Eventually, Gail says, ‘I’m terribly sorry to have to be the one to tell you, Ian. I will let you know as soon as I have more information.’
‘Thank you, Gail,’ he manages.
He ends the call just as he arrives at Crooked Oak Cottage and pulls into the driveway. How on earth is he going to break that news to the Ashfords? He’ll have to witness them going through another ordeal, this one far worse than the previous one. He doesn’t want to be the one to do it. Technically, it’s not his role. But it will be better coming from him than some PC they’ve never met. Or worse, the PC that Iris dislikes so much.
Ian sits in the car for a minute or two, putting off the moment for as long as possible. Jo pulls into the driveway and parks behind him. He has to start up the car again and inch forwards so she has enough space. There are six vehicles parked in front of the house now – Carla’s, Ash’s and Daniel’s cars as well as his and Jo’s. And a Ford Fiesta. Ian has no idea who it belongs to. Only Iris’s car is missing.
He and Jo don’t seem to have attracted the attention of anyone in the house, so, before they go inside, Ian tells Jo about his conversation with Gail. Jo goes white and Ian thinks her pallor must mirror his own.
When he can’t put it off any longer, he knocks and goes inside without waiting for someone to come and open the door. Jo follows him.
Chapter 44
Carla
NOW
Shellshocked. I can’t think of any other way to describe it when Ian tells us the news. I knew before he said it. He made us all sit down first and that’s when it hit me. Someone – I think it’s Jo – brings me a weak, sugary tea and encourages me to drink it, but my hands are shaking too much. I hear wailing and I’m not sure if it’s me or Iris. Perhaps it’s both of us in chorus.
Time seems to have stopped. I have no idea how long we all sit in the living room – Ash; Iris; her friend, Tom, who is sitting on the floor because the armchairs and sofas are taken; Jo; Ian and me. Some of us – maybe all of us – are crying. I hear Ian – or maybe Ash – ask Jo about Yvonne. I can hear voices, but muffled, as if I’m sinking underwater. My lungs feel as if they’re full of water, too.
‘She was there. I saw her drive away. Like a madwoman. In her SUV. I told you.’
‘But you don’t even know the make and model of her car.’ Definitely Ian this time, although he is speaking in a whisper and what he’s saying isn’t really registering. I can hear the words, but they don’t make any sense to me.
‘I know Yvonne! I recognized her!’ Jo raises her voice. She’s not shouting, but until now the little that has been said has been spoken in hushed tones, and it stuns us all into silence. The wailing stops. Finally.
‘D’you think Yvonne caused the crash?’ Ash. He’s next to me, holding me or holding on to me. I’m not sure if he’s keeping me afloat or if it’s the other way round. I’m clinging to him as if I’m drowning and he’s my life raft.
‘I don’t know.’
‘They’ll check traffic cameras and ask for dashcam footage,’ Ian says. ‘Would Yvonne know Iris’s car? I mean, Iris hasn’t had it that long.’
‘I d-drove … Iris’s car when I went to Hilltop House … that d-day,’ I manage to say. I’m nowhere near as coherent as Ash, although his voice is unrecognizable. No one asks why I went there.
‘Could Yvonne have done this … deliberately?’ Ash asks Ian.
‘Perhaps she thought Iris was the one driving,’ Jo adds, her voice barely a whisper. ‘She may have cut her up or run her off the road or something.’
‘Let’s not jump to conclusions,’ Ian says.
He hasn’t finished, but the rest of what he says is lost to me. I’m having trouble concentrating, my mind numb to everything except the pain I’m feeling.
I’m not sure what we’re waiting for, who we’re waiting for. Someone to come and confirm it officially? Someone to take Ash and me to identify Olly?
I start crying again, less loudly this time, but just as uncontrollably. Ash holds me tighter. Tom leans forwards and hands me a tissue. I squeeze it up in my hand.
Karma. What goes around comes around. Olly killed Josh. And now he’s … oh, God, is my son really dead? Is that why he’s dead? Is it karma? Or is it payback? Did Yvonne do this on purpose?
There’s someone at the door. It must be whoever we’ve been waiting for. But they don’t knock. I hear the front door close. Someone’s inside the house now. There are voices, chatting, loudly. Two people, insouciant, unaware of the drama playing out in here. Recognizing one of voices, I whirl round, looking over my shoulder. The sudden movement makes my head spin and for a split second, I think I may pass out.
I feel the blood drain from my face. I’m sure I was pale before, but now I must look as if I’ve just seen a ghost. For a moment, I wonder if I have. Liv has just walked into the sitting-room, and behind her, his hands in his pockets, is Olly.
‘Olly!’ Iris jumps to her feet and throws herself into her brother’s arms.
‘Whooaa,’ he says, with a little laugh, as he stumbles backwards.
‘Olly?’ Ash sounds as bewildered – and relieved – as I feel.
