‘Threatened?’ Radley laughed nervously. ‘Don’t be preposterous. I rang her to ask if we could meet to discuss things going forward, that was all. I have no idea where you would get the idea that I—’
‘Do your colleagues realise what a slimy piece of shit you are, Radley?’ Justin cut him short. The ‘things going forward’ business-speak really hadn’t helped the man’s case. He was talking about his wife, his daughter, his fucking life!
‘This is ridiculous,’ Radley snapped irritably. ‘Rachel, call security,’ he instructed one of the employees Justin could sense hovering uncertainly behind him.
Justin’s mouth curved into a scornful smile. ‘Good idea, Rachel,’ he said, his gaze never leaving Radley’s. ‘Why don’t you call the police while you’re at it? Mr Radley and I can have a nice cosy conversation with them down at the station about why he’s stalking my wife.’
‘Mr Radley?’ the girl asked uncertainly.
Popping the top button of his shirt, Radley shook his head. ‘It’s fine, Rachel,’ he said, coughing nervously.
‘Tell them to leave,’ Justin said, working to hold on to his temper now he’d established the man was a spineless prick. He was as tall as him, and looked pretty fit, but he was shaking in his designer shoes.
Radley paled. ‘What?’
‘I’m not asking you twice, you bastard,’ Justin bellowed. ‘Tell them to leave!’
Perspiration wetting his forehead, Radley swallowed, and then glanced at the audience behind them. ‘Can we have the room, please?’ He smiled shakily. ‘Dr Cole and I have some things to discuss.’
Justin waited while people filed out.
‘Satisfied?’ Radley asked, as the doors closed.
‘Not quite.’ Justin looked him contemptuously over. ‘Do those windows open?’ He nodded behind him towards the long picture windows that gave a scenic view over the city.
‘What?’ Radley glanced confusedly in that direction. ‘No!’ he said, his expression now petrified.
‘That’s a pity,’ Justin said, stepping towards him. ‘Means I’m just going to have to put you through one, doesn’t it?’
Radley swallowed. ‘Look, I realise you’re upset,’ he said, holding his hands defensively up in front of him, ‘I don’t blame you. You should know, though, that I don’t go around having random affairs with married women. Alicia was lonely, upset. She approached me, truth be known.’
Justin narrowed his eyes.
‘She contacted me when I got back from Dubai,’ Radley babbled on, spouting crap, his eyes all the while flicking nervously towards the window. ‘I tried to put her off, I swear I did. Obviously, now I can see how distressing this all is for you, I’ll avoid any future contact. As for Sophie, I’m happy to back off. I’m not an unreasonable—’
His fury unleashing inside him, Justin seized Radley by the throat, shoving him back towards the window before he could blink.
‘Don’t!’ Radley screamed as he rammed him hard against it. ‘I’m terrified of heights. ‘Please. God… Don’t.’
Justin stared hard at him, his emotions swinging wildly as he realised, with a jolt, that he didn’t actually care if the man went through it.
Twisting his collar tighter, Justin eyeballed him meaningfully. ‘Do not even breathe my daughter’s name,’ he warned him. ‘And do not ever attempt to contact my wife again. If you do, I will kill you. Am I making myself clear?’
His eyes wide with fear, Radley nodded quickly.
‘I didn’t fucking hear you!’ Justin lifted the man off his feet.
‘Yes,’ Radley rasped; his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat.
Justin breathed in hard. ‘Good,’ he said, more quietly, and then, counting silently backwards, he gained a tenuous grip on his emotions and relaxed his hold.
Crumpling with relief, Radley almost slithered down the window. ‘Rachel!’ he shouted croakily, as Justin turned away. ‘The police!’
Bad move. Justin turned back. ‘You’ll want something more substantial than threats to report,’ he suggested, bringing his fist back, getting little satisfaction as he heard bone and sinew crack. ‘You’re scum, Radley,’ he spat, turning to walk away as the man dropped to his knees.
Forty-Three
ALICIA
Recognising his ringtone, Alicia grabbed her phone.
‘Hi,’ Justin said, as soon as she picked up. ‘I just wanted to check you were okay.’
‘Yes,’ Alicia assured him, amazed he cared enough to even ask after the news she’d given him. ‘Why?
‘No reason. I just thought I’d check.’ There was a pause on the line, then, ‘Radley,’ he said, almost spitting the word out. ‘If he gets in touch, will you let me know? Regarding Sophie, I mean.’
‘Obviously I will,’ Alicia said, wondering why he’d think she wouldn’t. Then she thought of the paternity test, her heart aching for him as she imagined what his line of thinking might be: that she might decide her future was with Sophie’s father.
‘And you’ll let me know if he bothers you? Assuming you don’t want him to contact you unnecessarily, that is,’ Justin went on, sounding awkward now, uncertain.
‘Justin…’ Alicia paused. It would be so easy to just say it, to blurt it out. But then what? The endless questions, the disbelief. Him thinking she was incapable of doing anything but lying. Things were so clouded and confused in her mind now, she couldn’t even be sure she wasn’t lying to herself. She couldn’t bear that Justin might think she had ever wanted to be with anyone but him. That she would entertain the thought of talking to Paul Radley now, unless through a solicitor. God forbid he should ever go down that route, but he well might now that he’d had the paternity test, meaning she would receive some cold, official letter in the post. ‘I don’t want any contact with him. Not ever,’ she said.
She wished she could be with Justin now. Hold him. She wished there was something she could do to prove how very much she’d always loved and cared for him, even when she’d done the most careless thing in the world.
‘Okay,’ he said, drawing in a tight breath. ‘I needed to check, for my own peace of mind.’
His peace of mind? Alicia looked upwards, blinking hard… Would he ever have that again?
‘I’d better go,’ he said, after another awkward pause. ‘I have some places to check out.
‘Wait,’ she said urgently, wanting to at least check how he was. ‘Are you all right?’ she asked him, stupidly. She knew how he was: a jaded, broken man. He missed Sophie and Lucas as much as she did: every minute of every waking day, in her dreams and her waking nightmares, she thought of them. Yet they couldn’t reach out to each other, comfort each other. The void between them, where their children should be, was too vast.
‘Tired,’ he admitted. ‘I’ve moved rooms. Renting nearer the area I’m going to check out later tonight.’
‘Is it clean?’ she asked him, grieving for what they’d lost, for the ability to talk naturally that they’d once had. There was nothing between them now but stilted conversation.
‘Reasonable,’ he said, then, ‘What about you? You’re going to be staying with Jess for a while, I take it?’
‘Yes, for now,’ she said, not sure what else she could say. She couldn’t contemplate the thought of going back to a house where the ghosts of her family would haunt her. She hadn’t even broached the subject of the house with Justin, whether he would want her going back there, whether he would ever want to go back.
‘Jess is here now.’ She glanced towards her sister as she poked her head curiously around the kitchen door.
‘Justin?’ Jessica mouthed.
Alicia nodded.
Jessica nodded in turn, and then waggled her phone in Alicia’s direction, indicating she was going to make a call.
‘We’re just back from distributing leaflets at district train stations,’ Alicia went on. ‘We have lots of shops and supermarkets putting up posters, too,’ she said, as if her efforts amounted to anything compared to what he was doing.
‘Good. That’s good.’ Justin sounded relieved. ‘Tell Jess thanks.’