The Stranger in Our Bed

by Samantha Lee Howe

  ‘He could be the man Tom was talking to at the fundraiser,’ I said.

  ‘Look, it seems to me you already have enough evidence to doubt your husband. He’s admitted to having you followed and to trying to set you up. Put that together with what we have.’

  ‘It’s my word against his. He’ll deny it. And these guys aren’t going to tell the truth, are they? You were right earlier. It is entrapment.’

  ‘Show me that Facebook page,’ Becki said.

  I typed in the page name. A few similar pages with CATFISH came up, but not the one that Tom had shown me.

  ‘It’s not here,’ I said.

  ‘Where did Tom show it you?’

  ‘On his home desktop,’ I explained.

  ‘And you haven’t looked for it since?’

  ‘No. I didn’t want to be reminded.’

  ‘Charlotte … is it possible that Tom showed you a fake Facebook page?’

  ‘Fake? But how could he manage that?’

  ‘It’s not as hard as you think. Hackers clone sites all the time to make people put in passwords and personal data. Tom has enough money to pay someone to design a page like that.’

  I let this idea sink in. Was it possible?

  I glanced at my watch.

  ‘I have to go. I need to be home before Tom,’ I said.

  ‘You’re going back there?’

  ‘I have to. He can’t suspect until I’m in a position to leave.’

  I stood up.

  ‘You don’t know me,’ she said, ‘but if you need to, you and your little girl can come here. Daniel would want me to help you.’

  Becki hugged me and I hugged her back. She was the only thing I had to connect me with Daniel and, although I barely knew her, I was already sure I could trust her. For all my brave words about leaving Tom when I had enough evidence, I wasn’t sure I still had the strength.

  As I got into a black cab outside I looked down at my beautiful baby calmly playing with her booteed feet. My mind was full of ‘what ifs’: what if Daniel Evans was dead?

  Chapter Forty-One

  I made it home just in time. The rush-hour traffic had almost foiled my taxi driver and he’d had to take several detours. Hurrying into the apartment, I turned lights on and quickly removed Melody’s outdoor clothing. Then I ran her a bath. When Tom came in I had wrapped her in a towel and was getting her ready for bed.

  ‘You all right, darling?’ Tom asked.

  ‘Sure. Melody was sick on herself,’ I lied. ‘No chance to start dinner.’

  ‘I’ll get us a takeaway then,’ Tom said.

  I sighed as he went off to phone our local Chinese for a delivery. I carried Melody into the kitchen once she was ready for bed, and warmed up a bottle for her.

  ‘Let me do that,’ Tom said.

  He took her from me and settled down in the living room with her and the bottle. It was hard for me to let her go. I pulled out some plates for the food and laid the table.

  Tom winded Melody like an expert, and she vomited a little on his suit trousers.

  ‘She is a bit sickly tonight,’ he said.

  I cleaned her up and then, as the doorbell rang with the food order, I put Melody to bed.

  Tom answered the door and brought in the takeaway bag, placing it on the dining table. My nerves jangled. I ran my palms down my jeans to remove the clammy sweat I felt there.

  We sat in our usual seats and I began to dish out the food.

  ‘How’s the house plans going?’ he asked.

  ‘Haven’t heard anything from the kitchen company, but Tina has moved into your mother’s flat today.’

  ‘Oh good,’ said Tom.

  ‘In fact, she’s coming tomorrow to look after Melody while I do some shopping.’

  ‘Good,’ said Tom.

  ‘What are your plans tomorrow?’ I asked trying to be casual. I wondered if I could contrive another visit to his offices. I had to search that filing cabinet. It was the only place I could think of that might contain the file.

  ‘No meetings tomorrow. But lots to do.’

  I had no appetite, but I forced myself to eat. Tom demolished a portion of chicken in black bean sauce and a whole pack of egg fried rice. I picked at some crispy seaweed and some sweet and sour chicken.

  Melody began to cry, and I remembered I hadn’t given her the colic drops.

  ‘I’ll see to her,’ Tom said.

  He went away and I cleared the table, putting the leftovers in the fridge. A few minutes later the baby monitor went silent. I shook it and listened, hoping it would come back to life, but nothing happened.

  My heart thudded in my chest and I ran from the kitchen and down the corridor to Melody’s room. I burst into the room and found Tom sitting in the rocker holding our daughter.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ I asked.

  ‘What d’you mean?’

  ‘The monitor stopped working,’ I said.

  I took Melody from him and looked at her.

  ‘It’s probably the batteries,’ he said. ‘What’s up with you?’

  Tom stood and picked up the monitor. There were spare batteries kept in a drawer in the kitchen and he went off to change them. When he came back the monitor was working perfectly.

  He frowned at me and I forced myself to smile, as I placed Melody back in her cot. I didn’t know why but I had an overwhelming fear of Melody being alone with Tom.

  ‘You’re tense tonight,’ he said.

  ‘I’m just a bit stir crazy. And waiting for the move is annoying.’

  ‘Just as well you’ll have time alone tomorrow.’

  He glanced at me and I began to regret mentioning Tina would be back to work the next day.

  ‘I think I’ll go to the gym,’ I said. ‘That’ll make me feel better.’

  Later I received a text from Becki checking in on me. She said she was worried and hoped I was okay.

  All fine, I replied, I’ll be in touch soon, and then I deleted both texts from my phone.

  Tom went to his office to check his private emails. Left alone I began to process everything Becki and I had discovered that day. Then it occurred to me I hadn’t asked her about the Hammersmith flat that Daniel had occupied.

  I sent a text, but turned my phone to silent and stowed it in my jeans pocket. A short time later she asked:

  What apartment? He used to live with me until he got the one you were both going to share.

  I gave her the address

  I’ll look into it.

  I erased the texts again and switched the television on to the news for Tom. He came in soon afterwards and sat down beside me.

  I levelled my breathing out to appear relaxed, but my heart jumped in my chest when he came in the room. I imagined that he could feel the tension but didn’t comment on it because he didn’t understand what it was.

  ‘I saw my therapist again today,’ he said. ‘She told me in order to deal with everything I need to apologize to you.’

  ‘Apologize for what?’ I said.

  ‘For not trusting you. I also need to say, I forgive you for what happened.’

  ‘Thank you,’ I said.

  His hand fell onto my leg.

  ‘I need to make love to you,’ he said.

  I didn’t say anything. Thankfully, Melody began to cry again, and I hurried away to take care of her.

  Melody screamed for a few hours that night. Eventually Tom went to bed to try and get some sleep. I gave her colic drops, but even after she settled, I stayed with her.

  It was midnight when, exhausted, I left the nursery. I glanced down the corridor and noticed our bedroom door was closed. I began to walk towards it, then I saw Tom’s briefcase.

  I walked past it and stood by my bedroom listening.

  Tom’s breathing was level. I was sure he slept.

  I went back to the hallway and picked up the case. Not wanting to make any noise that might reach the bedroom I took it into the kitchen, placed it down on the work surface and looked at the lock.<
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  I pressed both sides of the locking mechanism, but it didn’t open. This case was unusual in that it wasn’t a combination but a key lock only. It was odd that Tom would lock the case at all though, especially considering it travelled to and from work in a private car, and then remained safe in our home. For this reason, I suspected he had something inside he didn’t wish me to see.

  I went back to the hallway and looked for Tom’s keys. He didn’t need them to get into the apartment, but I knew he carried some. They weren’t by the door where I had seen him leave them in the past. I glanced into the living room. His suit jacket had been thrown over one chair, but the keys were nowhere to be seen. I was about to return to the kitchen when I thought about his jacket. I picked it up and felt the weight of something in the pocket.

  I put my hand in. Tom’s phone was there, and so were his keys.

  Taking the keys into the kitchen, I found the one for the case then turned it in the lock. It clicked open with a loud thunk.

  I glanced at the door then waited to see if the sound had echoed through the apartment. When there was no movement I opened the briefcase and looked inside.

  I was right: the DANIELS/CHARLOTTE file lay on top of Tom’s personal diary. It surprised me to find the file there and I just stared at it for a long time before I pulled it out.

  I closed and locked the case. After that I returned it to the hallway and took the file into the living room with me and closed the door.

  ‘Char?’ said Tom.

  I shoved the file under the seat cushions and sat down on it.

  ‘Have you seen my phone? I forgot to put it on charge.’

  I glanced at the jacket and then, remembering the keys, I reached for it, and stuffed them back in the pocket.

  Tom opened the door and peered into the room at me. I had the main light on and it was bright in there compared to the hallway and so he blinked until his eyes adjusted. I held the jacket out to him.

  ‘Is it in here?’ I said, making a show of searching. I pulled the phone out and handed it to him.

  ‘Thanks. Are you coming to bed?’

  ‘Yes. Wasn’t tired and so was going to make some chocolate.’

  Tom rubbed his eyes. He looked exhausted.

  ‘Go back to bed,’ I said. ‘I’ll be in soon.’

  I couldn’t risk reading the file while Tom was potentially awake and might catch me. I hid it more thoroughly in the bottom of my sewing drawer. Then I went to bed. Tom appeared to be sleeping and I slipped in beside him trying not to wake him. I lay tense listening to him breathe and then I turned on my side and closed my eyes, trying to sleep.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  ‘It’s almost nine!’ Tom said.

  ‘Whaa …?’ I jerked awake as Tom climbed out of bed.

  ‘This is parenthood for you,’ he said. ‘Lack of sleep and late to work.’

  He hurried into the shower and got washed and shaved in record time.

  ‘No time to eat,’ he said. ‘I have texted Stefan and told him I overslept and he’s downstairs waiting.’

  Tom pulled on a clean shirt and suit from the wardrobe. Then he hurried down the corridor, picked up his case and left.

  I lay dosing for a while and then I opened my eyes suddenly, remembering I’d taken the file from his case. He’d get to work and open it. Then he’d know I’d taken it.

  I got out of bed and pulled on some clothes. Then I looked in on Melody. The little girl was still sleeping, and I didn’t want to wake her.

  ‘God. I hope this was worth it,’ I said.

  I hurried down the corridor and into the living room, then I pulled the file out of the sewing drawer and placed it on the coffee table.

  I took a breath and opened it.

  Daniel’s face smiled back at me. It took a moment to recognize the place and the back of my own head. This was the sushi restaurant in Reykjavik.

  My heart hurt, my head pounded. I waded through the photographs. All of them were date stamped and the file catalogued my entire affair with Daniel. There were even photographs of us in bed together at the Hammersmith apartment. Graphic images that horrified me. The pictures appeared to have been taken through a slit in the curtains in the bedroom.

  We thought we had been careful, but Tom’s detectives had recorded everything.

  An awful thought occurred to me: Tom had this whole file and he obviously looked at it regularly. Why else would he have it in his case?

  I spread the pictures out on the table. There was even a photograph of me entering the room at The Savoy.

  I had a flash of memory then. The man with the brogues had obviously been watching me, or Daniel. He must have snapped the picture while he pretended to enter the room next door.

  I gathered the photographs up into the file and then I hurried back to Melody’s room. I had to get her up, feed her and get away before Tom realized the file was missing.

  ***

  A short time later I returned to the living room with Melody, now dressed, and a small case packed with a few essentials. I grabbed a pack of nappies and placed them under her pram and then fed Melody. After she was fed and content, I put my daughter in her pram.

  I looked around the apartment for anything essential. Then picked up the file and began to stuff it into Melody’s changing bag because it was the only thing big enough to carry it. My hands were shaking and some of the photos tumbled out onto the floor in the hallway. I bent down to collect them and then the door beeped as the passcode was entered from outside.

  I stood up, holding the pictures, my hand shaking, not knowing where to hide them as the door opened. Sweat trickled down my spine but I was frozen to the spot.

  ‘Forgot my keys,’ Tom said.

  He stopped moving. His eyes fell on the pictures in my hands and then he saw the suitcase beside the pram.

  ‘What’s going on?’ he said coldly.

  ‘I’m taking Melody and we’re leaving,’ I said. ‘You can’t stop me.’

  The truth was, Tom was much taller and stronger than me. I couldn’t barge past him if I wanted to and he was now blocking my exit.

  ‘Charlotte,’ his voice was calm and almost a whisper, ‘I know what you have there. Give me chance to explain. This isn’t what it seems.’

  ‘Get out of my way,’ I said. I dropped the pictures I was holding and placed my hands on Melody’s pram.

  ‘Hear me out. That’s all I ask. Then if you aren’t happy, I won’t do anything to stop you leaving.’

  He moved into the hallway and closed the door. Locking us both in.

  I backed up, scared.

  ‘I’m not going to hurt you. Look I’m going to go in the living room and sit down and you can stay there, near the door.’

  I was trembling as he passed me, but he made no effort to touch me.

  True to his word he sat down on the sofa and looked at me.

  ‘I want to tell you everything,’ he said.

  I remained by the door ready to grab Melody and run.

  Tom put his head in his hands and sighed.

  ‘This isn’t how it looks.’

  ‘What is it then?’

  Tom’s explanation went like this.

  ***

  ‘I don’t know what’s the matter with her,’ Tom had said to Isadora. ‘We’re happy but she’s not interested in having children.’

  ‘What is she interested in?’ Isadora asked.

  ‘The gym. Her friends …’

  ‘What about you, Tom? Have you noticed any cooling off?’

  ‘No. Don’t be silly. We’re happy. I’m just ready to do this now. She isn’t.’

  Isadora formed a plan then.

  ‘It’s just a little thing,’ she had said. ‘To test how settled Charlotte is. It’s possible she’s feeling curious.’

  ‘Curious about what?’

  ‘Other men.’

  Tom went quiet. He couldn’t conceive of me being unfaithful to him, but Isadora sowed the seed, and with his mother’s
past history, he didn’t doubt that any woman could be unfaithful.

  ‘Not Charlotte,’ he had said.

  ‘Well you’ll soon know. I have a number for someone. A private detective. If nothing else it will put your mind at rest.’

  Tom agreed because once the idea had been planted in his head he had to prove to his mother that I was nothing like her.

  It started at Harrods. Isadora had arranged for Daniel to see me with them. And, when Tom was occupied elsewhere, she had pointed out the purple satin bedding to me.

  Sheets that Ewan bought, and we later made love in.

  The experiment ended as far as Tom was concerned when I didn’t take any great interest in Daniel.

  Tom admitted receiving the email saying that nothing improper had happened. But, when he came to join me on our trip, and I didn’t mention meeting Daniel, it had worried him and made Isadora more suspicious.

  Isadora continued to have me trailed but when I fell pregnant, she told Tom the truth.

  They had an argument about it. Isadora said she’d cancel the detective, but he was still following me when I returned the bedding and bumped into Daniel again. This time quite by accident.

  The PI watched us talk and took pictures of us in the café. He even sat near us and listened to the conversation. All of it was relayed back to Tom’s mother.

  When I tripped and the bus hit me. Tom said it was the PI who called an ambulance. He didn’t talk to the police though. The PI told them he thought I’d thrown myself down deliberately. The man had heard me say to Daniel that I didn’t want to be pregnant, and although he hadn’t seen exactly what happened, only that I was injured, he had made this assumption.

  ‘We wanted to make sure you didn’t try anything again,’ Tom said. ‘That’s why you were kept in the private hospital so long. I had to make sure your state of mind was good. When you lost the baby anyway, I felt guilty. I shouldn’t have listened to Mother’s suggestion in the first place.’

  Tom was sincere but I just didn’t know what to say to him. I had the evidence of what he’d done in my hands.

  ‘Mother kept paying to have you watched though. I guess she recognized the signs even as I buried my head in the sand. The result is there. In that folder.’