Page 74 of The Girl in the Woods

She held her breath in anticipation, then forced her eyes from his hand to his face and gasped.

It wasn’t him.

But that couldn’t be right. It didn’t make sense. He’d gone to Oxford, they’d said. A new job. A promotion. A private detective said he was married with two kids and lived in Banbury.

‘He’s got a fancy piece. Lives in a nice apartment. Olivia Whitman.’

It didn’t make sense. He had the correct name, so why wasn’t it him?

‘You okay, Ana?’ asked Matt.

Ana struggled to control her emotions. ‘Nice to meet you,’ she said, but it didn’t sound like her voice. It was fake and empty of feeling. Why the fuck aren’t you him? her head was yelling. You’re supposed to be him. You’ve got his fucking name, and you even fucking smell like him. But, of course, if she’d used a bit of common sense, it would have been obvious that loads of men probably wore the same scent.

‘You’re a police officer,’ he said. ‘You must have your hands full tonight.’

I should fucking arrest you for nearly giving me a heart attack, thought Ana.

‘We’re not on duty,’ said Matt, looking at Ana, who was staring at the other guy like he was an alien.

‘Olivia said you work odd hours too,’ said Ana.

He smiled. He didn’t look at all like him, not in the fucking least. Ana’s anger was overwhelming her. If this wasn’t him, then where the fuck was he? How much fucking time had she wasted?

‘I’m a surgeon at the JR hospital.’

‘Have you always lived in Oxford?’

‘Twenty questions or what?’ Matt laughed. ‘Once a police officer, always…’

Ana glared at him.

‘Yes,’ he said, looking confused.

Ana forced a smile. So, she’d been chasing a dead end all along. She’d got the right person, except it wasn’t the man she wanted. So how the hell was she supposed to find the fucker now?

‘Hello.’

Ana turned to see Tim with Vanessa and forced a smile. ‘Oh, hi. Are you enjoying the fair?’ she asked.

‘We’ll only be staying a little longer.’ Tim smiled. ‘It’s a bit noisy for Mum. Thanks, by the way, for looking into the accident.’

Ana felt embarrassed. What if she didn’t find anything? ‘Well, don’t raise your hopes too much,’ she said.

‘At least you’re trying,’ he said.

‘How’s the hand?’ Ana asked, noticing the bandage.

‘It’s getting better. Right, Mum wants some chips to take home. Enjoy yourselves.’

Tim wheeled Vanessa across the field towards the chip van.

The place was swarming with people now, and Ana found herself jostled into the highly fragranced body of a woman.

‘Oops, sorry,’ said the woman, trying not to slur her words.

‘You okay, Lisa?’ asked Matt.

Ana cringed at how provocative the woman suddenly became, fluttering her eyelashes and stepping closer to Matt, asking, ‘You haven’t seen my useless other half, darling?’

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