Today was the first time since summer it’d been cold enough to wear a coat over my jumper. Christopher was wearing a coat too, paired with jeans and boots and a tan scarf. Sat at a little table outside the café in the park, it wouldn’t be obvious to anyone that over coffee and cake, we were discussing kidnap and secrets.
I know your secret, Elodie. Christopher spoke to your agent, Lara, about the last time you met with her a few weeks before you went missing, and when he mentioned your book deal, Lara had no idea what he was talking about.
‘But what does this mean?’ I asked. ‘Does this have something to do with her disappearance?’
He shook his head and sipped his coffee. ‘David confessed to stalking and kidnapping Elodie. We gathered DNA samples from her house, and the blood on the pyjamas found in his car belongs to your sister. With physical evidence and a confession, there’s no reason to believe Elodie lying about her book deal has anything to do with David taking her.’
‘Then there’s no need to tell my parents she lied?’
‘No.’
‘Thank you. I don’t want to upset or confuse Mum and Dad.’
‘They don’t need to know. It’s not relevant to the case. Just to make sure the tabloids don’t get hold of it, Lara signed an NDA. If the public found out, it could prejudice a jury when it comes time to press charges against David.’
If I’d found out about your lie before you’d gone missing, I’d be angry, indignant, but now you’re gone, the lie pales in comparison to everything else. And I know what it’s like to so desperately want to please people – our parents, to have everyone think you have your life together – that you lie to them and even to yourself.
‘So,’ I said. ‘Where do you think David is keeping Elodie? You’ve searched his work, his home, any building around here connected to him, and you’ve found nothing. He’s sitting in a prison right now while she’s out there somewhere.’ I took a breath. ‘Without him, how do you know she has access to food or water?’
He rubbed a hand over his face. ‘We’re still searching.’
It was obvious that the police were searching for your body. No one but me and our parents held on to the hope we’d find you alive. ‘Jack has something to do with this.’
‘Ada …’ He was exasperated, but trying to tread carefully. I knew he wanted me to drop it, but you’re my sister and I promised I wouldn’t stop searching for you, so how could I ignore this instinct? ‘Just because David didn’t admit to doing something more serious to Elodie, it doesn’t mean he hasn’t. He says he was paid to take her and leave her in his car, but we don’t know that’s true. Besides, Jack was in London when Elodie disappeared.’
True. There are photographs and videos and train tickets to prove he was far away from Crosshaven, but I can’t shake this feeling, El, I just can’t, and I needed to make Christopher understand. ‘He lied about getting that black eye on a bike ride. The bike didn’t even have a front wheel—’
‘You shouldn’t have gone onto his property like that.’
‘And if he’s lying about that, he could be lying about anything.’ I paused, giving that statement the time it deserved to sink in. ‘He was buying cherry cola bottles and tampons in a supermarket almost fifty minutes outside town.’
‘I can’t arrest someone for buying fizzy drinks and women’s toiletries.’
‘He’s always been obsessed with her,’ I pressed. ‘Don’t you remember how he’d follow her around everywhere even when they were kids? The number of times you and I would be fumbling under the covers in my room and Elodie would come barrelling in, closely followed by her vicious, blond shadow?’ Then I felt myself flush because it was the first time I’d referenced our sexual history. Not that it mattered. Back then, we were lustful teenagers; it didn’t mean anything now. ‘Anyway,’ I said quickly. ‘I still think Jack has something to do with it.’
‘He’s been on national television pleading for her safe return.’
‘Yes, and isn’t that the perfect cover? You were the one who told me these psychos get a kick out of coming to events for the victim or events run by the victim’s family.’
‘Observing, not throwing themselves in headfirst. That’s bold.’
‘That’s Jack.’ I sipped my coffee. Above us, a squirrel leapt from tree to tree, sending a shower of autumn leaves raining down on us. It might’ve been pretty if I wasn’t so frustrated and angry. ‘Jack’s always been arrogant and sly. If anyone could manipulate an entire community into believing his bullshit, it’s him.’
‘Watertight alibi,’ he said simply. Then he reached out and put a hand on my wrist. His skin was warm; it felt completely natural to have him touch me, like my body remembered. ‘Have you considered that this suspicion and anger is aimed at Jack because he was very close to your sister, and maybe you’re feeling guilty and saddened that you weren’t as close to her as you’d have liked?’
If anyone else had been this direct, it would’ve come across as an attack, but Christopher was trying to help; he was sincere and rational. So rational, it made doubt creep in. What he was saying made sense and was partially true. I do feel guilty and miserable that we let ourselves grow so far apart and have played a game of one-upmanship for most of our lives; I worry constantly I won’t get the chance to make things between us better, but I still think Jack was a part of your disappearance. ‘Perhaps David and Jack know each other. Perhaps they’re working together. David said someone was paying him.’
He nodded. ‘Yes, but that could just be a story David is spinning to move ultimate responsibility from himself. Throw us off. It happens all the time.’
‘But you found wads of cash.’
‘He’s a handyman. A lot of those jobs are paid cash-in-hand. Ada, he can’t provide any evidence of the typed instructions he was allegedly given or even the original listing for the ad.’
‘So why admit to following and abducting her but not come clean about anything else?’
‘He admitted following her right away because we had witnesses, but he only admitted abducting her after we found her bloody clothes in his car. He’s a liar.’
‘You told me he has learning difficulties,’ I said, ‘meaning, he was an easy target for Jack to manipulate.’
‘If David knew Jack was the one paying him, he’d say so to save himself. Besides, David and Elodie’s DNA were found in that car. Not Jack’s.’
I took a breath. Talking about you was exhausting and although I wasn’t getting anywhere with Christopher, I wasn’t ready to give up on my theory. ‘What if we found proof David and Jack do know each other?’
He sat back in his chair, his dark eyes appraising. ‘You’re not going to let this go, are you?’
‘No.’
He smiled to himself before looking me seriously in the face. ‘If you can prove they know each other, maybe we can take a closer look at Jack Westwood.’
Chapter Thirty-Seven
58 Days Missing