Page 44 of Then She Vanished

RUTH

As Ruth pulled up in a lay-by just down the road from the address Gary had left her with, she stared at the large house hidden behind a thick, tall row of conifers. The winding drive led to a larger one, where Eric’s car was parked outside the double garage. She checked the message he’d sent her while she’d been driving.

I’m with my sister. She’s really upset and needs me. I’ll see you later. By the way, was Gary in your house earlier? I saw him on the new camera. I hope he gave you the money for my tyre.

She knew having CCTV was a good idea, but she hadn’t realised Eric would have access to the live footage.

It felt like he’d been watching her.

Damn, Gary had planted the distrust in her mind because he was turning into a sad, bitter old man. He was angry because she’d moved on and found Eric. Anger brewed up within her.

She scrunched her brow and put her long-distance glasses back on. Eric passed the window and began hitting a remotecontrol against his palm before pointing it. Her being here was stupid, and if Eric saw her it would be a gross breach of his trust.

She couldn’t do it.

She turned the ignition and went to put the car into first gear, when something white caught her peripheral vision. Eric’s sister had joined him and she was wearing a white top. He passed her the remote and nodded. The woman slapped him on the arm playfully and smiled.

Ruth smiled along with them. She wished she’d had siblings, although his sister looked a lot younger than him. Maybe she was in her forties or fifties. He’d never mentioned her age.

She took in the woman’s features, or at least what she could see: mousy-brown hair, white top and an A-line skirt, her hair up in a chignon. Very sophisticated.

She couldn’t be angrier at Gary, and she was angrier at herself for falling for his lies. She pictured him back at his house, laughing about the stupid chess piece. What a joke, trying to tell her that someone had left it outside her door. Gary had a chessboard because he used to play chess. The only person she should be spying on right now was him.

Eric stepped towards the window and picked something up from the sill. Ruth ducked, hoping he wouldn’t see her car.

She had a common car – there were lots of silver hatchbacks around – and she doubted he’d think for one minute that she was watching him. In fact, she wasn’t. As soon as he turned around, she was going to let that handbrake off and pull away, then go right back home and give Gary a piece of her mind.

She peered over the bottom of the window. Eric’s back was to her again. A few specks of rain began to hit the windscreen. Sitting back up properly, she pulled her seat belt across her chest and plugged it in before taking one final glance.

That’s when she saw the woman and Eric,herEric, kissing and hugging. Gary was right, no way would any person kiss their sister like that.

Rage began to pump through her veins. If it wasn’t for the fact that she was technically the other woman, she’d march right up to his door and give him the biggest piece of her mind ever.

She tried to wiggle off the ring he’d placed on her finger the night before – the ring that was meant to represent her new start with the man she loved – but it was stuck. She instantly regretted slamming her hand on the front panel of her car, dislodging the fan button.

Great, she’d damaged her car now, too.

She hated Eric so much, but she hated that Gary had been telling the truth more. And she hated that Eric had seen her through the CCTV.

As soon as she got home she was going to rip it from the wall.

Eric opened the front door and stepped out into the light rain. He glanced her way and her face burned with humiliation. Had he seen her, or was he looking at something else? Before she got the chance to answer her own question, she sped off, sickened by the whole situation.

What a fool she’d been.

Eric’s wife was also definitely not the woman who had stared at her through the leisure centre window, she was much taller. This woman was prettier than Ruth, definitely much younger, and completely innocent in all this.

Was she officially a home-wrecker now? No, she hadn’t wrecked anyone’s home yet, and she wouldn’t.

Continuing her relationship with Eric went against everything she believed in. As soon as she could get the ring off her finger, she was going to throw it in his face and tell him she never wanted to see him again.

The thought hurt so much. Just that previous night was the happiest she had been in ages.

Her phone beeped. As soon as she’d driven far enough to put distance between her and Eric, she pulled over into a car park to read the message. She assumed Eric had seen her, and that this would probably be a message from him now.

She angrily prodded the phone to open the text and frowned. She removed her long-distance glasses and squinted as her eyes adjusted. Once again, it was a message from a withheld number:

I know what happened to your daughter and I’m going to help you. I am so scared right now, but I know I need to do the right thing. If he finds out I messaged you, he will hurt me, so if you tell anyone, you will never hear from me again and you will never know the truth. Keep your phone on and wait for me to make contact again. I wish there was another way, but my life is in danger.

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