Lipstick and Lies (41 page)

I began to choke.
Nell thumped me on the back.

‘And after you’d made all this nois
e, how did it end?’ she asked.

‘Well unfortunately my leg jerked out and crashed against the steering wheel setting the airbag off.
It didn’t half make us jump.’

There was a pause while Nell and I tried to un
derstand the need for car sex.

‘So what’s all this got to do with a stud
farm?’ Nell eventually asked.

At that precise moment my mobile announced a text message.
I
leant sideways
.
Making a
long arm to the worktop
, I grabbed the handset
.
A message from Stevie.

Going away
.
Catch you later.

I stared at the text.
Odd.
Where was he going?
And would he be back in time for the weekend?
I knew Stevie had purchased top dollar tickets to take the twins to Billy Elliott
the
Musical on Saturday night.
Surely he wasn’t going to cancel after nearly bankrupting himself?
I tapped a message back.

Will you see Billy?

Rosie began to wail.
Nell heaved herself upright and went over to the playpen.
She lifted Rosie out.
‘I suppose I’d better get you fed Madam and then head back home.
There are a million chores I should be doing.
Shame on me for guzzling coffee and listening to stories about debauched sex and pensioners being pr
oposed to.’

Morag stood up and stretched.
‘All that talk about sex has made me quite up for it.
I think I shall find my husband.
Have another go at making a baby.’
She smirked in satisfaction.
‘I can
’t wait to be pregnant again.’

‘More fool you,’ said Ne
ll.

My phone a
nnounced another text message.

Yes, staying at Billy’s for a few days.
Talk soon.

I stared at the text message.
What on earth was Stevie talking about?
Something didn’t stack up here.
I hit the ring button.
Stevie’s voicemail immediately kicked in.
Oh for goodness sake.
I hung up irritably.
I’d give him a call later.
When Nell and Morag had gone
,
and the
air wasn’t filled with the sound of
wailing babies.
I tossed the phone onto the worktop
,
and went to
the playpen to pick up my son.

By the time I’d fed Eddie, cleared up coffee cups and plates
,
and made myself a quick sandwich, it was time for the school run.
I spent the rest of the afternoon working my way through manky PE kits and scrubbing football boots
,
before starting on a pile of ironing.
It was gone nine when I had the next window of opportunity to talk to Stevie without interruption.
But
,
as I reach
ed for the telephone, it rang.

‘Cass?’ asked
a
tremulous voice.
‘It’s
Charlotte
.’

Now there was somebody I hadn’
t expected to hear from again.

‘Hello
Charlotte
.
Is everything all right?’

‘No,’ she replied breathlessly.
‘
No, things are
not
all right.’

‘Wh
atever’s the matter?’ I asked.

There was a pause.
When she next spoke, her voice crack
l
ed with emotion.

‘
I think Stevie is missing.’

‘Missing?’ I gripped the handset.
‘What do you mean
you think Stevie is missing?’

‘I mean he’s not around.
He’s disappeared.
Without a trace.’

Ah.
Whilst
Charlotte
might believe Stevie’s absence to be worrying, thanks to my brief role as detective, I knew Stevie
wasn’t far
away.
And quite possibly
with Selina by his side.
The fact that she’d absented herself from work for an entire week
probably
meant the pair of them
were holed up in some
quaint inn with a roaring fire and personal service in hot tea and crumpet.
With Selina being the crumpet.

‘
Charlotte
, I don’t kn
ow how to tell you this, but–’

‘Oh my God.
What’s h
appened to him?’ she squawked.

‘Absolutely nothing.
He’s fine.
Really.
But the reason you can’t find him is – well there’s no other way of telling you
.
H
e’s met somebody else.
And he’s probably with her.’

There was a pause while
Charlotte
digested this.
‘B-but I don’t understand.
He’s not gone into work.’

‘Well he’s probably t
aken the week off as holiday.’

‘N-no,’ I sensed her shaking her head.
‘I was meant to meet Stevie in
London
today.
For lunch.
But he didn’t turn up.
And he’d been adamant about us getting together
to talk.
You see,
I’ve taken legal advice about staking a claim on half his house.’
Ouch.
‘Well I’ve co-habited with him for long enough,’
Charlotte
said defensively
.
‘Paid my share towards bills and maintenance
.
Made
the place look nice.
I don’t see why I shouldn’t walk away with a few thousand pounds s
o I can start all over again.’

‘Well obviously I can’t comment on that
Charlotte
.
It’s be
tween you and Stevie.’

‘I appreciate you’re going to tak
e his side,’ she said stiffly.

‘
Charlotte
, your relationship with Stevie is none of my business.
So there is no side for me to take.
And if Stevie failed to turn up today, that’s more
likely
because he’s feeling aggrieved
rather
than anythi
ng sinister happening to him.’

‘I
’m
telling you Cass, something isn’t right.
After work I drove round to his house.
I still have a key.
I let myself in and
tripped over a pile of mail.’

‘That’s because Stevie has been with this other woman.
At her place.’

‘So why hasn’t he taken his toot
hbrush and wash bag with him?’

‘Bec
ause he’s a slob?’ I ventured.

‘I went through his wardrobe Cass.
Every
thing is still there.
All untouched
.
He’s taken no spare clothing.
In fact I can probably tell you what he was wearing when he last walked out of his house.
I checked his underwear drawer
,
and also the laundry bin.
He hasn’t even taken a c
hange of underpants with him.’

‘Did you
find his wallet in the house?’

‘No.
He must ha
ve that on him.’

‘So
, if he’d left on a whim,
theoretically he could buy himself
a
fresh
change of
clothes
?
’

‘Well, put like that, I suppose so.
But the other thing is,’ she took a shaky breath, ‘nobody at Stevie’s work knows his whereabouts either.
He’s not
telephoned
to explain his absence Cass.
He’s not taken annual leave
.
And
other than phoning in sick on Monday with a bad back, nobody has heard from him since.
He told the Personnel Officer he’d
return to the
office on Tuesday.
Tomorrow is Thursday
,
and so far Stevie
has been a complete no show.’

I paused.
For all Stevie’s womanising faults
,
and lack of responsibility in a relationship, one thing he wasn’t apathetic about was work.
Okay, so he’d pulled a sickie on Monday pretending he
’d
had a bad back.
But he wouldn’t have done that unless his diary had been
qu
iet.
And he certainly wouldn’t have neglected to telephone the office without some sort of further explanation for
any
prolonged absence.
Even if it w
as just to dish out more lies!

‘I don’t know what to say
Charlotte
, other than I had a text message from Stevie earlier on today
.
S
o I know he’s okay.’

‘What did it say?’

‘Nothing much.
Just that he was going away.
He’s cancelled seeing the twins this weekend.
So there you have it.
I’m sorry.
Stevie
must have
this woman really bad to forego his kids and neglect his employers.
I
hope he doesn’t lose his job.’

There was a pause.
I sensed
Charlotte
trying to absorb the body blows one by one.
A failed relationship.
A man who had moved on from her without a backward glance
– and stood
her up with
out
even a text by way of apology.

‘Did S
tevie say where he was going?’

‘He mentioned he was stayin
g with somebody called Billy.’

‘Stevie doesn’t know anybody called Billy,’
Charlotte
sounded puzzled.

‘Billy probably doesn’t exist.
He was meant to be taking the twins to see Billy Elliott the Musical this Saturday.
When I asked if that was still on, he texted back saying he was staying at Billy’s for a few days.
It
wa
s probably the first name that came into his head
Charlotte
.
Honestly, Stevie tells so many lies when it suits him
,
I don’t think he can always keep track of the pork
ies
he’s telling.
You really are bet
ter off without him you know.’

‘Yes,’ she sighed miserably.
‘And I am ready to move on.
Promise.
I was just concerned.
But if you
really
think there’s nothing to be alarmed about.
Well
, I guess I’ll stop worrying.’

‘Tell you what, give me your mobile number and I’ll send you a text when I next speak to him.
Just to put your mind at rest.
How’s that?
’

I duly scribbled down
Charlotte
’s number before ringing off.
I felt desperately sorry for somebody so young and beautiful being passed over for the likes of a manipulative, lying bitch like Selina.
But then again, Stevie wasn’t exactly squeaky clean himself.
In fact, the more I thought about Selina and Stevie as a couple, the more well-suited they appeared to be.
Although God help that woman if she had designs on being my children’s step-mother.
Calm Cass.
Take deep breaths.
That would never happen.
The woman was a user.
She’d use both Stevie and Ethan for her own purpose.
Ethan would provide the fantastic job and lifestyle.
Stevie would provide the sex.
I retrieved my mobile
from the kitchen,
and
tapped in
Charlotte
’s number.

‘Who was that on the phone?’ Jamie wandered in.
He opened the fridge and peered inside.
‘I’m feeling peckish.
What can I
nibble?’