It takes me a moment to place why. She’s a little older than the photos, hair tied back, eyes sharper, but it’s her.
Emma.
Chris’s sister.
Chapter 28
TOM
For a beat, we just stare at each other, two strangers on a half-lit street with car engines ticking as they cool.
“You’ve been following me,” I say. It comes out sharper than I mean.
“Yes,” she admits instantly, like ripping off a plaster. “I’m sorry. Well… not sorry exactly. More like embarrassed I got caught.” Her hands go up halfway, defensive, but her mouth quirks in something almost like a smile. “Once, I followed a man for three hours across London because I thought he’d stolen my brother’s bike. Turned out it was his bike, and I’d basically stalked a stranger into a Pret. He bought me a coffee. Anyway — point is, my Miss Marple skills are ropey.”
My pulse is still thudding, but there’s something in her voice — tired, brittle, like she’s been running on fumes — that makes me hesitate.
“Why?” I ask, softer this time.
Emma exhales hard, like she’s been holding her breath all day. “Because I’m looking for my brother. Chris.”
I swallow. I almost say,I know, but it feels wrong to say it out loud.
She steps closer, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Up close, she’s well-dressed but frayed at the edges—creased blouse, mascara smudged just slightly under one eye. Like she’s been crying and then putting herself back together with duct tape and credit cards. A city girl gone feral.
“I’m sorry if I scared you,” she says. “I just… I had to see for myself. Who you are. If you’re another one of James’s friends.”
“I wouldn’t call myself a friend of James,” I say dryly, and something flickers in her expression — relief, maybe.
“Or Pete? You know Pete? I’ve seen you at his place.”
I nod. “Yes, I know Pete. So, you’ve been following me a while?”
She sighs. “Look, I’m just trying to find my brother, Chris. He’s disappeared.” She clumsily fiddles with her phone, before she shows me his picture on his screen.
Chris’s handsome face smiles back at me, like he doesn’t have a care in the world.
“Do you recognise him?”
I shake my head. “No, sorry, I don’t know him.”
Emma’s face sinks.
“But I knowofhim, Pete has mentioned him.”
Her eyes come to life. “What did he say? Did he say where he went? I need to know he’s alright.” Her voice edges to desperation.
“Sorry, no,” I reply, trying to stay calm. “I don’t know anything, just that he disappeared.
She falters.
“What do you think happened?”
Her voice cracks slightly as she speaks. “Before he vanished, I’d been getting some strange messages from him, saying he was sorry and had to leave. Then I never properly heard from him again. I’ll get a message from him randomly saying he’s safe, and then months will go by with nothing. When I call him, it always just goes straight to voicemail. Pete told me he had no idea where he’d gone. He was devastated. But then I found out about James being in the picture. I didn’t know about him before. And then they were living together in this house.”
The night feels heavier now, like the air has thickened.
Her shoulders drop just slightly. “All I want is to find him. To know he’s safe.”
