Chapter Thirty-Five
Josie
‘Ihad to check your van,’ I blurt out during dinner. Not that it qualifies as dinner. I’ve reheated some Bolognese sauce I pulled from the freezer. Cooking was the last thing I felt like doing when I got home tonight. Honestly, I was more in the mood to strangle Geoff than feed him.
I searched the van while he was watching TV.
The kids look at their plates and complain almost immediately. ‘Why can’t we have takeaways like our friends?’ Jake whines, wrinkling his nose.
That’s it. My nerves, already stretched to breaking point, snap.
‘Right. Leave the table. If you want a takeaway, order it yourself and pay for it with your pocket money.’
‘But,’ Rory says, ‘I’m hungry.’
‘Too bad,’ I snap.
They both stomp out of the kitchen, sulking, and flop onto the sofa in front of the blaring TV.
Geoff eyes me. ‘Bit harsh,’ he says, still twirling spaghetti around his fork. ‘And what do you mean you checked the van?’
I push my plate away. ‘We’re working on a kidnapping case. We ended up at Waterperry, and your van was there.’
‘So?’ he says, totally unfazed.
‘The kidnapper has a white van and…’
He slams his glass onto the table. ‘That’s your big police work? A guy takes his van to work, and suddenly he's a suspect? Jesus, Josie.’
‘It wasn’t like that,’ I say quickly. ‘We thought the ransom drop might have been made there. We knew the kidnapper drove a white van. Then your van showed up in the same place. It looked suspicious.’
I pull the thong from my pocket and throw it onto the table.
‘Found in your car. You’re lucky the victim’s DNA wasn’t on it.’
His neck flushes, red creeping up to his face.
‘Who is she?’ I ask, in a voice that’s quiet but firm.
He pushes his plate away, jaw tightening. ‘You actually think I would kidnap someone?’ He looks stunned.
No,’ I say, softer now. ‘I don’t.’
He exhales and slumps back in his chair.
‘It’s over, okay? I’m not seeing her anymore. And for the record, I haven’t kidnapped anyone.’
‘Who is she?’ I ask, louder this time.
He holds a finger to his lips. ‘The kids,’ he warns.
I laugh; it’s sharp and humourless. ‘Like you give a damn. Who is she?’
‘The new admin I hired. It just… happened. It meant nothing, Josie.’
I stand, collect the plates, and dump their contents straight into the bin.
‘Fucking someone doesn’t just happen, Geoff.’
Before he can say another word, I storm upstairs, the shrill noise of the TV downstairs sawing through what’s left of my nerves.