Gina went into the kitchen and wet some kitchen roll before wiping herself down. As she inhaled, she gagged again. The overpowering smell was turning her stomach. The thought of Diane being in so much emotional pain that she had tried to take her own life filled her with sadness. She guessed that Diane had taken the overdose then called the station asking for Gina. If she and Jacob had decided to grab a coffee on the way, or get some petrol, or even quickly check in at the station, Diane may not at least be in with a chance. It was no good. She couldn’t wear her shirt. She began to peel it away and Jacob barged in.
‘They’re taking her to the hospital now. Shall I get someone to head over there? Sorry, guv.’ He turned to face the hallway while she continued to clean herself.
‘Yes, give Wyre a call. We need to know what Diane wanted to tell us. She kept mentioning a brother. Ask O’Connor to look into this. I want to know who he is as I don’t have any details of her family on file. I thought she had no family.’ She slipped her jacket back on and did the buttons up. ‘And tell them to grab me a shirt from lost property.’ Gina rolled her shirt up, ready to dispose of it. She wandered back into the living room, thinking about why Diane had tried to take her own life. Diane was all alone, no friends, in severe pain and poverty. Diane had no one.
She swallowed hard and almost wept as she saw what she thought might be her own future flashing in front of her. How many friends did she have? None that she’d let into her life. Family? A daughter who had moved, more than likely to get away from her. The only thing she did have was her health, but that wasn’t guaranteed. She thought back to her own mother, taken suddenly by cancer. Her father, a good man who had missed her mother so much that he’d turned to drink. She understood why Diane had felt like she had nothing. Like Diane, she had done things that were bad. Her mind was awhirl with what bad things Diane thought she’d done. She wiped her eyes. That wasn’t the future she wanted but old habits die hard.
‘Guv? Should we get back to the station?’ Jacob stood in the door entrance. She could tell he was on the verge of gagging.
‘Yes, but first I need to make sure I lock Diane’s house up and take her key with me. She’s already had enough happen with the card and the break-in.’
‘Are you okay with that while I wait in the car and call the station?’
‘Go on, get out of here.’ He didn’t need telling twice.
She grabbed some more tissues and a wet soapy cloth and wiped the sofa down. Only a small gesture but one she was sure Diane would appreciate on her return. She couldn’t leave the mess to dry up and smell. She reached down the side of the sofa with the damp flannel and flinched as her fingernail caught on something hard down the side of the settee. An address book, a tatty brown leatherette pocket-sized book. She gently pulled it out and opened it. None of the few pages left were fixed in. The short list of addresses were all the people that Diane had in the world. Most were crossed out, maybe friends that had moved, passed away or she no longer kept in touch with them. She scanned the names, not recognising any of them. The yellow musty pages suggested that she hadn’t used this book for years. She found Samantha listed, her address written in spidery writing under her name. A few more pages fell to the floor, again, most of the addresses were crossed out. Gina flicked another page and her jaw dropped as she read the text.
This address book belongs to …
Underneath the text, Diane had written her full name and it wasn’t what Gina had expected. She’d changed her name. Gina knew she’d never been married. She grabbed her phone, heart pounding as she waited for Wyre to answer. She knew exactly who Diane’s brother was and she wasn’t going to waste a single minute. As she relayed what she’d discovered, she grabbed Diane’s keys and locked up. ‘Meet me there, and bring me a new top while you’re at it.’ She slammed the front door closed and threw her soiled shirt into the wheelie bin.
A text pinged up.
Gina, I have to talk to you. It was me at your house last night. Don’t be angry, just call me. There’s something you need to know.
Her hands began to shake as she thought about Rex climbing into her garden, watching her. It could be a trap, maybe he was in talks with the press and all this was to entrap her into saying something she might regret. Then again, she now had a text that showed him to be stalking her. She called up his number as she headed back towards the car, still unsure whether to ring him or not.
Sixty-Five
I’ve had it now. She’ll call me, I know she will and I’ll have to tell her everything. Gina saw me last night, I know she did and now she’s going to hate me even more. I pull the reporter’s card from my pocket and place it on the side. Gina won’t believe that I’ve always told her the truth. I told her I didn’t send her any flowers or chocolates but she chose not to believe me.
The reporter keeps ringing. I wish she’d go away and leave me alone. If she were to latch on to my sordid little secrets, who knows what she’d make of them. I had to message Gina, I’m in too deep and I don’t know what to do. I can picture her annoyance. It’s not as if I really know her and I suppose I hoped she’d take my mind of Aimee.Come on, Gina, call me, please.
My heart won’t stop humming away and my mouth tastes of the whisky I had earlier to calm my nerves. What have I done to you, my darling Aimee? What have I done? Will you ever forgive me? Will you be there in that café one day, trying to escape the pouring rain where we’ll meet? That was how it was meant to happen. I was waiting for the right time. I saw the way Rhys treated you. I would have been so much better. I worshipped the ground you walked on, my love. But you’ve gone now and it’s all my fault.
I grab the bottle and pour another shot. The cheap whisky burns my throat as I think of you, Aimee. I also think of Gina. I let her down too. What my future holds, who knows. It won’t be long before I’m exposed.
I screw the reporter’s card up and drop it to the floor, stamping on it several times as spittle flies through the gaps in my teeth. I stamp and stamp until I’m exhausted. I just want it all to go away. Staring at my phone, I wonder if she’ll call. She has to call. Aimee’s life depends on Gina calling. ‘Come on!’ I shout as I break down.
Sixty-Six
Hurrying through the streets of Cleevesford, Jacob swung the car into Lavender Lane, almost throwing Gina’s phone from her hand as he pulled up behind Wyre’s car.
Gina gripped her phone. ‘Are you okay going in first and explaining why we’re here? There’s an urgent call I need to make and it may help the case.’
‘Sure, guv.’ He stepped out of the car and walked over to Wyre and O’Connor.
She pressed Rex’s number as she sat in the car. ‘This best be good and don’t you dare come to my house again or I swear, I’ll throw you in a cell myself. What right did you think you had, climbing over my gate?’
‘Gina, please. I wanted to tell you something. I’ve been pacing all night wondering what to do. I can’t believe I… I’m in such big trouble.’
‘What is it?’ Her patience with the man was running thin. She watched through the windscreen as their prime suspect’s wife’s head dropped and she burst into tears. Had she lied to them about him coming home on the night of Jade Ashmore’s murder in order to protect her husband? Gina knew that now. Jacob and Wyre followed her in and closed the door as O’Connor waited outside. She needed to be there, with them. Aimee’s life was at stake. She heard Rex take a couple of deep breaths. ‘For heaven’s sake, spill it out. I haven’t got time for this.’
‘Okay. I’ve been watching Aimee. I know I was wrong to do that and you can do what you like to me after. I confess, I’ve been stalking Aimee. I saw her on the Swap Fun website and there was something about her. I saw her out and about a few times, just at the shops or out jogging and, I suppose, I became infatuated. She wore her name on her shirt, giving away all her social media links. I soon found her, followed her…’
She slammed her palm onto the dashboard. This was all she needed. She began to tremble. He’d been watching Aimee, following her, checking her out online. He’d just confessed to all that. ‘Do you know what you’re saying? What have you done with her?’ She stared at Richard and Maggie’s home, their little old house in a corner plot. ‘Rex, tell me now. Tell me!’
‘That’s the thing, I haven’t done anything with her. I like to watch, I hoped we’d meet and yet I wanted her to fall in love with me. I wanted you too but that’s another story. You wouldn’t believe how hard I try and how poorly my efforts are rewarded. I thought Aimee would be different. She liked guys my age. You were pushing me away.’ He took a deep breath. ‘I saw the person who took her.’
