59
NICK
I text Alison and tell her that I need to talk to her alone, suggesting that we meet at the row of garages behind the shops.
She replies that she’ll be there in ten minutes.
‘I’m going to the shop for a paper,’ I call to Lizzie then hurry out before she can question me further.
When I reach the garages, Alison is already there, pacing around.
‘What’s this all about, Nick?’ she demands when she sees me walking towards her. ‘You’re taking a big chance, Lizzie is already suspicious about us.’
‘I don’t like going behind Lizzie’s back like this but I need to talk to you.’
‘What about? The big secret that you’re keeping from her?’
I gasp. ‘So it is you! You’re blackmailing me.’
Her mouth drops open and it’s a second or two before she gets any words out. ‘What the hell are you on about?’ The realisation dawns in her eyes. ‘You’re being blackmailed? About Arthur’s death?’
She looks genuinely shocked but she’s got to be faking it. It can’t be anyone else but her.
‘Stop lying, I know it’s you.’
She shakes her head. ‘You’re barking up the wrong tree here, Nick. It’s not me. I’ve had years to blackmail you over this, if I wanted to. Why would I now?’
‘I don’t know but everything has been a mess since you arrived.’
She jabs a finger at me. ‘George marrying Judith seems to have opened a can of worms but none of this is anything to do with me. Maybe you should just confess the truth to your wife, and mother-in-law.’
‘Why are you doing this? You promised to never breathe a word about what happened,’ I remind her.
‘And I haven’t. Someone else obviously knows your secret. Maybe they’ve been watching you all these years and think that you’ve benefitted very well over Arthur’s death, Nick.’
My blood runs cold. ‘What are you insinuating? You know it was an accident.’ God, it would have only taken me a couple of minutes to pull that extension cord out and put a warning sticker on it. Why didn’t I do it?
‘I don’t like being accused of blackmail, Nick. I’ve kept your dirty little secret all these years, but now it seems that someone else knows about it.’
‘It was your fault. You came on to me!’ I remind her. ‘I was about to go and get a safety sticker, but you distracted me. Everyone had gone home. I didn’t know Arthur would be coming back. Or that he would plug in the photocopier.’
‘Why blame me when I didn’t even know that the extension was faulty?’ Her gaze levels with mine. ‘It seems to me that someone else was there that day. They’ve seen how you’ve benefitted from Arthur’s death, worked your way up, practically run the company. Quite a coincidence I’d say.’
What the hell is she getting at? ‘I did it for Judith and Lizzie so they would be secure,’ I say furiously.
‘Really? Well it all seems a bit too convenient to me. Maybe your blackmailer thinks so to. Maybe they wonder if you knew that Arthur was coming back to do some photocopying. You could have known that he had a bad heart and an electric shock would cause him to have a heart attack.’
‘How dare you insinuate that I plotted to cause his death? I admired Arthur. I enjoyed working for him. What would I have to gain from that?’
‘Exactly what you’ve got, Nick. His company, his daughter, and his wife eating out of the palm of your hand.’
I stare at her, rage coursing through me.
‘I think you should tell Lizzie and Judith the truth before someone else does.’
She turns to walk away, and I grab her arm.
‘You’d better not be trying to blackmail me, Alison. If you are, you’ll be sorry.’
