Silent Victim(59)

I quickly replied to the Facebook message, saying that I’d be there soon. After one last glance in the mirror, I pulled on my puffer jacket in the hall, popping my head into the kitchen to tell Alex I was going out. He seemed surprised by my departure, and when he asked when I was coming back I shrugged and said I wouldn’t be long. My excuse of an evening appointment with a client was met with some suspicion, and as he looked me up and down, I told him that the bride seemed more comfortable with casual dress. Telling him I was catching the bus, I bade him and Jamie goodbye, satisfied that I was doing something to get myself out of this awful situation. After what happened in the car park, I still could not bring myself to drive. I knew my attention would not be on the roads today.

I bounced in my seat as the bus chugged across the Strood. Twilight had taken hold, casting the landscape in dull and colourless uniform grey. The tide had withdrawn, and an array of yachts bobbed against the lull of the water that gently lapped at their sides. I gripped my handbag tightly, trying to muster up courage for what lay ahead. For so many years, thoughts of Luke had terrified me, the mention of his name enough to send me into a tailspin. But time was running out. The executioner’s axe was swinging over me. If Luke didn’t hurt me, then I would end up hurting myself, swallowed by acts of self-destruction. Now, more than ever, I needed to be brave.





CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

EMMA





2017


I wondered if it was a crime, pretending to be someone I was not. It wasn’t as if I could afford to get into trouble with the police. It was nothing short of a stroke of luck that I had found Noelle online. Either she hadn’t gotten married, or she had kept her maiden name. Luckily, there weren’t that many Priestwoods around Colchester. Once I’d found her advertisement online, I was able to get in touch on Facebook. She had lost some weight since our schooldays, but I recognised her straight away. I had no idea how she would react to me, given our brief encounter in our youth. After being dumped by Luke, I had tried to talk to her in town. But she had turned on me, screaming to leave her alone. I just hoped that today’s contact would provide a more favourable reaction. All I had to do was to befriend a mutual ‘friend’ and say I was interested in signing up to her network marketing business.

My nerves jittered as I walked into Wetherspoons, wondering if she would recognise my face. I had changed so much from the girl I used to be. Meeting Alex had turned my life around. It felt like a rebirth, going to university and living a normal life. It was only when I shared a house with other students that I realised my disruptive upbringing was far from the norm.

She had asked to meet in the Playhouse pub in Colchester. My profile picture had left her with little clue to my identity, but when I entered the bar I recognised her straight away. She had kind eyes behind her designer glasses and I could see a tiny bit of Luke in her. She was slimmer but not as tall as her brother, and her hair was a couple of shades lighter: brunette with a touch of sun-kissed blonde. The lines around her eyes suggested someone who was optimistic by nature. With her black dress and red court shoes, she made me feel underdressed. She extended her hand, gripping mine in a strong pumping action. I remembered my close encounter with my angry bride, imagining what Noelle would do with those fists if she were angry enough to take her frustrations out on me. But still, I felt a pang of sympathy for her. I knew what it was like to live without a family member, to feel the ghost of their presence, unable to move on. As we sat, I looked from left to right checking we had a quiet space.

‘You don’t remember me, do you?’ I asked, mirroring her smile.

‘I have to say your face rings a bell, but not your name. You’re local, aren’t you?’ Noelle said, tilting her head to one side.

‘Mersea Island,’ I said quietly. ‘I knew your brother, Luke, from school.’ I waited for an outburst, or at the very least some mumblings of disbelief. Instead, she took out her business folder, spreading a set of leaflets on the table in front of us.

‘Oh there’s lots of interested clients in Mersea Island, you should make a killing out there. There’s lots of people keen to supplement their income selling aloe vera, especially when it works so well.’ She spoke in full business patter mode, barely stopping for breath. She had either not heard my comment about her brother or she was deliberately choosing to ignore it. Being a businesswoman myself, I could see that her focus was on getting me to subscribe to her network marketing team. By the end of her presentation, her fingers were positively twitching as they held the pen for the sign-up form.

‘Have you heard from Luke lately?’ I said, my gaze falling to the paperwork on the table.

‘Why do you ask?’ she said, her smile fading.

I glanced at her, trying to mask the guilt I felt inside. ‘Oh, no reason. I heard he went off the radar and I was just wondering if you’d been in touch.’

It felt like the air was being sucked out of the room as she scrutinised my face. Like a worm baking under the sun, I squirmed under the heat of her gaze.

‘Has Luke sent you? Because if he has, I don’t want to know.’ She snapped the paperwork from the table, giving me nothing to look at as I tried to divert my eyes. Her chest was heaving now, as if she were short of breath.

‘I told you, I’m an old friend. Why, is there a problem with that?’ I straightened in my chair. I had been assaulted once already, I did not want to make a habit of it.