The Marriage Act(102)

‘Sure, what’s up?’

Freya glanced around the room, checking they weren’t being overheard. ‘I need to talk to you about something sensitive. It’s regarding your mum.’

Will’s body language altered immediately. He moved back in his seat and folded his arms. ‘If you want me to ask her to lobby for you, I’m afraid you’ll have to go through official channels. I have no influence on her . . .’

‘No, it’s nothing like that. It’s more of a . . . personal . . . nature. Do you mind if we sit?’

Will nodded.

‘I need your help with something.’

‘Again, I can’t help. She and I are busy people so we don’t see each other very often. You know how it is.’

Corrine lowered her voice. ‘I understand, Will, but I think there’s more to your estrangement than that. I watched you in that interview she gave after claiming she’d been attacked. You knew she wasn’t telling the truth.’

‘I don’t know what you mean.’

‘I think you do. And I think you’ve discovered certain . . . behaviours . . . that have upset and disturbed you. And that’s why the two of you no longer have a relationship.’ Corrine had no evidence to suggest whether her theory might be factually accurate, or if she just wanted it to be.

Will opened his mouth as if to argue, then stopped himself. And Corrine knew her hunch was correct. But now came the difficult part.





88


Anthony




The two vehicles parked side by side in Anthony’s garage had not been used in weeks. Anthony had barely left the house. There had been no more project meetings in London, no unauthorized visits to Freedom for All gatherings nor runs to clear his head.

But, today, there was somewhere Anthony needed to be. His estrangement from Jada and Matthew was coming to an end once their flight from Orlando landed later that afternoon. And nothing was going to stop him from greeting them as the doors to arrivals opened. The idea of it flooded him with joy until he caught his reflection in the car’s wing mirror. He turned away before he could completely take in this shadow of his former self. God only knew what Jada would think when she saw his hollow cheeks, red eyes and flashes of cobweb greys that seemed to have appeared in his hair overnight.

As the gullwing door to his vehicle opened, he climbed inside, pushing the ignition button in the centre of the steering wheel. A red battery sign illuminated on the dashboard warning that it had run out of charge. He cursed himself for forgetting to switch on the charging pads embedded in the garage floor. Anthony entered Jada’s vehicle instead, a more modern autonomous car than his own. Vehicles like this came without steering wheels or an option for manual driver control, which always made him nervous. He’d not forgotten the terrorist attack on British vehicles years earlier in which hundreds were taken over remotely. But there was too much to be done today to await a taxi.

Anthony dictated the airport’s address into the satnav, and then removed a scrap of paper from his pocket containing a second address, which he also read aloud. An animated map appeared on his screen as he slipped his hand into his jacket and wrapped his fingers around an object to reassure himself it was still in his charge.

His head felt simultaneously alert yet foggy as the car made its way through the streets of New Northampton. Weeks of working twenty-hour days on two separate projects – one for Hyde and the other for himself – was culminating in his near exhaustion. He had pushed himself harder and further than he ever had before and would ever do again. Today he was running on caffeine and adrenaline.

But the light at the end of the tunnel was finally in sight. As long as Jada was on board with the next part of his plan, they’d be driving through France by nightfall. Switzerland would follow before they caught a flight from Milan to Saint Lucia. The profit made from the forthcoming sale of the house would be deposited straight into an offshore and near-undetectable Seychelles account his brother-in-law had opened. It would offer them breathing space before they’d need to seek employment again.

Anthony relaxed into his seat and allowed himself to daydream of years to come spent on balmy beaches, with endless pale-blue skies above them, silver shimmering oceans as far as the eye can see and as little technology as he could get away with using. And, as the autonomous car drove itself, his eyelids began to droop as he envisaged a new family dynamic, one in which he was a key player and no longer a spectator. He was going to prove to Jada and Matthew that he was worthy of them.

And he would also leave behind him the memory of Jem Jones. To move forward, he had to forget about her. Only now could he admit to himself that he had loved her, despite the absurdity of it. He’d built her up into something she wasn’t and never could be. Too much time had been wasted obsessing over a person who never loved him back.

‘Good afternoon, Anthony.’

‘Fuck!’ he yelled as he jumped, his eyes saucer wide. How long had he been asleep? The voice was so crystal clear he turned quickly to see if it was coming from behind him. The rear seats were empty.

‘Did I wake you up?’ it came again. It was Hyde’s voice coming through the speakers. ‘I didn’t mean to scare you,’ he continued, but Anthony knew that he did. ‘How are you?’

‘Okay, thank you,’ he replied coolly, trying to mask his unease.