Chapter 10
My eyes lock onto a stern-faced Otis Clarke behind the wheel of the car.
I want to run, but where can I go? There’s nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. I am in the centre of Otis’s driveway, and his frown tells me that he has well and truly spotted me. Through the windscreen of his car, I watch his frown turn into fury. I can’t say I blame him.
When Otis reaches me, he brakes sharply then exits his car.
‘What the hell are you doing on my property?’ Otis’s voice doesn’t sound like it did yesterday. Instead, it’s strong and forceful, filled with an anger that has my heart hammering.
My dry mouth opens and closes, too terrified to form words.
Otis’s brows furrow. ‘You were in the café yesterday, weren’t you?’ he snaps.
‘I… I’m sorry?’
‘You were there, when I asked Margie about Alexa.’
I could kick myself. Of course Otis saw me. I was right in front of him, hanging on his every word.
Before I can think of how to respond, Otis’s expression morphs into one of heartbreak, interrupting my train of thought.
‘Do you know something about Lex? Is that why you’re here?’
I study the man before me, taking in his designer stubble and fancy suit, and the skin under his eyes that’s greyed from a string of sleepless nights.
He’s handsome in a way that instinctively makes me wary.
Charming, I’m sure – not used to being told ‘no’.
I know I should be scared of him. Half the things I’ve heard paint Otis out to be the big bad wolf, after all.
But looking at Otis Clarke, I don’t see the man behind the terrible rumours.
I see a man frantic with worry. It’s confirmation that invading his privacy like this is inexcusable.
‘Do you know where Lex is?’ Otis asks, his voice cracking.
I swallow the knot in my throat. ‘No, I don’t. I’m sorry.’
My reply crushes Otis, I can see it in the way his shoulders cave and his head bows.
‘If you don’t know where she is, then why are you here?’ Otis asks.
I could make an excuse. Maybe I should, given the fact that Otis is a stranger with a multitude of concerning rumours swirling around him, but something about his collapsed frame tells me Otis Clarke doesn’t need another riddle in his life.
‘My name’s Janine Rai,’ I begin. ‘I live in Bramblethorpe, too. I’m here because – well, I’m here because I want to help find Alexa.’
Otis looks up, confused. ‘Do you know her?’
‘Not really, no. I’ve met her, but only once.’
Otis analyses me suspiciously before slotting a composed mask over his upset. ‘And you think that qualifies you to figure out where she is?’
‘No, but it qualifies me enough to want to help.’
‘Help how? By stalking me at my house? By leaving fingerprints on my windows?’
I blush at Otis’s verbal slap, a well-deserved blow.
‘You don’t know me and you don’t know Lex, so why are you really here? For gossip? To run back to the village and tell them you’ve seen the awful husband for yourself?’
‘No, it’s nothing like that,’ I protest, but anger has taken over Otis.
‘Lex always says people here treat a stranger’s misery as if it’s cheap entertainment. It looks like she’s right! I know what you’re all saying about us, about me, but you’re wrong. I’d never hurt Lex. You can tell all your friends at the village shop that.’
‘That’s not why I’m here,’ I say, but Otis only laughs.
‘Why else would you be here? You should be ashamed of yourself. Spying like this is a violation of my privacy. I could report you for it.’
‘I – I’m not spying on you,’ I protest, my cheeks flushing.
‘You’re trespassing on my property! If that’s not spying, what is?
’ Otis’s furious eyes sparkle, dangerously close to tears.
‘My wife is nowhere to be found and all you fuckers can do is talk about it over dinner.’ Otis runs his hand through his hair before heading back to his car.
‘You should leave,’ he calls over his shoulder. ‘I’m not in the mood to talk.’
Panic absorbs me as I watch Otis walk away. All I want is for something, anything, to stop him from shutting me out.
‘I know what it’s like!’ I shout. ‘Losing a baby. I – I know what it’s like.’
As my response echoes in the stillness of the morning, Otis turns back to me, both of us as shocked as each other to hear those words out in the open.
‘People are talking about the miscarriages?’ he croaks.
‘They are,’ I admit. ‘That’s how I met Alexa. We were at the hospital. We had appointments on the same day. Alexa, she… she told me things would be okay.’
Otis’s chin wobbles, as does my own. I fill my lungs with air, a task that’s been getting harder with the weight of grief compressing my chest.
‘I know what it’s like to lose a child and feel like life will never be the same again,’ I say.
‘I know how awful it is to wake up every day and find yourself in a world you no longer understand. I know that losing a child is the worst thing to happen to a marriage, and what it feels like to be Alexa. That’s why I’m here.
I want to help her, like she helped me.’
Furious with myself for welling up in front of a stranger, I dry my eyes with the sleeve of my jumper, but witnessing my upset seems to defrost Otis.
‘The day we met, Alexa talked about you,’ I continue. ‘She told me she shut you out of her life so much it felt like you were strangers.’
Otis’s expression pinches. ‘She said that?’
‘She did. She also told me not to do that to my own husband. I don’t think she wants to do that to you, Otis. I think maybe she’s just… lost.’
Dropping his head, Otis nods. ‘Lex has been that way for a while now,’ he says softly.
‘We both have. When she wasn’t home, I thought she’d gone to stay with a friend or gone to the village B&B.
She’s done that before. I thought…’ Otis trails off, then shakes his head.
‘This is crazy. I’m not offloading my life to someone I’ve just met. ’
‘But I want to help,’ I push, but Otis continues to back away.
‘Look, you seem nice and I’m sure Alexa would appreciate you reaching out, but right now I need to focus on finding her and making sure she’s okay. I don’t have time to go through everything with a stranger.’
‘But I can help. I’m a thriller author.’
Otis blinks at my random revelation. ‘So, what, you want to send me a free book or something?’
‘No, but missing people, unreliable narrators, twists and turns are in my wheelhouse. I have a talent for imagining every possible scenario. My husband won’t let me watch a detective show with him because I always give away the ending.
’ I hope my smile makes my outburst appear less odd, but I’m not immune to how strange my presence here is.
Otis’s bewilderment proves he most definitely finds me odd. ‘You really think that because you’ve written a few books, you can help find my wife?’
‘I do.’
There’s a split second where I think Otis might accept my offer, but as quickly as it arrives, it disappears.
The second I sense him withdraw, I step forward.
‘I’m known for going all in on my research.
I’ve shadowed a team of detectives working on missing persons cases.
I learned all about profiling. I know how to create timelines and look at the bigger picture to find someone.
Alexa helped me when I most needed it. Please. I want to do the same for her.’
Otis studies me for what feels like the longest time. ‘You’re really not here for gossip?’
‘No, I swear. I’m new to Bramblethorpe. I barely speak to anyone. I’m practically the village recluse.’
Otis laughs, but sadness tinges the sound. ‘I thought that’s what they were calling Lex?’ he says, then he shakes his head. ‘This is insane. I’m not asking a random writer if she can pretend this is a book and imagine where Lex might be.’
‘I ask questions,’ I say, a little too loudly, but my outburst stops Otis from turning away again. ‘Too many questions, my husband jokes, and I never give up until I find an answer. Please, Otis. I have skills that could be of use.’
Otis hovers. ‘You really think you can find Lex?’
‘I do.’
‘I guess you’d better come in then,’ he says.