Elle
PAST
The holidays were over, school had started up again and, judging by the blaze of lights coming from the Parkers’ house, the family was up and about. It was freezing; a soft frost covered the grass behind the black gates and I stamped my feet to keep warm as I waited under my usual tree.
From my vantage point, I saw the black gates swing open and held my breath, wondering which parent would be taxiing the son to his game.
I peered into the car as it passed by; Mrs. Parker was driving.
My eyes turned to the son sitting next to her and I saw that he was looking straight at me.
For a brief moment, he held my gaze but I quickly bent my head toward my phone, avoiding his scrutiny.
The car drove on without pausing and I breathed a sigh of relief.
I stood for a moment, trying to decide what to do.
In all the times I’d stood watching the property, I’d never seen evidence of any other children, so hopefully Brett Parker was on his own in the house.
I was about to cross over the road and ring on the bell when a movement at one of the upstairs windows caught my eye.
I looked up; Brett Parker was standing there, staring right at me.
I lifted my head a little higher and stared back, rising to the challenge.
I’d left him another voicemail, wishing him a Happy New Year and reiterating my wish to talk to him when he was back in the UK.
Keeping his eyes locked on mine, he lifted his hand and showed me his phone and I felt a surge of excitement, thinking he was telling me that he was going to call me.
But then he raised it to his ear and I could see he was talking to someone.
It took me a moment to realize that he could be calling the police and, throwing him a disgusted look, I sauntered away as if it didn’t bother me, only breaking into a run once I was sure I was out of his sight.
“How was the gym?” Jaz asked, when I arrived back at the flat forty-five minutes later.
“Fine.” I gave him a kiss. “I’m going to have a quick shower and then we can go to Camden.”
“Great.”
I peeled off the gym clothes I’d thought to wear and got into the hottest shower I could bear, letting the heat warm my chilled bones. If Brett Parker thought he could intimidate me by threatening to call the police, he was wrong.
I was in the bedroom drying my hair when Jaz opened the door.
“Someone here to see you.”
“Who?” I asked.
“DC Moss.”
I ran a brush through my hair, hoping DC Moss had come to tell me that they’d finally arrested Brett Parker and went through to the sitting room where she was waiting with Jaz.
“Elle.” DC Moss nodded at me.
“Hello.” I looked at her hopefully.
“We’ve had a call from Brett Parker about a—journalist?—named Elle Nugent, who has apparently been harassing him, leaving messages on his cell phone and hanging around his house,” she said, coming straight to the point. “Apparently you were there, earlier today.”
My cheeks reddened under the stern gaze of her gray eyes. “Don’t you think his refusal to talk to me is proof enough of his guilt?” I said, choosing to ignore her question behind the word “journalist.” “He might not have murdered Bryony, but I know he was the man driving the car that day.”
“When we questioned Mr. Parker back in November, he mentioned that on the day Bryony was abducted, a woman had bumped into him coming out of a supermarket on The Cut and had dropped a jar of honey on the ground. That woman was you. A few hours later, you saw a man driving the car that Bryony got into. He was also American, he also had dark hair and was wearing a blue shirt. But he was not Brett Parker.”
I hid my shock at the news that Brett Parker had recognized me as the person who had bumped into him that morning. “So where was Brett Parker at four that afternoon?” I asked.
DC Moss sighed, unable to hide her exasperation.
“You need to let it drop and let us do our work. I’m giving you a warning.
Stay away from Brett Parker. Do not go and see him, do not try to contact him by phone.
If I have to come back here, there will be serious consequences. Have I made myself clear?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Jaz closed the door behind her and turned, his arms folded across his chest. I waited for him to speak but he didn’t and his silence was worse than anything he could have said.
“I’m sorry,” I blurted out. “I’m sorry I lied to you.”
He shook his head. “Not good enough, Elle.”
“I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d disapprove. You would have stopped me from going to his house—”
“Too right I would have. Hanging around where he lives, calling him. It’s stalking.”
I stared at him, shocked. “No, I’m collating information, trying to solve a crime that the police haven’t solved. Have you any idea what it’s like when you know something to be true and nobody else believes you, not even the person who says they love you?”
He shifted uncomfortably. “Okay, point taken.”
“So you believe me? You believe me when I say that Brett Parker was behind the wheel of the car that Bryony got into? That’s all I’m saying, Jaz, I’m saying that he picked her up, not that he murdered her.”
He nodded. “But, Elle, you need to let the police do their job. That’s what DC Moss said and if she said that, it’s because their inquiries are still ongoing.
Maybe she had to tell you that Brett Parker wasn’t the man driving the car because she was worried that if she admitted he was, you’d go to the press.
How can she trust you when you’re behaving so erratically, pretending to be a journalist and all the rest of the stuff you’ve been doing?
Promise me you’ll stop. If Brett Parker is guilty, the police will get him, eventually. ”
I was about to tell him that they wouldn’t get him if he’d claimed diplomatic immunity. But I didn’t want to argue with Jaz. I’d come close to the wind by lying to him and I didn’t want to anger him any more.
“I’m sorry I lied to you,” I said again.
“Just don’t do it again, okay?”
I nodded. He’d never been angry with me before and I wasn’t sure how to move on. “Do you still want to have lunch in Camden or do you prefer to be on your own?” I asked, a tremor in my voice.
His face softened. “I don’t want lunch but I don’t want to be on my own.” He moved toward me. “Any idea what we could do instead?”
We went to bed, made love, and all the while, I hated myself because I had lied to him again. There was no way I was going to be able to stop pursuing Brett Parker.