‘I know this is hard for you.’ Gina pressed her lips together.
‘It is.’ She pulled a bottle of water from her bag and took a sip. ‘I’ve tried so hard to forget, to move on. I don’t want to share this with my husband and I never want my children to know.’ She put the cap back on the water bottle. ‘He raped me and I didn’t stop it. I was stunned and it happened quickly. He kissed me after and laughed about us getting caught and having to clean up quickly. He made out it was nothing and that I’d been party to what happened. I remember being terrified and asking what he’d done to me.’ She ran her fingers through her hair. ‘Then he said that we should go out for dinner later that night or to the cinema, now that we were dating again. I couldn’t speak. He was denying what had just happened between us and assuming that we were a couple again. I did not consent but then again, no one spoke about consent fifteen years ago like they do now. It was bizarre, it really was.’
‘I’m so sorry you’re having to relive all this now.’ Gina could see that Anita was struggling but now they had a good picture of the man they were looking for and, in Gina’s mind, he was more than capable of taking Annabel. Maybe he had charmed her at the beginning but soon after, everything went stale and maybe he had her trapped somewhere, keeping her because she no longer wanted him. Tom Whittle was sounding like a man that wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Anita cleared her throat and wiped her nose. ‘I confronted him, after the rape. As soon as we got out of that gym block, I told him that I’d report him. He calmly said that I’d asked him to meet there and that I’d told him how much I wanted him and that we’d made love in the changing rooms. He said that they’d sack us both for being unprofessional. Then he went on and on about how I was falsely accusing him and that everyone would know it. He’d tell them all that I’d been cornering him in the corridors asking for us to get back together, that I’d shown him my breasts on the school premises. I thought long and hard about everything. I had no bruises or scars and all I could see was my name getting tarnished. My biggest fear was that I wouldn’t be believed and I’d never get another job in teaching. That was my first job and the last thing I needed was a question mark hanging over my head so I left to work here and I’ve never looked back. For years I hated him, I hated myself but then I met my partner and he’s nothing like Tom.’ She shrugged. ‘That’s what happened. That’s everything. Am I going to have to make a statement?’
‘Anita.’ Gina leaned forward. ‘You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to but another two women have come forward with accusations, another might, and another woman is missing. If you do make a statement, it will really help us to build a case against him and stop what happened to you from happening to other women in the future.’
She opened her mouth and stared out of the window. ‘I have to do this, don’t I? I mean, it’s the right thing to do.’ Pausing, she pulled her sleeve over her hand and began picking at a loose bit of thread. ‘I’ll make a statement. I’ve kept this secret for too long. I’m ready to speak but I want to tell my partner first.’
‘Of course. Would you be able to come to Cleevesford Police Station later?’
Anita nodded. ‘I’ll be there about seven.’
‘Thank you. Can we offer you any support?’
‘No. I just want to get it over with.’ She stopped pulling the loose thread. ‘He’s a dangerous man. It’s about time he got punished for what he did to me and the others. I wouldn’t be one bit surprised if he had Annabel because she turned him down or dumped him. For the safety of all women, you have to find him.’
Gina tilted her head and nodded. Anita was far braver than she was in confronting her past. Gina had hidden the abuse she’d been on the receiving end of, finding it utterly humiliating to talk about. She knew just how much guts it took to do what Anita had just done.
FORTY-FOUR
Omar
Several messages flash up on my phone. Mum is livid.
Omar, the police are questioning me. They know you have my car. Please bring it back.
Where are you?
Pick up your phone!!!
Why aren’t you answering???
You are in such big trouble.
Omar, are you in trouble?
I’m worried. Please call me. X
I’m in such big trouble. No way can I call her yet. I’ll end up going home or worse, she’ll insist on getting a taxi here to take the car or she might bring the police. I stay at the back of Annabel’s house. I remain as I am, hidden.
Grant has to come back at some point. That’s why Taylor was here last night. She was looking for him. I heard her calling his name. That is why I have to be here even though I’m sick of the smell of damp earth and even worse, I’m fed up that my bottom is damp from sitting on grass. When he arrives, I will confront him. I’ll do it for Annabel. He is a bad person, a bad father and a bad husband. She deserves better and I want to know where she is. I can’t trust the police to do a good job. From what I see, they drive past the front every half an hour or so and do stuff all apart from take a quick glance out the window.
I hear a car door slam out the front and I wonder if it’s Grant. The police have only just done their rounds. If he’s watching too, he’ll know the coast was clear for a short while. Keeping back, I remain hidden out the back in the bushes, holding my breath as a man comes into view. I exhale as I watch as Annabel’s father appears in the kitchen. The light from the cooker clock glints off the one side of his face. He stops and stares out, almost meeting my gaze. I duck and take a few deep breaths, wondering if he saw me. I lift up my head and peer back at the window and he’s no longer looking out. Instead, he’s grabbing a couple of toys that must belong to Cally. Soon after he vanishes out of view. Maybe he’s in the hall. He’ll be gone soon.
Turning my head, I glance across the field, wondering if the person who murdered Taylor is watching me. It’s a dull day. The sky is one flat shade of grey with the threat of rain. I’m taken back to a moment when my mum sang a song about April showers while washing up and smiling at me. I think I must have been about five or six. Then I remember my dad joining in and it hits me for a second, how much I miss him. My loving, wonderful dad. Shivering that thought away, I stare back at the house and I can’t see Annabel’s dad. It looks like he’s gone but then I spot his car through the side entrance. He walks down the path, towards the garage at the back of the garden.
I tread on a twig and he stops. Heart pounding, I retreat behind a tree and hold my breath. I hear him opening the garage door and clattering around. He’s up to something but I don’t know what as I’m stuck behind this tree. In my mind, I picture Annabel. Her kind smile lights up her face. She always has time for me and talks to me. Everyone else at the school is mean. I’m sick of the kids picking on me because my father wasn’t born in this country, because my mother is poor and I don’t have branded trainers, because I’m good at maths. The list goes on. They just love to pick on me. That’s why I have this burning need to prove myself. I need to find Annabel, rescue her from her horrible husband and be the person to bring her home. I need people to see that I care, that I’m kind, that I’m a good person. Maybe they’ll leave me alone then. More than anything, I love Annabel and I need her to see that I care.
Swallowing, I close my eyes. She could never love a kid she teaches. I understand the law and I understand who I am and who she is, but I care. I will help her because I love her, then I will leave her alone and simply work hard at school.
I think of my mum talking to the police. Everything is a mess. They will know that I have her car and they’ll be on the lookout for it. Snatching my phone out of my pocket, I turn it off and remove the battery. This is what they do in films, then they stamp on their phones or throw them in the river. I won’t do that, though. I need this phone and my mum can’t afford another.
Annabel’s father continues to rummage. I place the phone and battery in my bag. No one can trace me. I am not giving myself up or going home until I find Annabel. I need everyone to know that I didn’t hurt Taylor and that I had nothing to do with taking Annabel or running over the other woman. Now my mum will be talking to the police and they will know I use her car, they’ll think it was me.
The noise in the garage has stopped and I wonder if Annabel’s dad has gone. Peering around the tree, I look around but I can’t see him. The car is still there but he is no longer in the garden. He’s not in the kitchen. My gaze moves up. He’s not in Cally’s bedroom or the bathroom. Where is he? For a second, I think I spot a person by his car alongside the house but I might be mistaken. It is more of a shadow.
