Till Death Do Us Part

by Stephen Edger

  Ben glanced at Alice. ‘No, I’m just driving Alice home. What is it?’

  ‘I’m guessing you haven’t heard the news then? Major RTC on the M3 near Basingstoke. Four cars involved, and two HGVs, one of which is ours.’

  Alice had overheard enough of Ben’s work conversations to know an RTC was a road traffic collision, and if it involved another lorry and four cars, it was a major headache that he didn’t need.

  ‘Shit!’ Ben sighed.

  ‘Sorry, boss,’ James continued. ‘I know we’re not supposed to disturb you because you’re officially on holiday, but I thought I should let you know.’

  Ben looked over to Alice again as if trying to choose the words to ask her a question, but then he turned back to face the road. ‘I’ll just drop Alice home and then I’ll come to the office. Do we know if anyone’s hurt?’

  ‘News is still coming in, I’ll keep you updated. I’ve sent a team down there to assess the situation, but we’re going to need to have the solicitors on standby until fault is determined. I’ve already put a call into the insurance company. Should I wait here for you before heading down there?’

  ‘Yeah, hang tight. I shouldn’t be too long. Who was the driver?’

  ‘Yann.’

  ‘Shit!’ Ben exclaimed again, and Alice suddenly noticed how much he was sweating, despite the high-powered air conditioning.

  ‘As I said, I’ve spoken to the solicitors and they’re waiting for your call.’

  ‘Thanks, James. I’ll be there in twenty minutes,’ Ben said, disconnecting the call. ‘I’m sorry, do you mind? I’ll be back in time for us to go out together later.’

  Alice reached for his hand and squeezed reassuringly. ‘No, I understand. I just hope nobody’s hurt.’

  He raised her hand to his lips and gently kissed the back of it. ‘That makes two of us. Yann isn’t exactly working for us legally. That’s to say, he’s allowed in the country and he had a working visa, but it expired a few weeks ago and he’s still waiting for the renewal to be approved.’

  Suddenly Ben’s anxiety became clearer. The fact that Yann had been involved in the accident would throw a huge spotlight on their operation, but if he was also the cause of the accident then the civil litigation alone could be enough to sink the business.

  ‘I can’t believe you’re still giving him work to do knowing his visa had expired,’ she exclaimed.

  ‘The renewal process is just a tick-box exercise. He’s had visas renewed before and it was only a matter of time until this one was renewed. Yann is … Yann works in the UK because he gets paid well and can send money home to his wife and children in Macedonia. A few weeks of unemployment would have a huge impact on his family. I thought we were doing the right thing for him as a person. The visa process is just a load of bureaucratic red tape.’

  There was no point arguing with him. He’d been running the logistics business a long time before he met her, and although she benefited from its successes, it was his business, not something they shared.

  Pulling up at the gate, she kissed him on the cheek and climbed out of the car, standing at the kerbside as he pulled away and sped off in the direction of the office. The gates creaked and groaned as they slid open, and she didn’t wait for them to close before heading up the driveway. As she got closer to the house, she was surprised to find Dave’s car still parked where it had been this morning. Ben had assured her that Dave was gone and would be out of their hair for a few days, so why was he still parked here? Unless, of course, he’d caught a taxi home, but it wouldn’t make sense for him to leave his car here. Even if he was still over the limit from their drinking last night, she knew it wouldn’t stop him driving.

  She was tempted to phone Ben and tell him, but he had enough on his plate already. So, heading up to the front door, she opened it and was about to call out Dave’s name to find out where he was when she heard his voice booming from the living room. He didn’t sound happy.

  Leaving the front door open, she slipped off her shoes and crept closer, curious to know what had got him so animated. The door was ajar and it soon became clear that the conversation was one-sided – he was on the phone.

  ‘Don’t be fucking ridiculous!’ he admonished gruffly. ‘I told you I’d get you the fucking money, I just need some more time.’ A pause. ‘Don’t threaten me! Don’t forget, you’re the one who got us into this mess to begin with … I don’t care what you bloody tell him, but threatening me isn’t going to get him what he wants any sooner.’

  She’d always known Dave moved in different circles to her. In all the years she’d known him, she’d never seen him do a traditional nine-to-five type of job. He was someone who seemed to dabble in a number of different fields, but always had cash on the hip to spare. He owned his own house as far as she knew, but long-term planning had never been his thing.

  A breeze blew at her feet as she pressed her hands into the door frame so she could hear him better.

  ‘No listen, the last thing either of us needs is the heat on us, not with this Bournemouth thing hanging over our heads.’

  Alice froze, straining to hear more.

  ‘No, I think that should all blow over, and they bought our version of events. The others are too shit scared to go against what we told them … yes, I’m sure. We all stuck to the same story, so they’ve no reason to doubt what we said. Don’t worry, I made sure everyone knew the timeline of activity.’

  Her eyes widened. Whoever Dave was speaking to, they’d been together the night Kerry was murdered, and they’d lied to the police. Part of her wanted to tear out of the house and pretend she hadn’t heard, but she needed to know who Dave was speaking to, and why they’d lied.

  The breeze whipped into a gust and the front door slammed shut. Alice sensed Dave just the other side of the door. She’d never have enough time to get away from the door before he opened it, so she did the only thing she could. Releasing her grip on the door frame, she pushed the lounge door open, as if Dave wasn’t even there, and then made a show of surprise when she came face-to-face with him.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ she asked, unable to remove the trace of anxiety from her voice.

  ‘I’ll have to call you back,’ he muttered into the phone, before disconnecting it and putting it in his pocket. ‘I was just making a business call before I left,’ he said to Alice.

  His face was as clear as a book – he was trying to suss out how much of the conversation she could have overheard.

  ‘Ben just dropped me off,’ she said, ignoring Dave’s inquisitive stare and hoping he wouldn’t see through her lie. ‘He’s been called to work because of an accident.’

  She moved to the French doors, letting out a small breath of relief where he wouldn’t see. Staring into the garden, she willed him to go.

  ‘You need me to do anything before I leave?’ he asked, pulling on his leather jacket.

  She spun on her heel and forced a grateful smile. ‘No. Thanks, but I’m just going to have a swim and chill out. Don’t let me keep you.’

  He moved across and kissed her cheek, the booze and tobacco still heavy on his breath and the stubble grazing her cheek. She didn’t reciprocate.

  Watching him head out of the room, she held her breath until she heard the front door closing once more, and then she dropped to her knees, fighting against the sting in her eyes. There was only one reason she could think of for Dave to have lied to the police about what had happened in Bournemouth, but what frightened her more was the prospect that Ben also knew more than he was telling her.

  TWENTY-FIVE

  Alice’s arms tore through the water as her mind battled with the prospect that Dave wasn’t the only one keeping secrets about what had really happened in Bournemouth.

  Her arms ached and her lungs burned as she reached the pool’s edge, but rather than stopping and resting, she flipped over and pushed herself back towards the other side. What had Dave meant when he’d said they had bought their story? Presumably the �
��they’ he was referring to were the detectives who had interviewed the group after the wedding, but why had they needed to manufacture a story, rather than detailing exactly what had happened? As much as she tried to find a rational answer, her mind could only reach a single conclusion: at least one of them had killed Kerry Valentine.

  Bursting out of the water, she grabbed at the tiled edge of the pool, clinging on as she sucked in lungfuls of air. Snapping off her goggles, she threw them at the wall in frustration, as the oxygen-filled blood penetrated her tired muscles. There had to be another reason for what Dave had said on the phone. Who the hell was he talking to anyway?

  Stretching out her arms, she pulled herself up onto the ledge and continued to take deep breaths. Her towel was resting on the small plastic chair by the wall, and she picked it up and wrapped it around her middle, snuggling into its warm Egyptian cotton comfort. The swim cap was pinching at her head, and she squashed her finger in at the edge nearest her neck and felt an instant relief as she peeled it off.

  It had been Ben’s idea to buy a house with a pool. not that either of them made full use of it. It was a nice addition to the property, but what with work and social engagements, it was rare that either of them got to spend much time in it, let alone together. The maintenance cost of keeping it heated and clean didn’t bear thinking about, but she’d never been more grateful to have it than she was today.

  Slipping the dressing gown from the back of the chair to her shoulders and shimmying out of the towel, she stepped into her flip-flops and exited the enclosed area, skirting across the driveway to the main house. Immediately she noticed her mum’s car at the gates.

  Alice waved and stepped into the house, pressing the switch on the side of the wall to let her mother in. Alice’s face lit up when she saw her stepbrother Scott step out of the car.

  ‘So this is how the other half live,’ he commented, leaning in and giving her a squeeze. ‘There was no need to get dressed up on our account.’

  She rolled her eyes and blew her damp fringe from her forehead. ‘Well, Scott, if you’d phoned ahead I’d have had the servants lay out the red carpet for you and had the brass band play the national anthem.’

  He chuckled. ‘How are you, sis?’

  ‘Surviving. You?’

  He nodded. ‘Your mum asked me to drive her over, she’s been worried,’ he said with a whisper, as the lady in question appeared at the door.

  Alice directed the two of them through to the dining room while she went off to make tea. Carrying the tray through, with a plate of biscuits to snack on, she found her mother sitting at the large dining table, with Scott staring out of the window.

  ‘Where’s your husband today?’ her mother asked as Alice poured tea into three cups.

  ‘An emergency at work. Was there a reason the two of you stopped by, or were you just coming to check on me?’

  Alice saw the two of them exchange looks, and slumped down into the chair closest to her mum. It certainly wasn’t Scott’s style to turn up unannounced.

  ‘What’s the latest on Ben’s situation with the police, dear?’ her mother asked. Alice knew her mother wasn’t asking because she was concerned about her only daughter. She was old‑fashioned and still worried about intangible matters like reputation and social standing.

  ‘Nothing’s changed since I messaged you last night. The police released him while they continue their enquiries. I don’t know what else to tell you.’

  ‘There was a press conference earlier. Did you see that?’

  Alice nodded. ‘Some of it.’

  ‘So was your Ben the last person to see her alive?’

  Alice didn’t like what her mother was implying. ‘I think the killer was probably the last person to see her alive.’

  ‘Don’t be obtuse, Alice. You know what I mean. How is Ben taking the news?’

  ‘He’s actually pretty cut up about it all. I know you two haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, but the police do occasionally get it wrong, you know.’

  It wasn’t that Alice didn’t love her mother, but their relationship had been strained since Alice’s father had passed away when she was only seven. Although Scott’s father had been a decent stand-in, Alice had never really forgiven her mum for marrying less than a year after her father was cremated. As an only child, it had taken a lot of adjustment to suddenly have an older brother, but Scott had made an effort to welcome her into the family, and she couldn’t have hoped for a better stepbrother. Relations with her mum had never returned to what they’d once been, though, and that was partly why Alice resented her mum’s attitude towards Ben.

  ‘I forgot the sugar,’ Alice said, standing and heading for the kitchen so she could compose herself.

  Scott followed her out. ‘Hey, are you sure everything’s okay? You don’t seem yourself.’

  ‘I’m fine,’ Alice sighed, suddenly remembering seeing Scott’s name on Ben’s list. ‘What happened in Malia?’

  He frowned in confusion. ‘What? I don’t understand.’

  ‘I know there was a fight or something and I want to know what happened.’

  He narrowed his eyes. ‘How do you know about that? Did Ben tell you?’

  She murmured noncommittally.

  ‘How much did he tell you?’ Scott demanded.

  ‘Just that there’d been a fight and you lot had been lucky you hadn’t had your collars felt.’

  Scott pushed the kitchen door closed. ‘Listen, before I say anything, you can’t tell your mum, yeah? Promise me. She doesn’t need to know and you know how she worries.’

  Alice nodded.

  Scott ran a hand through his blond locks. At six foot three, he towered over her petite five foot frame. ‘Did Ben tell you there was a girl?’

  ‘He said one of the group slept with the girlfriend of some other group and that all hell broke loose.’

  ‘Well you should know that when I came on to her, I had no idea she was already spoken for, let alone that her boyfriend was as big as he was and was in the same resort.’

  Alice’s mouth dropped. ‘You’re the one that caused the fight?’

  ‘Yeah, I thought you said Ben had told you.’

  ‘I thought he meant someone else from the group, not you!’

  ‘It isn’t something I’m proud of, okay? But it wasn’t me who went looking for trouble. We were out at the bar, it was late and we’d been drinking all day, and one of the lads said this girl was giving me the eye, so I went over to talk to her. I could see she was upset and I offered to buy her a drink. Then, before I knew what was happening, she had her tongue down my throat and was dragging me back to her room. It was only when her boyfriend rocked up the following morning that I worked out why she’d been so keen to get me into bed. I managed to scarper before he could catch me, but then we ran into him and his friends that night and that’s when he broke a bottle and threatened to run me through with it. If it hadn’t been for Dave and Ben, God knows what would have happened.’

  Alice could see the genuine relief in his eyes as he spoke, and maybe for once brawn had won out over brain. ‘Sounds like you were lucky they had your back.’

  Scott nodded, looking eager to change the conversation. ‘How is Ben doing after … well, with everything that’s going on?’

  ‘He’s surviving,’ Alice smiled. ‘It’s stressful though, for both of us.’

  ‘Is there anything I can do to help?’

  Alice considered the offer. ‘You were in Bournemouth with them last weekend, right? What can you remember about Kerry Valentine leaving? Did anyone go out after her? Did she look worried, or concerned?’

  ‘I was there when she arrived, but I left before the end of her show because I had to get back home for an early start the next day. I drove that night, and I wasn’t drinking like the rest of them. I must have taken off about ten minutes before she finished, I think.’

  ‘Did you tell the police that?’ Alice pressed.

  ‘Of course. I went with Dave and the o
thers yesterday and made a statement. I told them what I saw and when I left.’

  ‘Did you see anyone hanging about outside who might have been waiting for her?’

  ‘No, but to be honest I wasn’t really concentrating. I headed out and walked back to where I’d parked my car, and then I drove home. That was it.’

  ‘Are you sure that’s all that happened?’

  ‘Absolutely. Why, what do you think happened?’

  ‘I overheard Dave talking on the phone today, suggesting that he and the rest of you had lied to the police about what really happened that night. Listen, I won’t be angry with you, but I just want to know what Ben’s mixed up in. I’m going crazy with worry, panicking that the police will come back and arrest him again.’

  ‘Okay, well I don’t know what Dave’s referring to. He didn’t ask me to lie to the police.’

  She wanted desperately to believe him.

  Scott’s eyes narrowed. ‘I may be many things, but I’m not a killer. I don’t think Ben is either. When Kerry was performing, I’ve never seen someone look as uncomfortable as Ben. He wasn’t enjoying it – probably paranoid that you’d find out. He loves you.’

  She let him hug her, grateful for his words, but she still felt there was more he was holding back. Before she had chance to challenge him, her mum called out to them from the lounge.

  TWENTY-SIX

  It was after five before Alice’s mum and Scott left. There was still no word from Ben, which had to mean he was still busy dealing with the fallout from the motorway accident. Not for the first time she hoped that he was okay. He’d been white as a sheet at the restaurant when he’d caught a glimpse of the press conference, and she hadn’t wanted him haring off to another crisis, but perhaps there was some truth in the idea that nothing cured stress like the distraction of more worry.