‘This was what I dreaded from the beginning,’ said Helen, as they drank their morning coffee in Java on West.
‘I never saw Gareth’s name mentioned in any of the reports around the time of Madelaine’s death.’
‘Luck more than anything. Madelaine died before she became well known, so there were only a few local journalists hanging around asking questions. Back then social media was fairly new and the papers didn’t have the wide online presence they have now. Gareth got harassed and followed by journalists around the time of the coroner’s court. The film had recently been released and received a lot of coverage.’
Lexie attempted to relieve Helen’s concerns, but quietly she concurred. Things were likely to get worse. There were possible links that it wouldn’t take a good researcher long to figure out. Ultimately, most journalists wouldn’t consider it their job to prove or disprove the stories as long as they sold newspapers or got clicks on a website. Social media was worse, as all sorts of theories trended with little or no proof, just people’s thoughts and an internet connection.
Helen fiddled with her wedding ring. ‘A few months after we got married Gareth moved to a new job, and then after I fell pregnant with Rachel, we came here and Gareth started his own business.’
Lexie reached across the table and patted Helen’s hand. ‘The police haven’t reached a conclusion about Spike’s death. I’ve read about a lot of people dying from unknowingly taking fentanyl-laced cocaine. It could be that. They only mentioned Madelaine because she was in Spike’s first film.’
‘I’d like to believe some soap-star is going to do something that’ll make the headlines and everything else gets pushed aside, or the police will solve all this.’ Helen sighed, dragging her hands through her hair. ‘I have an awful feeling this life Gareth and I have made is going to crumble around us.’
The crumbling started within days. It didn’t take long for a journalist to discover that Spike and Renelle knew each other. The report actually said they were close friends, but that was newspapers for you. More noted the link between Spike and Madelaine and wrote about the film’s death scene as well as emphasising that Renelle’s body had been found at Little Stillford. The inconclusive verdict over Madelaine’s death was talked over and dissected.
A day later, the Behind the News blog announced they had talked with an unnamed source who they claimed had worked on Madelaine’s case. Allegedly the source said that Gareth had been a suspect in her death but hadn’t been charged, leaving the reader to think the police had been derelict in their duty and let a murderer go free.
Helen looked more fragile than ever as she got out of her car to pick up Rachel and Jake from school. Lexie had arrived early to make sure she was there before her friend.
‘I had a call from Gareth as I left home.’ Helen locked her car, her shoulders hunched and her gaze firmly on the ground. ‘Two clients have cancelled their business with him.’
Lexie wanted to rush in, declaring that if companies took their business away on the say-so of rumour, it was business they were better off without. But she knew it wasn’t true. Gareth needed the clients to keep his business afloat. Rumours and innuendo could ruin any company. She reached out and gave Helen’s arm a gentle squeeze.
Usually they waited for the children at the school gates, but today Helen stopped well short of them and away from the throng of mothers. Lexie kept the conversation going, one-sided as it was, talking about Max, her ideas for another magazine article, and anything else that came into her head as long as it wasn’t about any of the university friends. All the time, she was aware of the glances that came their way from the other parents.
Tilly and Rachel came out of school together and Lexie waved to them. The twins followed on more slowly.
‘Annalisa gave me this.’ Tilly handed Lexie a pink envelope.
Lexie recognised the pastel shades well enough to guess it was a party invite. She scanned the details to find out how much time she had to buy a present. Tilly was remarkably quiet with none of her usual party talk.
‘What’s up?’ Lexie asked.
‘Rachel hasn’t been invited.’
Lexie glanced at Helen, who pretended to sort through Jake’s lunchbox while Rachel stood nearby, shoulders drooping in a sad approximation of how Helen had stood a few minutes before.
‘Who else hasn’t got one?’
‘Rachel’s the only girl not invited.’
Helen made a placatory gesture to Lexie, but Lexie’s blood pressure was already soaring.
She muttered rude words under her breath, hoping the children wouldn’t hear them.
‘Rachel’s my friend and if she’s not going, I’m not,’ said Tilly. ‘It’s not fair and I don’t like Annalisa now.’
‘Not going is a perfectly fine decision, and you’re right it isn’t fair.’
‘Annalisa’s mum is the one reading the news, not Annalisa.’ said Helen.
Lexie cupped her chin in her hand, tapping her lip. ‘I tell you what. How about we all visit the new Wave Pool that day? We haven’t managed to get there since it opened.’ Her voice was drowned out in a chorus of cheers. ‘Well, I think that’s a firm yes.’
‘Thank you,’ mouthed Helen, her eyes suspiciously bright.
Tilly, Ruth and Fiona climbed into their car, arguing about who was going to sit in the middle. Lexie watched Helen’s car turn at the end of the road. How could she even consider her friend being capable of murdering anyone?
21
Lexie Wyatt
Nettleford, Dorset
2018
Lexie had assumed that Eden and Hunter would both stay in London, but Eden returned to the rental house, alone. When asked, Eden muttered something about Hunter attending meetings he couldn’t cancel. Looking at Eden’s pale, distressed face, lines bracketing her mouth, Lexie could imagine how Madelaine’s death must have affected her all those years ago. In just the few days she’d been away, Eden appeared to have lost weight from her naturally slight frame.
Hunter would no doubt be concerned for Eden, but knew she was with friends in Nettleford. After everything he’d experienced in the refugee camps, there must be a layer of “seen worse than this” to how he felt. He would probably be relieved to be free of this group of people for a few more days, and to organise work that he might feel was more worthwhile.
Everyone had congregated at the rental house and listened as Eden told them what she knew and the little she had gleaned during the police questioning.
Lexie listened carefully. ‘Did you visit Spike while you in London?’
‘I saw him the morning he…’ Eden swallowed hard. ‘He and I met up for coffee. We chatted and when we parted he went back home to work on the script.’
‘What do you know about his friend, Mike?’ Nathan leaned against the lounge door frame.
‘He and Spike were lovers. They were collaborating on the script.’ Eden made a helpless gesture with her hands. ‘Not much else.’
‘Did Spike talk about him a lot?’
‘They weren’t in love, if that’s what you want to know. They’ve known each other for a few years and collaborated on work before. Friends with benefits, I guess, when they were between other relationships.’ Eden finally appeared to realise what Nathan meant. ‘Hell no, I don’t think for one moment that Mike had anything to do with Spike’s death. There was no reason.’
‘Do you know if Spike made a will?’ asked Lexie.
‘I doubt it. Spike always considered himself invincible.’
All through the conversation Gareth drifted around the room, occasionally picking up something and then putting it down somewhere else without even glancing at it. Lexie wished he’d stop. Helen looked as though she could do with him next to her.
‘What did the police want to know?’ Gareth stood next to the bookcase, a glass paperweight in his hand.
‘The usual kind of thing. We seem to be getting an education about police procedures. It seemed to me they couldn
’t decide whether to play good cop or bad cop. When they first came round they were quite sympathetic because it was such a shock for me to hear about Spike and at that point, while it was a suspicious death, it wasn’t THAT suspicious. They came back once they’d linked Spike to Renelle and suddenly it was “so where were you between the hours of…” Just like a cop show.’
‘What hours?’
Eden looked confused by Mitch’s question, but then caught on. ‘I think it was between eleven and three in the morning. Something like that, anyway. Why would I want to kill Spike? Why would anyone?’ She ended on a wail.
‘Someone obviously did,’ muttered Helen.
‘What were you doing?’ asked Gareth.
‘I stayed with Flick, an ex-colleague from The Post,’ said Eden. ‘We went out for dinner and a drink and got back around midnight. Hunter was away for the night, staying with a friend in Oxford.’
‘We were out at the pub but only ’til around nine-thirty,’ said Mitch. ‘Gareth and Nathan have family alibis after that. I wish now I hadn’t been so keen on an early night. I’m sure the police will be racing up to London from here to see if I had time to leap in my car, get to London and do the dirty deed.’
Eden didn’t even rubbish Mitch’s half-hearted attempt at black humour. She’d been massaging her forehead during the conversation, her elbow resting on the arm of the sofa. ‘I need to go and lie down.’ She stood and walked over to the door. ‘I’ll be fine,’ she said to the group in general. ‘You don’t need to hang around.’
There was a lull in the conversation with no one knowing what to say. Gareth’s phone sounded loud in the stillness.
‘Hi Laurence…Yes, Eden said you’d rung her.’
Everyone remained quiet, not wanting to listen to the conversation, but equally not quite knowing whether to go.
‘Mate, that’s fine, come whenever you’re able.’
Helen nudged him. ‘Is Xena coming?’ she whispered. ‘We don’t have space, perhaps a hotel.’
‘Is Xena likely to come with you–’
There was a longer stretch of conversation from Laurence. Gareth’s expression remained neutral but Lexie got the impression he couldn’t wait for the call to end and then leave the house.
‘I’m sorry to hear that, Laurence. Never good timing.’
He finished the call and put the phone back in his pocket. ‘Laurence has work commitments and can’t get here just yet.’
‘And?’ said Helen.
‘Laurence and Xena have split up. He didn’t sound upset about it.’
There was barely a ripple through the group at this news. A break-up couldn’t compare with the two recent deaths.
Lexie wasn’t surprised either. When she considered the pair, they didn’t appear to have much in common, and had quite an age gap between them. Eden and Hunter had a similar age difference, but they worked together which was an added connection.
Lexie had found Xena rather quiet. She considered that thought. Perhaps not quiet exactly, as Xena had talked quite animatedly on some subjects; maybe reticent was a closer description, especially for anything personal. But that wasn’t a crime. People didn’t necessarily want to tell everyone their family history at a first meeting, especially not if those people were your boyfriend’s friends and you hoped you’d never have to meet them again.
There was something about Xena that tugged at Lexie’s memory, but she couldn’t quite grab the thought. It appeared to be happening more often, which was a worry!
Gareth pulled out his car keys and made for the front door. Nathan caught Lexie’s glance and she nodded. Definitely time to go.
‘Helen, Lexie,’ said Mitch as they started to follow the guys. He attempted a slight lift of his lips that couldn’t really be called a smile. ‘I’m heading back to my apartment.’ He hesitated on the word “my” as if it felt strange in his mouth.
‘Are you up to going back there?’ asked Lexie.
‘Who knows? I don’t have much to pack and then I’ll be on my way.’ He thanked Helen and she gave him a hug in response.
Lexie patted his arm as she said goodbye and left the house. Perhaps Hunter not being with Eden had something to do with his decision, or he simply needed the time on his own. At some point he had to face the home he’d shared with Renelle, however difficult.
Lexie called in to see Gareth before going to the supermarket. He had an office in a “shared-space” building in the centre of town. If he was busy, she’d catch him later, but for the moment Lexie thought it was best to talk to him without Helen present.
The building was around five years old, smart but bland, with magnolia painted walls and a brown carpet with a faint pattern. Lexie guessed the architect would declare they’d left it to the occupants to personalise their individual areas. Gareth’s office was on the second floor with a brushed metal sign on the wall next to the door. The receptionist-come-secretary wasn’t at her desk when Lexie arrived, so she walked along the short passageway to Gareth’s office and popped her head around the door. Gareth was staring out of the window and gave a start when Lexie coughed politely.
He made a you caught me gesture and waved her in. His desk was modern, similar to others Lexie had seen in different offices around London, although his chair looked to be a comfortable executive leather model. A photo of Helen stood on a wide, low-level cabinet that no doubt housed the ubiquitous A4 Lever Arch folders that existed in most offices. Next to it were the latest school photos of Rachel and Jake. As Lexie sat in the chair opposite his desk Gareth surprised her with a comment.
‘You’re dying to ask about Madelaine?’
‘Am I really that obvious?’
‘No, but with everything that’s happened, I consider you’ve been quite restrained waiting this long.’
‘Did Madelaine have anything to do with that hit and run incident in Little Stillford? I mean, honestly, not the politically correct answer or the “don’t talk ill of the dead” one.’
‘Is there a particular reason? Do you think it’s got something to do with the recent events?’
‘There’s a really good reason, but I don’t want to say anything at the moment in case I’m wrong.’ Lexie got up from the visitor’s chair by Gareth’s desk and wandered over to the window. In the corner stood a three-drawer metal filing cabinet. Lexie turned her back to it and stared out of the window at the people in the main street who had nothing more to worry about than buying something for tonight’s dinner. Inwardly, she chided herself, as that wasn’t true. They might not have friends dying at a vast rate, but they’d be worried about something.
Lexie turned to face him. ‘I don’t want to lie to you. A lot of it is supposition in my head at the moment.’ And confusion, if she was honest.
Gareth leaned back in his office chair, fingers interlaced. ‘I won’t go over everything that happened that night. You probably know most of it from Helen. During the evening, I sensed something was worrying Madelaine and when she left I raced after her. I thought she was heading back to the room, but she must have had the car keys in her bag. She was already in the driver’s seat as I came out of the trees and she took off like the proverbial bat out of hell. Laurence’s Harley was next to the space where our car had been. We’d looked at the bike earlier and I noticed Laurence leaving the spare key in a tiny compartment on the bike. I didn’t stop to think. The key was there and I took off after Madelaine.’
He paused for a moment, lost in his memories. ‘I drove around for what seemed like ages. Those roads are narrow, twisty and dark, but eventually as I drove over a hill, I saw stationary headlights. Madelaine had skidded on some gravel in the road, overcorrected the car and gone onto a grass verge, hitting a farmer’s fence. When I got to her, she was in the driver’s seat, crying. I checked she wasn’t injured. She was still in shock, said she’d driven off on an impulse but then got lost and was trying to find her way back to the hotel. The car was crumpled, but in the dark it was hard to see how much damage.
It was driveable, so I got it back on the road and told her to follow me. At the hotel, she said she couldn’t face the others, so I collected our bags and we drove back to London.’
‘Did you ask her about the hit and run?’
‘I did when I found out about it, but even before then we talked about the accident and what had happened. She told it slightly differently the next time when she wasn’t so upset, and when I thought about it later I figured that meant she was telling the truth. Don’t people who are lying say exactly the same things because they’ve practised the lie?’
‘That’s what I’ve read.’
‘For what it’s worth, I think she told the truth about the accident even though I found out later that she’d slept with Kurt, and not told me.’
‘How did you find out about Kurt?’
‘The police told me during their questioning. I guess they wanted to see my reaction.’
Lexie kept quiet about the other sins of omission. It wasn’t her place to tell Gareth about Damien Featherstone, but she thought that he would find out soon if he didn’t already know.
Gareth carried on. ‘Madelaine was still upset when we got back to our flat in London. We went to bed. She slept for a while but I didn’t.’ There was the faintest trace of embarrassment on his face. ‘I had a lot to think over. I didn’t know about Kurt, but I decided that weekend I needed to finish with Madelaine. I simply wasn’t in love with her anymore. When she woke up I made breakfast. After she’d eaten, I tried explaining how I felt, not easy when you’re not sure yourself. She was upset and kept asking why. At the time I didn’t realise that she thought I knew about Kurt.’
He gave a sad smile, aimed somewhere behind her left shoulder. The expression, hinting at deep secrets, tugged at her emotions. She didn’t like to ask more questions and let the silence drift around them.
‘Madelaine was wearing the white dress from the film when I found her,’ said Gareth. ‘She loved it so much she asked Spike if she could keep it. I went into our room and she was lying on the bed in the same position as she’d been in the film.’ He sighed. ‘I’ve never told anyone that. Eden and I saw her before the police took her away and they asked us not to mention it. They said they keep certain knowledge to themselves. Information they can use to confirm they’ve got the right person. I guess after this long it doesn’t matter.’
The Worst Lie Page 23
