Simon hesitates, then shakes his head. ‘I’ve told Annalise I’ve taken on extra work,’ he admits. ‘Sometimes I say it’s overtime, but mostly I say I’m helping my cousin at his construction company. I tell her he gives me cash so we can avoid paying tax and put all the money into IVF.’
My right eyebrow raises. ‘Alexa pays you in cash?’
‘Always. That way Annalise won’t find a trail from her bank to mine.’
As Alexa’s cash withdrawals are cast in a new light, all I can think of is how this news changes everything.
‘Is Annalise suspicious about the money?’ Gabby asks.
‘I don’t think so,’ Simon says, but the words weigh heavily on him. ‘I don’t want to lie, but this is the only way I can afford to make Annalise’s dreams of being a mum come true.’
‘Why don’t you just take the money?’ Gabby asks hotly. ‘Why do you have to meet Alexa, too? Surely you see how suspicious it looks.’
Simon’s squirm is back. ‘I do, but in many ways Alexa’s the best friend I’ve ever had. I don’t find talking easy, and some things are too personal to share with an audience at Families United. There are things I can’t say to Annalise, either. I mean, how am I meant to tell her that I’m terrified of what another round of IVF will do to us? Last time things didn’t work, it nearly killed me. I don’t know if I can go through that again.’
As Simon hangs his head, I reach out and squeeze his hand. ‘I’m glad you have Alexa to talk to.’
‘Yeah, but now she’s missing, and I don’t know what to do to help her,’ Simon replies tearfully. ‘I came to Café Marco today on the off-chance she’d be here. Silly, right?’
‘That’s not silly at all,’ I soothe, but Simon is struggling to contain his emotions and barely hears me.
‘You really have no idea where she is?’ Gabby asks.
Simon shakes his head. ‘Alexa messaged me the day she went missing to sayI’ll get more biscuits next week. That was our code. It meant she would have another instalment of cash for me. Innocuous enough to anyone who saw it, but we’d know what it meant. I was so busy, I didn’t see the message until Saturday afternoon.Apparently by that point, she was gone.’ Simon presses his head into his hands. ‘I keep going over it, thinking if I’d have replied sooner, would it have made a difference? Would she have told me if something was wrong?’
All too familiar prickles of dread pierce my skin. ‘Do you think something was wrong?’
‘That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? There’s no way to answer that. Alexa is grieving like me, like you, so of course there’s something wrong, but maybe there was more? Maybe Alexa was unhappy in a deeper way?’
‘Do you mean unhappy in her marriage or something?’ I ask, trying to keep my tone neutral despite the heavy question I’m asking.
‘I don’t know what I mean. All I know is, a few weeks ago Alexa said she no longer recognises the man she married, and now she’s missing.’
Beside me, Gabby stiffens, but I remain composed. ‘Alexa said that?’ I ask.
Simon nods, firing a cautious glance Gabby’s way. ‘That’s why when I first heard the news, I thought she’d left him, but now almost a week has passed and Alexa’s not let anyone know where she is or if she’s okay. That’s not like her. She wouldn’t worry people like this.’
Even though it makes my skin prickle with goosebumps, I push myself to ask the question despite fearing the answer. ‘What do you think has happened?’
Simon’s features twist. ‘I don’t know. I don’t want to think it’s anything bad, but Alexa being missing for so long only points to one thing.’
When Simon meets my gaze, he doesn’t have to say what that one thing is. The fear that Alexa might be dead is written all over his face.
‘Otis would never,’ Gabby says vehemently, but I don’t share her confidence.
‘What else did Alexa say about Otis?’ I ask.
‘She said – she said her husband has a big personality,’ Simon says, avoiding looking at Gabby while he speaks. ‘While she’s shrunk because of what’s happened, he’s grown. He’s taken on more work, made more money and been away from home for longer. But from what Alexa’s said, all that success comes at a price.’
‘That’s a big accusation to make,’ Gabby says hotly.
‘I’m not accusing anyone of anything,’ Simon corrects. ‘But Alexa said Families United was the only place she laughed anymore. That’s sad, now that I think about it. And worrying, don’t you think?’
‘A little,’ I reply, though the tightening in my chest says it’s more worrying than that.
‘Every marriage has problems,’ Gabby says, pink splodges colouring her cheeks. ‘Otis works hard; he’s a high achiever. Since when was that a crime?’
‘It’s not,’ I begin, but my response irritates Gabby further.