Chapter 22
For the rest of the evening, Kamal and I walk on eggshells. Every few minutes, I catch him looking at me. I know he’s questioning my motives, my judgement – maybe even my sanity. I can’t blame him. When I look back over my choices today, I question my own, too.
But still, something in me says that I can’t give up.
As I brush my teeth, I try imagining what Alexa is doing right now. Where she is. If she’s safe, if she’s okay. I’m so lost in my thoughts that I almost don’t notice a message come through from Natalya.
Apparently, Otis was seen in his car with a woman who isn’t Alexa today… He didn’t wait long to move on, did he?! x
My heart lurches into my throat, imagining Kamal’s reaction if he knew that the Bramblethorpe gossips are painting me out to be Otis’s mistress.
Katherine’s reply only worries me more.
I wonder who the woman was. Do we know if she’s staying at the house?
My thoughts go to Otis, struggling with the burden of people’s chatter as it is. And then there’s Alexa, who could hear something along the grapevine. Would she know it wasn’t true? Would this rumour push her to come home, or would it push her to do something reckless?
‘Everything okay?’ Kamal asks, entering the bedroom and spying my pale face.
‘All good,’ I reply.
If Kamal suspects I’m lying, he doesn’t say. He just climbs into bed, waiting patiently for me to join him. Turning my phone off without replying, I do just that.
I know Kamal’s hoping I’ll turn around so we can have a pre-sleep chat like we used to.
Nose to nose, we’d discuss the day, our dreams and anything that crossed our mind, until sleep came for us.
It’s been so long since we’ve done that.
So long since I felt I could. Seeing Kamal’s hurt up close has been too much.
It’s still too much. I lie on my side, facing away from him, my body rigid.
Eventually, Kamal rolls over. A few minutes later, he falls asleep.
I can’t say the same for myself. Every time I close my eyes, I see anger flash in Otis as he strikes his wife, knocking her unconscious.
I see Alexa run from a shadowy figure at the top of the stairs, tripping and tumbling down them until her body comes to a stop in a twisted shape at the bottom.
I see a well-built, hooded stranger bundle Alexa into a blacked-out vehicle then speed away.
I see Alexa, bloodied, bruised and pleading for my help.
When Kamal’s alarm shakes me awake, a dry-mouthed gasp catches in my throat.
‘Bad dream?’ Kamal asks, hovering in case I need I hug.
‘Something like that,’ I reply, swinging my legs out of bed and heading to the bathroom.
The previous day feels like a weight pressing against my back as I move about the house. The pressure only grows when I check my writing group chat.
Apparently, the police didn’t leave Otis’s house until after eight last night. That’s never a good sign, is it?
Katherine’s update and the cold light of the morning make Otis’s deception about the money and his delay in calling the police seem even more sinister.
When Kamal leaves for work, an itchiness overcomes me.
I roam the house, trying to ignore the feeling.
I try even harder when I see another email from Tiff asking for an update on my book.
I try harder still when I see a message from Beth that reads, You gave us quite the scare last night…
again, but the scratching is persistent.
It reminds me of each time I have a new story idea. The moment inspiration sparks, there’s a buzzing in the back of my head demanding I pay attention to what my subconscious is trying to tell me.
Right now, my body is doing the same thing, only this time it’s not trying to push a book idea on me but thoughts of Alexa Clarke.
Call it intuition, call it an overactive imagination, but I can’t shake the feeling that she is not okay.
And if the police are only getting involved now, then we are days behind where we need to be with finding her.
Opening my laptop once more, I look over Alexa’s social media accounts, hunting for a clue about why she might be hiding money.
The obvious answer is she’s been planning to leave Otis, but I wonder if another reason could be hidden in plain sight.
The problem is, Alexa hasn’t posted on social media in a long time.
I want – no, I need – to know more, but so far, the only source I have is Otis. A man I promised my husband I would not see again, no matter how tempted I am to ply him with more questions.
I last a wordless hour and a half at my desk before I find myself once again heading to Maple Crescent.
Gabby’s car is on the driveway when I get there. I wonder if she stayed over last night, and what other bombshells were dropped in my absence. Leaving my car behind, I go to ring the doorbell, but Gabby opens the door before my fingertip touches it.
‘I saw you on CCTV,’ she explains when she registers my surprise. ‘Come in.’
She steps to the side, and I head inside.
‘How’s Otis?’ I ask as we walk through to the kitchen.
‘Not good, how do you think he is?’ Otis jokes from the dining table.
I jump at the sight of him, then frown. Otis hasn’t looked good in the short while I’ve known him, but this is the worst I’ve seen him. I’d be surprised if he had an hour of sleep last night. His skin is tinged grey, almost as if each day without Alexa is draining the life from his body.
‘It’s good to see you again, Janine,’ Otis says, then he indicates to the rest of the dining table. ‘Please, take a seat. There are enough of them to choose from.’
As I slip into the chair opposite Otis, Gabby brings me a glass of water before sitting beside him.
‘How did it go with the police after I left?’ I ask.
‘Well, they’re officially treating this as a missing persons case now. They’re releasing a press statement at midday.’
Even though this news isn’t unexpected, it still hits me like a blow to the chest. All that time Otis spent thinking Alexa was taking a break, he was wrong. All that time, wasted.
‘That’s good,’ I manage to say. ‘It means more people will be looking for Alexa now.’
‘I know, but the label missing person…’ Otis’s body caves inwards. He goes to say something else, but then his phone bursts into life.
Everything about Otis’s demeanour becomes hostile from the first ring. I glance at the name on the screen: Sonya West. A bell of recognition chimes somewhere in the back of my mind.
Gabby peeks at the screen too, then sighs. ‘Sonya again?’
Otis nods. He watches the phone vibrate but doesn’t pick it up. It’s only when the ringing stops that he breathes again.
‘Who’s Sonya?’ I ask.
‘Alexa’s best friend,’ Gabby replies.
It hits me where I know the name from – in the car yesterday, driving to Manchester with Otis. Sonya had called then and, once again, Otis hadn’t answered.
‘How come you’re dodging her calls?’ I ask.
Gabby and Otis exchange a loaded look.
‘Sonya is… well, she’s a lot,’ Gabby replies, not taking her eyes off Otis as she speaks on his behalf.
‘Her personality is hard to deal with at the best of times, but now that she’s going through a messy divorce and Alexa is missing, her flair for dramatics is even greater than normal.
Right now, it’s not fair on Otis to have to put up with her… hysterics.’
‘Hysterics?’ I echo.
‘I know, I hate to use that word about another woman, but if you met Sonya, you’d understand.’
‘Gabs, you don’t have to sugar-coat it for Janine,’ Otis says before facing me. ‘I’m dodging Sonya’s calls because she hates me.’
‘Otis!’ Gabby cries in protest. ‘She doesn’t hate you.’
‘Come on, you know it as well as I do – Sonya hates me. Always has, always will.’
Gabby and Otis are too busy squabbling to notice my reaction to the news that Alexa’s best friend hates Alexa’s husband. It’s a good thing, really, because it’s not a positive one.
Gabby turns to me. ‘Sonya doesn’t hate Otis. She just hates that when Alexa fell in love with him, their marriage took her away. Sonya’s very protective of Alexa.’
I’m tempted to ask if Sonya has reason to be protective of Alexa when it comes to Otis, but he speaks before I can. ‘We’ve never seen eye to eye, ever. If I said something is black, Sonya would say it was white.’
‘Alexa married Otis at a difficult time for Sonya,’ Gabby continues.
‘It was right after her father passed away and her mother got sick. They’re hard things for a person to deal with, especially when the friend you rely on is now spending all their time with someone else.
Sonya never forgave Otis for that. You know how it is when you’re friends with someone and they fall in love.
You’re left wondering where you fit in the new picture they’re drawing. ’
‘Sonya refuses to come to the house because I’m here,’ Otis says. ‘She’ll only see Lex if she treks over to her.’
‘Which Alexa hasn’t been doing because of everything that’s gone on,’ Gabby adds.
I nod, but there’s something about this exchange that’s a little too rehearsed for me to fully believe that Sonya is simply a jealous friend.
‘I’m sure Sonya guilted Lex a lot for that, never stopping to think that not visiting when things were so hard for Lex makes Sonya the bad friend,’ Otis mutters.
As if overhearing her name, Otis’s phone starts ringing again with a call from Sonya. We all look at the illuminated screen, but no one makes a move to answer the call.
Otis groans. ‘I can’t deal with Sonya shouting at me right now.’
‘Maybe she just wants an update,’ I say. ‘She’ll be worried about Alexa, too.’
‘She’s got a funny way of showing it,’ Otis replies as he runs a hand through his hair. ‘I thought I’d do the decent thing and answer earlier. Do you know what Sonya said to me? She said she can’t believe she let Lex marry a murderer.’