‘Yes, of course I see how that looks. But until you went “missing”, Tiff had never mentioned Helen. It was only then she happened to say in passing that she’d known someone who disappeared years ago, someone she’d worked with.’
‘I know. I can only blame Oliver. Well, and you.’
Louisa froze. The uncomfortable feeling that Melissa had unfinished business lay heavily in her gut. But she needed Louisa now, needed her to get rid of Oliver’s body so they could try and escape going to prison for the rest of their lives. Unless she didn’t care. It could be that she wanted to exact her revenge on them all, and to hell with the consequences for her personally. Life in prison may well be worth it in Melissa’s mind.
Louisa had to play this carefully.
‘If I’d had any idea, any whatsoever, that Helen was still alive, I’d have called an ambulance. The police. I promise. Oliver said she was gone. That I’d killed her. Everything from there was a blur for twenty-two years, Melissa. I’m so very sorry for the part I played.’
‘I know you are. I don’t blame you anymore, I told you. It’s Oliver who needed to be held to account for everything.’
‘Okay, okay.’ Louisa paced, her nerves on edge. ‘Look, it must be getting really late.’ She took her mobile from Melissa and checked the time. It was nearly midnight. She hadn’t realised they’d been at the quarry for so long. The adrenaline had kept everything going, but now it’d dipped, Louisa was feeling tired and cold. ‘We have to think about how we’re going to move him, and where we’re going to take him. I’m guessing you didn’t bring anything like plastic sheeting, blankets, or anything?’
‘No. Nothing.’ Melissa raked her fingers through her hair. ‘Like I said, I honestly only brought the knife for protection. I wasn’t planning on killing him.’
‘Great.’
‘Oh, hang on. The car I’ve got. There might be something we can use in there.’
‘Whose car is it?’
‘Mine. Sort of. I did a cash deal with this dodgy guy before he was going to crush it – it’s not exactly legal, but I wasn’t planning on using it much; it was to follow you, really. I’ve been careful not to go anywhere where there are cameras. I think, anyway. Don’t worry, once I’m done with it, I’ll set it on fire.’
Louisa screwed her eyes up. This was sounding more and more bizarre and less like they could possibly get away with it with every passing minute. But now wasn’t the time to question Melissa’s thinking.
‘And where is it now?’
‘I parked about five minutes from here and walked. Didn’t want to be seen. I could drive it as close to the entrance as possible.’
‘How the hell are the two of us going to get a dead-weight body back down the path to the entrance though? It took me a few minutes to get here on my own; it’s a bit of a climb.’
‘We can drag him? It’ll be easier to do as it’s downhill all the way. I know that’ll leave a trail, but no one will query marks like that, will they?’
‘No, possibly not. These are well-worn paths – but we’d have to be careful because of the blood. This is the dog-walkers’ paradise – a sniff of blood might get them all going, draw unwanted attention to this part of the common. We’re going to have to clean up as best we can.’
‘Okay. I’ll go and see what’s in the boot, and bring whatever I can back here.’
‘Don’t leave me here with him!’ Louisa didn’t want to be with a dead body, but more than that she didn’t trust Melissa not to do another disappearing act, leaving her to clean up the mess, or take the fall for what she’d done. That would be ironic – Oliver and Melissa each carrying out a murder and then pinning it on her.
‘You should stay here, just in case anyone comes.’
‘And what in God’s name am I meant to do if someone does!’
‘You can somehow make sure they go the other way, tell them there’s a … tree fallen … or something, that the path’s blocked and they can’t get through.’
‘And I’m doing what, exactly, here at bloody midnight? I’ve no dog, I’m not a reckless teenager up to no good – it will look really suspicious. And what if I know them?’
‘The more we stand here debating it, the more likely someone will come. Let’s get on with it, shall we?’
Time slowed dramatically. Louisa felt as though she’d been waiting for an hour by the time she heard rustling. Please be Melissa.
‘It was useless, I’m sorry. I’ve just got this rank towel.’ Melissa’s breathing was laboured as she stopped in front of Louisa. She stared at the item in her hand with a sense of defeat.
‘Well, that’s great, Melissa. That’s not going to wrap around him, is it?’ Louisa banged her palms against her temples.
Melissa sighed, dropping the towel at her feet. All Louisa could think about was the wealth of fibres, DNA, and footprints they were going to be leaving at the scene. They may as well give themselves up now. Tell the police that Oliver had drawn them to the common then attacked them. That in self-defence, Melissa had stabbed him. That was a better plan than trying to hide his body and hope for the best for ever more that it wasn’t found.
Had that been how Oliver had felt for all those years? Louisa glanced at his motionless body. Melissa had done him a favour, really. She’d released him from his guilt.
Now that guilt was hers for the rest of her life.
‘You’ve got that belt on your mac,’ Melissa said brightly. ‘We could at least tie the towel around the wound, stop some of the blood from leaking everywhere as we drag him.’
Louisa’s lips parted, an objection ready to trip off her tongue, but before it materialised she realised they had nothing better to work with. ‘Well, let’s try it, then.’
Louisa whipped her belt from the loops as Melissa picked the towel up. Now they’d have to touch him. Louisa’s stomach flipped over. Holding her breath, and not looking at his ashen face, she took hold of Oliver’s upper body, pulling it up until there was enough room to slip the towel beneath him. Melissa tugged it, bringing it up around his torso, and together they manoeuvred him so they could secure the towel with the belt.
Louisa stood and yanked her coat off – the effort it’d taken just to get that far had made her sweat.
‘It might stop the blood, but without him being completely concealed it’s obvious it’s a body. I wish we could’ve rolled him up in a rug or something. It’d be slightly less conspicuous if anyone did spot us!’
‘You could tie that around his head,’ Melissa said, pointing to Louisa’s mac.
‘No, Melissa. If he’s ever found that’ll link him straight to me!’
‘Louisa. If he’s found, there will be far more than your mac linking you to his death.’
‘Fair point. It would stop us having to look at him at least. And I can take it off and burn it when we get to wherever we’re going. Where are we going to take him?’
‘I don’t know the area. This bit is up to you.’
‘Oh. Fantastic. The time it’s taking us, it’ll be light before we’ve even figured out where to ditch him. I may as well take him to Tiff’s funeral.’ Louisa let out a sharp laugh. Hysteria was setting in.
‘That’s brilliant!’ Melissa stood up and began pacing. ‘That’s a good idea. It could work.’
‘What? In what world is that—’ And then she caught up with Melissa’s thinking.
‘Shit. Yes, that could work. It’s risky, but genius.’
For the first time since Melissa’s rash action, Louisa felt a glimmer of hope.
Perhaps they really could get away with murder.
52
THE LAST TIME
Thursday – early a.m.
‘We’ll need tools. And different clothes to change into afterwards.’
‘You sound like you’ve done this before, Melissa.’
‘Of course I haven’t. But I’ve seen enough crime documentaries to know we have to take precautions. Can we go to yours and get a shovel?’
‘Okay. Well, could there already be a shovel at the graveside? If Tiff’s grave has been dug, they might’ve left tools?’
‘No, they used a mini-digger thing. I saw it when I walked through the other day.’ Louisa stared out of the car window, wishing she were anywhere but sitting there with Oliver’s wife – her dead husband squashed up in the boot. They’d had to sit for the last twenty minutes recovering from the task of dragging Oliver’s body down the pathway. Louisa’s arms shook, the ache from the weight and awkwardness of their load tracking up into her shoulders. She’d be stiff in the morning. ‘Tiff has tools in her garage,’ she said, her mind suddenly alert again.
‘Can you get into it?’
‘I know the combination to the key safe by the front door, and you can access the garage from inside her house – there’s a connecting door.’
‘Great. We can take some of her clothes, too. You can’t put your coat back on now, and we’ll need fresh clothes after all this.’ Melissa looked down at herself – her jumper and jeans were caked in mud from the numerous times they’d stumbled over with the body.
‘No. That’s just … weird. Wrong.’
‘Really? I think we’ve gone beyond that already.’
‘Fine. I bagged everything up the other day. If it’s still there, and no one has taken it to charity, we should be able to find a change of clothes.’
The engine rumbled into life, and Melissa slowly drove in the direction of Tiff’s. The weight of Oliver in the boot had lowered the rear of the car, and as it bumped over the stony ground leaving the common, the exhaust grated on the ground. If they managed to get the car to Tiff’s and then to the church, without someone clocking them, it would be a miracle.
Louisa had been right about Tiff having tools in the garage. They took a bucket shovel and a spade, then got a change of clothes and some trainers for each of them. They made two trips to the car before driving along the road to the church.
The churchyard was eerily quiet as Louisa walked in first through the gate at the top entrance. Melissa’s car was parked as close as she could get it. The nearest houses were far enough away that even if someone looked out of their window, they shouldn’t draw too much attention – the streetlamps had gone off, so it would be difficult to make anything out with clarity. As it was two in the morning, Louisa hoped that would afford them the luck they needed in order to carry this out undisturbed.
The church itself was illuminated on one side, the floodlight casting an orangey glow. Once they passed by this side of the church to get to the prepared plot, they would be in relative darkness. Louisa’s phone battery was on its last bar, so they wouldn’t have the torchlight for long. They had to work fast.
Louisa pulled at the plastic sheeting over the open grave, while Melissa did the same to the sheet covering the pile of excavated earth. Giving a desperate look to Melissa, Louisa took a deep breath then lowered herself to the ground. Sitting with her legs dangling over the edge of the hole, the reality of what they were about to do hit her.
‘I can’t do it. Melissa, this is mad – stupid. We have to think of something else,’ she whispered.
‘This is the best plan there is. Don’t overthink it, just do it,’ she hissed, giving Louisa a nudge with her knee.
‘Hey, don’t! I’ll do it in my own time.’
‘Time is a luxury we don’t have. Jump.’
Pain reverberated up her ankles into her calves as she hit the ground hard. But she was in the grave now – there was no going back. She just hoped she could get out again.
Louisa turned and looked up at Melissa. ‘If we are both in here digging, how will we manage to climb out?’
‘We’ll have to take it in turns. Once we’ve dug more earth out, I think we’d struggle to get out if one of us wasn’t up here to help. And if we’re both found in here when the sun comes up … well. That’s the end, isn’t it.’
‘Okay. Pass me the spade – I’ll use that first and then we can swap, and you use the shovel to get rid of the loose earth.’
‘Don’t forget – put your back into it,’ Melissa said as she lowered the spade down. Louisa grimaced, snatching it from her and beginning to dig.
They’d swapped several times before deciding they’d displaced enough extra earth to cover Oliver’s body and still leave the grave looking as deep as when they’d started.
‘Right. Let’s do this.’ Melissa pulled Louisa back out of the grave, both of them collapsing at the edge, their breathing rapid, chests heaving. Louisa’s hands were blistered, but thankfully the skin hadn’t broken. She rubbed them gently together, wincing at the sharp pain. The hardest part was yet to come. They had to get Oliver, carry him in, carefully roll him into the grave, then pile enough earth over him and make sure they compacted it so it didn’t look as though the grave had been disturbed.
With the boot up, Louisa took the head end, Melissa the other. With a coordinated effort they tried to lift Oliver’s body up and out. They moved it an inch or so, but no more, dropping him back down, the car rocking with the weight.
‘Shit!’ Louisa turned her back on him, sitting on the edge of the boot. ‘We’re not going to be able to do it. All that digging, and dragging him from the common beforehand, my arms are numb – I haven’t got the strength.’
‘We have to. There’s no choice. We’ll try both taking the leg end and move that part out first. Come on.’
The effort to get him out of the boot, then carry him to the grave was so great that it came as a relief when they got him to the edge and the burden was released. It would only take one more heave to roll him into the deep hole. Louisa’s adrenaline had got her this far, and she knew once it wasn’t needed, she’d crash.
‘After three?’
‘Yep, after three,’ Melissa agreed. ‘One …’
‘Two,’ Louisa said, preparing herself.
‘Three,’ they said together.
Louisa pushed the top end and as she did, the mac covering Oliver’s head slipped off, exposing his pale face, his wide-open eyes. She let go, muffling a scream with her hands. Luckily her push had been enough, and together with Melissa’s, gave the force needed to propel the body into the hole.
‘Calm down, Louisa. We’re on the home run.’
‘I can’t believe you’re making light of this. Don’t you feel any remorse? Any ounce of guilt?’
‘No. And after you’ve recovered from tonight, once you get your life back on track, nor will you. You’ll go over all that he’s done to you, to Helen and me, and will be glad we did this.’
‘Maybe.’ Louisa shone the light down inside the hole to make sure he’d fallen right. The glare of the light catching his eyes made the whites shine as though an ultraviolet light was on them. It was freaky. ‘Let’s hurry up and cover him, shall we?’ Louisa sank to her knees and began pushing some earth into the grave with her hands.
‘It’ll be easier with the shovels?’ Melissa said, her voice full of sarcasm.
‘Yes, obviously. I just had to cover his face.’ Louisa couldn’t bear to look into those eyes anymore – eyes that had once been so hypnotic, now lifeless. She got back to her feet and snatched the shovel from Melissa’s hands. They both winced, the friction sending a burning sensation across their palms. ‘Sorry,’ Louisa muttered.
There was excess earth left over once they’d covered him. And one of them had to get back into the grave and flatten the loose earth.
Louisa hesitated.
‘Don’t worry, I’ll do it,’ Melissa said, immediately jumping back in.
Louisa watched numbly as Melissa walked back and forth in the six-foot hole, pressing the earth down with each small footstep. Then she told L
ouisa to throw in another shovel-load from the mound. This continued until the bottom of the grave looked flat.
Louisa pulled Melissa from the hole, using what little energy remained. She was so exhausted that despite the macabre surroundings, despite the knowledge of what had just taken place, Louisa was sure she could sleep right now, right there.
‘We’ve done it,’ Melissa said.
They helped each other up, and standing side by side at the edge of the grave, Louisa pointed the phone downwards. It looked good – the ground sufficiently compacted, no sign of a body that didn’t belong in there. A bubble of anger at everything she’d been put through erupted to the surface. How could Oliver have done this to her? The anger wasn’t entirely focused on him, though – Louisa was also angry about her own actions; then and now. But there’d been no other way, had there?
‘Claw your way back from that, Oliver,’ she whispered.
‘That’s the last time you’ll ever have to see that lying bastard. We’ve done everyone a favour.’ Melissa grabbed Louisa’s hand.
Guilt burned in her stomach, like acid was slowly eating through the layers. Melissa might be right, but who was she to decide someone’s fate?
‘What’s done is done, I guess,’ Louisa said. ‘We have to live with this.’ Like Oliver had lived with the knowledge he’d taken someone’s life, supposedly for love, if his dying words were to be believed.
Only he hadn’t managed to live with the guilt, had he? Will I?
‘Seriously, Louisa. This has to be the last time Oliver has any control over your life.’ She squeezed Louisa’s hand. ‘The last time you even think of him.’
‘Yes. The last time.’ Louisa closed her eyes, forcing the tears to remain in them. She couldn’t change what had happened, however much she’d like to. But if she was to have any kind of future now, after all this, she knew Melissa was right. Oliver had to be deleted from her mind. They re-covered the dug grave with the plastic sheeting and replaced the stones that had secured it there. ‘Let’s get out of here.’
The Missing Wife Page 26