My dry mouth opens and closes, too terrified to form words.
Otis’s brows furrow. ‘You were in the café yesterday, weren’t you?’ he snaps.
‘I… I’m sorry?’
‘You were there, when I asked Margie about Alexa.’
I could kick myself. Of course Otis saw me. I was right in front of him, hanging on his every word.
Before I can think of how to respond, Otis’s expression morphs into one of heartbreak, interrupting my train of thought.
‘Do you know something about Lex? Is that why you’re here?’
I study the man before me, taking in his designer stubble and fancy suit, and the skin under his eyes that’s greyed from a string of sleepless nights. He’s handsome in a way that instinctively makes me wary. Charming, I’m sure – not used to being told ‘no’. I know I should be scared of him. Half the things I’ve heard paint Otis out to be the big bad wolf, after all. But looking at Otis Clarke, I don’t see the man behind the terrible rumours. I see a man frantic with worry. It’s confirmation that invading his privacy like this is inexcusable.
‘Do you know where Lex is?’ Otis asks, his voice cracking.
I swallow the knot in my throat. ‘No, I don’t. I’m sorry.’
My reply crushes Otis, I can see it in the way his shoulders cave and his head bows.
‘If you don’t know where she is, then why are you here?’ Otis asks.
I could make an excuse. Maybe I should, given the fact that Otis is a stranger with a multitude of concerning rumours swirling around him, but something about his collapsed frame tells me Otis Clarke doesn’t need another riddle in his life.
‘My name’s Janine Rai,’ I begin. ‘I live in Bramblethorpe, too. I’m here because – well, I’m here because I want to help find Alexa.’
Otis looks up, confused. ‘Do you know her?’
‘Not really, no. I’ve met her, but only once.’
Otis analyses me suspiciously before slotting a composed mask over his upset. ‘And you think that qualifies you to figure out where she is?’
‘No, but it qualifies me enough to want to help.’
‘Help how? By stalking me at my house? By leaving fingerprints on my windows?’
I blush at Otis’s verbal slap, a well-deserved blow.
‘You don’t know me and you don’t know Lex, so why are you really here? For gossip? To run back to the village and tell them you’ve seen the awful husband for yourself?’
‘No, it’s nothing like that,’ I protest, but anger has taken over Otis.
‘Lex always says people here treat a stranger’s misery as if it’s cheap entertainment. It looks like she’s right! I know what you’re all saying about us, about me, but you’re wrong. I’d never hurt Lex. You can tell all your friends at the village shop that.’
‘That’s not why I’m here,’ I say, but Otis only laughs.
‘Why else would you be here? You should be ashamed of yourself. Spying like this is a violation of my privacy. I could report you for it.’
‘I – I’m not spying on you,’ I protest, my cheeks flushing.
‘You’re trespassing on my property! If that’s not spying, what is?’ Otis’s furious eyes sparkle, dangerously close to tears. ‘My wife is nowhere to be found and all you fuckers can do is talk about it over dinner.’ Otis runs his hand through his hair before heading back to his car. ‘You should leave,’ he calls over his shoulder. ‘I’m not in the mood to talk.’
Panic absorbs me as I watch Otis walk away. All I want is for something, anything, to stop him from shutting me out.
‘I know what it’s like!’ I shout. ‘Losing a baby. I – I know what it’s like.’
As my response echoes in the stillness of the morning, Otis turns back to me, both of us as shocked as each other to hear those words out in the open.