Chapter 31 Dominic
DOMINIC
The sky is starting to dim by the time the lads wrap up their training session, leaving the field drenched in sweat and laughing.
The kit boys start packing everything up, and I saunter towards a forgotten ball near one of the goals.
I nudge it back and forth with my feet, before punting it hard and firing it straight into the net.
“Nice one,” a voice says behind me, and I turn to face Adedayo. “Haven’t lost your touch.”
“I’m old, not dead.” I chuckle. “And some things you just don’t forget.”
“No, I suppose not.” Adedayo casts a quick glance over his shoulder. “I wanted to discuss something with you, Mr Graves.”
“Please, call me Dominic, we’ve been over this.”
Adedayo smiles and nods, but he’s wringing his hands, his stance tense.
“Of course.” He takes a deep breath. “I wanted to tell you, so you’d hear it from me first, and not from the police. I know this whole situation is a sensitive matter, but I like you and I like Mia, and I couldn’t let it go.”
I frown at him. “What are you talking about?”
He squares his shoulders and looks me right in the face.
“When Archie came here the other night, and confronted you, he smelled of petrol. I thought it was just alcohol first, but then his car was in the parking lot, and I went to check if he’d left his keys in it.
Since he was so drunk, I expected it. It was unlocked.
” Adedayo swallows hard, his throat bobbing.
“The car stank of petrol as well. It… had obviously been in the car in a large quantity, and quite recently.”
My legs feel weak. I’d suspected. Of course I had. I wasn’t an idiot. Archie was raging, drunk out of his mind, and filled with hate. It had crossed my mind more than once over the past few days that it could have been him.
But hearing it said out loud is a whole other matter.
Adedayo lowers his gaze, as though respecting my obvious distress. “I’m very sorry, Dominic. I cannot imagine how hard this must be for you. And I’m sorry I did not tell you first.”
“No, no, you did the right thing.” I gaze up at the darkening sky, my breath puffing out in a bright cloud of steam. “You had to tell the police, of course.”
“I don’t know what they will do now,” Adedayo says softly. “I don’t even know where Archie is. He won’t answer anyone’s calls.”
“No, I imagine he won’t.”
“But I don’t understand.” The young man shakes his head, his brows drawn together. “Archie is many things, but a murderer? I can’t imagine him doing that to Mia.”
I frown at the ground, and a niggling thought that has been sitting at the back of my mind since I got the phone call about Mia starts to take a more solid shape.
“She wasn’t meant to be there,” I mutter, and Adedayo blinks at me.
“Come again?”
“Mia.” I scrub my fingers through my beard, trying to piece it all together in a way that makes even a shred of sense. “She wasn’t meant to be there. She’d gone home after a meeting, to take Tank for a walk and collect some of her clothes. She was tired and took a nap.”
“And Archie knew this? That she was not there?”
“I-I don’t know. I imagine he’d have expected it. With the whole story about… us breaking, he’d know she wasn’t there.”
Adedayo crosses his arms over his chest and chews his lip. “But then… he didn’t want to hurt Mia. What was his motive?”
“He said he wanted her back.” The hairs on the back of my neck stand up. “And I think this was his way of trying to scare her into going back to him.”
“That’s ridiculous.” Adedayo frowns deeply and shakes his head. “What was he thinking?”
“I don’t know, but whatever it was, if that was his motive, he’s going to come back to try and make good on it.” The uneasiness that set my hair on end deepens. Something is very, very wrong. “I need to go.”
“Please call me if you need anything!” Adedayo calls after me as I stride from the field.
I pull out my phone and call Mia, but it goes straight to voicemail. My panic intensifies. I call Charlotte, and the phone rings three times before going to voicemail.
“Shit!” I dial Jordan’s number, and he answers after two rings.
“Hey, boss.”
“Have you heard from Charlotte or Mia?” I bark as I reach the underpass and break into a run towards the car park.
“Uh, no, I didn’t have any messages when I finished up training. Are you still here?”
“Yes, I am, but I’m heading to Charlotte’s now.” I reach the other side of the tunnel and pull my car keys from my pocket. For a split second I weigh up just how much I should tell Jordan to avoid setting off a full-blown panic. “Something’s wrong.”
“Wrong?” Jordan’s voice is strained with worry. “Fuck, wait for me and I’ll come with you.”
“Listen, I could be completely off base here,” I say as I unlock my car and drop into the driver’s seat. “But if I’m right, I need you ready to call the police. Alright?”
“Jesus Christ, Dominic, what’s going on?”
“I think it was Archie.” I speed out of the carpark and out onto the road. “The fire.”
Jordan mutters a curse, and I hear the jangling of keys in the background. “I’m on my way.”
“Don’t come up.” I’m going to cop a fine at this rate, I’m driving too fast and someone’s going to catch me. “Wait downstairs until I say.”
“Yes, boss.”
Jordan hangs up and I continue my erratic driving to Charlotte’s flat.
I’m a fool. I should have known it was Archie.
Hardcastle made no sense. He’d have followed Mia relentlessly and known she was in the house.
He wouldn’t try to kill her. But Archie is stupid enough to do something like this, even if he didn’t want to hurt her.
He’s reckless and idiotic enough to try and burn down a fucking terrace house to try and get his own way.
The drive isn’t long but it feels like years.
By the time I get to the flat, my nerves are proper frayed, and I’m sweating despite the icy breeze.
I hit the doorbell downstairs, and the camera whirs as the shutter opens.
The door buzzes open, and I storm up the stairs.
Charlotte is waiting at her front door with a warm smile.
“Hiya, she’s getting out of the shower.” She steps aside for me to come in, her smile dropping when she looks at my face. “Dom, what’s the matter?” She tries to close the door behind us, but something blocks it.
We both look down, and there’s a foot encased in a black boot.
“What the-” Charlotte is cut off as Archie shoulders open the door, knocking her straight into me just as Mia emerges from the guest room. Her eyes flash from us to Archie as he looms in the doorway.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Mia asks.
Archie kicks the door shut, and that’s when I see the knife in his hand. I push Charlotte behind me, and hold out a hand.
“Archie, stop it now,” I say in a low voice. “This isn’t the way.”
His bloodshot eyes bore into mine. “What’s the matter, Dad?” He holds up the shiny silver blade. “You think I’m actually going to use it? Come on. I just wanted to talk to you all.” He laughs maniacally and looks over at Mia. “I missed you, babe.”
Mia stands like a deer caught in headlights, dressed in her robe, her hair wrapped in a towel. “Archie, you can’t be here.”
He gives her a shaky smile, looking her up and down. “I’m so glad you’re alright.”
“So am I.” Mia takes a few small steps towards him, her eyes flashing to mine. “But you need to leave.”
“I just wanted to talk to you.” Archie is fixated on Mia, his gaze not wavering at all.
I reach into my coat pocket and carefully pull out my phone. Charlotte’s hands on my shoulders dig in, and I pass the phone behind me. It’s unlocked, open on Jordan’s number. Charlotte releases me with one hand, and takes the phone from me.
She knows what to do.
“Can we talk?” Archie sniffles, wiping his nose erratically against the back of his hand, and I wonder if he’s not just drunk but also high. “I just want to talk, babe. Just the two of us.”
Mia is magnificent. She’s completely calm, hands spread lightly in front of her.
“I’m not talking to you alone, Archie. Anything you have to say to me, you say here, alright?” She raises her eyebrows and nods. “We can talk openly here. You’re safe.” Her eyes flash to the knife in his hand. “Can you put that away? It’s just making me a bit nervous is all.”
Archie looks down at the knife, and nods. “Oh yeah, this?” He holds it up. “I didn’t mean to bring it to hurt you, babe. I promise. I just… I don’t know. I really missed you.” He presses the back of the hand holding the knife to his mouth, suppressing a sob. “Sorry, I just…”
“It’s alright.” Mia moves a bit closer again, which has my hackles rising. “I understand. You’re sad and upset, and you want to talk. Put the knife down, and come sit with me.”
Charlotte lets out a small noise behind me as Mia moves closer still, but it’s loud enough that it snaps Archie’s attention over to us.
“You!” He points the knife at me, and Mia rushes even closer.
“Mia, get back!” I snap, and Archie stumbles towards me. I back away, shoving Charlotte along behind me. “Archie, fucking stop!”
“You!” He keeps waving the knife but stops walking, swaying on his feet as though he’s caught in a stiff breeze. “You fucking stole her away from me!”
“No, he didn’t, Archie.” Mia draws Archie’s attention back to herself, which is the last thing I bloody want. She shakes her head as Archie’s bleary eyes move in her direction. “You left, remember? You left me for Libby Mills. You went to Spain with her.”