'Hidden in Stuart's flat,' Gasnier replied. 'Do you recognise the girl?'
'No,' Emma said, unable to take her eyes off the images. 'Why did you show me these? Do you think they're relevant?'
'Not really,' Gasnier said. 'We just wanted to be sure.'
'Someone took these without them knowing, didn't they?' Emma asked, looking up at Gasnier.
'Looks like it,' he said. 'Do you think they're recent?'
'No,' Emma said with certainty. 'He's wearing the gold watch I gave him as a present. When he left me, he left the watch too.'
'So what you're saying is, these photos were taken when you two were still together?' Gasnier asked.
'Definitely,' Emma replied.
Now it all made sense. He had left her for another woman.
'But you don't know who might have taken these photographs?' Gasnier enquired.
'No,' Emma replied. 'Unless…'
'Go on,' Gasnier encouraged.
'Unless,' she continued, 'it was Stephen Myers.'
***
'The police don't believe me,' Richard said, lolling his head off and onto the pillow. 'They looked at me like I was delusional. You know, they even suggested I dreamt the telephone conversation. Can you believe that?'
He laughed bitterly.
'Gasnier doesn't seem to give away much,' Emma said. 'He might believe you more than he's letting on.'
'He thought I was crazy,' Richard said. 'Maybe I am. Just before the police arrived I feel asleep, and dreamt about the attack. But Dan was the one attacking me - he just kept screaming something; bawling right into my face. I can't remember what. I didn't tell the police about it. I would have just confirmed what they were already thinking.'
'It was just a dream,' Emma soothed.
'I wish this was all a dream,' Richard replied. 'I wish I would just wake up and it would all have been one bad dream.'
'So do I,' Emma said.
'Don't take any notice of me,' Richard said, noting Emma's pained expression. 'Things will be okay.'
Emma reached out and held his hand.
'We've all got to stick together,' Emma said. 'Right, Will?'
'Oh, yeah, of course,' Will said, seeming somewhat distracted. 'Stick together.'
'I didn't imagine it, Emma,' Richard said. 'The guy did call me. He said he had done it. I think he's out there - you should be careful.'
***
'You okay?' Emma asked Will as he walked back over. She had been waiting at the entrance to the hospital while Will spoke to someone on his mobile, just out of hearing distance.
'Yeah, fine,' Will replied, slipping the phone back into his jeans pocket.
'It's just that you seemed a little subdued in the hospital,' Emma noted.
'I'm fine,' he reiterated. 'I just can't help thinking about what Richard said. If someone is still out there, then maybe we are all in danger.'
Emma's phone rang.
'Hello?' Emma said.
'Emma, it's Sarah here. Sarah Forester - I'm performing with Lizzy in the musical. We met a few weeks ago.'
'What's wrong?' Emma asked, automatically thinking the worst.
'It's probably nothing,' Sarah replied. 'But the show is due to start in less than half an hour and Lizzy hasn't turned up yet. We've called her mobile and home number but there's no answer. I just wondered whether she was with you.'
63
‘You’re really worried aren’t you?’ Will said, catching his breath as they ran along the pavement towards Lizzy’s apartment.
‘Something’s happened,’ Emma replied, dodging an elderly couple and picking up the pace. ‘Lizzy wouldn’t just disappear like that.’
They reached the apartments, sprinted up the stairs and got to Lizzy’s door. As Emma banged on the door and struggled for the keys it all seemed horribly familiar.
‘Lizzy?’ Emma shouted as they burst into the flat. ‘Are you okay?’
They moved around the flat together, room-by-room.
The place was deserted.
‘Something has happened,’ Emma said, pacing around the living room. ‘I know it.’
‘What are we going to do?’ Will said, looking at his feet.
‘I don’t know.’
Then she spotted the open book on top of the television. She moved over and picked it up.
‘What is it?’ Will said.
‘Stephen Myers’ journal,’ Emma replied, looking in morbid fascination at Stephen's black scrawl. ‘Lizzy told me she was going to throw it away.’
‘Looks like she’s been reading it,’ Will said, moving up to her shoulder.
‘It does,’ Emma agreed.
She read the open page, in which Stephen was rambling in his usual style, talking about how much he loved Emma, how much he looked forward to being with her. It was terrifying and sad at the same time.
‘I don’t think it’s a good idea to read that,’ Will advised.
‘You’re right,’ she said.
Emma went to close the book, and that’s when the photograph fell out – the photograph she had picked off Stephen’s bedroom wall, proving that Stephen had been to London. She bent down and picked it up, looking at her standing in the street outside Lizzy’s apartment, with the rows of shops in the background.
Suddenly realisation dawned.
‘You okay?’ Will said, as Emma moved quickly towards the front door.
‘Follow me,’ she gestured, heading for the stairs.
They emerged onto the street.
‘What’s the matter?’ Will said, as he followed her down the road.
‘Look,’ she said, stopping and pointing across the road. ‘That shop there – the coffee shop – it only opened a year ago. It used to be an electrical store. We went there once when our fuse box blew out.’
‘So,’ Will said, ‘is that important?’
‘Look at the photograph,’ Emma instructed, thrusting the photo into his face and pointing. ‘Look at the background. I’m standing in front of the row of shops, just across the road from here.’
‘I don’t understand,’ Will said, staring intently at the photo. ‘What am I looking for?’
‘The store in the background,’ Emma said. ‘Look at what it is.’
‘Yeah, it’s the coffee shop,’ he said. ‘The one across the road.’
‘Stephen died years ago,’ Emma said. ‘But that coffee shop only opened last year – it means that this photograph must have been taken after Stephen Myers died.’
***
‘Where are you going?’ Miranda asked, as she stood at the doorway, watching Edward loading up the car.
‘I just need to do something,’ Edward said.
‘But it’s getting late,’ Miranda replied, pulling her dressing gown tighter across her body as a passer-by sneaked a surprised glance. ‘Can’t it wait until the morning?’
‘It can’t wait,’ Edward dismissed, reaching across the driver’s side and fiddling with something in the car.
‘What’s the matter?’ she asked. ‘You’re worrying me, Edward.’
‘It’s nothing,’ he said. ‘There’s no need to worry.’
‘But if it’s nothing, why can’t it wait until morning?’
‘It just can’t,’ he stated.
‘Don’t go,’ Miranda said, moving out onto the driveway in her bare feet. Small, sharp stones dug into her skin, but she ignored the pain. ‘Please, don’t go like this, without any explanation. I worry about you.’
Edward turned and moved towards Miranda, placing a hand around each shoulder.
‘You know I love you?’ Edward said, looking deep into her eyes. ‘I’d never want to do anything to hurt you.’
‘You’re not leaving me, are you?’ Miranda asked. ‘If you are, I’d rather you just admit it now.’
‘I’m not leaving you,’ he replied. ‘I’ve let people down in the past, but I’m trying to change.’
‘You’ve never let me down,’ she said, embracing him.
Edward
held her there for a few seconds, taking in her perfume, but this was only wasting time and making things harder.
‘I’d better go,’ he said, kissing Miranda on the cheek before pulling away. ‘I’ll be back in the morning.’
‘You’re staying overnight?’ she asked, ‘but where are you going to stay?’
Edward got into the car and closed the door. He started up the engine, not answering her.
‘Edward!’ she shouted, knocking on the car window. ‘Have you got your angina spray?’
Edward nodded, glancing in the rear view mirror.
‘Don’t worry about me,’ he said through the glass, as the car began to reverse out of the drive.
Edward backed out onto the main road, and then moved forward, slipping the car into second gear. He deliberately didn’t look back to see if Miranda was there watching him. Instead he glanced across at the glove box that contained the loaded gun.
He was going to finish this, once and for all.
***
Emma sat on the sofa in Lizzy’s apartment and stared at the photograph, searching for answers. She looked across at Will, who was kneading the sides of his head.
‘I know it sounds crazy,’ Emma began, ‘but I’ve been thinking - maybe Stephen Myers isn’t really dead.’
Will looked up and shook his head.
‘But what if the person they found in the canal wasn’t him?’ Emma tried. ‘His dad said that they couldn’t identify him visually.’
‘They would have used dental records,’ Will replied.
‘Maybe they didn’t,’ Emma countered. ‘Maybe they just assumed that it was him, and didn’t do the proper tests. I might have been right all along, and it was Stephen Myers that has been doing all this. Everything pointed to him from the very beginning.’
Will blew out a deep breath, closing his eyes. He started to cry.
‘Will, what’s the matter?’ Emma asked, moving across to comfort him.
Will shook his head.
‘What’s up?’ she said, placing a hand on his shoulder.
‘I know he’s dead,’ he said, struggling to fight back his emotions. ‘I saw him.’
‘What do you mean?’ Emma asked.
Will looked up, his face contorted with grief and regret and his eyes glazed with tears.
‘Please forgive me, Em,’ he pleaded. ‘Don’t hate me. Everything just got out of hand – if I’d had time to think, I wouldn’t have gone along with it. But I thought I was doing the right thing.’
‘You’re worrying me, Will, what are you talking about?’
‘Stuart Harris – he killed, murdered, Stephen Myers,’ he said.
‘What?’ Emma said, horrified. ‘But they said. He committed suicide.’
‘No,’ Will said, shaking his head, ‘it was meant to look like a suicide, but it was murder. Stuart murdered him.’
‘How do you know this?’ Emma said, standing up, feeling the urge to move away from her brother. ‘Please tell me you’re not involved.’
‘I’m sorry, Em,’ he said. ‘I was involved - I helped him dispose of the body.’
64
‘I don’t understand,’ Emma said, pacing backwards and forwards across the living room. ‘Tell me that you’re joking about this Will.’
‘Why would I joke about something like this?’ he said, looking up at her through teary eyes. ‘I’ve been carrying around this secret for years, Em, and it’s been tearing me apart.’
‘Then tell me everything,’ Emma instructed, still not sitting down. ‘From the beginning.’
‘Well,’ he began, struggling to find the words. ‘You know how I told you that we had warned Stephen Myers off you – that was true. We knew he’d started coming down to London, watching you, taking photographs. Stuart and I tried to reason with him, and then things got a bit nastier. Stuart threatened him, saying that if he didn’t leave you alone, something bad might happen.’
‘Go on,’ Emma said.
‘Well, I didn’t really agree with what Stuart had done, but it seemed to work. I thought Stephen had finally got the message. But then one night I was in my flat – I can still remember what I was watching on the TV – and I got a call from Stuart. He was really freaking out, saying that something had happened with Stephen and could I come around to your place straight away. So unfortunately I did.’
‘And he’d…’
Emma couldn’t bring herself to say it.
‘I got over to yours. You were out performing. Stuart answered the door – he was soaking wet, his face and shirt were dripping, like he had been swimming fully clothed. He let me in and took me through to the lounge, and Stephen was just lying there on the floor. Dead.’
Will’s words didn’t seem real. Stuart was a murderer? ‘Did he say how it happened?’
‘He told me that Stephen had come around, forced himself into the flat and then pulled a knife on him. They fought, and as they were fighting Stephen fell over onto the knife. I assumed he was telling me the truth.’
‘But he wasn’t?’
‘No,’ he said. ‘It wasn’t true at all. Stuart Harris used me. He said what he needed to so that I would help him dispose of the body. And I did. I was so stupid. We wrapped Stephen up in bed sheets, then took him down to Stuart’s car and put him in the boot. Then we drove up to near Stephen’s home. Stuart thought we could make it look like suicide. We found a really isolated stretch of canal and dropped him in, along with the knife.’
Emma turned to look out of the window, taking some deep breaths. Her brother was an accessory to murder.
‘Say something, Em,’ Will said.
‘I don’t know what to say,’ Emma admitted. ‘This is all so…oh, I don’t know. So unbelievable.’
‘I hate myself for what I’ve done,’ Will said.
Emma turned around to face him.
‘How could you have done it?’
‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘Everything happened so fast, but I guess at the time I was just trying to help. Stuart and you were going to get married, and I thought that him killing Stephen was just an accident. I was trying to help him out – I thought he was innocent.’
‘But he wasn’t innocent,’ she said. ‘You said that Stuart hadn’t been telling you the truth about what happened with Stephen.’
‘No,’ he said, ‘it didn’t happen how he said.’
‘How do you know?’ Emma asked.
‘Because one day when I was round at yours, I found something,’ he said. ‘The set of photographs showing Stuart with the girl.’
‘The photos the police showed us just?’ Emma said.
Will nodded.
‘He found me looking at them and told me the truth. He’d started an affair with a girl he’d met at an audition – it had been going on for a couple of months. Then one day Stephen came around, with the photographs, threatening that unless Stuart left you he’d show you them.’
‘So he killed him to stop me finding out about his affair?’ Emma said.
‘Exactly,’ Will confirmed. ‘When he told me, I didn’t know what to do. I was already panicking about what we’d done, but knowing the truth made it worse. I wanted to go to the police, but I was scared of what might happen to me.’
‘But what I don’t understand,’ Emma said, ‘is if Stuart was willing to kill Stephen just so we could be together, why would he then walk away?’
‘He started losing it,’ Will said. ‘I mean, really cracking up. At first I thought what he had done hadn’t affected him, but it had.’
‘And all the time I thought it was to do with not getting work,’ Emma said.
‘Eventually I think he just decided that he needed to get away from anything that reminded him of what he had done, including you.’
‘But he decided he wanted me back now. Why?’
‘A couple of months ago he called me,’ Will said. ‘I hadn’t heard from him for years, so it was a shock. He started threatening to call the police and tell them everything that
had happened. He said that he was prepared to take me down with him, unless I gave him money. So I did.’
‘Will,’ Emma said.
‘I know,’ he said, ‘I know it was stupid. But I was frightened. I just wanted him to go away. He said he would, but he kept coming back, asking for more. Then he started talking about wanting to get back with you. And then Dan disappeared.’
‘You thought it was Stuart from the start?’ Emma said.
‘I…I wasn’t sure,’ he replied. ‘But, yes, I did wonder whether he had done something. I found something in your bathroom, a photograph.’
‘A photograph?’
‘One of the set taken by Stephen,’ he said. ‘I found the photograph next to Richard.’
‘And you didn’t tell me?’ Emma said, her anger rising. ‘You found something like that and kept it to yourself?’
‘Yes,’ Will said, hanging his head. ‘I’m sorry – I’m a coward, Em.’
***
Emma watched the steam rise from the kettle. She had retreated into the kitchen, needing to get some space between Will and her. She made two cups of tea and brought them through to the lounge. Will was stood up, looking out of the window.
‘Here you go,’ Emma said, handing him one of the cups.
‘Thanks,’ he said sheepishly, avoiding her gaze. ‘Look, Em,’ he said, ‘I wouldn’t blame you if you never wanted to talk to me again. I should have…’
‘Don’t,’ Emma interrupted. ‘We haven’t got time. I’ve been thinking, and the important thing here is to think whether what happened with Stephen helps to explain what happened to Dan, and Lizzy. Do you think it’s connected?’
‘I don’t know,’ Will said. ‘But the fact that someone connected with Stephen was still taking photographs of you, even after Stephen had died, makes me think that it may have something to do with it.’
‘I agree,’ Emma said. ‘If it wasn’t Stephen though, it probably could have been one of two other people – Stephen’s mum or dad.’
The One You Love (suspense mystery) Page 26