The Woman Next Door(39)

Instead, he walks past us to the back of the van, without glancing at either of us.

I stare at Melissa, my mouth circling in horror. Her face is a mask of shock as she follows him. I hurry after her.

‘What’s up?’ she says in a strange squeaky voice.

The AA man gestures at the lower end of the back of the van and then taps it with the toe of his boot. The proximity of his large frame – so near the body on the other side of those doors – makes my throat close over.

‘See that?’ he says in a relaxed tone. ‘One of your taillights is gone. Noticed it was smashed as I pulled over.’

Looking down I can see that, sure enough, there is broken glass or plastic or whatever it is on one of the lights. I realize with a plummeting sensation that this probably happened when I was reversing out of Melissa’s driveway. She shoots me a look that makes my skin shrivel, then clears her throat.

‘Really, it’s okay,’ she says then, and I wonder if it’s only me who can hear the tightness in her voice. ‘We’ll get that sorted when we get, um, home. You must have another job you should be getting to!’

The false brightness in her voice makes me think of the sound made when you run a finger around a wine glass. It’s too high, too sharp, not normal.

‘Nope, this is my last job,’ says the AA man, rolling his fist over a small belch. ‘Pop open the back of the van for me and I’ll sort it for you now.’

Melissa doesn’t move, and neither do I.

The man seems to turn slowly, taking us both in.

Everything seems to go very quiet. I am no longer aware of the passing vehicles.

I have the strangest notion that we will be stuck in this odd tableau forever: Melissa, the AA man, and me. Time is unable to move forward.

My mind fills with vivid images. I see the van being opened and the AA man peering in. Asking what’s in the back. Maybe reaching out in our silence and unrolling some of the plastic to see the cool, stiff flesh beneath. I picture the look of slight confusion and then horror on his face as he reaches into his pocket for his mobile phone. I see him stumbling back a little as he rings 999.

I think I’m actually going to vomit.

And then another picture comes to me. This time I see myself finding a rock from the side of the road. I see it smashing against his bald, shiny head and splitting it like an egg. Or maybe I could find some sort of heavy spanner from his own breakdown truck. I quickly try to calculate the chances of this working. He’s quite a big man. It would also be enormously problematic if we found ourselves with two bodies to dispose of.

What’s more, all his movements tonight will have been logged …

Melissa is speaking and I’m too flustered and caught up in my own panic to make sense of what she is saying.

‘No really, my husband has planned to sort that himself … we’d better leave it, but honestly, thanks a million. You’re a total gem.’

The AA man looks understandably confused. ‘Well, it won’t take a moment, love. And I really shouldn’t send you on your way with a defective light. Did you know the police can pull you over for that?’

I gaze at Melissa. I am shaking, hard, from my legs up to my chattering teeth.

The notion of finding some kind of heavy implement in his truck is starting to feel like our only option.

Melissa casts her eyes down and seems to hunch her shoulders, visibly shrinking.

‘The thing is,’ she says in a small voice, ‘I wasn’t really supposed to borrow the van at all. My old man is away on a golf weekend and my, er, cousin and I have been to a friend’s party. I was hoping he’d never know about this breakdown. I deal with AA stuff so there’s no reason for him to know. But if you mend the light …’

Despite how shaken I am, I notice that her normally well-spoken voice is morphing into an Estuary twang.

She looks up, slyly. But maybe he can’t see that. Men are so stupid sometimes. No woman would ever believe that story about a party when neither of us is remotely dressed for one.

But she hasn’t finished. ‘He has a bit of a temper, you see.’ This last bit is almost a whisper and she gazes at the AA man with wide eyes.

He seems to grow taller as she shrinks. This appeal to his testosterone has quite done the trick.

‘Okay love,’ he says in a gruff voice. ‘I get it. I’ll leave it for now but make sure he does get it fixed, won’t you?’

‘I will,’ she says, rewarding him with a sweet, melancholy smile.

‘And … love?’

‘Yes?’

‘Take care of yourself, won’t you?’

A few minutes later she waves him away. I haven’t been able to find my voice yet and wasn’t even able to thank him before he left, which is very unlike me. I put my hand to my chest, feeling my heart beat like a trapped bird against a window. Melissa turns shining eyes to me.

‘Christ! That was a bit close, wasn’t it?’

I get the sense that she is close to tears. Her chin trembles a little and she gives a slightly hysterical laugh.

‘It certainly was,’ I say quietly. Then, ‘Come on, we’d better go.’ The thought of driving again is monstrous right now but I lower my eyes and trudge back to the driver’s side.

‘Hester?’ says Melissa, as we settle back into our seats. ‘Do you mind if we stop for a bit at the next services? I need to pee and get some coffee. That whole thing almost finished me off. And we’ve got hours still, haven’t we?’