taking a step back. ‘I put myself on the line for you! Don’t be so selfish and ungrateful now. My life is in tatters – because you killed that girl and I covered it up for you.’
The shift in Oliver’s mood and the way his voice was suddenly thick with malice scared Louisa. She took a s
tep back, lowering her phone light so she couldn’t see his face. But he walked forwards, clearly not finished.
‘How different do you think your life would be now if I hadn’t done that for you, Lou? Eh? No lovely marriage to the safe and dependable Brian, no children – you’d have been locked up for life!’
‘No, Oliver, she wouldn’t have.’
The voice, loud and strong, came from a little higher than where Oliver and Louisa were standing. Louisa lifted her mobile and shone it in Oliver’s direction, in time to see his face pale; it looked like a perfectly white oval against the night’s blue-black backdrop. He lost his footing as he turned abruptly to the direction the voice had come from.
‘What the fuck?’ His words escaped his mouth like a weak hiss of air leaking from a deflating balloon.
‘Surprise!’ Melissa emerged from the bushes, a look of determination set on her face.
Oliver’s mouth gaped as he looked from Melissa to Louisa – the reality dawning on him.
He’d been caught in a trap.
50
THE FORGIVENESS
‘Melissa?’ Oliver’s voice was weak, his posture stiff. But he recovered quickly. ‘What’s going on here? I was so worried about you.’ He moved forwards, his hands held up towards his wife.
‘You were worried about me? Or about yourself?’ Melissa stepped down the pathway, avoiding Oliver’s outstretched arms, until she was standing beside Louisa.
‘You, darling. Obviously you. Why did you disappear like that? How could you leave me knowing that I’d be beside myself wondering if you were okay – whether you were alive or dead?’
‘I’m guessing you rather hoped I was dead.’
‘Why would you say that? Tell her, Louisa, tell her how frantic I’ve been.’ Oliver turned to Louisa, his eyes wide, pleading. ‘Lou, you know, don’t you? How I’ve been searching every day, worried sick that something bad had happened to her.’
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