The One You Trust (14 page)

Dan was unconvinced. ‘We don’t know that.’

Will was thinking. ‘What about Peter Myers? He could have told someone else, maybe someone he met in jail, or someone on the outside.’

‘But that doesn’t explain how the person got hold of the photograph,’ Dan said. ‘Peter Myers wouldn’t have had access to that, unless he knew Stuart.’

Will turned to his sister. ‘What do you think, Em?’

‘I don’t know if Sally’s behind all this. But it would make sense, after what she did last time.’

Will seemed deflated by Emma’s response.

‘Why don’t you think it’s Sally?’ Lizzy asked him.

‘I just don’t,’ he said. ‘The person who called Dad was a man.’

‘But Sally worked alongside a man last time,’ Dan said. ‘She could just be doing the same now.’

‘Maybe,’ Will said. And suddenly he was thinking about the ginger-haired man whom he had seen talking to Sally in the park. Could she be doing this? Could he have been deceived, for a second time?
Have I been taken for a complete fool?

Emma noticed his consternation. ‘What are you thinking, Will?’

He breathed out. ‘I don’t quite know how to say this. You’ll probably think I’m an idiot.’

‘We won’t think that,’ Emma reassured.

‘You haven’t heard what I’ve done yet.’ He took a breath. ‘I’ve, um, been seeing Sally.’

Everyone in the room was stunned into silence.

‘Seeing . . . as in,
dating
?’ Emma said.

‘Well, yes, no – I mean, not dating, but meeting up.’

Emma watched her brother struggling for an explanation. She felt sorry for him, as he looked very uncomfortable, but she genuinely couldn’t understand what she had just heard. ‘I don’t understand, Will. Why would you meet up with Sally?’

He closed his eyes. ‘Because I still love her.’

Emma just wanted to hold him. ‘Oh,
Will
 . . .’

‘I know I’m an idiot,’ Will said. ‘And I know it probably makes absolutely no sense to you all, after what happened, that I’d get in touch with Sally. But I just had to see her, and find out what she had to say, and how she felt about me.’

‘And what did she say?’ Emma said.

‘She said she was really sorry for what she did; that she was ashamed of herself. She said how she’d been in a terrible depression since Stuart’s death, and that she hadn’t been herself. And I believed her.’

‘Did you tell her how you feel about her?’

‘Yes.’ Will swallowed. ‘I didn’t really mean to, but it just sort of came out as we were talking. I suppose I couldn’t help myself.’

‘So what did she say about that?’

‘Well, she didn’t say that she felt the same way,’ he said, with some regret. ‘But I think she does want us to be friends.’ Will noted Dan and Lizzy’s continued silence. ‘You both think I’m crazy, don’t you?’

‘Actually, yes, I do,’ Lizzy replied. ‘But I also think you’re very sweet, and a romantic. If that’s how you feel about her, then I can understand you doing what you did. I wish there was someone I loved that much, to do something so crazy.’

Will looked at Dan. ‘How about you?’

‘You’re definitely crazy,’ Dan said. ‘But I know how I feel about Em, and if you feel the same way about Sally, then I can totally understand. Even though it does sound like madness that you would want anything more to do with the woman who had planned to send you plummeting into the ground without a parachute.’

Will nodded, sadly. ‘But now you think that she’s behind the blackmail, and the letters. And you’re probably right. In which case, she’s playing games with me again, making a fool out of me.’

‘I’m so sorry, Will,’ Emma said. ‘She might not be doing this, but she is the obvious choice.’

‘So what now?’ Will said, looking at each of the three in turn. He seemed drained of emotional energy, and looked completely defeated. ‘You’re going to tell the police about your suspicions of Sally?’

‘Did you call them today?’ Emma directed her question at Lizzy.

‘No,’ she replied. ‘I was going to, after I got back from work, but I decided to wait until we’d had the chance to talk about it all a bit more.’ She shrugged. ‘I don’t know why I didn’t call them. But you know how much I dislike dealing with the police. I should probably call them first thing tomorrow – unless we just call them now?’ She looked across to Emma for a response.

‘Maybe it’s not such a good idea at the moment,’ Dan said, before Emma had a chance to reply.

‘How do you mean?’ she said.

‘Well, if Sally is the blackmailer, and she knows about what Will did, then maybe it’s not a good idea to go to the police right now. We might need to think about things more carefully before taking that step.’

‘Why?’ Lizzy said. ‘Because the truth might come out?’

‘Maybe,’ Dan replied. ‘She might decide to just tell the police if she thinks we’re on to her. If she’s still feeling low and that maybe she has nothing to lose, then she might take Will down with her.’

‘If it
is
Sally,’ Will added.

Dan nodded. ‘Yes, of course, if it is her. But do you really want to take that chance – antagonising her, and risking everything?’

‘No, I guess not,’ Lizzy said.

‘Then what do we do?’ Emma said. ‘Nothing?’

‘No, not nothing,’ Dan said.

‘Go on, then,’ ‘What do you think we should do?’

Lizzy was interested. ‘Well, as I said, I don’t think we should do anything to rock the boat. But we’ve got two weeks to decide what to do. And, Will, I think you could really help.’

Will looked hopeful. ‘How?’

‘Well, you’re the only one of us who can get close to Sally without her becoming suspicious.’

‘I don’t like the sound of this.’

‘It’s okay,’ Dan said. ‘I don’t think you should do any more than you’ve been doing.’

‘I’m not sure I understand what you mean.’

‘I mean, just keep seeing Sally, meeting her, talking to her. She might reveal something, let her guard down.’

Will sighed. ‘I did see something,’ he said, reluctantly. ‘I saw Sally talking to a man. I was watching from a distance, so I don’t know what it was about. It might have been nothing, but I guess it may have been linked to this.’

‘You didn’t recognise him?’ Emma asked. ‘It wasn’t Scott Goulding?’

‘No, it definitely wasn’t him. This guy had ginger hair, and he was taller and broader shouldered than Scott Goulding. But I don’t know who it was. I didn’t ask her about it, of course.’

‘And would you be okay,’ Emma asked, concerned, ‘seeing Sally, with the possibility that she’s lying to you?’

‘Yes,’ he replied, ‘because I’m still not convinced, and I want to give her a chance to prove us wrong. I don’t want to assume the worst.’

‘You just need to keep your eyes and mind open,’ Dan cautioned.

Will nodded.

‘And what about you, Lizzy?’ Emma said. ‘Are you okay not going to the police yet? After all, you’re the one this person has been targeting the most.’

‘I’m okay with that,’ Lizzy said, nodding. ‘I don’t really feel that threatened by what’s happened so far. If I’d been bothered, then I would have gone to the police straight away, wouldn’t I? Maybe I’ve just become accustomed to this kind of thing, after everything that’s happened.’ She rolled her eyes dramatically, attempting to lighten the mood. ‘And, to be honest, compared to what happened with Peter Myers, it’s just irritating. How do you feel, Em?’

‘I’ve got to admit, I feel uncomfortable about it all. But if you’re all okay with it, then I’m okay. On one condition.’

Dan raised an eyebrow. ‘And that is?’

‘If this person gets any more threatening, then we go to the police straight away.’

They all agreed.

They opened a bottle of wine and tried to talk about other things. And, despite the near-impossibility of the task, the atmosphere improved significantly, with talk of the honeymoon in Mauritius, and the latest celebrity gossip. Even Will seemed to forget his problems, laughing and joking along with the others.

It had just turned ten o’clock when the friends were quietened by the landline’s shrill ring.

Emma’s reaction was the same as that of the others: unexpected phone calls at that time of night were instinctively unsettling. She answered, praying that it wasn’t bad news.

‘Hello?’

‘Hello, is that Emma Holden?’

The voice was familiar. ‘Yes, it is.’

‘Good. Hi, Emma, it’s Detective Inspector Mark Gasnier. I’m very sorry to call you at such a late hour, but I’d like to come over and see you now, if that’s okay. You’re living at the same address?’

‘Er, yes, that’s fine. What’s happened?’

‘I’d really like to speak to you in person.’

Emma looked over to the others. They were all radiating anxiety. ‘Okay, that’s fine.’

‘Excellent. I’ll be there in ten minutes. I’m not far away.’

Emma replaced the receiver. She had been unnerved before picking up the phone, but she felt sick now. ‘That was Mark Gasnier. He’s coming over here right now. I don’t think it’s good news.’

Chapter 19

Edward Holden rapped on the door and waited for an answer. He had been certain of what he was doing up until that point, but now he was having second thoughts.
What if I’ve jumped to the wrong conclusion?
If he had, what he was about to do could backfire badly.
But it was too late. He could hear someone coming.

‘Who is it?’ a girl’s voice asked on the other side of the door. It didn’t have a spyhole, so it was prudent of her to want to know who was there, particularly at this time of night.

He thought about lying, but decided against it. It would be interesting to see her reaction to the truth. ‘It’s Edward Holden. Will’s father.’

There was a pause. He was about to speak again when he heard the lock click, and the door edged open.

Sally peered around the half-open door. She was dressed in a blue T-shirt and pastel pink lounging trousers, her blonde hair pulled back into a loose ponytail. Edward could see why Will had fallen for her. She was effortlessly attractive. ‘Why are you here?’

‘I need to speak to you,’ he said.

She was obviously puzzled. ‘But it’s really late. Anyway, how did you get my address?’ She pushed the door ever so slightly nearer to the closed position.

‘I got it from Will,’ he said, telling a half-truth.

‘It’s really late,’ she repeated.

‘It’s important,’ he said. ‘I wouldn’t be here at this time of night if it wasn’t.’

Sally looked behind her towards the inside of her flat, then nodded and opened the door.

Edward wasn’t invited to sit down, but he preferred to stand anyway; he wasn’t planning on being there long. ‘I’ve come to tell you to stop what you’re doing. I know what’s going on.’

‘Pardon? Stop what?’

Edward searched her face for a trace of guilt. She just looked confused.
God, I hope I’ve got this right.
‘You know what I’m talking about.’

‘I’m sorry, but I really don’t.’

‘Just leave my family alone. You’ve done more than enough to hurt us, so please just have the decency of disappearing from our lives.’

Sally’s face cleared a little. ‘I’m afraid that’s not your decision. Will is big enough to decide for himself what he wants to do.’

Edward shook his head. So he
was
right. ‘Look’ – he pointed at her – ‘you’re not getting a penny from me or my family, do you hear? Not a single penny. We were very good to you – we could have pressed the police harder for charges to be brought, and this is the way you repay us, with a seedy attempt at blackmail? I don’t know how you live with yourself.’

‘Money? Blackmail?’ The girl looked genuinely shocked. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m not blackmailing anyone.’

‘Don’t bother denying it.’ He could hear his voice rising.

‘I
am
denying it!’

Edward could feel himself sliding into a hole. Either she was lying, or he had indeed made a costly rush to judgement. He had to pull things back, fast, otherwise it could all unravel and he would be left sinking in the pit. ‘But I thought . . .’

‘I don’t know what you thought, but you’re wrong. Look, I’ve done some bad things, but I’m really sorry for what happened, and as far as Will is concerned, he’s happy to accept that and move on.’

Edward was taken aback. ‘You’ve spoken to Will?’

‘Yes, of course. I thought he must have told you.’

‘No, no, he hasn’t. You’ve been seeing one another?’

‘A couple of times, yes. But you should really talk to Will about this, not me.’

Edward was perturbed. ‘You’re dating?’

‘You need to talk to Will,’ Sally repeated, ‘but we’re not dating, no. We’re just friends.’

‘
Friends?
After what you did?’