Saving Sophie

by Sam Carrington

  She drove Amy on.

  ‘What’s the rush?’ Amy tripped on the kerb, her heel catching. ‘Blimey, Soph.’ She looked up, aware now of her surroundings. ‘You giving me a lift, then, I take it.’

  ‘Yep. May as well.’ Sophie sped up, dragging Amy with her. ‘Come on.’

  Once inside the car, Sophie hit the central locking button. The deep, resounding clunk was reassuring. She caught a bemused expression from Amy. She wasn’t stupid; she could tell something was up. Now might be a good time to tell her.

  She swung out of the car park. At the junction, she slammed on the brakes, flinging her and Amy forward.

  ‘Jesus.’ The contents of Amy’s bag spewed on to the floor. She pulled at the seatbelt, attempting to loosen its hold.

  Sophie stared dead ahead, her eyes transfixed on the figure. He’d walked in front of them. Stopped. Stared at her before moving on. Just as she’d feared – he wouldn’t let the fact she had someone with her discourage his stalking.

  A horn blared from behind them. Amy finally looked up from gathering her items from the footwell.

  ‘What did you slam on your brakes for?’ She rubbed at her neck. ‘Shit, you gave me whiplash.’

  ‘Didn’t you see him? Walked right in front of the car.’ Sophie set off again, gesticulating with one hand to the driver behind.

  ‘No. Just as well I wasn’t driving then.’ Amy laughed.

  So close. Somehow, now didn’t seem the right time to tell Amy about him. Perhaps at Dan’s. The thought produced a sinking feeling.

  Who knew what was going to come out of this get-together. What was Dan playing at?

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE

  ‘I’ve got some pizzas in the oven, should keep us going.’ Dan flitted around, ushering them to the lounge, his jittery movements immediately setting Sophie on edge. Why had he been so keen for this to happen, why had he twisted things about, saying the get-together was Amy’s idea, not his? She was irritated by his lack of honesty, after all that fuss he’d made about being her friend when they went out the other evening.

  ‘I’m not staying long, Dan,’ Sophie said as she took a glass of Coke from his outstretched hand.

  ‘Oh, right.’ He looked disappointed, but had no time to say anything else as the others all piled in and seemed to distract him.

  Amy and Sophie exchanged quizzical glances. Soon the room was buzzing. It was odd. Wrong.

  One of them was missing.

  They didn’t always manage to all be together at the same time, what with a couple of them working and a few at college, but that was fine. Knowing someone was absent due to work or college was a world apart from knowing that one of them was dead. Saturday night had been the first time for months the gang had been complete. It had been so short-lived.

  Sophie drifted back into the conversation after hearing her name spoken. Becks was staring at her, wanting an answer.

  ‘Sorry. Say again?’

  ‘I said, do you remember anything yet? Whether you saw Erin after you left the pub. About the taxi drive, at all?’

  Great. More interrogation. ‘No. I’ve got nothing. Me and Amy have been over it, trying to unlock something concrete. It’s a blank.’ Her cheeks burned.

  ‘Oh! Forgot,’ Amy blurted. ‘You’ll never guess who came for a makeover today?’ Her eyes widened. She paused for effect and Sophie, thankful for the diversion, asked, ‘Who?’

  ‘Okay, well it was a long shot you’d guess anyway. Only that tart, Maria.’ She sat back, seemingly pleased with this declaration. Everyone remained silent. Amy slumped, tutted. ‘You know, Adam’s new girlfriend. Erin’s step-mum?’

  ‘Oh. Had no idea of her name, she’s “whatsherface” in our house,’ Sophie said. She didn’t get the big deal anyway. ‘So what?’

  ‘A makeover though? Bit weird, isn’t it, what’s she getting glammed up for – Erin’s funeral?’ Becks piped up.

  Amy flicked her hand under her hair. ‘She had a go at me.’

  ‘What?’ Everyone sat forward, now interested in Amy’s story.

  ‘I know, right. The cheek of the woman. Who does she think she is? She reckoned Erin was miserable because of me. Because of how I look, how popular I am. Gave Erin low self-esteem, apparently.’

  A difficult one. Sophie knew how hard Erin had tried to fit in; she’d never stated Amy was a problem, though. Not to her. But this was exactly what Rachel had been talking about, and that, too, had come from whatsherface – this Maria. Why had Erin spoken to Maria about her insecurities, but not any of the group?

  ‘What did you say?’ Jack said, with a mouthful of the pizza Dan had handed out.

  ‘I was taken aback, actually. I know Erin and I had differences occasionally, knew she liked to copy me, didn’t think it was a big deal. I told Maria that.’

  ‘Do you think she’s stirring it up for the rest of us?’ Becks asked.

  ‘She and the police. What’s their game? Why is everyone pointing the finger at us?’ Dan’s issue was clearly not resolved from the day Sophie had seen him at the police station.

  ‘Better than taking a good look at herself, if she can palm the blame on to me,’ Amy said.

  ‘What do you mean, why would she need to take a look at herself?’ Sophie was beginning to wonder where this was heading.

  ‘Well, it wouldn’t surprise me if it was her who pushed Erin over the edge, made her feel insecure about her looks.’ Amy’s voice was animated now, playing to her crowd. ‘She was the bitch who was vying for Adam’s attention and hated Erin being there, even worse when Erin began staying over regularly, like it was a competition who could gain his attention for longer.’

  ‘Really? Erin didn’t mention anything like that.’ Rosie, who’d remained silent up until now, obviously decided it was time to speak up.

  ‘She hadn’t seen you for ages, Rosie. She told me about it. On Saturday night in fact.’

  Sophie’s stomach lurched. ‘You never told me that when I was asking you about Saturday. About Erin. Why not?’

  ‘Sophie, you were being so weird about everything, I don’t know, it didn’t seem relevant at the time, too busy warding off yours and your mother’s rain of questions. Now Maria’s been in accusing me of being the problem, I remembered Erin’s conversation.’

  ‘Yeah, Soph, you’ve been a bit highly strung since all this.’ Dan’s helpful contribution.

  ‘Is it any wonder? Aren’t all of us? Anyway, you’re a fine one to talk, Dan. You’ve been sneaking around, following me, losing the plot all week.’

  ‘Now, now, girls. Put your handbags away.’ Tom put up a hand, his attempt at calming the situation. The smirk betrayed his real thoughts.

  ‘We shouldn’t be having a go at each other.’ The sensible, pragmatic Alice waded in. ‘We should be sticking together. Now, let’s get back to Adam’s girlfriend. What do you know about her, Amy?’

  ‘Not a lot. Erin said her dad moved in with Maria not long after they met. He’d said there was no point waiting, they knew how they felt about each other. Time was of the essence.’

  ‘She’s not up the duff, is she?’ Jack laughed.

  ‘I don’t know. Doesn’t look like it though, skinny as a rake,’ Amy said.

  ‘Why the rush then?’

  ‘No idea.’ Amy shifted position, relaxing back against the sofa. ‘All I know is that they’d only known each other for a month or so. They’d met at the garage where he works. She’d brought her car in for a service—’

  ‘And he gave her a full service instead.’

  ‘Tom! Not really appropriate …’

  ‘Well, whatever,’ Tom went on, more serious now. ‘So you’re saying Adam didn’t know Maria very well and within weeks he moved in with her?’

  ‘Yes, and Erin was understandably put out. If you ask me, that’s a recipe for disaster,’ Amy said.

  ‘Rachel didn’t say much about the situation when I saw her,’ Sophie added. ‘Only about how she was upset that Erin confided in Maria, rat
her than her.’

  ‘Oh my God.’ Amy shot up. ‘Something’s just come to me.’ Her face stony, serious. She looked at Sophie. ‘It was her … Maria, who gave Erin the number for the taxi.’

  ‘Are you sure? You couldn’t remember a thing about the whole taxi episode before.’ Sophie sat back, shocked at this sudden revelation.

  ‘It’s because we’re talking about Maria, it’s just hit me. Wham. Erin was at the bar with me, and you, Soph, and when we said about a taxi, she scrolled through the numbers on her mobile saying …’ Amy paused, placing her hand on her forehead. ‘Erin said Maria had recommended a taxi driver for the night, someone she knew who was reliable and trustworthy.’

  None of the group spoke following Amy’s unexpected recollection.

  Dan broke the silence. ‘You have to go to the police with this info, Amy. He might be the one who last saw Erin alive.’

  ‘He might be the one who killed her,’ Alice said. ‘And he’s still free to do it again!’

  ‘The police must have Erin’s mobile, though. They’d have investigated the last calls she made, followed them up. They probably already know about the taxi driver,’ Tom suggested.

  ‘True. We’re bound to be ten steps behind the police,’ Sophie said.

  ‘Odd though. Dodgy. Perhaps Maria wanted something bad to happen to Erin. Get her out the way so she had a clear run with Adam.’ Amy spoke quietly, as if it were only a thought she happened to say aloud.

  As unlikely as it sounded at first, Sophie couldn’t help but contemplate it. She thought about what Rachel had said, about how suddenly Maria had come on to the scene. Amy’s theory might be plausible.

  If it was, how did Sophie fit in? Why had she been involved in this?

  All along she’d assumed Erin had got in the taxi with her to make sure she’d get home safely. But what if it was actually the other way around? Had Sophie inadvertently stumbled into some bizarre plot to get rid of Erin? That’s why the man didn’t kill her as well, because she’d never been the intended victim; she’d merely got in the way.

  It seemed a stretch of the imagination, Adam’s new girlfriend wanting his daughter dead.

  But, the words of DI Wade echoed in her mind: It’s generally someone known to the victim.

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO

  Karen

  Karen refreshed the screen again. A stubborn zero remained at the side of her inbox.

  Mike said he’d be home early, so she had to be careful. Not that he’d notice, or question what she was doing. He hadn’t all the time she’d been messaging Jay. No doubt he’d get home, throw his boots off, shower, then retreat into his bubble with the iPad. His ‘downtime’. Because clearly wandering over the moors all day was so stressful. It hadn’t always been that way. He’d had the trainee ranger job when they met, their first dates had involved numerous outings and picnics, Mike assuring her he knew the best places. He was the longest-standing member of the ranger team now, responsible for his own area of Dartmoor. He always took his duties very seriously – but lately he appeared to have taken this to the extreme and certainly acted as though he cared more about his working life than his home one. Karen tutted. Their daily environments couldn’t be more disparate. His, a vast open space – freedom to roam; hers, small and enclosed – a self-imposed prison.

  Karen came back to the moment, and opened the J&K file. She started at the bottom – the very first contact from him. That one thread ran to fifteen messages, the subject heading: Could you be the one? Corny. She’d seen the heading a hundred times on the dating site, but remembered laughing anyway. The next thread: Glad I found you, contained forty-six messages. He started the conversations, always first to make a new thread. He became wittier with his subject headings as the time went on, always producing a smile from her when she received a new one. They got to know each other better during the second exchange, each message within the thread became more personal, longer, more detailed. By the end of the third thread, Jay knew Karen’s hopes, fears … and the beginnings of her desires.

  Oh, no. The things she’d told him. It’d seemed innocuous at the time, the deep conversations, the sharing of each other’s lives – past and present. Having worked with criminals, master manipulators, she should’ve been more cautious and not divulged so many personal details. But he’d found her when she was vulnerable from the attack, hurt both physically and emotionally. She simply hadn’t recognised the danger. It was just talking, not meeting. What could possibly go wrong if she didn’t agree to meet? It was harmless and filled a void. He made her feel better about herself. And he gained, too. Or so he told her.

  Karen put her arms on the table. She held her chin in her hands, her fingers covering her mouth to stop the gasps from materialising.

  Now she read the messages with a new perspective.

  You stupid, stupid woman.

  Over the course of a year, she’d given him everything he needed. Names, likes, dislikes, routines, insecurities, dreams. The names of Sophie’s workplace and college. Everything. She’d equipped this man with all he needed to stalk her daughter. She pressed her closed eyelids with her fingertips to try to form a seal, but the tears leaked out anyway.

  The way he’d seduced her with his words, giving her the most graceful compliments, admiring her strength, her love for Sophie. When he confided he had no parents or siblings, Karen genuinely felt devastated for him. She knew what it was like to lose parents; she related to his pain, his suffering. She’d helped him through his darkest moments, talking well into the early hours. They shared a connection, a strong bond. Without ever having met. Her heart had swelled with love for a man she’d never seen. He’d given her a reason to keep going.

  How could she even consider that he was behind the stalking? Surely, she’d instinctively know if he were dodgy. She knew him.

  Or, she knew the side of him he’d allowed her to see.

  She saw the stalker today. He didn’t look the slightest bit like Jay.

  Not the Jay in her pictures.

  Karen’s eyes flicked to the top left of her screen.

  She stopped breathing.

  Inbox (1)

  The old feelings returned, now with an added punch of adrenaline.

  It was him.

  Her eyes moved across to the subject heading.

  Subject: My angel returns

  Palpitations. Getting a new message from Jay always produced them. This time, they weren’t from excitement. She’d reconnected with him to satisfy her need to know. Now, she couldn’t bring herself to open the email. Afraid of what it said. Scared to start this up again. He’d been pretty nasty before she’d broken all contact. This subject heading suggested the opposite lay within the electronic communication.

  Only one way to find out. Karen breathed in deeply, and opened it.

  My darling Karen,

  Wow! I did not expect to see your name in my inbox again, what a genuinely wonderful surprise. I see you’ve changed your email account, well – I have it again now!

  Am I well? Yes, not bad. Am I in a new relationship? How could you possibly ask this? Of course I’m not. How could I be? You were my one and only, my soul mate, my destination. Once you left me, there could be no other, Karen.

  So, you have a question for me. Go on, ask of me what you will. I await your reply with great anticipation …

  Jay xxx

  Oh, hell. She read it again. She’d have to ask him about Sophie outright, he was coming across all lovey, clearly wasn’t going to say anything of his own accord. What if it wasn’t him? He’d be really angry at her for suggesting that he was menacing her daughter, assuming he didn’t have anything to do with it. Dammit.

  She typed out her question. Deleted it. Tried another angle. Scrapped that, too. Okay. She would go for an apologetic-sounding accusation. She shook the tension from her shoulders. And attempted it again.

  Jay,

  I know what I’m about to ask may sound awful. If I’m not right. And if I am wr
ong, feel free to be mad at me. But I have to ask. When I stopped our online relationship, you threatened a lot of things, got nasty. I had to block you, delete contact information, to stop the constant barrage of emails, texts and even calls. I guess that might have hurt you, made you even angrier. Perhaps you wanted to get back at me? Maybe even get back with me. I don’t know.

  Have you been contacting Sophie and having her followed?

  No going back.

  She sent it. Sat there, waiting. Wondering.

  She imagined his face as he read it. Heard his voice, shouting aloud at her accusation. She saw him typing rapidly, full of rage that she could think such a thing of him.

  She was wrong. It couldn’t be him. He wouldn’t get someone to follow her. Not the Jay she knew. How would she get out of this? Once he answered, denying any such thing, what then?

  She was about to find out.

  A new message.

  Her mouth dried. She hesitated, wasn’t one hundred per cent sure she wanted to know his reply. At first, her eyes scanned over the email. It didn’t take long, his response only four short lines.

  Ah. You got me. Won’t bother messing about.

  Yes, Karen. I have been contacting Sophie. I don’t have anyone following her though.

  That’s all me.

  She wanted to be sick.

  How? She’d seen the stalker. It wasn’t Jay.

  Anger took over. Had he lied to her?

  Bastard. How dare he do this? What was his game?

  CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE

  Karen paced the dining room, unsure of what to do. Furious thoughts flowed through her mind as she hammered out a reply that didn’t match her feelings. She’d hold back. For now.

  I don’t understand, Jay. How can it be you? I saw the man following Sophie, and it didn’t look like you. Why are you contacting her, sending pictures? Is it to get to me? Do you hate me that much?

  Have you been lying to me this whole time?