‘Thank you for your time, Janine. You’ve been a great help. If you could provide DS Mullins with your contact details in case we need to get in touch again, that would be great. But for now, I think it’s time we let you go home.’
‘Are you sure?’ I ask, but I’ve already risen to my feet.
I write down my phone number and address, then DS Rani walks me to the kitchen door. ‘Can I give you a word of advice before you head off?’ she says. ‘Look after yourself, okay? However good your intentions are, unusual situations often have unusual solutions. Ones you don’t want to get involved with.’
With that, DS Rani opens the door for me to leave. I don’t hesitate on taking her up on that offer. Ducking out of the kitchen, I hurry down the hallway while she goes to get Otis.
I hear DS Rani say, ‘Mr Clarke? We’re ready for you now.’
I hear Otis follow her.
I hear the kitchen door close as he is taken into the kitchen to deliver his statement.
Not once do I turn to look at him.
My fried nerves jangle as the front door draws closer. A desperation to flee this house and the deception trapped within its walls takes over my body, but someone hissing my name stops me in my tracks.
Emerging from the snug, Gabby scurries towards me. She grabs my arm and pulls me further away from the kitchen. Her nails dig into my flesh, but she’s too irate to care.
‘Did you know about Alexa syphoning money?’ she asks.
I shake my head. ‘Did you?’
Gabby shakes hers, too. ‘It doesn’t look good, does it?’
‘What part, Alexa syphoning money or Otis hiding the fact that she was?’
Gabby opens her mouth to defend Otis, but she stops because, really, what can she say back to that? ‘I don’t know why Otis would lie. It’s a strange detail to hide.’
‘I don’t understand, either, but I only met Otis today.’
Gabby meets my eye, and I see the question she’s asking herself: childhood best friends or not, how well does she really know Otis Clarke?
CHAPTER 20
Unease over Otis’s financial revelation clings to me, but thoughts of Kamal’s inevitable worry crush it. I can almost picture the lines on my husband’s forehead deepening as he wonders where I am, imagining the worst. Kamal deserves better than that.
After saying a quick goodbye to Gabby, I dash out of the house, through the rain.
Before I set off for home, I check my phone. There are ten missed calls from Kamal and a queue of increasingly concerned messages. Mum and Beth have called, too, suggesting that my panicked husband has contacted my family to see if they know where I am. Now everyone is worrying together.
I’m about to throw my phone onto the passenger seat when I catch sight of another message, this one from Natalya to the group chat.
The police are apparently at Otis’s house! What do you think that means? Is this a real missing persons case?!?! x
The message tangles me in knots. I wonder how long it will take for everyone in Bramblethorpe to find out about Alexa’s card, andwhat rumours and theories will become public discourse when they do.
But as another worried text from Beth appears on my screen, I push those thoughts aside.
After firing a quick text to Kamal to say I’m on my way home, I spin my car around and speed away. My agitated fingers drum against the steering wheel as I race through Bramblethorpe, cursing the fact that in one poorly timed evening, I have shattered the illusion that all is well with me. The pent-up energy only intensifies when I see my home in the distance, with Kamal’s car in the driveway and every light in the house on. Grimacing, I slow down as I get closer.
My brakes have barely announced my arrival when Kamal runs out of the house. He almost buckles with relief when he sees me, but adrenaline sustains him enough to reach me. Wrenching open my door, he pulls me out of the car and straight into his arms.
‘Are you okay? Is everything okay?’
Kamal’s questions bowl me over, rolling away before I get a chance to register them, never mind provide an answer.
He holds my face in his hands. ‘I came home and you weren’t here. You weren’t picking up your phone. It was just like before. I thought… I thought…’