Chapter 2
TWO
Barefoot and clutching my phone, I rush outside to the green, but there’s no one there.
There’s a fresh chill in the air as I scan the cul-de-sac, but I am alone and the front gate to Silverleaf Heights is closed.
My pulse races as I cross the grass to the far side, where I saw the blonde woman.
I scan the ground for evidence of what I saw.
Anything. But it’s too dark to see clearly and my phone battery is dead.
Confused, I stand still and try to work out what’s happened.
I made it out here within seconds of seeing a woman being strangled; there was no way her killer had time to drag her body away.
All around me, the other four houses are dark and silent, and a chill slithers through my body.
I need to call the police, even though both the man and the woman have disappeared.
I rush to number four, one of the houses next door to ours, and press on the doorbell, pounding on the door with my fists.
It’s several moments before a light flickers on and Xander Gould opens his door.
‘What’s going on?’ His light brown hair sticks up and he smooths it down as he stares at me, frown lines spreading across his face.
‘Ria? Are you okay?’ He’s wearing a navy dressing gown and cream-coloured pyjamas. ‘Are you locked out?’
‘I’ve . . . I’ve just seen someone on the green,’ I begin, when my words eventually come.
‘A woman . . . and a man . . . he . . . he strangled her.’ My words sound farcical as I say them, and I can only imagine what Xander must think.
But I saw it. A woman being murdered right there.
I can’t bring myself to turn back to the green.
Xander’s mouth hangs open, but he quickly recovers and looks past me. ‘Stay here,’ he says. He slips on grey Nike trainers, and I glance at my bare feet, fully aware of how crazy I must look.
Ignoring his request for me to stay put, I follow him on to the green, watching as he goes through the motions of humouring me.
He scans the road and walks round to each house, checking all the side gates.
It takes a while for him to inspect all five houses, and all the while I stand in the spot where the woman fell to the ground. Where there’s nothing but the grass.
When Xander gets back to me, I know what he’ll say before he opens his mouth.
‘I’m sorry, Ria, I just can’t see anything.’ He hesitates. ‘Are you sure you weren’t . . .’ He lets his unfinished thought hang in the air.
‘I didn’t imagine it!’
The sympathetic smile on his face provides little comfort. ‘Were you asleep?’ he asks. ‘Could it have been a bad dream? Sometimes I have them and they feel utterly real.’
‘No,’ I insist. ‘I was wide awake. I . . . I don’t sleep well.
’ I point towards my window. ‘I was in my studio. I was about to do some sketching when I heard a scream. I looked out of the window and saw a woman. She was running from someone. A man. And . . . he killed her – I saw the whole thing.’ Even to my own ears, I sound hysterical.
Xander frowns. ‘Okay. Um, where’s Leo?’ he asks.
‘At the hospital. He had a late surgery so he’s staying there tonight.’
‘Right. Well, I’ve looked around everywhere and I didn’t see anything.’
‘She was out there,’ I say, barely listening.
If Xander’s offended by my abruptness, he doesn’t show it. ‘Listen, Ria. Leo told me what happened to you. I can’t imagine what that was like. Do you think it’s possible . . . you just thought you’d seen something?’ He holds up his hands. ‘I’m so sorry, I’m no medical expert, but it makes sense.’
‘Xander, I was not imagining things,’ I snap. ‘I saw a woman being murdered, right here!’ I dig my heel into the ground.
His shoulders sag. ‘Okay, okay.’ He kneels down and runs his hands over the grass. ‘There’s nothing here. I don’t know what else to say. I’m sorry, Ria.’
‘I don’t understand. How could he have moved her body so quickly? It only took me seconds to get outside.’
Xander scans the green. ‘Did you recognise the woman? Or the man?’
I shake my head. ‘They were too far away. I couldn’t see their faces clearly. But she had long blonde hair. And a long white skirt. Dark top. A vest top, I think.’
Xander sighs. ‘Giles set the lights up out here so they go off at midnight. That way they don’t disturb anyone when we’re trying to sleep. How old do you think this woman was?’
‘Why are you asking me that when you don’t believe me? Can I borrow your phone? I need to call the police.’
‘It’s inside. Look, I’m just trying to help.’ Xander looks around again. ‘There are cameras,’ he says. ‘We all have them at the front of our houses. Nothing can happen around here without the residents knowing about it.’
I stare at him, unblinking.
‘Oh. Didn’t Leo tell you?’
I try to recall if he did, but can’t. He talked so much about the house that it’s possible he mentioned it and I didn’t take it in. I turn and study the front of our house, but can’t see anything resembling a camera. ‘Where are they?’
‘Oh, they’re very discreet,’ Xander explains. ‘You’d only know they’re there if you look hard. See that black round dot above your door? That’s it.’
I look where Xander’s pointing, and sure enough, there is a circular black object that could be a camera. Leo must have mentioned it; he’d know I’d want to be reassured that our house is secure.
‘Giles is very security-conscious,’ Xander continues. ‘Rightly so – we’re in the middle of nowhere here. Shall we look at the footage? That way you’ll know for sure nobody was out here.’
I follow him to his house, fuelled with hope. The cameras will have picked up what I saw, and then I can call the police.
Inside Xander’s home, the layout is identical to ours; the only thing different is the decor. Ours is still largely unfurnished; Xander’s is minimal and uncluttered.
‘I’ll just get my phone,’ he explains. ‘I left it upstairs when I rushed to see who was breaking down my door.’ He laughs, but beneath it, I sense he’s growing impatient with me interrupting his sleep.
Alone in Xander’s kitchen, I scan the room.
Other than a few plants, there’s not much in here that makes it feel homely, and I wonder why he wants to live alone in such a huge house.
Especially after his wife left him. He has no children and I know he’s an investment banker so probably isn’t at home much, but still I wonder why he stays.
‘Okay,’ Xander says, swiping on his phone. ‘Let’s watch. What time was it you saw them out there?’
‘It was literally just before I knocked on your door.’
He checks his phone. ‘It’s three twenty-two now. So around three?’
I nod. ‘That’s when I woke, and I went straight to my studio, so start from there.’
Xander scrolls through his phone. ‘Right, let’s watch.
’ He sits at the kitchen table, and I do the same, my chest constricting as I prepare to see the woman being strangled again.
He holds out his phone and we both stare at the screen.
The time frame says 3 a.m., and I’m looking at a silent green, where there’s no hint of even a bird.
Minutes tick by, and beside me, Xander shakes his head. ‘There’s nothing on here.’
‘Wait. We need to keep watching.’ But by the time it reaches ten past three and I come into the frame, I know the people I saw won’t appear. I check the date stamp – today’s date and time, and Xander wouldn’t have had a chance to make any changes.
‘I don’t understand,’ I say, standing and clutching my temples to ease the throbbing in my head.
Xander closes down the security camera app and gets up, placing his phone on the kitchen island. ‘Ria, I really don’t know what to tell you.’ He clears his throat and gestures to a chair. ‘Please, have a seat. I’ll get you some water.’
‘I don’t need water,’ I say, folding my arms and remaining where I am.
‘I saw that woman. She was right there on the green. And she was running from someone . . . then he killed her. She looked terrified.’ I think of how I flung the window open and screamed out but neither of them heard me. I will keep that part to myself.
Xander shrugs. ‘I could go out and have another look if it will help?’
‘No, it’s fine. Thanks, though. I’ll let you get back to bed,’ I say. ‘And thanks for checking the camera.’
Xander walks me to the door. ‘Ria, are you sure you didn’t recognise the woman? At least that way we’d be able to check if whoever you thought it was is okay.’
‘No, I don’t know who she was. But I can picture her face.
I couldn’t see the man’s face at all.’ As I say this, I wonder if it even was a man.
I’ve been assuming it was as the person was dressed in a loose hooded sweatshirt and dark joggers.
And the person was taller than the blonde woman. But I shouldn’t make assumptions.
Xander nods. ‘I’m sorry. You must have been terrified, thinking you saw that.’
I open my mouth to tell him I didn’t think I saw anything but decide against it; nothing I say will convince him I’m telling the truth.
Back in my own house, I once again stand by the window in what is supposed to be my art studio, watching the green before tiredness finally begins to pull me under and I retreat to bed.
And as my head sinks into the soft pillow, I make a silent vow to myself: no matter how many people doubt me, and even if I start to question myself, I can never let anyone convince me I didn’t see a woman being murdered.
When my eyes shoot open, Leo is sitting at the edge of the bed, smiling at me. He’s wearing his dark grey suit from yesterday, and his blue tie hangs loosely around his neck. I rub my eyes to disperse the blurriness and pull myself up.
‘What time is it?’
‘Just gone seven. I didn’t want to wake you. Just got home.’ He strokes my arm. ‘Are you okay?’
I’m about to tell him I’m fine until I remember the woman being strangled. ‘Leo, something happened last night.’