Luke. It had to be.
Kieran had never met him, but he’d heard enough from Beth and others – the estranged husband who’d done a runner to some island on a vague quest of self-discovery. Seeing him now was oddly jarring, as if a character from a story had stepped into the real world.
Beth laughed at something Luke said, though it sounded forced even from across the street.
Kieran’s chest tightened in a way he didn’t want to examine. He told himself to keep walking. He managed a few steps.
Beth reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear. Luke leaned closer: too close.
Something – jealousy, protectiveness, sheer stupidity – flared hot under Kieran’s ribs.
Go on,the voice whispered faintly.Say something.
He froze, looking around, heart thudding. No one was near. Just the sound of a car passing and the giggles of two young women walking in front of him.
‘No,’ he muttered under his breath. ‘Not this time.’
He shoved his hands in his pockets and strode off down the lane, ignoring the faint laughter that might have been Luke’s, the voice’s, or both.
The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur. Kieran went home, made tea, stared at his laptop until the words on the screen stopped making sense. The voice didn’t return and neither did Lisa, though every now and then Prom would look up sharply, as if hearing something Kieran couldn’t.
He gave up at six, having texted Lisa and received no reply, and wandered into the village. The Jekyll and Hyde glowedwarmly through another downpour, golden light spilling onto the wet pavement. He hadn’t planned to go in, but his feet seemed to decide for him.
Inside, the air was thick with the smell of beer and chips and the low hum of conversation. Ed was behind the bar, chatting with a customer, but there was tension beneath his smile. Kieran caught a few words about Ed’s mum not recognising the pub and felt a pang of sympathy.
‘All right, mate?’ Ed asked, pouring a pint.
‘Yeah,’ Kieran said, though he wasn’t sure it was true. ‘Is Beth about?’
‘Downstairs, maybe. Or she might have popped out. Sorry: Mum had an episode earlier, so it’s been a bit stressful.’
Kieran nodded, hesitated, then pushed through the side door that led to the basement.
The air down there was cooler, tinged with the faint metallic tang of old machinery. There was no sign of Beth. A pinball machine sat in the corner, its lights blinking lazily like a half-asleep eye.
He stared at it for a moment. Something about it made his skin prickle – not with fear, exactly, but awareness. As if there was a connection between it and the voice he kept hearing.
‘You’re losing it, mate,’ he murmured.
The machine gave a faintping.
Kieran jumped. ‘Bloody hell!’ He stepped back, heart hammering, and half-laughed at himself. ‘Right, enough of that.’
When he returned upstairs, Beth wasn’t around. The place had quietened: a few locals lingering over pints, Angela chatting softly with Ed.
Then he heard raised voices from the doorway. Beth’s, and a man’s.
‘Luke, don’t?—’
The door slammed. The sound cut through the pub like a gunshot.
Beth came in and stood just inside, pale and breathing hard, her phone clutched tight. Rain glittered on her hair. For a moment, she looked as if she might faint.
Kieran crossed to her without thinking. ‘You all right?’ he asked quietly.
She looked up, startled, as though she hadn’t realised anyone was watching. ‘I’m fine,’ she said, though her voice trembled.
‘You don’t look fine.’
