Josh! Had he come back to haunt her?
She took a step forward – and then almost had a heart attack as a great fat wood pigeon swooped upwards from the garden to land with a claw-scraping thud on the roof.
Twit.She chastised herself and took a deep breath, trying to slow her rapid heartbeat. She was beginning to get the jitters being here on her own. Not surprisingly when she saw Josh every night in her dreams; the way he’d looked at her that time in the pub when she’d hinted she would tell his parents what he’d been up to – as if she’d punched him. Bits of his body pressed to the train tracks like dog meat, that was what had woken her screaming last night.
Feeling hot and clammy, despite being soaked to the skin, she stepped towards the conservatory. Her imagination had obviously gone into overdrive, but she would be happier if the lights were on in there. Jemma going quiet on her hadn’t helped her nerves. If she wasn’t careful, she’d end up as neurotic as Cassie. She wondered how the woman was faring out there in deepest Herefordshire. She would be a bit lonely, she expected, especially if she’d seen the photo Kim had sent her. It was a good one of Adam, who really was worth his weight in gold. He’d obviously thought he should remain loyal to someone who was nothing but a drain on his emotions, just because he was married to her. Kim doubted he’d be feeling so devoted now. Judging by the venom Cassie had been spitting on the patio when they’d argued, she was willing to bet the woman would go apoplectic when she got back from her little holiday to find everything less than immaculate in the bedroom. She was banking on it, in fact, sure that Adam, however caring he was, would throw his hands up in despair and realise he’d had enough. And then poor deranged Cassie would be all on her own, which was no less than she deserved after all she’d done. If it wasn’t for her, Josh would still be here. He would have had his eyes opened to what a selfish creature Jemma Anderson was and been with Kim instead, someone who would love him in spite of his flaws, who would be there for him, prepared to devote her whole life to making him happy.
Fifty-Three
Adam
Adam couldn’t help overhearing the work phone call Ryan had taken on his hands-free as they drove. His mind on Cassie, he wasn’t taking much notice until Ryan mentioned rolling stock and trains. ‘Tell him it’s in his job description,’ he said to the colleague who’d called him. ‘He’s on call-out to attend to emergency maintenance and repair of trains. If he doesn’t like it, he’s out of a job, end of.’
He worked on the railways. Adam felt every sinew in his body tense. The man had known that Josh had had an affair with his wife, that Josh was the father of the child she’d been carrying. His mind raced, apprehension tightening his stomach as he realised the possible implications. What would Ryan’s state of mind have been when he’d found out? He would have been furious, consumed with jealousy. How could he not have been?
A frightening scenario unfolding in his head, Adam breathed in hard. He had to pursue it. He had no choice but to. He just couldn’t escape it, the feeling gnawing away at his gut that Josh hadn’t simply fallen that night. ‘Problems at work?’ he enquired, forcing a casual tone.
‘Usual crap.’ Ryan emitted a heavy sigh. ‘Some idiot looking for excuses not to do his job. I end up going out myself half the time.’
Adam nodded understandingly. ‘The joys of being in charge,’ he said, glancing sideways at him. Ryan kept his gaze fixed forwards. He wouldn’t offer up information about his job, surely, if he’d had anything to do with what had happened to Josh. He would be more vague about what he did for a living. But still Adam had to ask. ‘When did you find out about Josh and Jemma?’ he ventured, while he tried to get his thoughts in order. ‘Were you aware of the affair before he died?’
Ryan didn’t answer, glancing guardedly at him.
‘I just wondered whether you’d wanted to confront him,’ Adam pushed on. ‘I know I would have.’ He saw Ryan’s grip on the steering wheel tighten, gathered he was getting the gist of where this was going.
‘I was his mate,’ Ryan reminded him. ‘I came to his funeral.’
Yes, and Adam would have done that too, had he wanted to deflect suspicion from the fact that he had confronted him. A confrontation that had possibly ended disastrously, whether by accident or design.
‘In answer to your question, no, I didn’t know for sure then,’ Ryan went on, definitely sounding guarded now. ‘I suspected she might have been seeing someone. She was going out a lot, drinking a lot. It’s a small community. The jungle drums tend to go into overdrive when there’s something to gossip about.’
Adam smiled wryly at that.
‘She was desperate to keep it from me, as you can imagine. It took me a while to piece things together.’
Adam’s heart stalled.Howdesperate? he wondered, his mind swinging to Jemma, and how much she might have had to lose. He had to get to Cassie, work out what the hell was going on. Whatever this mess was about, it had started the day Josh had died. Someone was responsible. He was determined to find out who and why. Calling her number again, his head snapped up as an unmistakable blue light swept the interior of the car.
‘Shit,’ Ryan muttered as the inevitable siren wailed behind them, beckoning them to pull over. ‘My brake light’s out. You’d think they’d have something better to do, wouldn’t you?’
Christ, just what they didn’t need. Adam cursed agitatedly.
Fifty-Four
Kimberley
Kim stepped out of the conservatory, scanning the garden as she snapped the doors closed behind her. The thought had occurred that Cassie might be here, snooping around, but that wasn’t likely, she realised, the frantic beating of her heart abating a little. As far as she knew, Cassie wasn’t back. In any case, she never went anywhere near the garden without being kitted out in the right gear: gardening gloves, knee pads… She would hardly be standing about in the dark getting soaked without good reason.
She did have a reason, though. She was probably trying to scare Kim off. Her heart rate skittering up again, Kim decided that calling Adam might be her best bet. If the woman had gone completely off her trolley, he needed to come and get her. Selecting his number, she headed back into the dining room, kicking off her shoes and continuing on to the lounge – where she stopped dead, her heart slamming full force into her chest.
‘Cassie.’ She gulped and smiled weakly as the woman stepped out from the shadows.
‘Kim.’ Cassie smiled sweetly back, which sent goose bumps the entire length of Kim’s spine. ‘How are you?’
‘Fine.’ Looking her over warily, wondering what she was up to, how the hell she’d managed to get in, Kim swallowed again and took a step back.
‘Where is he?’ Cassie asked, her tone calm, her face neutral, which did nothing to appease Kim’s growing apprehension.
‘Who?’ she asked, her eyes swivelling in the direction of the conservatory as she backed into the dining room. Should she lock herself in there? She tried to still the panic climbing her chest and think what to do. Should she bolt for the back door?
