He got undressed and into bed, turning the light out. He thought he could hear the river in the distance but there was no other sound. His mind strayed and he thought back to his nervousness earlier in the day, his fear of sleeping, the sense of Emily Barratt waiting for him to lose his concentration.
She wouldn’t come tonight though, he was certain of that. He wasn’t sure why but he was convinced she wouldn’t come, and as his thoughts slipped away from the logical he began to get a sense of Matt there in the room with him, a benign presence, forgiving, good. Alex was sleeping in the room of someone he’d wronged and neglected, and yet for the first time in years he had no fear at all of the night ahead.
15
The next morning was bright, cloudless. Alex felt refreshed, something he couldn’t help dwelling upon as Martha drove him back to the hotel. He’d slept in Matt’s old bedroom and had the most restful sleep he could remember in a long time.
A less rational mind might have concluded that Matt had watched over him and kept Emily Barratt at bay. Maybe he’d even thought like that himself the night before; he couldn’t really remember, but he entertained the idea now, not because he subscribed to it but because it was a nice thought, comforting.
There were plenty of reasons why he might have slept better but most likely it had just been a coincidence, a good day in the cycle. He didn’t even want to invest any hope in one of the other possibilities, that by coming here he’d broken the cycle completely. He’d hoped for that after nearly every good night’s sleep in the past ten years, and he’d always been disappointed.
When they got to the hotel Martha said, ‘Do you have to go today?’
He nodded regretfully. It wasn’t true and in a way he wanted to stay, to get to know her more, to keep her company, to be there the way he hadn’t been for her brother. But he felt a more urgent need to get back and be with Kate, to show her that he’d been serious the other night about making a go of it, to keep up the momentum.
‘I wish you’d call someone before you leave. If they know you’ve been here...’
Alex put his hand up to stop her and said, ‘Martha, I’m quite safe for the moment, believe me. And as soon as I get back to New York I’ll post a statement to my solicitor and tell Natalie that I’ve done it.’
‘And Jerry Brook.’
‘And Jerry Brook,’ he said, though he could see what a crank that would make him look, phoning up someone he didn’t know with a message like that. She seemed relieved by that and they were more relaxed as they said their goodbyes and made vague promises of keeping in touch.
Alex was about to walk away into the hotel, though, when he turned again. She lowered her window in response and he said, ‘Promise me something.’
‘What?’
‘In the unlikely event that something does happen to me, don’t say anything to anybody, don’t try to find out. Just leave it. Promise me.’
He regretted saying it almost immediately. Her face fell and she got out of the car, holding onto him, saying, ‘Call somebody now. Alex, I can get our attorney to come up to the house. We can make the calls from there.’
He eased her free and tried to offer reassurance.
‘I said in the unlikely event, didn’t I? Even if someone is trying to kill me, which I seriously doubt, they won’t make a move this quickly. But look, I’m serious, I want you to make that promise. Never say anything, for your own safety, if nothing else.’
Her eyes sharpened, the blue turning fierce. She smiled then, as if he was the one who didn’t understand what was going on here.
‘You said yourself, what you all did wrong back at college wasn’t killing that girl – it was keeping it secret. If something happens to you, I’ll write an exposé in the Times. I have the contacts and I’ll do it. That’s a promise.’
He smiled, realizing he wouldn’t get her to back down and said, ‘It won’t come to that. And that’s a promise too.’ He stood up on his toes to kiss her on the cheek and then walked into the hotel without looking back.
On the train home he thought over what he should do next. He’d dismissed it with Martha, not wanting her to worry, but the truth was, he had no idea whether Natalie was behind this or not. He wanted to remain sceptical but Martha had been right about one thing - it was a pretty big coincidence if it wasn’t the same Natalie Harrison.
But if Natalie was engaged to Jerry Brook, what did that prove anyway, other than that she’d chosen to lie to her ex-boyfriend about it? The whole business with Matt should have driven home to him what both Rob and Natalie had already told him, that he was paranoid, seeing danger where there was none, imagining demons.