by A J Waines
Tanya sneaked around the place looking furtive. Sophie half-expected to climb into bed and find a huge spider between the sheets or get the blame for hiding something in the cell and lose all ‘privileges’ as a consequence.
Sophie knew it was pointless, but she found herself looking for Shareen. In the cafeteria, the corridors, the gym. She knew she wasn’t there, but with each new dawn, she lived the hope again.
The search for a friendly face wasn’t the only thing she did that was futile. Between hours spent watching Jeremy Kyle or packing plumbing parts, she kept listening for hurried footsteps rushing towards her cell; the ones that were going to lead to the announcement that there had been a terrible mistake and she was going home.
It meant she spent barren stretches of time sitting on the bed, waiting. And waiting – for those footsteps. But she knew even as the minutes turned into hours that it was never going to happen. For the simple fact that the courts hadn’t got it wrong.
She’d stabbed Daniel.
There could never be any doubt about that.
Chapter 52
‘This is a great idea,’ said Daniel, ‘Ben’s never been on a big boat like this before.’
Jody had rung him on the off-chance, she’d said, because the weather was so good.
Daniel hadn’t been in touch since she’d turned up at his house after the mugging. He’d sent a polite text a few days later to check she was fine, but hadn’t taken it further. To be honest, he’d felt a bit awkward after their last encounter. Seeing her barely dressed, straight out of the bath, had stirred up feelings he shouldn’t have been having. Jody was a commanding, powerful woman, yet she’d allowed him to witness her extreme vulnerability and it had disconcerted him. He’d also sensed the brewing of a different kind of energy between them that was nothing to do with being friends.
Once they’d boarded, Ben charged ahead and grabbed a spot at the front to bag the best view. Daniel lifted him up so he could watch the bow cutting through the water.
They passed under the bold white Portland stone of Kingston Bridge and Daniel encouraged Ben to make ‘coo-ee’ echoes in the shadows.
As Daniel felt his hair tossed back by the breeze, he glanced around to find Jody staring at him. He turned away, pretending to be engrossed in the rushing water. He’d thought having Ben as the focus of their meeting meant there’d be no room for self-consciousness, but he’d made an error of judgement on that point.
He cleared his throat.
‘A king used to live at Hampton Court,’ he said, addressing Ben. ‘It’s a big palace and is going to have swords and armour…’ He went on to paint a vibrant picture in words that made Ben’s mouth fall open.
‘And ice creams?’ Ben asked, when he’d finished.
Jody laughed, her hair trailing across her face, almost covering her eyes and getting caught on her full lips. Daniel very nearly leant forward to stroke it to one side, but Ben reached out and tugged at it first.
‘Gently!’ said Daniel, sending his eyes skywards by way of apology. Nevertheless, he was grateful Ben had broken the uncomfortable moment.
The pleasure boat slowed down and eased into the bank with gentle thumps. Daniel guided Ben’s eyes towards a man throwing a loop of rope around the mooring bollard and they watched as he expertly coiled it around, before allowing the passengers onto the gangway.
Ben was enthralled by the palace. Daniel wondered if the other visitors assumed they were two adoring parents, as they both watched him gaze up dumbfounded at the thrones and cavernous fireplaces with their huge copper cooking pots.
Once the tour had ended, they wandered over to the gift shop. Jody asked Ben which part of the tour he’d liked best.
‘The big pie on the table!’ he announced. ‘But Daddy said it was pretend!’ He then declared he was hungry.
‘Okay, little chap – time for our picnic.’ Daniel led the way out of the swirling main gates to a patch of grass on the riverbank.
Ben began munching through a tuna sandwich and crisps while Jody browsed through a brochure with photographs of the palace grounds that Daniel had bought for his mother. Daniel took his sandals off and helped himself to a cube of cheese, but he didn’t have an appetite. He spotted more than one passers-by glancing at them with a half-smile. The three of them probably looked like the perfect little family.
Jody sat cross-legged, her flimsy summery skirt barely covering her knees. Occasionally their bare arms brushed together and each time Daniel felt a tiny electric shock flutter inside him. He cursed himself. How could he allow himself to feel the least bit entranced by this woman, when his wife had just been flung behind bars?
A stiff silence hung between them and he wondered what on earth they would have talked about if Ben had not been with them. Unaware, his son squeezed between the two of them and plonked himself down to drink his juice.
Jody looked up, lost in thought, at a boy standing in front of them at the water’s edge. He was wearing shorts and looked about ten years old.
‘Seen Rick lately?’ she asked dreamily.
‘No,’ he said, without elaborating.
‘Did you know his family?’ She propped her sunglasses on top of her head and turned her face up towards the dazzling rays.
‘A bit. I knew his sister, Louise; she’s a couple of years younger than Rick. She’s something of a free spirit.’ Daniel leant back in the grass with his arms folded under his head. ‘I never knew his parents; we didn’t go to his house. It was all a bit difficult at home, because his father had stomach cancer, so we usually met at mine or in town. There was a younger brother too, he came along a lot later, but I only saw him once or twice.’
‘Do you remember his name?’
He pushed himself up onto his elbows. ‘What is this... twenty questions?’
‘I’m being curious – sorry. Naturally nosy. Change the subject if you like.’
‘It was Miles.’ Daniel reached for the sun cream and began stroking it into Ben’s arms. ‘I remember him saying “I’m Miles from Oxford” and I said, “Yeah, but what’s your name?”’
He chuckled, but was aware it carried a suggestion of melancholy. Jody twirled a blade of grass around her finger.
‘Rick said he died.’
‘Yeah. Six or seven years ago. A brain tumour, I think.’ Jody appeared to scrutinise his face. ‘Why are you so interested?’ he added.
‘No reason. Sorry.’
‘Curiosity killed the cat!’ he said, and piled a handful of plucked grass on top of her head. Both he and Ben started to laugh. Playfully, Jody flicked the blades away with a shake of her head.
‘Another sandwich?’ he suggested, taking one, then pushing the plastic box towards her.
‘Just one more.’
He glanced at his watch, having lost all track of time. ‘I think we’ll need to get the next boat back. I’m supposed to be finishing a report for Kew and I must arrange a childminder for later this week.’
Ben got up and they watched him chase a handful of long-suffering ducks on the water’s edge.
‘Poor Ben,’ she said. ‘Must be so hard on him without his mum.’ She let her eyes rest on his. ‘And on you, too.’
‘I don’t recommend it.’
He couldn’t face the rest of his sandwich and dropped it back into the box.
‘I’m going to ask you a tough question now,’ she said, without looking at him.
‘Here we go…’ Daniel was getting used to her let’s-not-beat-about-the-bush approach. He braced himself. ‘Go on, then.’
‘Why did you cheat on your wife?’
Daniel took a deep, laboured breath.
‘I told you – I didn’t.’ He screwed the cling film from the sandwich into a tight ball.
‘But—’
‘I didn’t. I was set-up. Someone put the idea into Sophie’s head and she started seeing things in her imagination. I didn’t do a thing.’
At the sound of his raised voice, a couple walking by gave
him a stare.
‘How did someone put the idea into her head, exactly?’ asked Jody. ‘Sorry – I’m being very nosy again.’
‘Someone sent digitally altered photos to Sophie’s office back in September. That’s how it all started. Then her disturbed mind ran away with her and did the rest.’
She snatched a breath. ‘Why would someone do something like that?’
‘I have no idea. Someone who doesn’t like me? Someone who wanted to see my marriage break up?’ He got to his feet. ‘They’ve done a pretty fine job.’
‘Do you know who it was?’
He slapped the blades of grass on his jeans. ‘Yes – I think I do.’
Ben came racing back to them and there was no chance to say more. He insisted they swing him between them as they made their way over to the landing stage. Once underway, Jody said she’d stay onboard to central London, leaving them at their starting point in Richmond.
As they pulled into their stop, she grabbed Daniel’s arm.
‘We can’t talk now,’ she said urgently, glancing down at Ben, ‘but can you call me when you get a good moment? It’s important.’
Chapter 53
It was lying on the mat. Daniel spotted it as soon as he opened his front door. He picked it up and looked at the scene: Oxford University. He turned the postcard over but there was no handwriting on the back, just his address printed on a label that had been stuck on.
There was nothing else; no greeting, no signature – but it was a London postmark.
Daniel frowned, then flipped over to the photograph. It didn’t look like a recent picture. Apart from being the place he grew up in, what did Oxford have to do with anything?
Except it was the university Rick went to when Daniel had gone to Reading. Was this some kind of senseless obscure message from him?
Daniel tossed it onto the side table in the hallway. As if he didn’t have enough to worry about. Thankfully his son wasn’t there to witness his downturn in mood after their exciting trip to the palace. Ben was next door with Edith. He’d been yearning to play with her new puppy for days and she’d popped round after they got back to ask if now was a good time.
Heading into the kitchen, Daniel found a note Edith had left on the fridge:
It must be difficult now you’re on your own, so I thought I could cook some evening meals for you and Ben. I could bring something in or use your kitchen – whatever’s best. I make a mean tandoori chicken and Dad says my lemon meringue is to die for! Any time. Just let me know. E. XX
Tricky. He’d need to make sure he kept his boundaries crystal clear with her from now on. It wouldn’t be the first time during his married life that a nineteen-year-old had taken a shine to him.
The place smelt stale, like something was rotten, so he opened the back door to let some air in, then sat on the outside step.
He remembered Jody’s parting words and the anxious look on her face. What was so important? Why all the questions about Rick’s family?
He rang her number, but it was engaged. He gazed up at the shifting puffs of clouds instead, but found himself picturing Jody in his mind’s eye. The way her bright hazel eyes and delicate eyebrows were in a dance of their own, making her face constantly animated. The way she licked pineapple juice from her fingers, not realising how seductive she looked.
He found himself making comparisons between Jody and his wife. They both had a natural glowing beauty and a way of making other people feel important. It struck him that Sophie was softer, more refined. She was utterly feminine, with no coarseness, whereas Jody was louder, brusque and rough around the edges.
Jody and Ben had seemed to hit it off straight away; he was completely at ease with her. In turn, when she’d been at the house, she seemed relaxed and laid-back, as though she belonged there.
He reflected on the various stages in their short, but intense, history. Meeting her at Rick’s meal in Soho, seeing her on stage, the break-in, then the mugging, then sailing down the Thames on the boat. He had to admit, had he not been married, had he never met Sophie, he might possibly have been tempted by Jody’s sophisticated allure and refreshingly honest approach.
Absently, he flicked through the five or six text messages they’d exchanged since they’d met.
Then he shot to his feet, a bitter taste flooding into his mouth.
His fingers trembling, he tried her mobile again.
This time she answered.
‘I need to see you!’ he said, before she could utter so much as a ‘Hello’.
Chapter 54
‘I’m glad you came over,’ she said, as she answered the door.
He hung back on the step. ‘Before you say anything else, I have a question for you.’
He forced the door open and stepped inside. ‘How did you know where I lived? That first time after your break-in?’
Jody fiddled with the handle, not looking at him.
It had only occurred to him when he was looking through his texts. ‘I never actually gave you my home address, did I? I never sent it to you. I never wrote it down for you.’ He jabbed his hands into his hips. ‘You already knew where I lived.’
‘Yes. I knew,’ she said, under her breath.
He gritted his teeth, but before he could grill her any further, she jumped in with a question of her own, throwing him off guard.
‘Who sent your wife the faked photos you mentioned?’
‘What?’
‘Who sent them?’
‘I’m pretty sure it was Rick. Richard Fox. I found mock-ups at his flat.’
Her face appeared stricken with pain and she retreated along the hall.
‘I saw your details on a play he’d written. You said you’d never met Rick.’
She backed away again, as far as the newel post.
‘Did you know him?’ he persisted.
‘Yes. I knew him more than I let on.’
‘Why? Why lie about it?’
‘Promise me you won’t let this spoil everything. I know how this must look, but––’
He folded his arms. ‘No, I can’t promise anything! My life has been blown apart. I don’t know what the hell is going on!’
Packed with black plastic bags and boxes, the hall was too narrow for them to stand without touching. He backed onto the front mat and pointed to the door at the far end. She led the way.
Once they were in the kitchen, Jody sat at the table, but Daniel remained standing.
‘I knew where you lived, because I’d been there before… more than once.’ Her voice melted away. He could feel his head tilt to one side the way animals do when they hear a sound they don’t understand.
She raised her voice. ‘I’ve been getting in.’
He sank down onto the wooden chair, as if he’d been kicked in the stomach.
‘What the hell…’
With dizzy recognition, he pictured Jody tying his apron around her waist after their takeaway, that first night at his place. She’d gone straight to it in the cupboard behind the ironing board without asking. How did she know it was there? Because she’d been in his house before…
She went on. ‘Rick gave me your address. He’d had your house key copied. He claimed you’d been having an affair.’
Something irrepressible was bubbling to the surface inside Daniel’s head and he wasn’t sure how to handle it. He got up and began pacing about, unable to keep still.
He thrust his hands into his hips. ‘You were prowling around, in the middle of the night?’
He flashed back to the times when he’d been convinced someone else was there, the times Ben had been out of bed, sounding like he was talking to someone.
‘I’m really sorry,’ she said, evenly. ‘Why don’t you scream at me or something?’
He turned away from her, holding his forehead. ‘My son could have been terrorised out of his mind!’
She picked up the salt cellar and twirled it around in her hand. ‘He was really sweet, actually. He didn’t seem to—’<
br />
‘I could have hit you over the head with a cricket bat…’ It almost sounded comical and Daniel was angry it might appear he was making light of it.
He slammed his fist into the table leg. ‘You unlocked the cot so he could get out. I thought it was my fault.’ He shuddered with disbelief. ‘Thought I was unfit to be a father, negligent – but it was you!’
The perfume he’d recognised in the spare room – of course… He laughed at the absurdity of it.
She set the salt cellar down as though afraid it might get broken.
‘What were you doing there?’ he said, his voice trembling.
‘It was for Rick. He asked me to snoop around.’
Daniel shot up abruptly, the chair making a screech across the floor like a wounded animal. ‘For Rick? Snoop around for what?’ He remembered the grit under the loft hatch, the light on in the cellar.
‘It doesn’t matter now. I didn’t find anything.’
His brain was in overdrive. ‘But why would you do such a thing? You had no grudge against me,’ he said, almost in tears. ‘You didn’t even know me.’ He turned his head from side to side as though searching for an answer somewhere in the kitchen.
‘I didn’t have much choice. Rick forced me into it.’
‘What do you mean?’
Her head dropped. ‘He found out my sister and I had lied to police.’
He folded his arms, waited for her to explain.
‘Nikki and I hired a car to get up to Birmingham for a charity performance one night in January. Nikki was driving. To cut a long story short, we were involved in a crash and people were injured.’ She rubbed her forehead, hiding her eyes behind her hand. ‘I didn’t realise Nikki had been drinking before we set off. She panicked when the police arrived.’ Jody dropped her arm. ‘I told the police I was driving. I took the rap. We were stupid.’
‘I see. So, Rick found out about your little secret?’
She nodded, looking sheepish. ‘We’d gone up in convoy with other people from the theatre. Rick said Stuart’s dashcam clearly showed Nikki in the driving seat just before the accident. He told Stuart not to mention it for the time being, but that at any time he could spill the beans. Rick told me he’d mark it up as a debt to be repaid in the future.’