Chapter 42 Ash
Ash
NOW
He has three missed calls and a voicemail.
All from Carla. He listens to the message, but it’s garbled and he can’t make out much of it.
Something about a car accident on the link road.
Carla mentions Iris, Olly, Jo and, strangely, Yvonne, and so he can’t work out who – if any of them – is involved in the crash.
Carla sounds absolutely frantic, which makes him panic, although he tells himself not to get worked up until he knows what has happened.
He tries to ring her, but he can’t get through.
Maybe she’s on the phone to someone else.
He puts on his shoes, jumps into his car and drives – much faster than usual – to Crooked Oak Cottage, hoping that’s where she is.
On the way, he instructs Siri to call Olly.
But Olly isn’t answering either, which does nothing to calm Ash’s nerves.
He reasons with himself, aloud. Olly spends that much time on his mobile, you’d think his hands were surgically attached to the damn thing, and yet he hardly ever answers when Ash calls him.
Carla’s always whingeing about that, too.
So if Ash can’t get hold of Olly, it’s not necessarily a cause for alarm.
He skids to a halt in the driveway of Crooked Oak Cottage and flings off his seatbelt. Carla opens the front door before he reaches it. She’s ashen and her eyes are red-rimmed, as if she’s been crying. She holds open the door for him to come inside.
‘What’s going on?’ Ash asks, kicking the door closed behind him.
‘There’s been a car accident on the link road. I think it’s Olly,’ Carla gushes, ‘in Iris’s car.’
Ash frowns. Olly left his place with Liv, in her car. ‘Carla, I don’t think—’
‘I asked him to take Iris’s car to the garage. And then Jo rang to say a car, just like Iris’s, had been involved in a bad crash.’
‘Like Iris’s?’ Ash echoes.
‘Yes. A powder blue Twingo.’
‘Loads of people have—’
‘With green “P” plates.’
‘Oh. Oh God.’ That does sounds like Iris’s car. Ash tries to come up with an alternative scenario, as much for himself as for Carla. ‘Are you sure Olly took the car in?’
‘Yes.’
‘Did you see him drive off in it? Only, he left my place with Liv. In her car. At around lunchtime.’
But even before Carla answers, Ash remembers why Olly left. He had to run some errands. Ash thought it was an excuse, but it looks like Olly was telling the truth after all.
‘Yes, to take in Iris’s car.’ Carla’s voice is a mixture of impatience and fear. ‘I asked him to do it. He had to take it in for two this afternoon. I went for a walk with Cheddar and when I got back, Olly had left with the car.’
They’re still standing in the hallway. Ash leads Carla into the kitchen. He gets her seated at the table and then pours her a glass of water. He sits down next to her. She sips from the glass, holding it in one hand while she clutches her mobile in the other.
What should they do next? Ash’s heart is pounding and he feels light-headed. He imagines Olly at the wheel of Iris’s car, thinking about handing himself in for murdering Josh and allowing himself to be distracted while he’s at the wheel. Olly is heavy-footed on the accelerator at the best of times.
He already knows Olly isn’t answering his phone. ‘Have you rung Liv?’ he asks Carla.
‘I’ve rung everyone I can think of,’ Carla says. ‘Jo rang me and she was going to ring Ian. I’ve rung Iris. She’s on her way home. And Olly, Liv and Daniel aren’t answering. Daniel went out for a bike ride. I couldn’t get hold of Jo again either. She’s probably on the phone to Ian.’
And with that, Carla bursts into tears. Ash puts his arm around her shoulders and pulls her in close.
‘Try not to worry,’ he says. He can hear the panic in his voice.
He should take his own advice before he makes things worse.
He clears his throat. ‘I’ll ring Roly.’ He wants to do something useful, but it’s the only thing he can think of to do.
‘Ash.’ Roly answers straightaway and Ash sighs with relief. He needs his best friend. And if anyone can find out what’s going on, Roly can.
‘I’m at Crooked Oak Cottage,’ Ash manages. ‘Jo rang Carla—’
‘I’m on my way to Carla’s right now,’ Roly says. Ash has loads of questions for him, but before he can ask them, Roly adds, ‘I’ll be there as soon as I can. In the meantime, can you text me the registration number of Iris’s car?’
‘Yes, but Roly …’
‘Yes?’
‘Iris isn’t in the car—’
‘Thank God for that.’
‘—Olly is.’
‘Shit.’ There’s a long pause. ‘I’m on my way,’ Roly repeats at length. ‘Try not to worry. It’s probably not even Iris’s car. Hopefully, this is all a false alarm.’
Ash manages to grunt a reply before he ends the call. Carla has to hunt out the papers for the Twingo so he can send Roly the plate number.
It’s only when he has sent the message that he remembers Carla mentioning Yvonne in the voicemail message she left him. What the hell does Yvonne have to do with anything? He has no idea why this has suddenly come back to him now, but he is engulfed by a wave of intense fear.