One Mistake: A totally unputdownable gripping psychological thriller

by Rona Halsall

  He glared at her, the stony expression back on his face, but at least he was still there. This was her chance.

  She began to speak, and at last she was able to tell him everything. Matt’s face didn’t change, his eyes ice cold.

  ‘Finished?’ he asked when she finally stopped talking.

  She nodded.

  He pointed at her. ‘You need to learn to listen. That’s your problem. Always thinking you know best.’ He gave an angry snort. ‘You think you can distract me with this story about stealing money for me, don’t you? Think I’ll somehow overlook the fact that you went away for a weekend with your lover and ended up having some sort of kinky sex with these other guys, and one of them filmed it.’

  She gasped, couldn’t believe he could think like that. ‘No, Matt. No. That’s not what—’

  He stepped back a pace, his hand on the door handle, hatred in his eyes. ‘I’m not listening to any more of your lies. Goodbye, Sara.’

  ‘But what about—’ He went inside before she could finish, slamming the door behind him. She heard the lock turn, the bolt ram home.

  The strength drained out of her legs, along with any hope that she could persuade Matt of her innocence. She leant against the wall, sliding slowly to the ground, too shocked to cry or scream, her mind an empty vessel with the final goodbye echoing inside it.

  That’s it, we’re over. Eighteen years they’d been together, and look how quickly they’d been torn apart, her family ripped from her before she could understand what risks she was taking, what danger she was in.

  By trying to make good on a bad decision, she’d ruined everything.

  Just like Mum, she thought. Matt wasn’t far wrong with that. He’d thrown it at her as an insult, the worst insult he could think of. He’d never had a good opinion of Sara’s mother. But Sara understood now what had happened in her mum’s life. It hadn’t been wilful neglect; it was a struggle for survival.

  She dragged herself to her feet. I have to get through this. I have to be there for my kids.

  Hailey will know what to do, she thought as she trudged back to her car. She turned for a last look at the house, and there was Ezra, his face at the lounge window. He was crying, banging on the glass, wanting to be with her. She couldn’t bear it, and turned back, desperate to comfort him, but although she rang and rang at the doorbell, hammered on the door, nobody answered, and when she looked again at the window, Ezra had gone and the curtains were closed.

  There was no choice but to leave. Her presence was causing too much upset for her children, and it wasn’t doing anyone any good. She’d made enough of a scene, a couple of the neighbours opening their doors to see what all the noise was about. Head bowed, she slunk back to her car and sat in the driver’s seat, looking at the house. All the curtains at the front were closed now, blocking her out. Banished from my own home.

  She started the car and drove up to the moors, stopping in the car park, which only had a couple of other cars in it. She should have gone back to work, but she was in no fit state, her mind numb with the completeness of her family’s rejection of her. Except Ezra. He’d wanted her, and that thought broke her heart even more.

  There was so much that she didn’t understand, forces at work that had done this to her. Somebody was behind it all. Somebody had organised for her to be drugged, for those men to have access to her unconscious body. Did they pay for the pleasure? It was possible, and the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. And still she couldn’t escape the idea that the only person who might have been able to arrange everything was James.

  She closed her eyes and forced herself to visualise the scene in the video. No shots gave any clue to the men’s identities – it was too cleverly filmed to reveal them in such an obvious way. But one man had worn a signet ring on his little finger, and now that she thought about it, she was sure she’d seen it before somewhere. But where? The man who’d been messing with her feet was older, she felt; something to do with his posture, the slackness of the skin on his body, even though he had dark hair. Probably dyed.

  Her eyes sprang open and she grabbed her handbag, found a little notebook she kept in there and started making a list, capturing any memories that might help identify the men. The older man, a big mole on his forearm, quite distinctive, about halfway up. The other one, really hairy hands. He was slender, long-limbed, with olive skin. No distinguishing marks, just the ring.

  She made herself focus, ask the questions that would lead her to whoever had done this to her.

  Who had been filming?

  She frowned as she tried to work out the logistics. Had the two men filmed each other, or was there a third party in the room? Providing the video as a keepsake, a way of reliving the experience they had just bought? Or was it more opportunistic – two of the hotel staff who had worked out how to gain pleasure at their guests’ expense without them even being aware they’d been violated? Maybe that was where the thrill came from. She shivered, not wanting to keep the images in her mind a moment longer.

  Instead, she switched her thoughts to the next puzzle. Somebody had sent that video to Matt. The first question was who. But even more puzzling was why.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Thoroughly confused, she decided to go for a walk to see if that would help her think straight. The steep hill pulled at her leg muscles, making her chest heave, her heart pound. She didn’t stop until she’d climbed to the top of the quarry, the valley laid out below her in the milky sunshine of the day.

  Such a beautiful view, but there was danger down there underneath the loveliness, and the more she thought about it, the more certain she was that she’d been targeted. It wasn’t a coincidence, her being at the hotel, the men able to access her room. It was planned. And however much James protested his innocence, he had to be involved, didn’t he?

  Fiona’s warning made sense now. Had something similar happened to her when she and James had been seeing each other? She pondered on that for a moment, and decided it was possible, because Fiona wouldn’t have got the police involved, not at the risk of her marriage. Was James someone who manipulated people with kindness, got them cornered, then took advantage? A wolf in sheep’s clothing.

  The ringing of her phone startled her from her thoughts. It was Hailey.

  ‘Where are you, Sara? I just went to the community centre looking for you.’ She was whispering, her words hissing into Sara’s ear. ‘We need to talk.’

  ‘I’m on the moors. Top of the quarry.’

  ‘Bloody hell, what are you doing up there?’ She sounded panicky now. ‘Don’t do anything stupid, okay?’

  Bit late for that, Sara thought, glad that at least her sister sounded more sympathetic than the last time she’d spoken to her. ‘I’m fine, no need to get your knickers in a twist. I just needed some space to think.’

  ‘I’ll come and get you. I’ve found something out, and… Well, it’s better I tell you face to face.’ Sara’s heart stuttered. Sounds ominous. ‘And I have a little something for you as well.’

  Before Sara could respond, Hailey had gone, leaving her wondering what she’d been up to. And why was she whispering?

  Ten minutes later, from her perch on a large boulder, she watched Hailey’s car drive up the road and pull into the car park. She saw her get out of the driver’s side then open the back door and reach inside. A small figure hopped out. Ezra! Sara slid off the boulder and ran down the path to meet them, her feet pounding on the uneven ground, her breath catching in her throat as she forced herself to go faster. Running had never been her thing, but her body took over, the need to be with her son driving her onwards.

  ‘Mummy! Mummy!’ Ezra shouted, dashing to meet her, his cuddly Pikachu in one hand, bouncing against his leg.

  Too breathless to speak, Sara scooped him into her arms and buried her face in his hair, breathing in the scent of him, relishing the warmth of his body, the softness of his skin against hers. She clamped her jaw tight, fighting back tears. No
w was not the time to cry. She had to be strong. Ezra clung to her like a koala, arms wrapped round her neck, legs round her waist, and her body responded with an innate recognition that a missing part of her had been returned. They moulded together, mother and son, and for a few moments, nothing else mattered.

  Hailey cleared her throat. ‘Don’t mind me,’ she said, but there was a smile in her voice.

  ‘Oh Hailey. Thank you! I can’t… I don’t know how…’ Sara swallowed, her throat too clogged with emotion to speak.

  Hailey rubbed her shoulder. ‘I haven’t been fair on you, sis.’ She pressed her lips together, chin quivering, and Sara could see a sheen of tears in her eyes. She gave her a wobbly smile, then laughed. ‘We’re as bad as each other, aren’t we?’

  Ezra’s hands clasped Sara’s cheeks and he planted a sloppy kiss on her nose. ‘I love you, Mummy.’

  ‘And I love you too, little smudge.’ She kissed him back. He wriggled to get down and she gave him another squeeze before finally releasing him.

  ‘Come on, let’s go and see the cow and the calf,’ he shouted as he ran up the path, swinging Pikachu by the ear.

  Sara turned to her sister. ‘I don’t know what to say.’

  Hailey linked arms with her as they followed Ezra up the path, her voice low and urgent as she talked. ‘Quick update. I went to see Matt, to try and talk to him like I promised. Must have arrived just after you’d been there, because Ezra was beside himself, and Matt hadn’t a clue what to do with him. He was just yelling at him to shut up. So I said I’d take him out to the playground and Matt seemed happy just to get him out of the house, because he really was screaming the place down. God knows what your neighbours think is going on.’

  She took a deep breath and carried on, the words racing out of her. ‘I put Ezra in the car with my tablet to play with and told him we were going to see Mummy, so he was happy enough, but then I realised I’d left my bag in the house. Milly let me in. Matt was in his office in the garage by that time, and once I’d found my bag, I went to have a quick word with him – see if I could persuade him to listen to your side of the story. The door wasn’t quite closed – I think he’d just popped in to get something – so I took my chance and went in, thinking it was good to catch him on his own like that.’ Hailey’s hand tightened round Sara’s arm as she relived her experience. ‘Well, he went bloody ballistic when he saw me, bundled me right back outside again, pinned me against the wall. Said I’d no right barging in to his private workspace.’ She stopped walking, pulled Sara to a halt. ‘I saw what was on his computer screen, though. A video was playing. It wasn’t the same one, but it reminded me of that video of you.’

  Sara gasped, shocked at her sister’s revelation. ‘You mean… you think he’s been looking at more of that stuff?’

  Hailey looked grim. ‘I only got a glimpse, so I can’t be sure. But we need to find a way to have a proper look.’ Her eyes locked with Sara’s. ‘It made me wonder what this work he’s doing is all about. Could these videos relate to this website he’s been designing?’

  ‘What website? He just told me he was doing coding for something.’

  ‘When I was chatting to him at football practice, that’s what he said he was doing. Designing a website.’

  Sara’s head spun with the idea that Matt might be involved. Was it possible? He’d never really explained exactly what the contract was for; always said he couldn’t divulge details because the content was highly confidential. She was used to him working on government contracts and understood he couldn’t tell her everything so hadn’t pressed for more information.

  Ezra ran back to them then and grabbed Sara’s hand. ‘Come on, Mummy, why are you being so slow?’ He tugged harder and she followed, Hailey speeding up to walk beside her.

  ‘We’ll have to talk later.’ Hailey nodded towards Ezra, the implication clear. Whatever they had to discuss, neither of them wanted him to hear. He bent to look at a ladybird on a bilberry bush, and the sisters moved on a little, out of earshot.

  ‘Ezra can stay with us, can’t he?’ Sara asked. ‘At your house.’ The thought of being separated from him again was something she couldn’t contemplate.

  ‘God, yeah.’ Hailey’s mouth twisted. ‘I hadn’t realised…’ She watched him as he tried to get the insect to crawl onto his finger. ‘I’d always thought of Matt as a great dad, but just now… Well, it’s clear he doesn’t know how to deal with Ezra when he’s playing up. He completely lost it with the poor lad, and it reminded me of Doug. You remember him? One of Mum’s…’ Her gaze returned to Sara, the shadows of past experiences clouding her eyes.

  ‘I do. He really didn’t like me, did he?’ Sara had tried to forget about the man who’d shared their home for a short while, probably no more than six months, a man who’d swung from charmer to devil in a matter of seconds and whose mood was always hard to gauge. His erratic behaviour had the two sisters hiding in the room they shared for most of the time he lived with them. ‘Matt’s not as bad as Doug, I don’t think. But I know what you mean. He thinks shouting’s the answer.’

  ‘Verbal abuse can be just as harmful as physical abuse.’ Hailey pursed her lips, anger burning in her eyes. ‘I see it all the time in the kids I work with. Not a finger laid on them but made to feel so bad about themselves that they…’ She tailed off, and Sara was glad that she’d stopped short of giving distressing details.

  Matt’s parenting style with Ezra was something she’d tried to remedy, but his beliefs were ingrained in him, following his father’s lead. She was definitely talking to herself when she tried to point out to him that his upbringing had been harsh. And it was okay for boys to cry and like cuddly toys and dressing-up. He couldn’t be convinced, and Sara had to be on constant alert to make sure Ezra was being boyish enough in his father’s eyes. Now she had to wonder if she’d been doing right by her son, or whether she should have been brave enough to step in and tell Matt it wasn’t acceptable from the start.

  ‘What about the girls, though?’ Her thoughts turned to her daughters, hating to think of the family being split up. Even though they were close to their father, they needed a mother’s support through their tricky teenage years. She knew there was something going on with them, even if they hadn’t been ready to tell her, and now they were in the care of a man who might be involved in activities that exploited women. She shuddered. Oh my God, what a mess. A headache pulsed at the base of her skull, panic fluttering against her breastbone as she tried to work out what to do.

  ‘They’re very loyal to their dad, aren’t they?’ Hailey sighed. ‘And he’s turned them against you.’

  ‘It’s always been that way. Real daddy’s girls, with the football and everything. And you’re right, they hate me at the moment. I don’t know exactly what he’s said to them, but they turned on me earlier when I went to talk to him. Called me out for cheating on him.’ She kicked at a stone, her voice steeped in sadness. ‘I don’t think they want to be with me at the moment.’

  ‘Hmm. I don’t suppose we have much option but to leave them there for now. Just for a little while, until we can get this whole thing sorted.’ Hailey looked worn out, her cares pulling at the corners of her mouth, creating a deep furrow between her eyebrows. Sara wondered what else she’d found out; whether she’d told her everything. ‘The girls have a football match tonight, over in Otley,’ she continued, ‘so I was thinking I could go. I know Matt won’t want me to take them, not now I’ve sneaked Ezra out and won’t be taking him back. But maybe I can find a way to chat with them, see if I can get them to at least talk to you and hear your side of the story.’

  Sara glanced at her sister, grateful to have her support. ‘That would be brilliant.’ She frowned then, remembering the girls’ behaviour the time she’d been to football practice with them, like there was a secret they were keeping. ‘I have a feeling there’s something going on at football, you know. They were a bit on edge afterwards when I took them, wanting to rush off.’ She hesitated,
reluctant for a moment to ask yet another favour of her sister. ‘I don’t suppose you could try and find out what’s bothering them, could you?’

  Hailey was about to speak when Ezra came running up with the ladybird on his finger, a look of delight on his face.

  ‘Mummy, look! Look what I got. I catched it.’

  Sara studied the little insect for a moment as Ezra glowed with pride. ‘We’ll let it fly away home, shall we?’ She helped him put the ladybird back on a bilberry bush, and he skipped off again, on the hunt for more unsuspecting wildlife.

  ‘Let’s put it all to one side for now,’ Hailey said, putting an arm round Sara’s shoulders and hugging her close before letting her arm drop. ‘Let’s enjoy the afternoon, and maybe our brains will work something out.’

  ‘Sounds good,’ Sara said, liking the idea of tidying her worries to the back of her mind and enjoying some time out with Ezra. But her brain had other ideas and refused to switch off, her troubles going round on a continual loop in her head. Her daughters hated her and had problems of their own they were keeping secret. Matt thought she’d cheated on him and had thrown her out, splitting the family in two. As far as she could see, their relationship was over. On top of that, he was involved in a business that looked decidedly shady and might even have a connection to the abuse she’d suffered. She had no job, and still hadn’t decided what to do about her debt to James and the constant threat that he would tell Fiona and the police what she’d done. It was quite a list, and the more she studied it, the faster the thoughts went round until she felt like a child on a fairground ride, feeling sick and willing the experience to end.

  They walked to the Cow and Calf in silence, Ezra running ahead of them, and it was clear that despite her words about enjoying the afternoon, Hailey was struggling with the situation too.

  She had brought a bag full of picnic food – sandwiches, crisps and drinks – and they sat in the sun to eat, Ezra chattering away, his upset forgotten as he snuggled next to Sara. She tried to block out everything except her son, this lovely moment; wanted to believe they could still do normal family things, but she knew that her life had fractured, the cracks getting ever wider, and normal was a thing of the past.