‘Oh, come on, Dominic. I know Alison’s been to the police and that they’ve spoken to you. There’s no point denying anything any more.’
His mouth hangs open and he stumbles on his words. ‘Alison’s been to the police? What about?’
‘About the physical abuse she’s suffered at your hands. Probably mental abuse too. All of it. They know everything, Dominic.’
‘Wait, physical abuse? Are you saying I’ve hurt Alison? Is that what she’s told you?’
‘She’s my client. I can’t discuss that with you.’
‘Mia, listen, I’ve told you before that Alison’s not in her right frame of mind. She needs help, she’s disturbed.’
‘So you keep saying. But of course you would say that, wouldn’t you? Especially when she’s not around to defend herself. That’s just what men like you do, isn’t it?’
‘You’ve got this all wrong. And the police haven’t spoken to me about anything. Surely you can check that? I would never hurt Alison – or any woman.’
His words are so confident, so adamant, that I find myself doubting what I’m doing. What if I’ve got this all wrong? I start to feel short of breath. It won’t be long until panic overwhelms me again, unless I can calm myself down and think rationally. I’ve got to salvage this before it’s too late.
‘Prove it to me. Prove you haven’t done anything to Alison, and that she’s as troubled as you say she is.’
‘I can’t. How can I prove it? It’s my word against hers, isn’t it?’ He lets out a deep breath and his head flops back against his chair. ‘Wait. Maybe there is something.’ He leans forward again and pulls his phone from his pocket. ‘This is a text she sent me on Thursday.’
He holds the phone out and I tentatively take it, unsure what I’ll find on the screen. It’s definitely a text from Alison, but the words almost stop my breath.
I’ve got to go away for a few days to be by myself. I’m sorry, I just need some time to get myself straight. But I love you. Never forget that.
I read it again, hoping the words will say something different this time around, something that proves Alison has been telling the truth, because even though I’ve doubted her at times, her lying to me throws everything into question. I wanted to believe her claims about Dominic; that they stemmed from the confused mind of an unstable woman in an abusive relationship. But whether or not she truly knows anything about Zach, she has fabricated this story about her own partner. But why?
Dominic gives me some time then reaches for his phone. ‘From the look on your face I can tell that’s done something in my favour. What exactly did she tell you?’
I don’t mention that Alison’s been staying with me for the last few days, but I tell Dominic I’ve seen her and that she went to the police station; supposedly to report his abuse.
‘But what did she say to them? I swear, they haven’t called me or come round or anything.’
That’s when it dawns on me that I don’t actually know what she was doing in there. I was outside, and didn’t even wait to see her come out. Shooting pains cut through my stomach. When I manage to speak my voice is almost a whisper. ‘I don’t know what she said. Or if she even actually spoke to them.’
Dominic shakes his head. ‘This is what she does, Mia. I tried to tell you. She makes things up, tells lies to cover her tracks and then that leads to even more lies.’ He checks his watch. ‘Look, will you come somewhere with me? There’s someone I want you to meet. It might help you understand a bit more.’
I stare at him but don’t know how to reply.
‘You can drive if that makes you feel more comfortable? It’s only in Hayes, so not far.’
* * *
Alison’s parents must only be in their fifties, yet they look at least twenty years older than that. They live in a tiny ground-floor flat, but inside it’s neat and well maintained.
Dominic has already filled me in on the way here, and there was sadness in his voice as he told me they used to own a large house in Milton Keynes but had to sell it to move to London to be closer to Alison. This was all they could afford and they even had to throw in over half their savings to buy it.
‘I hadn’t met her at that point,’ Dominic had explained. ‘It wasn’t long after, you know, what happened with Zach and Josie and everything. It just really affected Alison and she lost it a bit. Had some sort of breakdown. But they can tell you more about it.’
So now I stand in their cramped kitchen, not sure where this will lead or what I will find out, what it will mean for the future.
‘I’m so sorry for your loss,’ Camilla Frances says. It was no surprise to find out from Dominic that Cummings isn’t Alison’s real name. That might explain why I found no trace of her on the Internet when I first looked her up.
‘Why Cummings?’ I’d asked Dominic.
But he had no idea. ‘She probably just picked a name at random from the credits of a TV programme or something like that. Things are not always clearly thought out with Alison. A lot of the time what she does is just random.’
The loss Camilla refers to must be Zach, but to me it could also mean what I’m about to lose: everything I’ve believed in. ‘Thank you,’ I say.
‘It must be so awful for you. I hope people are leaving you alone now.’
I nod and try not to show my discomfort. If I tread carefully I will leave here with a much better insight into Alison, so I can’t afford to make an enemy of Camilla and Anthony. ‘It’s been a long road but nobody seems to bother me any more. I did get a lot of abuse about Zach in the beginning. Well, for over a year at least, but people seem to have short memories.’
She takes my hand. ‘Well, I’m glad they’re leaving you alone now.’ She turns to Dominic. ‘Please tell me you’ve found her?’
‘Yes, well, sort of. She’s not at home but I have heard from her this time. And she’s okay, so there’s really no need to worry.’
Camilla sinks back against the worktop. ‘I do nothing but worry about her, though. You know that, Dominic.’
He moves across to her and takes her hand. I’m not easily fooled by people but it’s getting harder to believe that this is an abusive man, although I know from experience that they can be extremely charming with other people. But still, Alison’s text seems to refute everything she’s said so far.
But she is tied up in what happened to Zach and Josie, I know it.
‘Well, I thought it might be good for you to speak to Mia. She’s a counsellor, too, so I think it will help us all actually.’ He turns to me and offers an apologetic smile.
Camilla nods, but a frown appears on her husband’s face. ‘All this talking,’ says Anthony. ‘It hasn’t done Alison any good so far, has it? And it’s been years. We’ve never cared about money and we’ll pay anything we need to in order to help her, but we really have very little left now.’
I shouldn’t be surprised to hear Alison had been seeing someone before she came to me. ‘I won’t take any of your money,’ I say to Anthony. ‘I just want to help Alison.’
‘I, um, thank you. That’s very kind of you.’
‘I really think Mia’s the best person to help us,’ Dominic says. ‘Especially as it seems finding Mia has heightened Alison’s obsession, for some reason.’
‘Don’t call it that,’ Anthony says. ‘It’s not an obsession. She just needs help, that’s all.’
This isn’t the first time I’ve felt out of my depth since Alison stepped into my life, and I hate feeling out of control. ‘Just what exactly is going on?’ I say to all of them.
‘Let’s go and sit in the garden,’ Camilla says. ‘It’s too crowded in here.’
We all trudge outside and I’m grateful to breathe in the fresh air. The garden is quite large, given the size of the flat, and it’s freshly mown and as neat as the inside.
As soon as we’ve sat down, Camilla begins speaking. ‘My daughter’s not a bad person, Mia. She’s not. She just… well, what happened to Josie hit her really hard.’