I last a wordless hour and a half at my desk before I find myself once again heading to Maple Crescent.
Gabby’s car is on the driveway when I get there. I wonder if she stayed over last night, and what other bombshells were dropped in my absence. Leaving my car behind, I go to ring the doorbell, but Gabby opens the door before my fingertip touches it.
‘I saw you on CCTV,’ she explains when she registers my surprise. ‘Come in.’
She steps to the side, and I head inside.
‘How’s Otis?’ I ask as we walk through to the kitchen.
‘Not good, how do you think he is?’ Otis jokes from the dining table.
I jump at the sight of him, then frown. Otis hasn’t looked good in the short while I’ve known him, but this is the worst I’ve seen him. I’d be surprised if he had an hour of sleep last night. His skin is tinged grey, almost as if each day without Alexa is draining the life from his body.
‘It’s good to see you again, Janine,’ Otis says, then he indicates to the rest of the dining table. ‘Please, take a seat. There are enough of them to choose from.’
As I slip into the chair opposite Otis, Gabby brings me a glass of water before sitting beside him.
‘How did it go with the police after I left?’ I ask.
‘Well, they’re officially treating this as a missing persons case now. They’re releasing a press statement at midday.’
Even though this news isn’t unexpected, it still hits me like a blow to the chest. All that time Otis spent thinking Alexa was taking a break, he was wrong. All that time, wasted.
‘That’s good,’ I manage to say. ‘It means more people will be looking for Alexa now.’
‘I know, but the labelmissing person…’ Otis’s body caves inwards. He goes to say something else, but then his phone bursts into life.
Everything about Otis’s demeanour becomes hostile from the first ring. I glance at the name on the screen: Sonya West. A bell of recognition chimes somewhere in the back of my mind.
Gabby peeks at the screen too, then sighs. ‘Sonya again?’
Otis nods. He watches the phone vibrate but doesn’t pick it up. It’s only when the ringing stops that he breathes again.
‘Who’s Sonya?’ I ask.
‘Alexa’s best friend,’ Gabby replies.
It hits me where I know the name from – in the car yesterday, driving to Manchester with Otis. Sonya had called then and, once again, Otis hadn’t answered.
‘How come you’re dodging her calls?’ I ask.
Gabby and Otis exchange a loaded look.
‘Sonya is… well, she’s a lot,’ Gabby replies, not taking her eyes off Otis as she speaks on his behalf. ‘Her personality is hard to deal with at the best of times, but now that she’s going through a messy divorce and Alexa is missing, her flair for dramatics is even greater than normal. Right now, it’s not fair on Otis to have to put up with her… hysterics.’
‘Hysterics?’ I echo.
‘I know, I hate to use that word about another woman, but if you met Sonya, you’d understand.’
‘Gabs, you don’t have to sugar-coat it for Janine,’ Otis says before facing me. ‘I’m dodging Sonya’s calls because she hates me.’
‘Otis!’ Gabby cries in protest. ‘She doesn’t hate you.’
‘Come on, you know it as well as I do – Sonya hates me. Always has, always will.’
Gabby and Otis are too busy squabbling to notice my reaction to the news that Alexa’s best friend hates Alexa’s husband. It’s a good thing, really, because it’s not a positive one.
Gabby turns to me. ‘Sonya doesn’t hate Otis. She just hates that when Alexa fell in love with him, their marriage took her away. Sonya’s very protective of Alexa.’