As suddenly as it had appeared, his anger dissipated. He slumped over and rested his forehead on his arms. He couldn’t believe it. It was over.
They’d met in high school. He’d been on the football team; handsome, popular and in great demand. He’d been dating the prettiest girl in school. Eventually she’d taken him home to meet her family, including her older sister, Jennifer. As soon as he’d seen her, he’d known that he wanted her. Not in the way that he wanted Sarah; theirs was a relationship based purely on lust and mutual satisfaction. No, he’d known then that he wanted her to be his wife.
It started slowly. He found ways of spending more time with the family just so he could see her, spend time with her. At first she barely noticed him but then she started holding his gaze for a few seconds longer than was necessary, brushing her hand against his whenever she was close.
Then one day Jennifer called her parents asking to be picked up from a party. They’d been in the middle of a discussion with Sarah about her falling grades. Feeling that he was in the way anyway, he volunteered to go and pick her up. When he arrived she obviously had been crying; her smudged mascara tearing at his heartstrings.
He hadn’t been able to resist. He stopped at the first quiet place he found and took her in his arms, intending only to comfort her. Once she was in his arms, he found he couldn’t let go, and one thing led to another.
She’d been ashamed afterwards, lying naked under him on the back seat. She made him promise that he would break up with her sister immediately. She told him that she had tried to fight it, that she didn’t want to hurt her sister, but her feelings for him wouldn’t be denied.
The uproar their relationship caused threatened to tear the family apart. Jennifer’s guilt ate away at her, but eventually they came through the storm. Her family realized that they were serious about each other and Sarah forgave her; but as for him, he wasn’t completely sure.
And now it was over.
Four
Jennifer hated driving along this road at night, especially in the rain. What had been a light drizzle when she left the office gradually got worse and the rain was now coming down in sheets. She put her wipers on as fast as they would go but they were barely keeping up. Thankfully the road was quiet so she could slow down. She wasn’t in a rush to get anywhere and she’d rather get home later and in one piece, than not at all.
A glint in her rear view mirror drew her eye and she saw a set of headlights coming up from behind. Those lights hadn’t been there a minute ago so she knew they must be travelling fast. Idiot she muttered under her breath before turning her steering wheel slightly, moving to the side of the road to let them pass. She was tempted to give the finger as they pulled alongside her but decided against it, concentrating instead on the road. She waited for them to pull past but the driver seemed to have slowed down, now travelling parallel to her.
What the hell is wrong with this guy? At first annoyed, she was starting to feel uncomfortable. Glancing through the passenger window, she tried to make out who was driving the other vehicle but the rain made it impossible for her to see anything other than the outline of a figure.
Well if you won’t speed up, I’ll slow down. She didn’t want to stop on the dark road but if she slowed down a bit the other car might pass her and go on its way. Pressing on the brake she slowed slightly as the other car started to inch forward.
She was not prepared for what happened next. The other car swerved to the left, smashing its side into the front of her car. Frantically, she gripped the steering wheel trying to keep the car on the road, but it was no use. The other car was bigger and much heavier than her car. Some kind of SUV. She felt the wheel slip from her grasp as it the car spun around and left the road.
Screaming, she held her arms across her face as the car crashed into the trees on the side of the road. The impact of the branches shattered the windscreen, the glass striking her in the face.
And then there was silence, broken only by the groaning of the car as it settled and the tinkle of glass as it came to rest. Feeling something warm on her face she reached up and touched it with her fingers,
“Good job, Dan.”
The voice came from just outside her car window. Scrabbling frantically at her seatbelt she managed to click it free and climb over to the passenger seat, away from the voice.
“Oh no you don’t.”
She paused with her hand on the door handle and looked up. A man was smiling at her through the shattered glass. Before she had a chance to speak, he reached in with a syringe in his hand and pressed it into her neck. She felt a sharp pain, like a bee sting, before the world started to swim and went black.
Five
Michael dropped the phone down onto the kitchen table. He’d been trying to get hold of Jennifer since Friday and it was now Tuesday. He tried her at home but it just went to answerphone and her cell was switched off. He didn’t want to ring her at work if he could help it, but he needed to talk to her about the divorce.
There was only one thing for it, if she wouldn’t answer her phone he would have to go round to her house. He checked his watch. She should be home from work in about an hour so he could sit outside until she arrived. His mind made up, he grabbed his jacket from the back of the kitchen chair and was just slipping it on when there was a knock at the door.
“What do you want?” he snapped when he saw who it was.
“Where is she?” Sarah pushed past him and into the house.
“Jennifer? Well she’s not going to be here, is she?” he told her as he followed her into the living room and watched as she had a good look around before heading for the kitchen.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
She spun round to face him.
“Where is she, Michael? Have you done something to her? I haven’t been able to get hold of her for days and she didn’t turn up for work on Monday, or today.”
Michael held up his hands. “Whoa, Sarah, I haven’t done anything to her, I can’t believe you think I would. I’ve been trying to get hold of her, too.” He watched the anger drain from her face leaving in its place a worried frown.
“Look, come and sit down,” He pulled out a chair from the kitchen table. “When’s the last time you spoke to her?”
“Friday, before she left work,” Her face hardened. “She was still upset about the row you guys had.”
Michael tried hard not to let his concern show on his face. It was one thing for Jennifer to avoid him, but wouldn’t let Sarah know if she was going to be incommunicado for any length of time.
“Look, try not to worry. I’m sure there’s a good explanation,” he said, though he couldn’t think of one. “Have you called the police?”
Sarah shook her head. “Not yet. Do you think we should?”
“Yes, I do,” he carried on quickly as she started crying. “Just as a precaution, I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Can you do it? I don’t think I can.”
“Sure.”
He picked up the phone and called the number for the local police department. When they answered he quickly explained the situation before they put him on hold, telling him they’d be right back. “We’ll probably have to go down there in person.” He told Sarah, putting his hand over the mouthpiece.
“Mr Trent? I’m Detective Mitchell,” suddenly said a deep male voice.
“Yes, hello. I would like to report my wife missing; are you the person who handles these cases?”
“Missing person reports need to be made in person at the station, Mr Trent. How long has your wife been missing?”
“No one has seen her since Friday.”
“I see.” There was a pause and Mike could hear paper rustling. “Can you tell me what car your wife drives?”
He was slightly taken aback by the question. “Of course, a 2010 Honda Civic –can you hold on just a minute?” Sarah was gesticulating at him trying to get his attention. “My sister-in-law is trying
to tell me something.” He put his hand over the mouthpiece again. “What?”
“She doesn’t have the Civic any more. She traded it for a Chevrolet Sprite, she picked it up on Thursday.”
Michael was surprised, he’d always picked her cars and he had no idea that she intended on changing it.
“Oh. Ok, thanks,” He spoke into the phone. “Sorry, looks like I’m wrong. She has a Chevrolet Sprite now.”
There was a brief pause on the end of the phone.
“I see. Listen Mr Trent, as both you and your sister-in-law are together at your house why don’t I come to you? I’ve got to go out on some other business anyway so it would be no trouble. What’s your address?”
Michael gave him the address and put the phone down, troubled. “He’s coming here.”
“Something’s wrong isn’t it? Why else would he come here? Oh god, something’s happened to her.”
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d agreed with Sarah but this time he had to admit she was probably right. “I don’t know Sarah, but he said he was on his way so we won’t have long to wait until we find out.”
Six
Elliot Mitchell was one of only six detectives in the small police department and though the town seemed to get bigger every day, they were lucky that they didn’t have a lot of violent crime. This being one of the reasons he’d moved here from Boston in the first place, leaving behind a city that had almost destroyed him. So when the call came in about the car wreck he had no problem volunteering to deal with it as his desk was clear.
The car was still ablaze when he arrived at the scene and he had to stand well back while the fire department extinguished the flames. It had been burning for a while before another driver had called it in and by the time the flames were out, there was little left of the single occupant that still sat in the driver’s seat. He watched as the crime scene techs did their job before the charred remains were taken to the morgue.
Initial enquiries of who the car belonged to had led him to a local man, but that proved to be a dead end. He visited the address only to be told that he’d left that day to take a once in a lifetime trip exploring the Amazon. Inconveniently for Elliot, his family had no way of getting in touch with him and they had no idea to whom he’d sold the car.
That had been on Friday and up until now they’d been unable to identify the victim. It was only a matter of time before someone, somewhere, reported a loved one missing; and it seemed that they finally had.
***
The knock on the door made Michael jump, even though he’d been expecting it. He didn’t say a word as his eyes met Sarah’s across the table.
He wanted nothing more at that moment than to run in the opposite direction, away from the bad news he knew was waiting for him on the other side of the front door, but he couldn’t. Taking a deep breath he pushed his shoulders back and stood up to answer the knock.
He didn’t know what he’d been expected but the image he had formed in his mind of the detective on the phone bore no resemblance to the man standing in front of him. Maybe it was the deep voice that had made him think he was older, but the man standing in front of him could only have been in his late thirties and looked more like a biker than a detective. His dark hair skimmed the collar of a well-worn black leather jacket under which Michael caught a glimpse of a Harley Davidson t-shirt worn loose above a pair of ripped blue jeans.
“Detective Mitchell,” The man held out his hand. “You must be Mr Trent, we spoke on the phone.”
Michael took the outstretched hand. “Yes of course, come in.” He stood back and held the door open allowing the detective to come inside. Closing the door behind him he led him to the kitchen where Sarah stood with her arms crossed across her middle, hugging herself.
“What’s wrong, what’s happened to my sister?” Sarah asked as soon as he entered the room.
“Mind if I sit down?” the detective asked. Before anyone answered he pulled out a chair.
“Please, just tell us,” Michael pleaded. “Of course, I’m sorry,” Elliot reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a clear plastic bag and placed it on the table in front of them. “Can I ask, do you recognise any of these items?”
Michael picked up the bag and held it in front of his face, examining the contents. Immediately he felt the earth shift beneath his feet. He would recognise Jennifer’s wedding ring anywhere, they’d designed it themselves. “That’s Jennifer’s wedding ring.” His hand shook as he placed the bag back on the table and Sarah immediately started crying.
“I’m so sorry. We recovered this ring from a car wreck outside town on Friday and from what you’ve told me, the victim does appear to be your wife Mr Trent.”
“You’re sure?” he didn’t recognize his own voice as the words caught in his throat.
“No, we can’t be sure until we’ve confirmed it with dental records.” He answered gently. “Did your wife have a regular dentist we can contact?”
Mike nodded and walked over to a kitchen drawer, taking out a pen and paper and writing down the details.
“What happens now?” he asked as he held out the paper.
The detective folded the paper and slipped it into his back pocket. “I’ll be in touch as soon as I have any further news. Once again, I’m sorry for your loss.”
Michael thanked the detective and showed him out, closing the door firmly behind him. He felt shaky, as if his legs couldn’t hold him up. Leaning his forehead against the door he closed his eyes, and let out a long breath. He couldn’t believe Jennifer was gone. Not Jennifer.
He didn’t hear Sarah come up behind him before he felt her hand on his shoulder. Without a word he turned to face her and they fell into each other’s arms, all bitterness pushed aside.
“It might not be her,” Sarah’s voice was muffled against his chest.
He didn’t know what to say. He wanted to believe it wasn’t her, to cling on to the tiny chance that it wasn’t, but realistically he knew it was. He took a deep breath. “Sarah…”
“No. Don’t,” she shook her head against him. “I don’t want to hear it.”
“Okay.” He said, holding her close. What harm would it do to let her believe a little bit longer?
Seven
Elliot let himself into his apartment with a weary sigh. It had been a long day and it was always emotionally exhausting to deliver bad news, a part of the job he hated. These days he didn’t have to do it very often as it was usually the job of uniformed officers. He’d done more than his fair share though back in the days when he was a patrol officer in Boston.
The quiet struck him as he walked in and it bothered him, as it always did these days. Walking over to the stereo he switched it on before he even took his coat off. He didn’t care what was playing, it was just a trick to make his apartment feel less empty.
Going into the kitchen he opened his cupboards searching for a clean plate. I really need to do the washing up he chided himself, glancing at the pile of dirty dishes in the sink. Giving up on the plate, he got a fork from a drawer and took it through to the living room where his take-out was quickly going cold. He sat down and almost immediately leapt up again at the sudden vibration in his back pocket.
“Hello?”
“Where are you?”
It took a second before he remembered. “Shit. Sorry, I completely forgot.”
“Well get your backside over here now.”
He sighed. He really didn’t want to go out again. All he wanted was a hot shower and an early night. “I’m really whacked, why don’t we do it another night?”
“Oh, no you don’t. You’ve been trying to get out of this since you got here. Mum’s gone to a lot of trouble and you will not let her down, mister.”
From what she’d told him about her mother, trying to get out of this was a bad idea. “Okay, you’re right. Give me half an hour, I need to have a quick shower.”
“And stop on your way and get a bottle of wine. She likes red.”
He heard the dial tone before he had time to answer. Like mother like daughter, apparently he grinned as he dropped the uneaten take-out in the bin and went to shower.
***
Taking the bottle from the passenger seat, Elliott walked up the path to the house. He spent far more than he should have on the wine out guilt for having forgotten the invitation. The door opened just as he raised his hand to knock.
“At last.”
“Hello to you, too.”
“Just get in here, everyone’s waiting to meet you.” Lexi took the bottle and walked off leaving him to follow her into the dining room.
A woman who was undoubtedly Lexi’s mom immediately stood up as he entered the room, came over to him and gave him a hug, squeezing so tight he thought he might stop breathing.
“Ah! And this is your young man, Lexi!” She let him go and beamed up at him.
“I’m so sorry I’m late, Mrs Constantinou.”
She waved her hand in the air, “No matter.”
“He’s not my young man, Mom.” Lexi interrupted, rolling her eyes at him. “He’s my partner. At work.”
“I know, I know but that is how it starts, no?” the older lady gave a wide grin.
Lexi shook her head, clearly used to her mother’s antics.
“Elliot, these are my brothers, Alexander, Andreas and Theo.” Each of the three men sat around the table lifted their hands in turn and gave him a little wave. It felt almost like walking into a job interview, facing a panel of people he’d never met before and was just as intimidating.
“Come and sit down, the food is getting cold.”
Elliot walked round the table to where Lexi was pointing to the empty chair next to her. Once he was sat the conversation started up again, and soon he was surrounded by several conversations going on at once as dishes were being passed around the table.
“Here, my mom’s famous moussaka,” Lexi said, passing him a plate with enough food on it to feed a small army.
True Deceit (Blindsided Book 1) Page 2