He looks down and stares at his left hand, absent of any rings. ‘Yeah. I messed that one up. We divorced shortly after… you know.’
‘Elaine, wasn’t it?’
His eyes widen. ‘Yeah. Do you know her?’
An image of one of the website links I found flashes into my head. ‘She’s an estate agent, isn’t she? With her own business?’ I have no idea whether or not this is the right woman I’m talking about, but it’s worth taking a chance.
To my relief he nods, seeming not to notice I’ve avoided answering his question. ‘Yep. I helped her set it up and then a few years later she was forcing me to sign divorce papers. But, looking back, she did me a favour, because now I’ve got Alison. I know she’s got her issues but I do love her.’
His face lights up when he says this, and it’s impossible to picture him as the man Alison described, but I can’t simply trust everything he’s telling me. Though when I picture Alison in my office the other day, how bizarre her behaviour was, I can’t help but lean towards him.
‘So you have no idea why she’d say that about Zach?’
‘I wish I could tell you, Mia, I really do. And again, I’m so sorry for her dragging all this up. Look, I’ll talk to her and make her promise to leave you alone, but I just had to come and speak to you personally. I kind of feel responsible. I told her to come off her medication against the doctor’s advice because she was just so sick on it. But maybe this is worse.’
I don’t say anything; I’m still taking it all in and trying to make the pieces fit together so I won’t just blindly believe every word he says.
Dominic shifts forward on the bench. ‘Listen, I’d better get back. Alison was quite agitated this afternoon so I don’t want to leave her on her own for too long.’ He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a business card. ‘Here’s my number, though. My mobile. Call me any time if I can help with anything.’
As I reach for the card, I think how unusual it is that a university lecturer has a business card. Zach never did – at least not that I knew of. But there were lots of things I didn’t know about you, Zach, weren’t there?
Dominic reaches for my hand before standing up, and this time I shake it, his firm grasp catching me off guard. And as I watch him walk away I remind myself not to be fooled, no matter how genuine he seems. People are good at masking things when they have to.
* * *
As evening draws in I realise that I don’t feel any better after Dominic’s visit. Although a lot of what he said could explain Alison’s behaviour, he still couldn’t give me a reason for why she came to me, so now I have a whole new set of questions. But, without realising it, he has told me exactly where I can find his ex-wife, and she might shed some light on whether or not I can trust him. I won’t be able to let this go until I know for sure that Alison is safe, and what she thinks she knows about Zach’s death. The fact that she so quickly retracted her statement – pretended, in fact, that she hadn’t said anything at all – only makes me believe that she’s scared. But of whom? And why?
These are the questions I need answers to, and my starting point is finding out whether it’s Alison or Dominic who has things to hide.
It’s too late in the evening to track down Elaine Bradford today, and most estate agents’ offices are closed on Sundays, but on Monday I will see if she can provide me with any answers. Until then I have to sit tight, knowing that, for now at least, there is nothing more I can do.
Although it’s nearly 8 p.m. it’s still warm outside, so I sit in the garden while I attempt to write up some notes for my client files. The neighbours to my right are having a barbeque and their guests are already raucous, so I eventually give up trying to get anything done.
Will calls as I’m about to go inside, and asks if I’m okay. ‘No more fainting episodes, I hope?’
I assure him I’m fine and distract him from worrying by asking what his plans are for tonight.
He hesitates. ‘I have to meet a client. She’s having real problems with her tax return and her business is in a huge mess. It’s the only time she could meet so I couldn’t say no.’
A lump forms in my throat but I will not give in to fear. I won’t ask him where they’re meeting or what she’s like because Will is not Zach and I refuse to mistrust him, unless I ever have evidence that he doesn’t deserve my trust. But still, it’s hard not to feel a pang of pain. That it could be happening all over again.
‘You don’t mind, do you?’ he asks.
‘No, of course not. It sounds like she needs help so that’s what you’ve got to do. I think I’ll just have an early night.’
‘Get some rest,’ he says. ‘I’m still worried about you. I’ll see you on Monday. And Mia? Don’t forget I love you.’
* * *
I go to bed, comforted by Will’s words and assurance, laying my head on my pillow and drifting off with thoughts of him, thoughts of our future together. But when I wake suddenly in the middle of the night, my body drenched in sweat and tears sliding down my cheeks, it is Zach I have been dreaming about.
Chapter Twelve
Josie
* * *
The last thing I will ever do is go to the police and change my statement, so Johnny’s cousin – or whoever he is – can go to hell. But for weeks now I’ve been constantly looking over my shoulder, my stomach lurching each time a new customer walks into the coffee shop, never heading out alone once it’s dark.
University is the only place I feel remotely safe – it’s always brimming with people so he’d be stupid to try anything here, at least during the day. But I know one thing for sure: I can’t live like this, constantly on edge, waiting for something to happen – and it will happen. I have no doubt he intends to carry through on his threat.
This is why I’m standing outside Zach’s office this lunchtime. There is nobody else I can go to. I don’t knock at first, but watch him through the narrow window in the door. His head is bent forward as he pores over some papers, so he doesn’t notice me. He looks so peaceful that it gives me second thoughts. How can I bring all my problems to him? The burden should be mine alone to share.
I’m about to walk away when his head jolts up and he sees me. A smile spreads across his face and he beckons me in.
‘Actually, don’t worry,’ I say, popping my head through the door. ‘It’s nothing.’
‘Come in, Josie. I’ve been meaning to catch up with you. Sorry we haven’t chatted for a while. Do you mind closing the door?’
So now it’s too late and I walk towards him and sit in front of his desk.
‘My novel,’ he says, shuffling together the papers he was reading and putting them in his drawer. ‘I’m struggling a bit with chapter eleven so I printed it out to read it on paper to see if that makes a difference. Sometimes it helps, but not today. I just can’t get my mind into it.’
‘You need to distance yourself from it for a bit and then go back to it.’ I say this as if I’m an expert when the truth is I have no idea what I’m talking about. I can’t even imagine writing anything longer than a short story. Unless I wrote about her – then I’d have plenty to say.
‘You’re right,’ he says. ‘I know that, but… I don’t know. I feel a huge sense of panic sometimes, like time’s running out and I have to get everything done now, before it’s too late. Sometimes it feels like there’ll be no tomorrow. Like I’m in a race and I can’t even see the finish line but I’ve just got to get there.’
This surprises me – Zach always seems so laid-back. ‘What do you mean by “too late”?’
‘Oh, I’m not being morbid. I just feel this huge sense of urgency about everything. Anyway, just ignore me. How’s everything going with you?’