They were coming into the room.
The person who clubbed her over the head and dragged her here in the first place – they were coming into the room.
Voiceless or not, that realisation was enough to make Alexa scream.
CHAPTER 22
For the rest of the evening, Kamal and I walk on eggshells. Every few minutes, I catch him looking at me. I know he’s questioning my motives, my judgement – maybe even my sanity. I can’t blame him. When I look back over my choices today, I question my own, too.
But still, something in me says that I can’t give up.
As I brush my teeth, I try imagining what Alexa is doing right now. Where she is. If she’s safe, if she’s okay. I’m so lost in my thoughts that I almost don’t notice a message come through from Natalya.
Apparently, Otis was seen in his car with a woman who isn’t Alexa today… He didn’t wait long to move on, did he?! x
My heart lurches into my throat, imagining Kamal’s reaction if he knew that the Bramblethorpe gossips are painting me out to be Otis’s mistress.
Katherine’s reply only worries me more.
I wonder who the woman was. Do we know if she’s staying at the house?
My thoughts go to Otis, struggling with the burden of people’s chatter as it is. And then there’s Alexa, who could hear something along the grapevine. Would she know it wasn’t true? Would this rumour push her to come home, or would it push her to do something reckless?
‘Everything okay?’ Kamal asks, entering the bedroom and spying my pale face.
‘All good,’ I reply.
If Kamal suspects I’m lying, he doesn’t say. He just climbs into bed, waiting patiently for me to join him. Turning my phone off without replying, I do just that.
I know Kamal’s hoping I’ll turn around so we can have a pre-sleep chat like we used to. Nose to nose, we’d discuss the day, our dreams and anything that crossed our mind, until sleep came for us. It’s been so long since we’ve done that. So long since I felt I could. Seeing Kamal’s hurt up close has been too much.
It’s still too much. I lie on my side, facing away from him, my body rigid.
Eventually, Kamal rolls over. A few minutes later, he falls asleep.
I can’t say the same for myself. Every time I close my eyes, I see anger flash in Otis as he strikes his wife, knocking her unconscious. I see Alexa run from a shadowy figure at the top of the stairs, tripping and tumbling down them until her body comes to a stop in a twisted shape at the bottom. I see a well-built, hooded stranger bundle Alexa into a blacked-out vehicle then speed away. I see Alexa, bloodied, bruised and pleading for my help.
When Kamal’s alarm shakes me awake, a dry-mouthed gasp catches in my throat.
‘Bad dream?’ Kamal asks, hovering in case I need I hug.
‘Something like that,’ I reply, swinging my legs out of bed and heading to the bathroom.
The previous day feels like a weight pressing against my back as I move about the house. The pressure only grows when I check my writing group chat.
Apparently, the police didn’t leave Otis’s house until after eight last night. That’s never a good sign, is it?
Katherine’s update and the cold light of the morning make Otis’s deception about the money and his delay in calling the police seem even more sinister.
When Kamal leaves for work, an itchiness overcomes me. I roam the house, trying to ignore the feeling. I try even harder when I see another email from Tiff asking for an update on my book. I try harder still when I see a message from Beth that reads,You gave us quite the scare last night… again, but the scratching is persistent.
It reminds me of each time I have a new story idea. The moment inspiration sparks, there’s a buzzing in the back of my head demanding I pay attention to what my subconscious is trying to tell me.
Right now, my body is doing the same thing, only this time it’s not trying to push a book idea on me but thoughts of Alexa Clarke. Call it intuition, call it an overactive imagination, but I can’t shake the feeling that she is not okay. And if the police are only getting involved now, then we are days behind where we need to be with finding her.
Opening my laptop once more, I look over Alexa’s social media accounts, hunting for a clue about why she might be hiding money. The obvious answer is she’s been planning to leave Otis, but I wonder if another reason could be hidden in plain sight. The problem is, Alexa hasn’t posted on social media in a long time.
I want – no, I need – to know more, but so far, the only source I have is Otis. A man I promised my husband I would not see again, no matter how tempted I am to ply him with more questions.