The Darkness Visible

by Tori de Clare

  Henry didn’t move or speak.

  Solomon said, ‘He ended up having a little accident of his own, and his death certificate said the same thing as my father’s. Darkly ironic, wouldn’t you say?’

  There was a beep on Solomon’s iPad. He picked it up and pressed the screen. ‘As expected,’ he said, and passed the device to Charlie.

  She looked and said, ‘Perfect.’

  ‘Latest pictures, Henry. At least we can rely on the camera. The camera never lies.’

  Charlie held the screen in front of Henry. He was looking at a full screen picture of himself. He was eyeing Charlie’s legs as they sat together, drinks on the low table in front of them. Cosy sofa. Sexy lighting.

  Henry sighed and rubbed his head and collected a lot of moisture. ‘What do you want from me?’

  ‘Patience, Henry, there’s more.’

  Henry covered his face and peered through his fingers as Charlie swiped the screen and the next shot was of Charlie touching Henry’s leg.

  ‘No. Stop. No more,’ he said. ‘Who took these pictures?’

  ‘Beyond this fire door is a flight of steel steps. I had someone stand just outside of here to get the perfect shots. An excellent photographer, works for a magazine. You’re very easy to play, Henry. Tediously so. It hasn’t been much of a match so far. You’ve been compliant and predictable. If this were a game of poker, you’d be bankrupt by now.’

  ‘What do you want from me?’ Henry asked again, not hiding the desperation in his tone.

  Solomon smiled now. ‘Luckily for you, you do have something that I want or I might be asking for your life.’

  ‘Anything. Just name it.’

  ‘I will, in three syllables: Naomi.’

  ‘No.’ The room swayed a little. The lighting dimmed. ‘No, not my family. Please.’

  ‘You said anything. You have nothing that I want except Naomi.’

  ‘Money. You can have all the money that I have.’

  A smile tugged at the corners of Solomon’s lips. ‘I’m far wealthier than you. And money’s overrated, in any case. Life’s taught me that money is a means to an end, but it isn’t the end itself. I think I’m ready to settle down and have a family of my own now.’

  ‘A family?’ Henry couldn’t absorb the words. ‘What kind of a man are you?’

  ‘The kind who needs an exceptional woman, and I’ve waited patiently for my queen. I’ve never wanted second-hand goods, Henry. Never. Girls don’t understand this. They’re keen to give me the benefit of their experience. Sickening isn’t it? I’m nothing like my father in that way.’

  ‘Naomi will never marry you.’

  Solomon leant forward and lowered his voice. ‘You know, if the stakes are high enough, people will do anything. That’s why you’re here, Henry, isn’t it? You were in a corner and you were desperate. Your wife doesn’t want you near her. These pictures won’t help your case. We have a full catalogue of pictures giving a very clear story.’

  ‘Don’t show Camilla. Please. It will destroy her.’ Henry’s heart was jumping. ‘I’m begging you, take my life. Your grudge against me has nothing to do with my wife or my girls, yet you’re punishing them. If you have an argument to settle with me, let’s end this now and leave my family out of it.’

  ‘I can’t do that, Henry. Events are rolling. They’ve been rolling for a very long time. I sent Lorie right into the very heart of your family seven years ago. I know everything I need to know. I know how to hurt you now. You can’t stop the events that will transpire, and you won’t even try.’

  ‘Of course I’ll try. I would die to protect my family.’

  ‘See, that’s the interesting scenario here. Your family will only be safe if you say and do nothing.’ A long pause. Henry’s limbs had liquefied. ‘Imagine the agony of that? I don’t want you to die, Henry. I want you to suffer as we have suffered, watching from the side-lines without being able to do a tiny, little thing.’ Solomon stopped talking and stared at Henry without blinking. Henry thought he might pass out. Henry broke eye contact and took his drink and gulped it to the bottom. He couldn’t think why. The act of swallowing only made him feel more sick.

  Charlie uncrossed her legs and said to Solomon, ‘You never told him who our brother was.’

  ‘Did I not? How remiss.’ Solomon waited until Henry met his eyes again. ‘It’s Joel.’

  ‘No!’ Henry could barely get the word out.

  ‘Yes,’ Solomon said. ‘Cosy, isn’t it? See, this plan has been underway for some time now. But Naomi was a game-changer, Henry. Plan A was ruined by Dan Stone, but ironically he did me a great favour.’

  ‘I don’t understand.’

  ‘Well, I used Nathan. Nathan’s impulsive and manipulative and he was desperate; he owed me a lot of money – or it was a lot to him. He doesn’t have my kind of patience, but his great talent is that he can get the girls, any that he wants. He lures them in like bait. I was going to take their lives, Henry, your girls.’ Henry clutched the sofa; Solomon’s expression was impassive. ‘And all that inheritance money would have fallen into my lap, not that I need the money, of course. I’d never have introduced myself to you. You’d have thought your daughters died in accidents and I’d have watched from a distance while your relationship with your wife disintegrated under the pressure and you were left in bits. That was the initial plan, but Dan Stone stepped in and Naomi lived, which changed everything.’

  ‘Oh, dear lord.’

  ‘I’m glad you mentioned him. You see, something quite extraordinary happened. I met Naomi because she visited me to settle Nathan’s debt, regardless of the danger. He’d tried to take her life; she owed him nothing. Watching her pleading his case – now that was . . . life-changing for me. I’d never seen such loyalty. It wasn’t loyalty to Nathan, but to a principle. She saved his life when he didn’t deserve it.’

  A droplet of sweat rolled down Henry’s forehead. ‘She would do. She’s a very good person.’ His eyes filled with tears. ‘And she’s innocent,’ he whispered.

  ‘Henry,’ Solomon held his palms out, fingers spread. ‘I wholeheartedly agree. And Annabel . . . lovely girl, so my brother tells me. You know she really makes him happy, isn’t that right, Charlie?’

  Charlie nodded and ran her hands down her thighs. ‘Oh, definitely.’

  ‘And so I turned to the Bible. Naomi inspired me to read the New Testament and the principles are quite awe-inspiring. And then I knew what we had to do. This little feud that’s gone on between our families can be solved. We needed to come together and be unified. So I decided to extend mercy to you, Henry. But,’ he paused and lowered his voice, ‘justice has to be satisfied. Our father suffered an indescribable death, because of which, you will live and watch and suffer in silence. Your girls will be perfectly safe with Joel and me so long as you do absolutely nothing. Understand?’

  ‘Don’t do this. Please. I’m begging you.’

  ‘This is the best you could have hoped for, Henry. This is me extending mercy to you in the spirit of our Lord. You don’t want to provoke my wrath. I have connections everywhere. We reached Naomi years ago and left a note with her. Shortly after, you returned to the UK. I think it proves that my family can achieve anything if we want to. Money can buy anything. Don’t make me use mine.’

  ‘But –’

  ‘There’s nowhere in the world that you can go where I won’t reach you. Your girls will think you’re insane if you try to warn them. You’ll lose them. Annabel will cut you off if you try to separate her from Joel. The safest thing you can do is to say nothing, do nothing. Live your life, Henry, what’s left of it. You have a friendly neighbour here who can be as friendly as you like. She doesn’t have my –’

  ‘Problem,’ Charlie laughed.

  Henry shook his head. ‘You’re sick, the pair of you.’

  ‘Up your game, Henry. Make an effort. Try to win your wife back, I invite you. We won’t get in the way, will we Charlie?’

  ‘Of course not. T
hat would be rude.’

  ‘Absolutely.’ Solomon stood up. ‘Come on now, Henry, chin up. I won’t be concentrating on you so much anymore. I feel as though justice is being served. Mercy is a satisfying gift to offer, our Lord was absolutely right. I have my own relationships to worry about now. Naomi’s marriage will end, and then I’ll step in.’

  Henry dabbed his eyes. ‘Naomi isn’t stupid.’

  ‘Far from it.’

  ‘She’s in love with Dan.’

  Solomon’s eyes narrowed a little and Henry stopped talking. He might be putting lives in danger. Why had he mentioned Dan?

  Solomon collected his iPad and stood tall. ‘Don’t make assumptions, Henry. Don’t worry about Dan. I’ll promise you this, I won’t force Naomi into anything. I’ll win her.’

  ‘She isn’t a prize to be won. No amount of money will –’

  ‘Shh.’ Solomon held his forefinger to his lips. ‘Don’t counsel me. Just play your part. Stay silent. Watch, and learn. One thing you should know about me. I never gamble unless I know I can win. Don’t screw up, Henry.’ He held a warning finger out. ‘I have your daughters in the palm of my hand. I know a very good journalist who works for the same magazine as my photographer. I don’t want to have to send him these pictures. And I don’t want Naomi upset at the moment. I’d really rather your family kept a good opinion of you, and Charlie would rather be anonymous as the other woman, wouldn’t you, Charlie?’

  ‘Ideally, yes,’ she said, running her fingers through the full length of her hair.

  ‘That’s settled then. That recording is going to be damaging for you, Henry. I’d delete it as soon as possible.’ Solomon looked at Charlie, then at his watch, which looked familiar.

  ‘I used to have a watch like that,’ Henry found himself saying. One of the cleaners had been sacked when it disappeared.

  ‘It is yours,’ Solomon said. ‘I have many things of yours in my possession. Lorie’s an excellent employee, as we both know. ‘But what’s yours is mine now, Henry. We’re virtually family.’ He paused. Henry’s head was swimming. ‘You know, I miss my father. Maybe in time, you’ll take his place and Joel and I will have someone to call Daddy again. Isn’t that just perfect?’

  Charlie stood up and stretched like a panther, until her dress rode up her legs. Henry looked away. Next thing, she was leaning over, kissing his cheek.

  Henry pulled away from her. She smelled of perfume and leather and deception.

  ‘That will make another lovely picture,’ she said in his ear. ‘Bye, Henry. See you at home. I’m only next door if you ever need to talk. It’s lonely being single.’

  ‘I’m not single,’ Henry spluttered.

  She said, ‘Not yet.’

  Solomon added, ‘We’ll take care of the bill on the way out, don’t you worry.’

  Henry didn’t trust himself to stand. A sheet of tears blurred his vision as Charlie and Vincent Solomon walked away, taking the shreds of his entire life with them.

  40

  It was almost one in the morning. Naomi needed to leave to meet Dan, but the house wasn’t still like it normally was at this hour. Someone had been moving around for the two hours that Naomi had been in her room either thinking about Dan, or texting him, or getting ready to meet him. She’d been aware of the odd creaking of the floorboards, the odd squeak of springs on a mattress, the odd slide of a drawer opening or closing, some general shuffling around.

  She couldn’t leave it any longer. She slipped into a jacket and stepped into some flat shoes and left her room. Annabel’s door wasn’t edged in light, but her dad’s was. She crept carefully down the stairs and let herself out the house, her heart thumping with anticipation and the need to get away. It was twelve paces to the car. With each step, she expected Henry to hook her back into the house and stop her from meeting Dan. It didn’t happen. She quietly closed the car door and turned the car engine on without revving at all, and rolled out of the drive beyond the new electric gates.

  She didn’t need her sat nav for the journey. Before one-thirty, she was making the turn up the narrow lane and sliding the car past a few darkened buildings up the tight track which eventually became rough and uneven and unusually steep. Up, up to the top where once again, Dan was waiting. The lights of his car guided her the last bit of the way. He got out of the car and her headlights illuminated him standing there, smiling. She pulled up beside him, yanked the handbrake up and unlatched her belt. Dan opened her door and leant his head into the car.

  ‘Any problems?’ he asked.

  ‘My dad’s not been himself tonight and he was still up when I left, but no. I don’t think he heard me go.’

  ‘Were you followed?’

  ‘No. The roads were dead.’

  Dan took her hand. ‘Come on.’

  Naomi switched her lights off and the world blackened. She allowed herself to be pulled from the car.

  ‘Don’t you find it a bit spooky up here?’

  Dan drew her to him. ‘No. It’s beautiful. Look at the sky. No light pollution and it’s clear. It’s just you, me and the stars again. Just the way I like it.’

  She tipped her head back and surveyed the sky, dotted with lights. The moon was sitting amongst them, a great white ball.

  Dan was looking at her when she straightened her neck. ‘You like?’

  ‘I like.’

  He smiled and kissed her gently, fleetingly. ‘Good. Come with me.’

  The darkness wrapped around them. Holding Dan’s hand meant that she didn’t notice the incline, steep as it was. She almost floated to the top. The outline of the monument crowned the summit of the hill. They picked their way across the grass carefully, Dan using his phone for guidance. Then they found a path which led right to the building. The path circled it. There was a bench and a low stone wall. Dan ushered her to the bench and she sat down and Dan dropped in front of her to his knees. She couldn’t see his face properly, but he took her hands.

  ‘Naomi. I want to walk through the rest of my life with you. I don’t want to come home to silent rooms anymore. I’m tired of being alone and I’m done with the effort of wanting you. Promise me you’ll marry me.’

  The air was calm and cool. Naomi felt a swell of emotion and squeezed Dan’s fingers. ‘Of course I’ll marry you. Get up off the floor.’

  Dan laughed and dropped down beside her. ‘I’m going to be the best husband you’ve ever had.’

  ‘That shouldn’t be hard.’

  ‘Now hold still,’ he said.

  ‘What are you doing?’

  She felt something around her neck and pulled her hair free of it. ‘I’m returning this to you, as a token of what’s happened tonight,’ he said, fastening a necklace around her.

  She clutched at the cross. ‘My necklace.’ It was like greeting an old friend after too long apart. It sat cold against her neck until it warmed to skin temperature. ‘Dan – thank you. I haven’t bothered with God for so long.’

  ‘Maybe you should start to make an effort. Get back in touch with your old self.’

  ‘Maybe. This necklace reminds me of so many things.’

  ‘Good or bad?’

  She considered his question. ‘Both, really. I used to see it as my protection.’

  ‘Well, you’re still alive.’

  ‘Yeah. It reminds me of my promise.’

  Dan sighed. ‘That you’d live like a nun?’

  She laughed. ‘I could revise the wording now we’re engaged.’

  ‘No,’ Dan said. ‘No. We’re going to keep it, so you can ask for that protection that you want. We need it. Call me superstitious, but I don’t want to tempt fate. I’ll wait for you. If Nathan could do it, I can too.’

  ‘He didn’t want me.’

  ‘He’s insane. Still, he could have taken advantage, you’ve said so yourself. Besides, if you ever need to prove to anyone what it says in that letter, you’ll be snookered if we’ve . . . . you know.’

  ‘There is no letter, Dan. I said it to
lure Nathan. I went to get checked a while ago. They couldn’t prove anything either way.’

  ‘Oh. I’m sorry.’

  ‘Don’t be.’

  She felt his lips on her cheek. ‘So we’re officially engaged now,’ he said. ‘I’m going to love and protect you my whole life, but when we get married, we’re going to have to disappear for a while, OK?’

  ‘OK.’

  ‘So we tell no one just yet.’

  ‘Agreed. But Dan, I’m being serious, I’m not getting married without Annie. I’ve made that mistake once before. I might never have married Nathan if I’d listened to my twin. I trust her implicitly.’

  Dan touched her face. ‘Of course you do. Just let’s keep things quiet for the moment. No waves over the next few weeks while you finish your course, OK?’

  Naomi swished her cross from side to side. She’d missed it, but didn’t realise how much until now.

  ‘I’ve decided,’ she said, ‘I’m going to take a year out.’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘How else are we going to disappear?’

  ‘I thought you might be able to get a transfer to London or something. You could have switched to the Royal College. I’ve been thinking about it.’

  ‘I’d have to audition probably, but it’s a possibility for later. For now, I need time out. I’m stressed and I’m tired and I’m ready to get far away from Manchester.’

  ‘Me too. Over the past few months, I don’t know how I’ve managed to restrain myself from breaking Nathan’s neck. If it weren’t for my parents . . .’

  ‘I know. I can’t wait to end my marriage and be free. I’ll get through to the end of the academic year, and then we can disappear. I’ll go and speak to someone on Monday when I go back. After everything that’s happened to me, they won’t be able to refuse. It’s a miracle I’ve got through this year at all.’

  Dan squeezed her hand. ‘You’re amazing.’

  ‘No – I’m just lucky to have a few special people in my life: my parents, my sister, Siobhan, and especially you. I’d have crumbled without you, Dan.’