Gabby and I jerk our heads in Otis’s direction, but he avoids our gaze. DS Mullins, on the other hand, can’t take his eyes off us.
‘I see you’ve not been broadcasting that information,’ he replies, handing DS Rani Otis’s phone. As she flicks through Alexa’s statement, her concern deepens.
I curse myself for not examining Alexa’s transactions before she disappeared. Otis had been so open about his marriage, I felt inclined to believe him. Judging by this news, I was wrong to do that.
Otis rubs his lips together nervously before speaking. ‘What are you doing?’
DS Rani ignores him, then lowers the phone. ‘Mr Clarke, over the last four months, your wife has repeatedly withdrawn large chunks of cash from her account. Is this something you were aware of?’
Gabby opens her mouth to reply on Otis’s behalf, but when he nods, she is silenced.
‘I only found out about the money when Lex was gone,’ he croaks. ‘That’s the first time I checked her account, I swear.’
The blow of Otis’s admission collapses my lungs. He told me there was nothing unusual about Alexa’s activity around the time she disappeared. From the look on Gabby’s face, I can tell he told her the same, too.
‘Do you know how much money Alexa has withdrawn in total, Mr Clarke?’ DS Rani asks.
‘Just over – just over twelve thousand pounds,’ Otis admits.
Floored, I lean back against the sofa cushions.
‘Twelve thousand pounds is a lot of money,’ DS Mullins states.
‘I know. I mean, I knownow. Lex was already gone when I found out what she’d been doing.’
‘To clarify, you say you didn’t know your wife was making large cash withdrawals from her personal account until after she disappeared?’
‘Yes. No. I don’t know.’ Otis rests his head in his hands. ‘I just want Lex back. I just want her home.’
As Otis crumbles, DS Rani and DS Mullins exchange a glance.
‘Okay, I think it’s best we take statements from each of you individually now,’ DS Rani says. ‘Is there a space we could use for this?’
‘Take this room,’ Gabby replies, her shock concealed as she once again adopts the role of Otis’s protector. ‘There’s a snug next door. Otis and I can wait in there while you talk to Janine. I’m sure she needs to get home soon.’
The reminder of home makes my heart ache. I can only guess how late I’m going to be after this bombshell, but I’m too nervous to ask if I can send Kamal another reassuring text.
As Gabby puts her arm around Otis and leads him away, I watch them go. There’s a stiffness to their movements I hadn’t seen earlier, and unease clings to me accordingly.
When they’ve gone, the detectives turn to me and smile. Their smiles aren’t unkind, but I wouldn’t describe them as friendly, either.
‘Well, what a strange situation this is,’ DS Rani says. ‘Without you, who knows when the police would have been involved. It doesn’t seem like Otis was in a rush to contact us.’
Hearing DS Rani verbalise my own nagging thoughts makes them scream louder. I press my hands together, as if praying for Alexa Clarke.
‘When you first met Otis, did it concern you that he hadn’t gone to the police about his wife’s disappearance?’ she asks, a question so loaded with implication that no amount of light tone could lift it.
‘A little,’ I admit, ‘but Otis’s explanation made sense at the time, and we thought Alexa was okay because it looked like she was spending money. Otis was upset, so I didn’t question him too much, but maybe I should have.’
‘Looked for the plot holes, eh?’ DS Mullins jokes, but his words highlight how strange he finds my presence here.
‘I’d like to hear your take on what’s happened,’ DS Rani says. ‘Would you mind going back to the start of how you became involved? Try to include as much detail as possible, no matter how small. Mullins here will note down what you say, and I might butt in with a question, but for the most part we’d like to hear the story from your perspective.’
‘An S. K. Atherton exclusive, if you will,’ DS Mullins comments.
Ignoring him, I recite the events of the last two days. While I speak, DS Mullins makes notes. DS Rani, on the other hand, watches me. She nods and asks the odd clarifying question, but for the most part she lets me run through what’s happened in my own words, at my own pace.
When I’ve finished, I sit back, spent. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice that the world outside is well and truly wrapped in night-time now. The knotting in my stomach tightens as I think of Kamal, clueless as to where I am and no doubt worried.