by Jade Winters
‘I don’t know. Louise’s mum is here and she’s not happy.’
Emma gulped. ‘What’s wrong with her?’
‘She won’t say. She wants to see you.’
And this is where my career comes tumbling down. ‘I’ll be there in twenty minutes.’
‘Great. I’ll let her know.’
Emma disconnected the call. ‘Right, I’m off to work. I’ll see you later.’
Hope shrugged. ‘All right. Catch you later.’
Instead of walking, Emma caught the next bus to Lambeth. Her mind was racing. Something had been niggling at the back of her mind since they’d left the florist, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. She had wanted to talk it through with Lauren, but that would have to wait.
She thought back to that morning’s events: Mike and his ‘don’t give a damn’ attitude, the black rose, the florist claiming Lauren had sent the flower to herself, and Hope’s belief that Lauren was playing some kind of sick game. Despite what it looked like, Emma believed Lauren was telling the truth.
The bus came to a halt at her stop and she hopped off. Only a week or so had passed since Lauren had unexpectedly reappeared in her life, but it might as well have been a lifetime ago. So much had happened to her since then, and for the first time in her adult life, she felt like a whole person. And it’s all because of Lauren.
Walking up the steps to her office building, she caught sight of Gina talking to a thin, blonde woman by the entrance. She recognised her as Louise’s mum. They were the spitting image of each other.
‘Here she is,’ Gina said, one arm outstretched toward Emma.
And this is where I get fired!
‘Will you both come into my office, please?’
They filed into the building and down the corridor to Gina’s office.
‘Please, sit down.’ Gina gestured to the two empty seats opposite her desk.
As they lowered themselves into the chairs, Emma turned to Louise’s mum. Might as well get it over with. Why prolong the agony? ‘If this is about me showing up at your—’
Louise’s mum shook her head. ‘I’m not here because you showed up on our doorstep despite us asking you not to.’
Emma looked at Gina. ‘You’re not?’
Mrs Willis clasped her hands together. ‘No. I’m here because I’m at a loss for what to do. Louise won’t leave her room unless she absolutely needs to. She’s barely eaten a thing since … since … well, you know what happened.’
‘Has Louise spoken to you about that night?’
‘She hasn’t said a word, not that I can blame her. I’m ashamed that we didn’t exactly deal with it in an appropriate manner, but we’d like to move forward.’
‘Move forward?’ Emma asked no one in particular. If Louise hadn’t told her parents about Jay, she wouldn’t either, so how could they make any progress? Emma didn’t understand why Gina had called her into this meeting.
‘What Mrs Willis means, Emma, is that she would like you to talk to Louise again. See if you can get her to engage.’
‘Let her guard down,’ Mrs Willis added.
‘That’s if she wants to speak to me again,’ Emma said.
‘Of course she does. You’re the only person she will speak to.’
‘Okay, if you think it will work, I’ll give it a go. When do you want me to see her?’
‘Now. She’s in the car,’ Mrs Willis said rising to her feet.
‘Sure. Just send her to my office.’
After Mrs Willis had left the room, Gina said to her quietly, ‘Don’t think you’re off the hook. You went against my direct orders.’
‘I know. But all’s well that ends well, right?’ she said hopefully.
A smile crept over Gina’s face. ‘I must say I’ve never agreed with the notion of pushing someone away from the person they love in order to keep them close. It defeats the objective, doesn’t it?’
A fleeting thought crossed Emma’s mind. Hope used to moan about Lauren’s popularity and how she made her feel inadequate. Emma now remembered a time when Hope had said something about how great it would be if Lauren just disappeared. Emma gripped the sides of her chair.
No, it couldn’t be. Hope’s words replayed in her mind: None of this would have happened if you had left her alone like I said. She wanted to be wrong, but deep inside she knew it was a possibility. The only person who was connected to Lauren’s past besides Mike was Hope.
***
Emma dialled Lauren’s number again and heard the same message: ‘The number you are calling is unavailable.’
Why did Lauren turn her phone off? Did I do something to upset her? Emma was the first to admit she had been nonplussed by the drama at the florist. The florist’s accusation had been hard to get her head around. Why would a complete stranger lie about such a thing, and straight to Lauren’s face? It was mind boggling. But she wouldn’t disclose those thoughts to Lauren in a million years. Footsteps neared her office and she switched her phone off. She would try again later. Right now, Louise needed her.
‘Come in, Louise,’ Emma said and gestured for her to sit down. Her face was gaunt and pale. Emma nearly recoiled at the extreme change in the young woman.
Louise dragged her feet as she entered the office and looked at Emma testily, as if waiting for Emma to have a go at her.
‘It’s all right.’ Emma gave her a reassuring smile. ‘Come on, sit down.’
‘I’m sorry, Ms Clary,’ Louise said, then broke down, sobbing.
Emma was out of her seat and beside Louise in seconds. This was the last thing she’d wanted—for Louise to feel like her help was conditional. Bar murder or anything illegal, she would always be committed to helping Louise through any hardship.
‘Are you angry with me?’
‘Of course not,’ Emma said, trying to sound upbeat. ‘You’ve done nothing wrong.’
‘Not even when I refused to stick up for Jay?’
‘Jay? Not at all. Do you want to talk about him?’
‘You do realise, he’s, you know—’
‘Pre-op? Yes, I realise. What I don’t understand is why you didn’t tell me about him. I thought that was the point of coming to see me.’
‘I didn’t tell you about him because he wasn’t important. Not at the time, anyway.’
Emma had to tread gently. She didn’t want Louise to clam up. But if she was going to have any chance at helping her, she needed to know where Louise was at mentally.
‘He seems very much in love with you. Do you know that?’ Emma asked. ‘He thinks he has a future with you. Is that how you feel too?’
‘Yes. I want a future with him as well, but it’s not that easy. I have to consider my mum and dad.’
‘Your parents aren’t the ones in a relationship with Jay.’
‘No, but—’
‘You can’t live your life trying to please others.’
Louise’s eyes brimmed with tears. ‘I know, but they just about accepted me being a lesbian. I’d hate to imagine what they’d say if they found out Jay was transgender. It would be too far out of their comfort zone. I don’t want to lose everyone because of him. I don’t think any amount of love can make up for losing your entire family and friends, can it?’
‘When you love someone, Louise, you’ll move heaven and earth to be with them. No matter what. Take it from me. I know.’
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Lauren walked into her tastefully decorated attic apartment, went straight to the window, and drew the curtains back. In the distance, she could see the top part of the Eiffel Tower. No matter how much she loved Paris and her cosy little retreat, it was not her real home. Not really. London was. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to drown out the thought that two hundred miles away, in London, was where her heart was.
Returning to Paris had been the most sensible thing to do. Cowardly thing, you mean.
She should have known she wasn’t strong enough to face the monster that had been shadowing her mo
st of her life—even with Emma by her side.
Frankie had agreed it was better for her to go home then return to London on the day of the exhibition. She could tell by the shakiness in his voice that he feared she wouldn’t turn up at all. He should know better. Letting people down wasn’t something she made a habit of, unless it was absolutely necessary.
Moving away from the window, Lauren ran her fingertip along the row of books on the shelf, looking for one she hadn’t read to get her through what would be a long night. She picked out one by James Patterson, that’s just what she needed—a fast paced thriller to keep her mind occupied.
Retrieving her phone from her pocket, she switched it on. Several messages begged for her attention. Ignoring Fiona’s texts, she clicked open Emma’s. They were frantic. She was desperate to know where she was. Guilt stabbed at her heart. She’d been selfish, running away without a second thought about how Emma would feel. But fear was hard to turn down.
She dialled her number and Emma answered the call on the first ring.
‘Lauren, where are you? I’ve been trying to get in touch with you since yesterday.’
‘I—’
‘It doesn’t matter. Where are you now? We need to talk.’
‘I’m in Paris,’ Lauren said.
She heard Emma’s quick intake of breath. ‘Paris! What are you doing there?’
‘I came back because …’ Words escaped her. Because you think I made the stalker up and I’m lying. I don’t feel safe, even with you.
Despite the truth of those thoughts, she couldn’t reveal them to Emma. She would no doubt deny it anyway, and as much as Lauren wanted to believe in her, she couldn’t. Lauren knew what she’d heard, including the doubt in Emma’s voice.
Through the momentary silence, Lauren could sense Emma’s desperation urging her to continue.
‘Because it was the right thing to do. I can’t take it anymore, Emma.’
‘I think we’ve been looking at the wrong person.’
Lauren conjured up an image of Emma pacing the floor of her apartment, pushing together puzzle pieces that would never fit no matter how hard she forced them. ‘Emma, you have to let this go. The police can’t do anything about Mike, and he’s too clever to slip up.’
‘That’s because he isn’t your stalker. I think it’s Hope.’
‘Hope! Why didn’t I see this coming? So it’s gone from Mike’—to me stalking myself—‘to Hope. Who’s next? Your stepdad?’
Emma’s tone was serious when she said, ‘Just hear me out. The day I got my binoculars, Hope came around, and we were—’ She paused. ‘We were looking around for a bit. Hope had the binoculars trained on your building, having a nosey. She seemed into it, but then, for no reason, she decided she wanted to go inside.’
‘I’m not following. So she lost interest. How does that make her a stalker?’
‘That in itself doesn’t, but she must have seen you in your apartment. I didn’t put the two together until I realised your apartment was burgled the very next day.’
‘Are … are you saying you think it was Hope from the beginning?’
‘That’s exactly what I’m saying. She was around when it happened at school, and it’s a bit of a coincidence that it started up again when you came back to London.’
Lauren felt for the sofa behind her and sank into it. She had been friendly with Hope at school. A bad word had never been spoken between them. Lauren had always been kind to her.
‘But why would she do that? What reason would she have to ruin my life?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘I can’t believe it.’
‘I didn’t want to either, but it’s the only explanation I can come up with.’
‘But what’s her motive?’
‘From the research I did on stalkers, it seems like they don’t need one,’ Emma ranted. ‘I wish we hadn’t told Hope we were fitting the peephole with a security camera. If we hadn’t given her a heads-up on what we were doing, we could have caught her in the act.’
Lauren chose her words carefully. She didn’t want to make a commitment on something she couldn’t follow through with. ‘Do you think I should come back to confront her?’
‘No, that’s the last thing you should do. As much as I miss you after only a day apart, I can’t bear to see how this whole thing is affecting you. If anything, I’ll come and see you in Paris.’
‘I wish you could come tonight,’ Lauren said, forgetting her feelings of betrayal. The situation was so messed up it was hard to know what to believe.
‘Don’t tempt me. The sooner we sort this mess out, the quicker you can get on with making a fresh start.’
‘What if Hope denies it all?’
‘It doesn’t matter. The fact we’re on to her will be enough. I could kill her. I really could when I think of the misery she put you and your family through. I’m going round to see her. Let’s see what she has to say for herself, shall we?’
‘I should have stayed and faced up to things from the start. I shouldn’t have run away like a coward.’
‘You were sixteen, barely an adult. How were you supposed to know how to deal with this? Even celebrities have a hard time shaking them loose, and they’ve got money and power.’
‘I wish you were here.’
‘Me too.’
‘Do you want to Skype me when you get in bed, and we can fall asleep together?’
‘I’d like nothing better. Speak later then. I …’
‘I know, Emma. Me too.’
Lauren disconnected the call and held the phone against her chest, closing her eyes. If Hope was responsible for causing her to flee and make a new life, she didn’t know if she could face her again. It was a tough call, especially since Hope was Emma’s stepsister and Lauren knew how fiercely Emma protected those she loved. If it was Hope, she would have to follow Emma’s lead. She could never ask her to choose her over her sister.
She wondered again if this was the end to her problem. If, as Emma had predicted, Hope stopped harassing her once she caught wind they were on to her, Lauren would at last find some sort of balance in her life.
Chapter Thirty
Emma stood in front of Hope’s house. Until that very moment, she hadn’t realised how much she didn’t want to go in. Confrontation wasn’t her strong suit, and what she was planning on asking Hope wasn’t nice—especially if she was wrong.
The front door creaked open and Hope emerged. ‘Hi, Emma. To what do I owe the pleasure?’ she said, beckoning her in.
‘I was just on my way home from work and thought I’d pop by,’ Emma said, stepping over the threshold.
‘Come into the kitchen. I’m making vegetable soup. Beer?’ Hope overtook her in the long hallway and veered left into the large, spacious kitchen.
The thought of sharing a beer with someone who had mentally tortured Lauren made her physically ill. Just act like you would on any other night.
‘I’d love one, thanks.’
‘So, where’s Lauren?’ Hope asked, taking two beers from the fridge and flipping their lids off with a bottle opener. She handed one to Emma and placed her own next to the chopping board where she resumed chopping a carrot.
‘Busy. She’s got some guys round her place.’ Emma was careful not to meet Hope’s gaze and instead fiddled with the bottle’s label. Hope was a human lie detector; she could catch Emma in a lie in a split second. It’s a pity I can’t say the same.
‘Guys?’ Hope raised her brows.
Emma cleared her throat, hoping she could pull this off. ‘Yeah, something to do with lifting fingerprints off the letter she received the other day.’
‘I thought only the police could do that sort of thing?’ Hope threw the carrots into a stainless steel colander and moved to rinse them under the sink. She grabbed a bunch of celery from the side and handed it to Emma. ‘Here, you can cut these.’
Emma took the celery from her. ‘You know, businesses on the internet. You can find a company fo
r just about anything these days. Just think, you can have your genetic code mapped out just by providing a swab. Taking someone’s fingerprint should be a doddle.’
Emma waited until Hope moved away from the sink and washed her hands. She removed a knife from the drawer, put several celery stalks on a plate, and started chopping.
‘Lauren’s more than convinced it isn’t Mike stalking her now. She thinks it’s someone else. Someone with a grudge.’
Hope emptied the carrots into a large pot of water on the hob and stirred them with a wooden spoon. ‘Why doesn’t that surprise me? Believe me, the only prints they’ll find are hers.’
Yeah, because you probably wore gloves. Emma kept her tone light as she said, ‘Or the nutty stalker’s.’
Hope stared back at her, big blue eyes flashing with disdain. ‘I wish you’d stop using that word.’
‘Why, that’s what they are. Creepy little fuckers who don’t have a life and feed on the fear of others. At the same time, they don’t have the guts to make themselves known. They have to inflict their pain from the shadows like the cowards they are.’
‘Whoa, that’s a bit harsh,’ Hope said, grabbing the plate with the celery on it. Several pieces fell over the edge and onto the floor. Hope grunted and swooped down to pick them up. She rinsed them off and threw them into the pot.
Emma wondered if Hope was getting riled up because she wasn’t buying her story of Lauren stalking herself. Whatever the reason, she decided to keep pushing to see where it led. ‘Is it? What would you call them?’
‘I don’t know. Whoever it is might be crying out for help.’
‘In which case they should see a psychiatrist.’ It was taking all of Emma’s strength not to put her hands around Hope’s neck and strangle the life out of her. ‘Anyway, it’s not important. Technology today isn’t like it was fourteen years ago. If the scumbag goes anywhere near her apartment again, we’ll find out who it is once and for all.’
‘Then you and Lauren will live happily ever after, I take it.’
‘Who knows?’
Hope spun round and stared at Emma challengingly. ‘Come on. You know that’s what you want. You’ve been pining over her since she left school.’
