Chapter 58
FIFTY-EIGHT
NATALIA
‘Did you kill Imogen?’ Kara asks as we wait for Jemma, who’s taking her own sweet time. You’d think with her dirty little secret in danger of coming out she would hurry herself up a bit.
‘No. I followed her, that’s all.’ Growing irritable, I go to the window, parting the curtains a fraction to peer through the gap in the hope of seeing Jemma approaching. ‘I expect the police will have a light-bulb moment and interview the person responsible at some stage.’
‘But why would you want to follow one of Evie’s friends?’ she asks, sounding bemused, which I find immensely irritating.
‘Because she wasn’t Evie’s friend,’ I point out sharply. ‘She was a little slut, attracted to men she couldn’t have.’
Dropping the curtain, I turn around to see her looking utterly clueless. ‘She stole Evie’s boyfriend. If that wasn’t enough, she was having sex with Jack, for God’s sake!’ I spell it out for her, though I have no actual proof other than the argument I’d overheard.
I recall the evening I’d seen Evie with Imogen in Worcester city centre, Evie’s thunderous expression as she stalked away from the pub, Imogen stumbling after her, clearly having been drinking or popping pills. ‘Evie, hold on,’ she yelled. ‘I thought we were making up.’
‘You have to be joking?’ Laughing in disbelief, Evie whirled around. ‘You’re a complete slut. You even dress as if you’re touting for business,’ she’d fumed, looking her over derisively.
‘Look who’s talking,’ Imogen retorted. ‘You’re not exactly the Virgin Mary. I don’t know what’s up with you anyway. I was only kissing him.’
‘You had your tongue halfway down his throat,’ Evie seethed. ‘Aiden had his hand up your skirt. You knew I fancied him and you just moved in on him.’
‘I did not,’ Imogen protested. ‘He asked me if I wanted to go outside to smoke a joint, so I—’
‘Decided to give him a blow job!’ Evie growled and turned to stride on. Seeing her swipe the tears from her face, I’d so wanted to go to her, but how could I?
‘Evie, wait.’ Imogen continued to follow her. ‘I’m sorry, okay? I thought you weren’t that interested. I would never have—’
‘Course you wouldn’t,’ Evie spat. ‘Just like you never would with my dad.’
Imogen stopped. And by the look on her face – guilt, I could see it a mile away – I knew in an instant that she had probably slept with my ex-husband.
She’d befriended Evie to gain access to Jack, that much was blindingly obvious.
Evie had never been outgoing or brash. She and this brazen creature were the unlikeliest match.
‘Don’t come near my dad again, Immy,’ Evie warned her. ‘I swear I’ll kill you if you do.’
‘What? Are you his babysitter?’ Imogen shot back. ‘He’s a grown man, capable of making his own decisions. I didn’t exactly have to seduce him, you know. He was desperate to fuck me. It was good, too!’
Evie didn’t respond.
‘Aiden didn’t want you!’ the girl continued, trying to get a rise out of her.
‘Fuck off!’ Evie yelled.
‘And nor did your mother!’ Imogen yelled back, ripping my heart from inside me. ‘She couldn’t have, could she, to have topped herself?’ she added, spitting pure venom. ‘In fact, you’re probably the reason she did, and I don’t bloody well blame her.’
I wanted to kill her then. I didn’t dare move, though, for fear Evie might see me. Somehow managing to contain the white-hot rage from exploding inside me, I stayed where I was, shrinking back into the shop doorway as Evie approached.
Imogen waited a second, indecisive. Then, ‘Evie, where are you going? I was joking. I didn’t really sleep with your dad. I was winding you up.’ It was a feeble attempt to rescue the situation.
Evie stormed on.
‘Right, well, go then,’ Imogen tossed moodily after her. ‘It’s no wonder none of the other girls have anything to do with you. You’re a complete fuck-up. A right moody cow!’
‘Ignore her,’ I heard Evie mutter as she passed by, her face tight and seething with anger. ‘She’ll get her comeuppance.’
And she did, I reflect. Suitable retribution, considering all she’d done and said.
Shaking myself, I refocus on the here and now.
Time is limited. I can’t allow myself to be distracted.
Retrieving Kara’s phone from my pocket, I switch it on to find several voice messages from Jack, all of them no doubt heart-wrenching, telling her how worried he is, how devastated.
He’ll miss out the bit about how he’s already planning to sell her beautiful house and invest the money for future income.
He will have some plan already hatching, I’ve no doubt of that either.
‘You’ve been following Jack too,’ Kara murmurs, realisation obviously dawning that I’ve been back from the dead for some time.
‘I wasn’t following him particularly,’ I answer.
‘It was my daughter I was interested in. I needed to find a way to get her back. Things did become rather intriguing when he moved in on you, though. Naturally I was interested to see how it all played out. I knew it wouldn’t be long before he started gaslighting you,’ I go on, since she clearly does need the scales peeling from her eyes.
‘The gas rings weren’t his doing, by the way.
I just wanted to rattle him, make him wonder whether his ghosts had come back to haunt him. ’
And he had been rattled. I can’t help but smile at my own ingenuity and my mother’s complicity. She hadn’t gone along with it entirely willingly, but she’d needed to keep me on side, her hope, I think, that she could continue to be part of Evie’s life.
‘It didn’t take him long to start his manipulative behaviour, though, did it?
’ I add with a despairing shake of my head.
‘Impregnating you so you were invested in the relationship. Telling you there were no affairs, blaming anyone but himself, insisting that my mother is insane. Her memory is a bit dodgy, it’s true, but she knows what she’s doing, trust me. ’
She looks at me with wary trepidation. ‘Was he ever violent towards you?’ she asks.
‘He killed me,’ I remind her flatly. ‘I’d say that was pretty violent, wouldn’t you?’
She glances down, looking so upset I almost want to stop this and walk away. But how can I? My daughter needs me.
‘What are you going to do?’ she asks again, her gaze travelling to the knife I have clutched to my side which, I realise, I’ve unconsciously tightened my grip on.
‘Well,’ I try to relax a little, for her benefit, ‘I thought we’d have a cosy little chat with Jemma over a nice cup of tea and then wait for Jack. I’m sure he’ll be wending his way home—’
I stop, my eyes swivelling to the hall as there’s an urgent rap on the front door.
‘Remember what I said.’ My gaze goes back to Kara, who’s already getting to her feet.
I point the knife to slow her gallop. ‘One false move or wrong word and you watch her die. If you don’t care about her, think of her children.
You don’t want to be responsible for another child’s death, do you? ’
I see the flash of fire in her eyes and realise I have to be careful. I’m deliberately touching raw nerves, but I don’t want to push her too far. It appears she has some backbone after all.
‘Slowly,’ I warn her, retreating to the kitchen as she heads to the front door.
Closing the kitchen door just enough to allow me to peer through the crack, I watch as she braces herself.
No sooner has she opened the front door than Jemma pushes through it. ‘I told Andrew you weren’t well,’ she says, scanning Kara’s face warily.
Kara says nothing. I notice her gaze drifting briefly towards me before she turns away to lead jittery Jemma to the lounge.
Once they’re out of sight, I step out of the kitchen, careful not to make a sound.
‘Before you say anything, there’s something I need to tell you.
’ Jemma dives straight in, obviously about to tell her how her having sex with another woman’s husband didn’t mean anything, how much she regrets her moment of madness, etc.
, etc. She surprises me when she does speak.
‘It’s Natalia,’ she says. ‘I think she’s still alive. ’
‘Well, that’s let the cat out of the bag, hasn’t it?’ I say whimsically, causing her to leap almost out of her skin. ‘Why don’t you tell her the truth, Jemma? Tell her you knew very well I was alive. That you have done for some time.’