by LK Chapman
‘And have him start saying he thinks he killed someone?’
Gareth thought for a moment. ‘Maybe that’s not such a great idea.’
Natalie swallowed hard. ‘I think I need to figure out exactly what happened that weekend. Verity said she heard someone else was there, maybe I can find out who–’
‘Josh told me about this theory. God knows why anyone is still talking about it, let alone taking it seriously.’
‘You saw Josh!’ she pleaded. ‘It’s killing him, Gareth. Help me get in touch with people from that weekend. Maybe it is Toby we should be suspicious of, not this stranger, if they even exist. Toby was Mikayla’s boyfriend. Maybe he pointed the finger at Josh to take the focus away from himself. Maybe he did something he shouldn’t have and ended up getting away with it.’
Gareth was silent for a long time, and then he nodded. ‘Well, there is something I should probably tell you both. I do know a bit more about what happened at the lake, but I had my reasons for keeping it to myself.’
Natalie’s breath caught in her throat. ‘Really? You know something that could help Josh?’
‘I think so, yes. But first we need to get him to come back inside.’
The day of Mikayla’s death
Josh
34
Once the sun had begun to rise, Josh and Gareth crept down into the trees behind the tent, keen to spy on Toby again. They were both hung-over, and after a few minutes Gareth complained that he wanted to go to sleep, but Josh shushed him. ‘They’re going to hear us,’ he hissed.
They reached a good spot in the trees. Most of the girls had gone now; only Mikayla and one other girl had stayed overnight, along with most of the boys. Josh assumed they’d stayed up talking most of the night, and when they peeped out through the trees they saw the small group, a few of them still asleep with jackets over them, surrounded by empty bottles and cans, the rest talking quietly. Although it was early, the day already felt warm. Toby and Mikayla were nearby and from their body language they didn’t seem like they were getting along too well, though Gareth and Josh couldn’t hear the words.
‘I guess she’s still pissed off with him,’ Gareth whispered.
Josh’s face flushed with anger. ‘If he’s upset her again…’
‘Come on, Josh, give it a rest. I thought you were angry with her last night, after all that stuff she was telling you about liking that other guy–’
Josh didn’t reply. He didn’t want to remember that conversation.
‘Screw this,’ Gareth said, ‘I’m going back to bed. Nobody should be up this early in the morning.’
***
Josh woke up again to bright sunshine filling the inside of the tent with a yellow glow. It was hot and stuffy, and Gareth wasn’t there. He groaned. He hadn’t expected to fall asleep again; he’d intended to hide away in here moping until he eventually felt able to come out and face everybody.
The tent door’s zip shot upwards, startling him, and Gareth came in. Sitting down heavily, he said, ‘You know what, we should probably just go home. I don’t want to see any more of Toby, he’s pissing me off. The weekend’s already ruined.’
‘What’s Toby doing?’ Josh asked.
‘I don’t know where he is right now, but all the others are still down there. They don’t look like they’re going to move any time soon, so I can’t see the point in us staying.’
Josh sighed. ‘Okay.’ He rubbed his face with his hands. ‘I feel like shit. I need some air.’
‘Yeah, it’s fucking hot, isn’t it?’
Outside, Josh blinked in the sunlight. It was fucking hot. He couldn’t bear being in the campsite anymore, or near Toby, or any of them. This was supposed to be an escape. Somewhere away from Toby, and his family, and everything that made him unhappy. He kicked at the dusty ground angrily, making his way down through the trees towards the path around the lake. It wouldn’t take too long to walk around it. There was a nice secluded area on the other side. He could sit down there and collect his thoughts for a while.
Natalie
35
‘It was while you went back to sleep in the tent,’ Gareth said to Josh.
Natalie turned to him expectantly, though Josh still seemed to be in some sort of trance. They had managed to get him to come back inside, though, which was something.
‘What was?’ she asked.
‘Well, when we went back into the tent in the morning, I couldn’t get to sleep. So I went back out and I saw Toby and Mikayla sneak off to talk in private. They were pretty angry with each other. I just thought it would be funny, to follow them and hear what they were talking about. I thought we could use it to wind Toby up. They walked down the main path, and I stayed in the trees, following them. They were talking, and I couldn’t hear them. Then all of a sudden they stopped walking. They were shouting.’
‘What were they saying?’
‘She’d broken up with him. And he was not pleased.’
‘They’d broken up?’ Natalie asked. ‘She broke up with him just before she died?’
‘Yes,’ Gareth said. ‘Mikayla told him she didn’t want to be with him any more, and that there was someone else, too. The guy she told Josh about, I guess.’
‘Mikayla liked someone else?’ she said to Josh.
He nodded listlessly.
‘Josh, did you hear what Gareth said? Mikayla broke up with Toby just before she died.’
‘It makes no difference.’
‘It makes all the difference!’ she said, wanting to grab him and shake him. But he’d gone too far inside his shell, so she turned back to Gareth.
‘What did Toby say about that?’
‘Toby was furious with her. He yelled at her to get away from him, and she ran off towards the clearing, where she went swimming. I turned straight around and ran back through the trees to the campsite. I was pretty angry with Toby. Mikayla was nice to us. Well, she sort of was. Either way, she didn’t deserve for him to react like that. It was scary – I mean, not for me, but it would have been for someone on the receiving end of that anger. But after they argued, I didn’t see where Toby went.’
Natalie curled a tendril of her hair around her fingers. ‘That doesn’t look great for him,’ she said at length. ‘It would raise a few questions, anyway.’
‘Exactly,’ Gareth said. ‘He was Mikayla’s boyfriend, and I’m sure the police talked to him–’
‘They did,’ Josh said, and Natalie turned at the sound of his voice. So he was listening and taking it in.
‘But nobody knew they had broken up apart from me.’
Josh turned to look at him. ‘Why didn’t you tell the police?’
‘Because I used it to get something I felt was more important. Me and you couldn’t leave any more, like we’d planned to, not straight away anyway. We couldn’t run away when there was about to be an inquest – it would have looked way too suspicious. But I knew you couldn’t deal with Toby. Even if he was leaving for uni that autumn, I knew you wouldn’t be able to make it through the rest of that summer. So I made a deal with him.’
‘What kind of deal?’
Gareth shrugged. ‘I wouldn’t tell the police about the argument if he left you alone. And it worked, didn’t it?’
‘You – you put me above justice for Mikayla?’
‘I had to. It wasn’t easy to keep quiet, but it was too late for Mikayla. Nothing could bring her back. But Toby was making your life hell, and I had the chance to stop him. So I took it. I don’t regret it. I’d do it all over again.’
‘Do you … do you actually think he could have done something to her?’ Natalie asked quietly, after a long pause.
‘Yeah,’ Gareth said. ‘He was angry enough, I think. He had a nasty temper. Well, you’ve met him, haven’t you? You know what he’s like. But as I said, I didn’t see where he went after the argument. He could have made his way back towards the campsite, he could have gone after Mikayla. I have no idea.’
‘I can’t
believe you lied about this,’ Josh said. ‘You protected him.’
‘No,’ Gareth said firmly. ‘No, I did not. I protected you. I couldn’t care less about Toby. I would have liked to see him get what’s coming to him. It was infuriating not to be able to tell the police and see him squirm, but you were more important to me than that. I didn’t have anyone else apart from you. If it wasn’t for you I would have completely lost my shit back then.’
***
Once Gareth had gone, Natalie put her hand over Josh’s. ‘You see,’ she said, ‘it makes no sense for it to be you.’
‘I was jealous too. She told me she liked someone else the night before she died. I was angry about it.’
‘Then you would have done something straight away, if you were capable of it, which you’re not. You wouldn’t have slept on it and then decided to kill her the next day, would you?’
‘Natalie–’
‘No, Josh. This troll, they’re trying to get a reaction. It’s not real. They probably don’t really believe any of this stuff, they just want attention. It is nonsense. I don’t really believe Toby did anything to her either, even if he was angry. I truly believe it was an accident. Gareth has it in for Toby, of course he’s going to cast him in the worst light. But the truth is Mikayla was still drunk from the night before, went swimming in a dangerous lake and drowned. She’s not the first person to do something like that and sadly she won’t be the last. Deep down, you know that, Josh. You know that.’
She squeezed his hand, but he wouldn’t meet her eye, just gazed silently across the room, lost in his own thoughts again. But then he turned to face her. ‘You never did talk to me,’ he said. ‘You said you needed to.’
She sighed. ‘It’s just … Verity has let me go, that’s all.’
‘You’ve lost your job?’
‘Well, yes. But I think it might be good for me. It’s time for a change.’ She stopped short of mentioning Hartbury Hotel. He wouldn’t be able to deal with that right now.
‘When’s your last day?’
‘The end of this week.’
He shook his head. ‘I’m so sorry, Natalie,’ he said. ‘I’m so sorry about all of this.’
She put her arms around him. ‘I know,’ she whispered. ‘I know. But you are stronger than this. No matter what anyone made you believe in the past, you are stronger than this, and you are good, Josh. You really are.’
36
‘I just wanted to come and see how you are,’ Verity said as Natalie let her in to the flat. ‘I don’t have much on this morning, and I know it must feel really weird this week now you’re not coming into the shop–’
‘Honestly, V, I don’t want you to worry,’ Natalie said. ‘Come in and sit down. I’ll make you a coffee.’
Once they were sat together on the sofa, Verity smiled at Natalie’s outfit. ‘I’m glad you’re taking it easy for a bit.’
Natalie looked down at herself – she’d forgotten she was yet to get dressed, and was currently wearing a pair of pyjama bottoms and a sleeveless pale blue t-shirt, with a large picture of a watermelon slice and the word ‘Juicy!’ written underneath. Tendrils of red hair escaped from the messy bun she’d piled her hair into. ‘Yesterday I was bustling around sorting out wedding stuff, filming a new video, but today I feel kind of lazy.’
‘I’m not surprised. You’ve been under a lot of pressure.’
‘Well, you’ll be reassured to know that I think I’ve found another job already,’ Natalie said, as she moved a heap of wedding magazines from the coffee table so they could put their mugs down. ‘I won’t say too much about it because I haven’t formally accepted yet, but I’m excited. So you really don’t need to be concerned about me. And if you do ever need a hand with something, you can still come to me and I’ll do whatever I can.’
‘Thanks, Nat,’ Verity said, ‘I appreciate that. And that’s great you’ve found something else. I’m so pleased for you.’
‘Like I said, it’s not a done deal yet. But I think it could be good for me.’
‘So, what’s your new video about?’ Verity asked, taking a big sip of coffee and settling back against the sofa cushions.
‘Bridal hair, and veils.’
Verity sat forward again eagerly. ‘Oh, please tell me what you’re going to have!’
‘I haven’t decided yet! Anyway, I need to edit the video first.’ She gestured vaguely towards Josh’s laptop on the coffee table. ‘Josh has had to get used to me hogging his laptop all the time now. It’s way better than mine.’
‘I think it’s great that you’re still carrying on with the vlog, Nat. Considering all that’s happened.’
‘Well, I’m hardly going to give up just like that. Lots of people enjoy watching it, and even if it’s a bit less fun for me right now, I have to believe this won’t go on forever.’
***
Despite what she’d said to Verity, Natalie couldn’t bring herself to edit the video straight away. Talking about veils in her video was bound to set off a whole new spate of insults about her scars and how she should hide her face, and she couldn’t deal with it right now. After showering and dressing, she headed outside, hoping a walk in the fresh air would blow away some of the lethargy that was beginning to settle. It was spitting with rain, but the sun was trying to break through the clouds, and besides, she hated not being active. It felt like this after her accident, while she was recovering. In the end she walked much further than she’d originally planned, and by the time she got back to the flat her feet were aching.
‘Toby!’ she said, surprised by the figure she found standing outside the flat. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘I was going to phone you, but then I thought it would be nice to see you in person to formally offer you the event manager position.’
‘Oh,’ Natalie said, taken aback. ‘Well, thank you. It’s kind of you to come round. You’ll have to excuse me, though, I’ve just been for a long walk and I’ve worn myself out–’
‘Let’s talk inside, then. You sit down and I’ll make you a cuppa.’
Natalie sighed inwardly. There wasn’t really any refusing him, not when he was about to become her new boss. And it would be good to start thinking about her new position. She wasn’t exactly enjoying having time on her hands right now.
Once inside, he insisted that she sit down, despite her protests that really she should be making the drinks, and before long he handed her a mug of strong tea. She had to admit she was grateful to accept it as she made herself comfortable on the sofa.
‘You look to me like you need some TLC,’ Toby remarked after giving her an appraising look.
‘I’m okay,’ she said. ‘It’s been a trying few weeks, that’s all.’
Toby looked around the flat. ‘You’ve certainly put your mark on this place.’
She nodded. Josh’s flat had started out modern and minimal, but she’d added a layer of colour to everything. The grey sofa – which looked like a piece of office furniture – had acquired a trio of cushions from her flat that clashed so comprehensively with it that she’d had to laugh when she’d first put them down; one was bright yellow with a flamingo on it, another hot pink and emblazoned with pineapples, while a third was blue and extremely fluffy. Equally, the high-gloss white kitchen had gained an array of bright pink, yellow and blue accessories, and a stripy pot containing a large round cactus sat in the centre of Josh’s glass dining table.
‘Does Josh like all this stuff?’ Toby asked, his fingers resting on the blue fluffy cushion.
Is he saying my stuff is ugly? Her head started to throb. She hadn’t had time to brace herself for a conversation with Toby.
‘So, will you take the job?’ he asked, without waiting for a reply to his dig about her home decor.
‘Uh…’ she faltered. Last week she’d been sure that Josh would see past the fact it was Toby’s hotel and be happy for her, but now she wasn’t so sure. The way he’d broken down and started to believe he’d been responsible fo
r Mikayla’s death had shaken her, and despite what she’d said to Verity about being excited and feeling the new job would be good for her, she was still uneasy about it.
‘If you’ve got reservations because of Josh – because you think it might be a bit weird if you’re working for me–’
‘No,’ she lied. ‘It’s fine.’ She paused. ‘Could I just let you know later today, maybe tomorrow? Would that be okay?’
An uncomfortable feeling settled in her stomach. I have to talk to Josh about it first. She’d talk to him that night, she promised herself. And she really would this time. She couldn’t hide it from him any longer and she shouldn’t be trying to. Lies and secrets were the last thing their relationship needed right now.
‘That’s absolutely fine, Nat. But are you sure you’re okay?’ he said. ‘You do look a bit under the weather.’
She was forced to agree. ‘I do feel tired,’ she said.
‘Why don’t you go and lie down? Get some beauty sleep? We need you on top form if you’re starting at Hartbury, after all.’
‘I–’
‘I’ll tidy up in here if you want,’ he said, glancing at the mugs on the table. ‘I can load the dishwasher or something.’
‘Don’t you need to be at the hotel?’
‘Afternoon off,’ he said.
‘Then surely you’d rather be doing something more exciting than tidying?’
He wouldn’t take the hint, though. In the end, she admitted defeat and went to lie down. Her head was really pounding now. Surely as soon as he’d done the tidying Toby would leave her in peace.
She must have been even more tired than she realised, as when she woke it was late afternoon. There was no sign of Toby, but he’d tidied up as he promised, the dishwasher whirring away, her wedding magazines stacked neatly, and her scatter cushions plumped and arranged in a neat row on the sofa. Natalie felt refreshed, and grateful to him. It had been a kind gesture, even if the way he treated other people left a lot to be desired. Perhaps she would try to get the video edited before Josh got home from work. It would be nice to feel like she’d achieved something.
