The Guilty Couple(63)

‘Are you a friend?’ The policeman returns to my side as I follow the paramedics to the ambulance.

‘Yes. We’re really close.’

‘What happened?’

‘I was coming round to see her and I …’ I tail off. Do I tell him about Dani? He’s a constable and she’s a detective. Until Smithy wakes up, or the police check the local CCTV footage, it’s Dani’s word against mine. A thought hits me. If there is CCTV footage they won’t just see Dani barging her way into the flat, they’ll see me almost pushing her into the road.

The police officer raises his eyebrows expectantly, waiting for me to continue.

‘I tried to open the door,’ I say, ‘and it wouldn’t open. I heard Kelly groaning and realised she was on the ground. When she stopped responding I rang for help.’

‘Had she been drinking at all? Has she got any medical conditions that may have caused a fall?’

‘No,’ I say. ‘She wasn’t, she hasn’t. I saw her earlier, she was fine.’

A frown furrows his brow. ‘Is there something you’re not telling me?’

‘No. Nothing. I don’t know what happened. Please, I need to ask the paramedics if I can go to the hospital with her. I need to check she’s all right.’

‘Okay, but I’m going to have to take some details first.’

I step from foot to foot, keeping an eye on the ambulance, as I answer his questions then leap away as one of the paramedics climbs into the cab. I wave desperately to get his attention.

‘Please can I come? I’m Kelly’s friend. She hasn’t got anyone else.’

‘Sure.’ He gestures for me to approach. ‘Get in.’

‘She’s not going to die, is she? Please tell me she’s not going to die.’





Chapter 45


DOMINIC


Dominic is in the men’s toilets on floor five of The Radcliffe Building. He’s been sitting on a closed toilet lid for the last half an hour, fighting to catch his breath. Once the urge to throw up passed he felt a pain in his chest so intense, so constrictive, he was certain he was having a heart attack. Then his ears began to ring, his fingers tingled and he felt like he was choking. He could see Rob, staring at him from across the office, his eyebrows knitted together in concern. Instead of feeling reassured that someone had noticed what was happening to him, Dominic was gripped by paranoia. Was Rob staring at him because he was acting weirdly? He felt weird – worse than that, he felt terrified. It was as though he was outside of himself, no longer connected to his body. A wave of fear sent him running to the toilets with his phone in his hand. He splashed water onto his face and stared at his reflection in the mirror, his pupils dilated, his skin flushed and water dripping from his chin. With the safe empty any power he had has vanished, his destiny is no longer his own. If the SIM cards end up in the hands of the police he’s going to prison for a very, very long time.

He taps out a message on his burner phone.

It’s gone. The safe is empty.

There’s no reply for a couple of minutes then,

What do you mean?

Beads of sweat form on his temples.

Exactly what I just said. EVERYTHING IS GONE. A fire alarm went off at work and when I got back the safe was empty. It has to be … he pauses. Liv’s completely fucking clueless. It has to be Dani. He never told her about the safe but she knows he’s got something on her. He bloody told her as much. Unless … he wipes his suit sleeve over his face as a new thought hits him. There’s only one person who knows about the safe …

Did you take it? he asks.

The reply arrives within seconds.

Why the hell would I do that?

Because you don’t trust me, Dom thinks but doesn’t type. And I don’t trust you.

His chest constricts and his breathing becomes shallow again. Was this the plan all along? To use him to get the loans and then stitch him up? Apparently they’re ‘in this together’ but someone’s been playing the long game, and now they’ve made their move.

If you take me down, Dominic types back then deletes it. Lashing out isn’t going to work. He’s already given too much away about his state of mind by throwing accusations around. What he wants is his share of the money and to get on with life with his daughter by his side. Dubai was never his idea. It was sold to him as a tax haven, somewhere he and Grace could be together and he wouldn’t have to worry about the courts or the police. Before he could suggest anywhere else flights had been booked and the tickets emailed to him in his and Grace’s names.

Of course you wouldn’t empty the safe, he types back. Panicking here. Has to be the cop.

He really, really hopes it isn’t Dani. Once she’s deleted the recording of their conversation and shredded her repayment schedule there’s nothing to stop her from destroying him. And she’s got everything she needs to do it. He looks up from his phone, his vision swimming. The sides of the toilet cubicle are pulsing, closing in on him, squeezing him into a coffin-shaped space. He presses his left hand to the wall and taps at his phone with the thumb of his right hand.

We need to move the package.

– No.

But if Dani has the phone.

– That proves nothing.

She’ll work it out.

– And we’ll be long gone