We were all gathered in the pub, trying to figure out how to help Todd. He’d been a mess since Theo’s death, and we were worried. Georgie suggested we take turns looking after him, but Todd walked in on our conversation and didn’t take it well. “So, you thought you’d hatch a babysitting plan?
” he said, his voice sharp. “Or maybe you want to keep an eye on me because you’re worried I’ll work out who killed him. Is it like Murder on the Orient Express? You all did it.
”
We tried to calm him down, but he wasn’t having it. He left, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Later, I got a call from Jodie. She’d been kidnapped, held in a lockup for days.
The men from the haulage firm had taken her, thinking she had evidence against them. She’d given them the USB stick, but they didn’t believe her. They tied her up, put a bag over her head, and only let her go when she swore she’d cause no more trouble. I was furious.
“You have to tell the police,” I said. “No, I can’t,” she insisted. “If the police start sniffing around, they’ll come back. They’ll hurt me or you or Lily.
”
My sister was trying to protect us, but I knew her staying here would bring trouble. Still, she needed us. Meanwhile, Daniel was suspended from work pending further investigation. He was angry, and I couldn’t blame him.
“This is guilty until proven innocent,” he said. I tried to reason with him. “You’re full of anger. Why don’t you go away for a few days?
We can look after Bertie. ”
“I don’t want to go away,” he snapped. “I want to live my life and be normal, but nobody will let me, including you. ”
He eventually agreed to go for a walk, but I could see the tension in him.
Then there was the conversation with Danielle. She came to me, demanding answers. “Did you kill him? ” she asked.
I told her about the misunderstanding, about how I thought I wasn’t welcome, so I went out and got trashed. I met a bloke. I broke a glass and cut my hand. That explained the blood.
But she wasn’t convinced. “If you hadn’t met him, he’d still be alive,” she said. “My kids would still have a dad. ”
“I didn’t want any of this,” I said.
“If I could bring Theo back to life, I would, so I could face him in court. ”
“You could have lost,” she said. “I could have lost, but I would have been heard. He’d have had to listen to everything he put me through without interrupting or twisting things or making me feel like it was all my fault.
That’s what he did. All the time. Made me think I was going mad. ”
To my surprise, she said, “I believe you.
”
“What? ”
“Since he’s been gone, I’ve been thinking back over our relationship. What kind of man he was. It’s what made me wonder if you’d snapped and killed him.
”
“So you believe me? ”
“Yeah. ”
We talked about Theo, about his good moments and his controlling nature. She admitted she was afraid of him, that she gave in to him because she was scared.
I told her I was sorry she had to go through that. “I still miss him,” she said. “I know that sounds crazy. ”
“It doesn’t.
I understand. ”
“Well, no one else understands. ”
“They didn’t know him like we did, did they? ”
We parted with an understanding, a fragile truce.
But the police were no closer to finding who attacked me. Jodie didn’t see anything. There were no witnesses. I was frustrated.
And Todd was still on edge. He accused all of us earlier, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he was deflecting. Sarah thought he had the best motive of anyone. I didn’t want to believe it, but I couldn’t shake the doubt.
Then there was the conversation with Will. He was going to stay with his mum in Scotland for a while. I overheard Sharon questioning whether that was wise, but I didn’t want to talk about it. It made me angry.
Later, I confronted someone about Theo. “Was it you who called Theo? I need to know. ”
“I just did what we agreed.
We agreed that you would scare him off. That was all. ”
“And that’s what I did. I smashed up his van.
I didn’t even see him. ”
“I got a feeling that you’re lying,” I said. “Or maybe you’re the one that’s lying. Maybe you wanted me to scare him off to put myself in the frame.
”
“That’s ridiculous. ”
“Is it? Why would I be here asking if you’d done it? ”
“Because you think there’s CCTV getting all this on tape?
Don’t be stupid. ”
“I don’t think we should be speaking to each other right now. ”
“Fair enough. ”
I walked away, my mind racing.
Someone was lying, and I was determined to find out who.
