The Missing Husband (32 page)

‘I think it’s time we all went home,’ Jo said turning to her mum, a chill wind causing a shudder to run through her.

‘OK,’ her mum said brightly, taking a moment to realize what her daughter meant. ‘No, Jo. I couldn’t leave you, not yet.’

‘I need to learn to cope on my own again,’ Jo insisted. Her mum had been a godsend and the thought of sending her back to the Lakes filled her with dread but, she reminded herself, her mum wasn’t disappearing into thin air, nor was she running off with a travel agent.

‘Maybe next week,’ Liz countered. ‘Besides, Steph’s going away this weekend and we promised to look after Lauren.’

‘
I
promised,’ Jo corrected. ‘And I can manage, Mum. I’m ready to stand on my own two feet again thanks to you.’

Liz stood up and before she wrapped her daughter and grandchild in her arms, she said, ‘You don’t have to thank me. I love you and I’d do anything for you.’

Jo caught her mum wiping her eyes as she pulled away. ‘And I love you too.’ Jo’s lips were trembling almost as much as her mum’s as they both tried to smile. ‘Go home, Mum.’

Liz took a deep breath then released it through pursed lips. ‘I suppose I do need to get back to see what kind of state your father’s left the shop in,’ she mused.

‘Well, if you need someone to come and help reorganize the mess, you know where I am,’ Jo said. Sensing her mum needed one final push, she added, ‘You’ve already made Steph and Heather swear to be at my beck and call if I need them. The worst is behind us, I promise.’

Jo coped well during the first few days on her own, although she spent precious little of that time actually on her own. Steph dropped in during her lunch hours and Heather came by on her way home from work. By Friday, Jo was tired of being kept under constant scrutiny and told them to stop fussing and keep away – she was determined to have a day without worrying about anyone watching her, seen or unseen.

This morning she had risen early after a reasonable night’s sleep. Archie had woken in the night only once and she was showered and dressed before he woke for his eight o’clock feed which he took with only a little resistance. He’d become used to his grandmother cosseting him throughout the day but while Jo still felt distinctly second best, he settled back down surprisingly easily.

She was feeling confident and looking forward to her first full day flying solo. She was toying with the idea of going on a shopping expedition to get some treats in for Lauren’s stay that weekend – she had decided that she would rather have Lauren at her house than move herself and Archie into Steph’s – when she glanced out of the living room window and spied Sally walking down the path.

The day was bright and clear, but as Jo stepped into the hall, only thin slithers of light trickled through from the outside world. The front door’s brooding eye had been closed, its lid made from a patchwork of multicoloured silk. It was a parting gift from her mum who had made the blind from two dozen deconstructed neck ties she had acquired from a charity shop. It was the perfect remedy to stop Jo from feeling anxious every time she passed through the hall, expecting a figure to loom large through the glass panes.

Approaching the door, Jo became aware of her breathing, which remained steady as did her pulse. A smile crept across her face as, without hesitation, she opened the door that she no longer needed to deadbolt because only she had a key.

‘Hello, Sally, this is a nice surprise,’ she said, although by the look on her sister-in-law’s face she wondered about that.

‘I don’t suppose there’s been any more news from the police about David?’ Sally asked once they were in the living room, having given Archie only a passing glance as he slept peacefully in his bassinet.

‘The police? God no, I don’t think they’re even looking for him now,’ Jo said. ‘If there’s going to be a breakthrough then it can only come from David or someone who knows more than they’re letting on. If I’m honest, I was hoping that person would be Steve. That day Irene thought he’d disappeared, I was hoping he might have gone straight to David and we’d be able to track them both down.’

Sally had a look of disgust on her face. ‘It’s a shame it wasn’t Steve who went missing in the first place! I don’t think David deserves whatever it is that’s happened to him – but Steve? Now there’s someone who deserves everything he gets.’

‘I take it there’s no chance you’ll let him back home then.’

‘What home?’ Sally asked bitterly. ‘The house is on the verge of being repossessed.’

Jo was dumbfounded. She watched her sister-in-law drop down heavily on the sofa and put her head in her hands before asking, ‘What’s happened, Sally?’

‘I’ve been such an idiot, Jo! Who in their right mind would let someone like Steve take control of the finances? I should have known he would go off the rails without David keeping him on the straight and narrow. In fact I
could
see it; I just let it happen. I was tired of beating my head against a brick wall and Steve’s habit was definitely a brick wall.’

‘Steve’s habit?’ Jo asked.

‘His gambling habit.’ Sally shook her head. ‘I take it by the look on your face David didn’t tell you, but then again I don’t think he truly appreciated how bad it was. Neither did I until the bailiffs turned up on our doorstep. That’s why I kicked him out.’

Jo stared at Sally in disbelief. She knew her sister-in-law only worked part-time and Steve’s job in a car factory wasn’t exactly well paid but they had always been relatively comfortable, or should have been, on paper at least.

‘He has gambling debts?’

‘Big ones,’ Sally confirmed. ‘The car’s already been repossessed.’

‘What will you do now?’

‘I’ve seen a solicitor to formalize the separation but our finances are a mess. We’re almost certainly going to lose the house and when that happens, I’ll be moving back home with my mum. Fortunately she’s more than happy if it means I’m finally shot of Steve.’ She looked up, blinking rapidly as she willed away angry tears.

Jo wiped her fingers across her mouth as if to rub away the feeling of Steve’s lips on hers. She had found yet another reason to find him repulsive. ‘I’m so sorry, Sally, I don’t know what to say. Irene was telling me he’s working lots of overtime so maybe he is trying to sort things out,’ she offered.

‘That’s what he’s telling her,’ Sally replied with a sniff. ‘Don’t take anything he says at face value, Jo.’

‘I’d rather not speak to him at all, if I’m honest,’ Jo said. When Sally gave her a curious look, she added, ‘I’ve had my fill of the Taylor brothers, I think we both have.’

‘Don’t think too badly of David, Jo. He was a good man; we both know that in our hearts.
I
certainly owe him a lot.’ Sally had her head bowed and was turning her mobile phone over and over in her hand. ‘I think the police should still be searching for him,’ she said, almost too quietly for Jo to hear.

Jo felt a shiver that gave her goose bumps. ‘Why? What makes you say that?’

‘I know you don’t want to hear this and I understand how it must be easier to think he’s left you rather than imagining something awful but it just doesn’t make sense. We
should
still be looking for him, Jo. I don’t know, maybe—’

‘No, you don’t know,’ Jo interrupted. ‘It’s not wishful thinking if that’s what you’re trying to say. There’s enough evidence to prove David’s guilt, Sally.’

‘Yes, but some of that evidence came from Steve and I don’t believe a word of it. I don’t accept that David was so afraid of becoming a father or so keen to travel the world that he would abandon you both, and you know what?’ she asked, finally looking up. ‘I don’t think Steve believes it either. He may
talk
about David running away but he
acts
like he’s never coming back, as if he
knows
he isn’t coming back.’

Jo’s mouth fell open in shock. ‘Are you saying you think he killed him?’

‘God, no, of course not! I didn’t mean it to sound like that, not at all. It’s just that … I get the feeling that Steve has reconciled himself to the fact that David must have died. He wouldn’t walk out on you, Jo. I think you know that but if you’ve forgotten then maybe you should look at this. I came across it the other day and I knew I had to show you.’ Before Jo could stop her, Sally pressed a button on her phone and turned the screen towards Jo. ‘Don’t you remember this? Is that the kind of man who looks terrified of becoming a father?’

Jo’s eyes were wide with shock so she could see the screen perfectly. When the video started to play, the first sound she heard was the tiny squeals of delight from Luke. He was sitting cross-legged on a leather recliner looking to his left at someone out of shot of the camera. He clapped his hands and shouted, ‘Again, again.’

A man’s arm could be seen pulling the lever on the side of the chair to raise the leg rest. A moment later, the man came into full view. David was wearing jeans and the jumper Irene had bought him the Christmas before last, which he hated but had worn to prove how much he loved his mum. When he glanced towards the camera he winked.

‘Oh, I’m so tired! I think I need to have a rest,’ he said.

With a hint of amateur dramatics, he sat down on the leg rest only for it to collapse beneath him, dumping him unceremoniously on to the floor. Luke’s resultant squeals verged on hysteria and then the camera started to shake. Sally could be heard laughing and Jo was there in the background too, but David’s laugh was the loudest. He had grabbed hold of Luke and was tickling him.

‘Stop it!’ Luke cried between breaths.

‘Stop it,’ Jo said coldly. ‘Stop it, Sally. Please.’

Sally shook her head. ‘Have you forgotten what he was like?’

Of course Jo remembered. It was the last Christmas they had spent together and it had been moments like this, watching David playing with Luke, that had formed part of the justification in Jo’s mind for ignoring her husband’s calls to postpone having a family.

‘Turn it off!’ she shouted. ‘What the hell are you doing, Sally? Do you really think I want to see David being the kind of father to your son that he’ll never be to mine?’

Sally stood up, tears welling in her eyes. ‘I’m sorry, Jo,’ she said. ‘I thought I was helping.’

‘Helping! How on earth is this helping?’ Jo said. ‘David might have adored Luke, but he didn’t want
my
baby. He called him little FB and do you want to know what it stands for? Fucking Burden!’ Jo spat. ‘David left me! He’s out there, Sally! He’s doing God knows what, but he’s out there! I may not have cute videos, but I certainly have plenty of photos of him creeping around town taking money out of his account!’

Sally was blinking away the tears. ‘He’s been seen?’

‘At a cash machine, twice!’

‘I – I didn’t know.’

‘How could you not know?’ Jo demanded. While the look of confusion on Sally’s face told her she clearly hadn’t known, it was still hard to believe. ‘OK, the last time was after you and Steve split up but the first time was back in November.’

‘I swear, Steve never said a word about it. I’ve heard you all talking as if you were sure David had left but no, I never knew why you were so sure. He’s alive?’ Sally asked, her relief palpable.

Jo wasn’t sure if it was the mixture of anger or fear that made her brain make previously unthinkable connections but she couldn’t stop herself. ‘Why do you care so much? For that matter, why did you come here, Sally? Do you want David back for yourself? Exactly how close were you?’

Sally’s jaw dropped open. ‘Jo, I don’t know what you’re suggesting but please don’t—’

Jo was already shaking her head as she recalled something Simon had said. ‘David treated Luke like a son. Was he? Was that one of his dirty secrets? Is it one of yours?’

‘No! Please, Jo, I know you’re upset but that’s ridiculous. You know David better than that! He loved you!’

It wasn’t so much the things she said but the look of horror on Sally’s face that brought Jo back to her senses. ‘Just go,’ she said quietly. When Sally didn’t move, Jo raised her voice. ‘Go! Get out of my house!’

After slamming the front door on Sally, Jo went through to the kitchen and locked the back door too, even though she wasn’t sure any more what she was trying to keep out. Was it David, Steve, Sally – or perhaps just her inner thoughts? Returning to the hall, she bolted the front door then double-checked that it wouldn’t open. Her white-knuckled hand refused to release its grip on the doorknob as she listened to the violent thump, thump, thump of her heart which all but drowned out the sound of Archie’s whimpers. She had woken him up when she had been yelling at Sally.

Reminding herself how far she had come, Jo refused to move until she stilled her mind, but the thoughts she had tried to evade were there already, spiralling out of control. It was making her dizzy as she chased one scenario to the next. Was the David she knew really capable of abandoning his wife? And if he wasn’t, then where the hell was he? What had kept him away? Was he being forced to take money out of his account? Was there another reason why had he sneaked back into the house?

The sound of the doorbell gave Jo a start but rather than release her grip on the doorknob, she pulled across the deadbolt with her other hand and then swung the door open so fast it startled her mother-in-law.

‘How are you, love?’ Irene asked, trying not to react to the look of terror on Jo’s face.

Jo’s mouth was bone dry when she tried to find her voice. ‘Irene, what are you doing here?’

‘Your mum phoned to tell me she was going home so I thought you might be missing a bit of mothering.’

As Jo let Irene into the house she tried to regain her composure. She had no idea how much her mum had told Irene about her anxiety attacks. ‘I’m much better,’ she said, hedging her bets.

‘I told Liz you must have been completely run down the way that tummy bug knocked you for six. You still look a bit peaky.’

Irene headed straight for the living room where Archie had worked himself up into a ball of fury after being left unattended. He was in quite a state and Jo was left wondering how long she had stood by the door. It had felt like just a moment but she guessed it must have been quite some time – long enough for Irene to arrive without bumping into Sally and for Archie to get upset because his mother wasn’t responding to his cries.