Chapter 24
The drive to Manchester is uneventful, but being so far from home still has me shaking.
By the time I reach The Blackwell Arms, I’m damp browed and have bloody, teeth-shaped imprints on my bottom lip.
Hardly the first impression I was going for, but I don’t have time for self-consciousness. Not when I see Sonya’s latest message.
I’m sat by a window at the back of the pub. Thought out of the way would be best with what we’re here to talk about. Hurry. Please x
I take Sonya’s desperation as my cue to leave the confines of my car.
The Blackwell Arms is like most traditional British pubs.
It has a dark oak bar sweeping through the middle of the room and a patterned carpet that style forgot.
Commentary mumbles in the background from a television playing a football match, with the regulars glued to it.
Unlike other pubs, though, The Blackwell Arms smells clean, no lingering scent of spilled beer and bad decisions.
I order a Coke then take it to the back of the pub, an area quieter than the front but no less stereotypically styled.
Sonya West jumps to her feet when she sees me. A halo of frizz surrounds her scraped-back hair, the style so poorly tied up that she might as well pull it loose from the scrunchie.
‘Janine?’ she asks.
‘That’s me. Nice to meet you.’
I don’t know whether to go for a handshake or not, but Sonya takes the decision out of my hands by pulling me into a fierce hug. ‘I’m so glad you’re here,’ she whispers.
When Sonya pulls away, I’m alarmed to see that there are tears in her eyes.
She dabs them away while we settle into our seats.
I study her. Sonya’s wearing make-up, but it was hastily applied.
Her clothes are well tailored but creased.
In fact, there’s a general air of chaotic dishevelment about Sonya that almost makes me want to pass her my doctor’s details.
‘Thank you for meeting me on such short notice,’ I say.
‘I should be the one thanking you. I’d have dropped everything for an update on Lex.’
‘Has Otis been giving you any?’
Sonya stops chewing the side of her thumb to scoff. ‘You were with him earlier. You’ll have seen him ignoring my calls. He doesn’t tell me anything, even though I’m Lex’s best friend. I’m so worried. Disappearing without going to a friend or telling anyone where she is… it’s not like her.’
‘Otis said the same thing.’
‘I bet he did,’ Sonya mutters.
‘I take it you’re not a fan of his?’ I ask, taking a sip of my drink.
Sonya pauses to study me before she answers. ‘How well do you know Otis Clarke?’
‘I don’t. Not really. I met him for the first time the other day.’
‘Have you fallen for his charms yet?’
When I pull back, Sonya laughs.
‘Don’t judge me for saying that. Otis has this way about him that gets people on side. He acts so self-assured that people don’t get the chance to realise what he’s saying is bollocks. He’s a con man dressed in a nice suit. Don’t let the fancy house and six-car garage fool you.’
‘Well, you don’t hold back,’ I reply, a remark Sonya shrugs at. ‘Have you always felt this way about Otis?’
‘Maybe not as strongly as I do now, but I’ve never been his biggest fan.’
‘Why’s that?’
‘How long have you got? One thing you should know about me, Janine, is that I’m a good judge of character. I see things most people don’t. To everyone else, Otis and Alexa are the golden couple. How could they not be? Those looks, that house, that life? It’s the dream!’
‘But you don’t see it that way?’
‘No, and you wouldn’t either if you knew what went on beneath that shiny exterior.’
It takes everything in me to not wrap my arms around myself as protection against the iciness of Sonya’s words.
‘Lex is the most wonderful person I’ve ever met,’ Sonya continues.
‘It’s impossible not to love her. She shines on her own, but put her next to Otis and together they sparkle.
Otis likes that. He grew up poor – I mean, really poor – so the ability to turn heads matters to him. Surely you’ve noticed that?’
I think of Otis, bleary-eyed and disintegrating more and more as time goes on. ‘I don’t know if I’d describe him like that.’
‘Maybe not now he’s playing the role of a distraught spouse, but you’re not blind to the house, the car, the confidence.
’ Sonya’s lips curl in disgust. ‘From the moment Lex met Otis, she was enthralled, but I never fell under his spell. Lex told me things she told no one else. I know things about that man that would destroy his “good guy” image forever.’
Every hair on my body bristles. ‘Like what?’
‘Like how shitty a husband he is. He doesn’t care about Lex at all. I’m guessing you know she’s miscarried multiple times?’
It hurts to hear that question, never mind respond to it. The best I can muster is a small nod.
‘She struggles, but Otis is never there for her. He hasn’t been since the first one. When she needed him most, he threw himself into work and froze her out. Then, if he’s not freezing her out, he’s arguing with her over every tiny thing. What kind of partner would do that?’
I think of how many nights Kamal has stayed late at the office recently and how I lash out every time he mentions what we’ve been through. How our behaviour around each other is full of pretence because grief seeps into everything and no one gives you a handbook on how to deal with it.
I’m about to say all this when Sonya speaks again.
‘Everything in Otis’s life must be perfect.
I don’t think he can cope with the fact that this part of the picture isn’t immaculate.
He has everything on his tick list: a beautiful wife, an impressive business, a show home.
Now he’s ready for the perfect mini-Otis clones. The problem is, they’ve not arrived.’
‘That’s not Alexa’s fault.’
‘I know that, and you know that, but does Otis? Those miscarriages killed Lex, but he’s never supported her like he should have. The day after they lost their last baby, he went away with work for a week. The day after, Janine. Can you imagine what that felt like for Lex?’
I bow my head. ‘No, I can’t.’
‘Even if Lex said to go, he should have insisted on staying with her, and he should have been kinder. He once asked her, “What’s wrong with you?” Lex said she couldn’t tell if he meant what’s wrong as in why are you crying, or what’s wrong as in… well, why can’t you carry my children?’
I gasp, wounded as if the cruel comment had been said to me personally.
‘Exactly,’ Sonya nods, triumphant now she has successfully cast doubt on Otis. ‘Lex isn’t happy. She hasn’t been for a long time. She was looking at properties in Denmark, did you know that?’
My eyebrows arch. ‘Really?’
‘Yes, and not for her and Otis to live in, let me assure you!’ Sonya says, shaking her head.
‘The last time I saw Lex, she was so thin I worried she was going to snap. I messaged Otis to say she needed help, but he never replied. Imagine your wife’s best friend saying she’s worried and you don’t reply! ’
Even if Sonya’s assessment smacks of over-simplification, something in her words coils around my body. ‘When was the last time you saw Alexa?’
Sonya bristles, a shamed flush reddening her cheeks. ‘Longer ago than I’d like, but that’s because of Otis. I don’t want to be around his ugly house or dirty money, and I definitely don’t want to be around a man who pretends to love my best friend.’
‘Do you really think he doesn’t love Alexa?’
‘Do you think he does? She vanished and he waited days before contacting the police. There are only a few reasons for that, and none of them are good. My bet is that it’s something to do with his business. There have been rumours for the last year that things aren’t going well at Archi-Tech.’
My forehead wrinkles. ‘When I researched Archi-Tech, it seemed to be doing well.’
‘Otis has friends in high places. I’m sure he has the power to pull a few articles that could spell bad press.’
I try not to react to Sonya’s suggestion, even if she sounds like a conspiracy theorist, but I mustn’t do a very good job of it.
‘Don’t believe me, then,’ Sonya says with a shrug.
‘But if it’s not about Otis’s business, then the only other reason not to call the police is because he’s hurt Lex and needed time to hide the evidence.
’ Sonya analyses me. ‘You seem shocked, but you don’t know Otis like I do.
Trust me, he’s loud, he’s obnoxious, and he has a vile temper.
Lex calls him a sulker. I call him an arsehole.
He’s never loved Lex like she deserves to be loved. If you ask me, he got rid of her.’
My heart drops, but sense tells me to keep a level head. ‘Does Otis have a history of being violent?’
‘Not that Lex has ever said so, but you never know what goes on behind closed doors. Especially ones as fancy as Otis Clarke’s.’
Despite everything I’ve heard over the last few days, my lips still twist with uncertainty. ‘I know you know him better than I do, but he seems lost without Alexa. Gabby said—’
‘Gabby? Gabby is at the house?’ When I nod, Sonya snorts. ‘Oh, I bet she is loving this! She’s got everything she ever wanted – Lex gone and Otis crying on her shoulder.’ A smirk comes over Sonya’s face. ‘You know there’s something going on between them. You must have picked up on the vibes.’
I shift in my seat. ‘I mean, they seem to know each other well, but from what I saw, I think the attraction is more on Gabby’s side than Otis’s.’
‘That’s what Otis wants you to think. He’s a good liar like that.
They say they’re “best friends”,’ Sonya scoffs, air quoting the phrase.
‘But Gabby’s always wanted more. Lex knows Gabby is just waiting to sink her claws into Otis.
Otis denies it, but secretly I think he likes having the two women in his life fight over him. ’
‘And do they fight over him?’