After the Accident: A compelling and addictive psychological suspense novel

by Kerry Wilkinson

  Emma: I was disappointed, not annoyed. He said they were going back to the hotel to check out – and then they’d be heading to the airport. He asked if he could take my number so they could come back to me if there was anything to check. I gave him my email address – and then we went our separate ways.

  Paul: I didn’t think I’d see Emma again.

  Then again, I didn’t think her holiday would end with an attempted murder… or two, depending on who you believe.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  THE NO PLAN B

  Emma: I was about to let myself into my cottage when I heard Daniel’s voice coming from next door. Mum’s front door was open and I let myself in. It was turning into this weird form of déjà vu in that Daniel constantly seemed to be hanging around those cottages, even though he had no reason to be there.

  Daniel was standing by the alcove, going through the big suitcase on the table. Mum was watching him with her arms crossed, not saying anything as he said: ‘There should be an envelope.’ He was taking out Dad’s clothes and dropping them on the table as he searched underneath.

  He spotted me but didn’t pay any attention as he kept hunting. It was after he’d emptied everything that he looked back to Mum and asked if she’d moved anything. She said her chargers had been in Dad’s case, along with some shoes – but that she hadn’t opened it since they’d been moved to the cottage.

  That’s when she turned to me and asked if I’d seen an envelope when I’d been in the room.

  The way Daniel turned to me is something I’ll never forget. People talk about the penny dropping and I think that was the first time I ever actually saw it. Imagine teaching a toddler that two plus two is four and then – one day – you see that dawning realisation in their eyes that they finally get it.

  That’s how Daniel looked at me that day.

  I told him I’d not seen an envelope, but it was obvious he didn’t believe me and, to be honest, I couldn’t care less what he thought.

  That’s when Mum said that she needed to get ready to go to visit Dad – and she asked Daniel how Dad had seemed that morning.

  I think I knew then.

  I’d suspected before, but that was the confirmation. Daniel had visited Dad at the hospital – who’d told him to get the envelope from his case.

  Daniel: Nonsense. Geoff was ill in hospital. Do you really think we were discussing such trivial things as packing issues? He is one of my oldest friends and I was concerned for his welfare.

  Emma: I left after that, partly because Mum wanted us to go, but mainly because I knew it would annoy Daniel.

  He was as predictable as you’d expect and followed me outside. Before I could get there, he stood in front of the door to my cottage, stopping me from going inside.

  Daniel: That didn’t happen.

  Emma: He said: ‘Did you take something from your parents’ room?’ I shrugged and replied: ‘Like what?’

  I was enjoying watching his face turn redder. Then he replied: ‘I think you know.’

  It took everything I had not to laugh in his face because we both knew we were playing a game. He knew I had that envelope and I knew why he wanted it.

  I thought quite carefully about how to reply, more so than usual. I told him that, if I did have something from my parents’ room, perhaps I’d be better talking to the police about what I’d found.

  Daniel: I told her some home truths that day. Some things that she was long overdue hearing.

  Emma: I don’t remember exactly what he said.

  Daniel: I told her she was a disappointment to her parents and that she should be ashamed of herself. Her father worked hard to give her the best life he could – and look what she did with it. She killed her own son and disgraced her parents’ good name in the process. Even when she was released, her dad offered her a way back by returning to the business – but what did she do? She ended up wasting her life in some clothes shop.

  Emma: I think he might have said something about the clothes shop, but Daniel doesn’t understand anything artistic. He sees value only in money and things that can make him money.

  What he doesn’t realise is that, when Dad offered me a job back with the business, I was never going to take it. Prison gave me a lot of time to think about my life and who I was going to be.

  Now I think about it, I do remember how I replied to him that day. I told Daniel I never wanted to go back to work with him and Dad because, if I did, I’d never be able to sleep again.

  I couldn’t handle the way they fobbed off tenants. These were people whose homes were leaking and they’d be told it was their fault for drying clothes indoors. They would charge tenants hundreds of pounds for a thirty-quid carpet. They would never return a full deposit because they’d always find something they claimed could be charged against it.

  It happened over and over in the time I did work for them – and I couldn’t go back to it.

  Daniel: She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She’s a child-killer. Her opinion has no worth.

  Emma: When it comes to me, Daniel will always take things back to the car crash, but that’s the difference between us. I did a terrible thing and I paid for it. He does terrible things every day and carries on as if it was nothing. If he evicts a single mother, it won’t even cross his mind that she’s a real person who will then struggle for somewhere to live. He only sees that her house is a number on a spreadsheet.

  I think he expected me to fold and, when I didn’t, he had nowhere to go. He snapped: ‘I want that envelope,’ as if I would suddenly bend to his will.

  I said: ‘That’s the problem with men like you. People don’t tell you “no” often enough.’

  He stared at me and I think he was genuinely perplexed by everything. If bullying and intimidation didn’t work, then he had no plan B.

  Daniel had already taken a step away when I finally came out with it. I said: ‘Did you push Dad off the cliff?’

  He stopped at that moment and looked back to me. I couldn’t read anything in his face and he opened his mouth as if he was about to say something… except he didn’t for a second or two. Then he said: ‘You’re the one with a history for killing people,’ because that’s the only argument he has.

  Daniel: She killed her son. What other argument do you need?

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  THE HUMAN SUNDIALS

  Emma: I want it to be clear that I never went looking for trouble with Daniel. When I went to dinner, he was there. When I went to the pool, he was there. He was in Mum’s cottage and behind the back of mine. I admit that I deliberately wound him up at times – but that only happened because we kept being thrown together. Neither of us were blameless in that regard.

  I walked to the village after the argument because there was one thing about Daniel that I’d forgotten I knew. It’s strange how things fall out of your head when there’s a lot going on.

  When I got back to the car rental place, Barak recognised me. He went through his whole ‘pretty lady’ routine and told me how he’d saved me the best car once again. I could have mentioned how his last one stopped working in the middle of nowhere, but I wasn’t after another car.

  I asked him how he knew Daniel Dorsey.

  When he’d been at the pool handing out cards, there was that moment where Barak had called Daniel ‘Mr Dorsey’, despite not being introduced. Daniel insisted he’d never been to the island, but it felt like a lie.

  I knew for certain it was a lie when I saw Barak’s reaction.

  He stepped away and picked up a clipboard before making it look as if he was busy. In an instant, he went from trying to offer me a car to trying to pretend I wasn’t there. He said: ‘Who?’ and I went through the spiel of what was said at the pool. Barak started saying that it was a misunderstanding, which was exactly what Daniel said at the time.

  I don’t think I can explain quite how uncomfortable Barak looked. Whenever you walk past his lot, he would have his arms wide, trying to get people
inside. He’s loud and personable and remembers people’s names. I suppose he could have had other concerns – but he went from that to shuffling his feet and keeping his eyes down.

  I kept on at him, saying that he knew Daniel – and that Daniel knew him. Barak mumbled something about not wanting to get into it. There were a couple of tourists on the lot by that point and I could tell he was torn.

  In the end, Barak said that ‘someone who looked like Mr Dorsey’ had been on the island two or three months before. He couched it by saying that it might have been a brother, or cousin – but we both knew the truth.

  After that, Barak went off to talk to the other couple and he was back to his old cheery self, talking about the best cars and so on.

  Daniel: This is the final time I will say this: I had never visited Galanikos before that trip with Geoff and Beth.

  Emma: I know I keep saying that Daniel isn’t a clever man – but this is an example of what I mean. It’s such a weird thing to lie about. So what if Daniel had been on the island a few months before? He could have said he’d heard Dad talking about it and wanted to see for himself. He could have said he’d read great reviews and wanted a holiday. He could have come up with anything that would have seemed normal. It was the fact he was so insistent on not visiting before that made it suspicious in the first place.

  Daniel: People need proof if they’re going to make these allegations.

  Emma: I went back to the cottage and locked myself inside with the curtains closed. The envelope I’d taken from Dad’s suitcase was secure in my safe, alongside the letter I’d found at the PO box. I read everything through and couldn’t think of another explanation other than the one I’d come up with.

  Dad and Alan had been bringing money to this island over a series of years. After Alan’s death, the money had got stuck, and it was only now that Dad was returning to claim it. I assumed Daniel knew about it. I hoped Mum didn’t… but perhaps that was wishful thinking.

  The thing Julius told me about overhearing money disputes – plus the argument Mum spoke of – suddenly made sense. If there were money issues with the company, then no wonder Dad needed to reclaim the cash that had been left building interest on a foreign island.

  There were so many more questions than that. Was it a simple tax thing… or something more?

  Julius: Did anyone ever see this so-called fake driving licence?

  Daniel: Have you seen this so-called fake driving licence? This list of bank account numbers? Have you even checked that this bank exists? I’ve never heard of it.

  Emma: Another thing I realised then is that nothing was safe in my room. My phone had already gone missing and then reappeared – so somebody had got in and out without me knowing how. By that time, Daniel would have known I had what he was after.

  I put the driving licence, PO box key and bank account letter into a hotel dry-cleaning bag and then buried it under a towel in my beach bag. I didn’t know where I was going to take it, I just knew I needed to get it away from the hotel.

  Julius: Just stop for a moment here. Let’s say all this is true: every word of it. Why should Emma care? If there was money that belonged to Dad on an island and he’d gone there to collect it… what’s it got to do with her?

  Emma: Daniel and Liz always reserved sun loungers in the spot where there’s the most sun during the morning. The day before, I’d noticed that they left a second set of towels on the other side and then shifted to those as the sun moved around. It’s almost like they were human sundials. You could tell the time of day based upon their position around the pool.

  There is no way to leave the hotel from the cottages without going past the pool – so I went the long way around in an attempt to not be noticed. I didn’t see Julius or the girls that morning, but then I was walking as quickly as I could.

  I don’t think anyone spotted me, but, even if they had, I was only carrying a beach bag. I went through the lobby and out the front, before heading down the path towards the village. I was trying to look for somewhere safe to leave that dry-cleaning bag. There’s not a bus station as such – but there is a rank where the airport buses stop, and I remembered a row of lockers there. I’d never paid much attention to them but figured I could find out if there was someone in charge and how I could get a key.

  I didn’t get that far.

  I’d only reached the market when I came round a corner to see Scott standing there, haggling with a stallholder over the price for a fake set of Adidas trainers.

  Scott: How does she know they were fake?!

  Emma: There was this moment that’s hard to describe now. I know I’ve been saying that a lot about various things, but the island does something to you. Everything you might be feeling is dialled up. You don’t only get angry, you get really angry. You’re not simply sad, you’re desolate.

  The best way I can put it is that Scott looked at me, and I looked at him, and it was as if we were friends again.

  Scott: She gave this sort of half-smile and it was like we had never stopped being friends. We were in my back garden playing What’s The Time, Mr Wolf? and everything in between didn’t matter any longer.

  I think…

  …

  I think you had to see her that day to know what I mean.

  Emma: I told the stallholder I’d seen the same trainers for thirty euros less on the other side of the market. He looked to me and then back to Scott, before dropping the price. Scott paid up, tipped the guy ten euros anyway, and then we started walking through the village.

  Scott: She said she didn’t want to argue and that we used to be friends a long time ago.

  I told her that I didn’t realise she’d stopped working for her dad. I heard that off one of the documentary crew. When I last knew her, she was as much a part of the business as either of our fathers. I suppose I couldn’t separate her from her dad.

  Emma: It’s not true that I was ever as big a part of the business as Dad. I worked for him, doing what was largely admin work for an inflated salary.

  After Alan died, I kept doing it, but things were changing. Daniel replaced Alan and he was much less bothered about what he thought to be trivial things, such as making sure people had heat or that repairs were done. It was a gradual slide to me leaving, but Daniel and I never got on with one another.

  That’s why I left the business when I got pregnant. I never intended to go back and I never did.

  It wasn’t only that…

  Scott: I’d found out about what happened to her son by then. After I’d seen her on the street, I’d been really angry and gone back to my villa to do this sort of… hate-Google.

  I know that’s not a good look.

  I searched for her name, hoping to find out that she was some prissy Daddy’s girl. Something I could really despise her for… and then I saw all the stuff about her son, and the car, and… the rest. Of everyone I’ve ever met in my life, Emma would have been last in the list of people I thought might have gone to prison.

  Paul: I found out about Emma and her son while we were at the airport, getting ready to fly back to the UK. I was looking for information we might be able to use when we got home – and it was impossible to miss her story.

  I know people might think we should have known before – but we’d done no preparation for Emma. We were ready to shoot with Scott on the island. We didn’t know what people were going to tell us there, so moving on to her father wasn’t in our minds at that time.

  After reading those stories, I thought about emailing her – but what would there be to say? She’d chosen not to tell me and that was fair enough.

  Emma: When people find out about me, they tend to have two ways of reacting. Some people see the drink-driver headlines and want nothing to do with me. Other people read on and realise it’s not as straightforward as it seems.

  …

  I’m not trying to absolve myself of anything there.

  Scott: She’d said I was obsessed with her family. Perhaps that was tr
ue for a while, but I didn’t know about what had happened to her, which has to say something. If I was constantly checking up on her family, I’d have seen it before.

  …

  I don’t think Emma realises that an enormous majority of people have never heard of her. If you type her name into the internet, then of course those stories appear – but that would be true of anyone. Type your name into the internet and you’ll see things that nobody in their day-to-day life would ever stumble across. I bet the people watching this had never heard of Emma until now.

  I was living in London at the time she was sent to prison – and knew nothing about her sentencing. The story was more of a local thing. She’s not as notorious as I think she believes she is.

  Emma: Scott said: ‘I read about your son’ – and I thought I had misread the situation. I thought he might say something awful… nothing I hadn’t heard before but enough to make me stop.

  He didn’t, though. He said: ‘I’m sorry to hear what happened’ – and that was it. I don’t think I replied. I knew from his tone that I had nothing to fear.

  We carried on walking through the market until we were almost at the edge of the village. We were out by the sign where I’d been doing the interview that morning. I don’t think he knew about it at that point, but, out of nothing, he said: ‘Mum doesn’t want me to do the doc.’

  Scott: She said going back to the island would bring everything up again. Hard to disagree with that, I suppose. It has, hasn’t it?