Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
When I wake, sunlight streams through an unfamiliar window. The mattress beneath me is too firm to be my own. My head is groggy, and as my vision comes into focus, I’m staring at taupe-coloured walls, and framed art on the wall I can’t name and have never seen before.
Then I see Xander, sitting at the edge of the bed, smiling at me as he arranges his navy tie. ‘Morning,’ he says. ‘I didn’t want to wake you. You looked so peaceful. And I know how hard it’s been for you lately.’
‘What the hell’s going on?’ I say, sitting up and pulling the covers over me. I’m still wearing my top, but my jeans are on the floor.
Fragments of last night struggle to form, and I recall Xander’s bathroom, but even that memory is foggy.
‘I think we both had too much to drink,’ Xander says. ‘But it was fun, though.’ He leans towards me. ‘Don’t feel bad, Ria. We were both feeling a bit low, and we turned to each other for comfort. I don’t regret it.’
My body turns to ice. ‘No . . . I didn’t . . . I would never do anything with you. Never . . .’
For a moment, he doesn’t answer. ‘Relax,’ he says finally.
‘Nothing happened. I was the perfect gentleman. You crashed out on my stairs so I just put you to bed. I had to wrestle you out of your jeans, though. They’re not comfortable to sleep in.
’ He shrugs. ‘It was easier than walking you home. You don’t handle alcohol well, do you? ’
‘I need to go,’ I say, jumping up and grabbing my jeans.
‘We had a great chat last night,’ Xander says, walking over to the full-length mirror to check his navy tie. He smooths it down.
I don’t say anything. The atmosphere in here feels warped.
‘Shame everything that came out of your mouth was a lie,’ Xander says, turning to me.
I freeze. ‘What?’
He walks across to me and stands so close I can smell his aftershave. ‘I don’t like being lied to, Ria.’
‘I wasn’t—’
‘You came here to find out about my ex-wife. Are you satisfied yet? What did you think – that I was hiding her dead body in this house? Do you know how ludicrous that is?’ He shakes his head.
‘I really think you’re having some kind of episode.
Maybe you should get some help.’ His voice is softer as he says this, but I’m under no illusion: he does not have my best interests at heart.
I hurriedly fasten my jeans, then rush past Xander, my brain scrambling to make sense of how he knew what I was doing. ‘You knew that sketch I drew was of Kimmy.’
‘Of course. How could I not recognise my own wife?’
‘Ex-wife.’
His face hardens, but he quickly composes himself. ‘What I can’t work out is why you would make up this twisted, implausible tale when she left me over a year ago. At first I thought you must be doing it to be cruel, to goad me. But now I think you really have just lost the plot.’
‘I don’t believe a word you say. You’re lying. All of you. Everyone must have realised my sketch looks like Kimmy. And the more you do this to me, the more determined it makes me to expose all the lies around here.’
‘All the lies? Wow. This isn’t some conspiracy, Ria. This is normal, everyday life.’
‘Then you’ve got nothing to worry about, have you?’ I brush past him and run downstairs.
Xander follows closely. ‘Wait. There’s something I need to show you.’
He hands me his phone, and I stare at it, barely able to register what I’m seeing. Me in his bed, the sheet pulled up to my chin, and Xander naked beside me.
‘Don’t worry,’ he says, snatching his phone back. ‘I didn’t touch you in any way. I just needed this photo.’
I don’t want to ask why – I already know.
‘We wouldn’t want Leo thinking you cheated on him, would we?’
My body sags, as if all the air’s been sucked out of me. ‘What do you want?’
‘Just to stop whatever it is you’re doing.
Investigating this hallucination you had of my ex-wife.
She left me over a year ago, Ria, so how the hell do you think you could have seen her being murdered just over a week ago?
Kimmy is back in America. Being her elusive self.
Living life on her terms. Everything I told you last night about her was true. ’
‘Prove it,’ I say. ‘If she’s alive, then there’d be a trace of her online. Where is she?’
‘You’re clever enough to know that not everyone wants to be on social media.
Especially someone as private as Kimmy. The last thing she wants is me to find her.
She’s moved on, and so have I. And now you’re trying to bring it all up again.
It stops now, Ria. I really don’t want that photo of us to get out.
’ He smiles. ‘What would Leo think? And the neighbours? Not to mention your new best friend, Alicia.’
It’s only when I get outside and unlock my front door that I realise the significance of what Xander just said. I never told him Alicia and I had been in touch.
As soon as I get home, I call her, pulse racing.
When there’s no answer, I leave a message, urging her to call me back.
I don’t believe she’s been stalking Xander, but how did Xander know I’d been in touch with her?
And that I’ve been looking into what happened to Kimmy?
Alicia was the one who brought her up; it doesn’t make sense that she would tell him.
Could Xander have unlocked my phone somehow when I blacked out, seen my messages? But we never mentioned Kimmy on text.
I calculate that it’s nearly 3 a.m. in New York, far too early to call Leo. But I need to tell him what’s happened. I begin tapping out a message, but an image of that photo of me with Xander forces itself into my head and I delete the words I’ve written.
I decide to visit Georgia. It was clear she felt uncomfortable talking to me last time I saw her, but I believe she was backing away from our friendship because of Giles or Eleanor, not because she wants to.
I have to try to get through to her. As I march up to her house, I glance over at Eleanor’s and think of the candles.
Could she and Xander be in this together? But why? And who else is involved?
I ring the bell and am surprised when Patrick answers; he’s usually at work by now. ‘Ria. What can I do for you?’ he asks, keeping the door closed as much as he can.
‘Can I speak to Georgia?’
‘Now, I don’t think that’s a good idea, do you? She just needs a bit of space.’ His strong Irish accent would normally sound kind and pleasant, but right now it feels only harsh and dismissive.
‘Is she at home?’
He sighs. ‘As it happens, she isn’t. But even if she was, we just want to keep a distance from . . . you know. Everything.’ His cheeks flush, and I begin to soften. I don’t think he wants to be saying all this. He starts to pull the door closed.
‘What’s going on around here?’ I demand, shoving my hand out to stop the door closing.
‘Hey, watch it!’
‘Just tell me! Everyone’s lying. Twisting things. Keeping secrets.’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘Georgia’s free to speak to whoever she wants. I know she doesn’t want to cut me off. Who’s making you do this? Is it Giles? I know he’s fussy about who lives here, but you don’t have to do what he says. You bought these houses – they’re yours. You don’t have to follow any rules he dictates.’
Patrick shakes his head, looking past me to see if anyone’s watching.
It’s something I’ve noticed all the neighbours do whenever I’m talking to them.
‘Look, you might not like it here,’ he says.
‘And I get that. It’s an adjustment for some people.
Me included. But you’ve got to stop this, Ria.
Whatever it is you’re doing. It’s getting people’s backs up. ’
‘I’m so sick of everyone around here telling me that. You all sound the same! Listen to yourselves. Doesn’t anyone around here think for themselves?’
I turn and stalk towards my house. If I can’t even get through to Georgia, I won’t get anywhere with Patrick.
As soon as I get in, a message comes through from Leo.
Sorry I haven’t called. I’m not in a good place with everything. But I’ll be home on Sunday morning and we can talk about everything then.
I send a reply.
Okay. I love you.
My message remains unread.
I think suddenly of the voicemail I left Leo, when I told him about Alicia and Kimmy.
Is it possible Xander heard that? I think of the time he came over for coffee, when he left so abruptly.
It struck me as strange at the time – and he’s never popped in since.
It sounds crazy even in my head, but is it possible he bugged the house?
I hunt through the house for signs of hidden cameras or anything that could be a listening device, but I find nothing. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to find.
My phone rings as I’m peering behind the furniture again and I scramble to pull it from my bag, praying Leo is calling me back after all. But it’s Alicia’s name on my screen. I go outside and walk to the edge of the drive. Surely no one would hear me this far from the house. ‘Hi, are you okay?’
‘Yeah, I’m fine,’ she says. ‘How about you?’
I glance at Xander’s house. ‘Let’s just say I had an eventful evening.’
‘Oh? That doesn’t sound good. Want to tell me about it?’
‘I can’t talk on the phone. I know this makes me sound like a conspiracy theorist, but I think . . . I think Xander might have bugged my house.’ God, it sounds even worse out loud. But I can’t take any chances.
There’s a brief pause. ‘Right, can you get out of there and meet me tonight? Is it safe to message you? Oh God, now I sound like one.’
‘I’m sure it’s fine, but be careful what you say just in case. It’s a long story – I’ll tell you when I see you. Where shall we meet?’
‘Somewhere away from Thursley would be best. How about central London? Do you know the Rooftop Bar in the Trafalgar Hotel? It overlooks the square and I’ve always wanted to go there.’
I agree and tell her I’ll meet her there at eight.