Page 113 of The First Mistake

‘How can you be so sure that Nathan’s the vendor?’ asks Beth eventually.

‘Because the vendor is the only other person who would have been told that completion’s delayed,’ she says.

‘And you were buying it for a million pounds?’ asks Beth incredulously. ‘How much do you think Nathan bought it for?’

‘It’s worthless!’ says Alice, as she bangs the dashboard with a closed fist. ‘He’d have got it for a song because nothing can be built on it. It’s no man’s land.’

‘Shit,’ says Beth. ‘He was going to do it all over again.’

Alice leans back on the headrest as a text from Matt pings through on her phone.

Good news! Looks like the payments to Visions are all kosher as they’re a subsidiary of Excelsior – the vendors on Japan! Will talk you through when you’re back in the office.

‘What do you want to do?’ asks Beth.

Alice counts to ten in her head, concentrating on taking slow deep breaths in and out. ‘I want to kill him, is what I want to do.’

‘Who was that disgusting man?’ asks Beth, sounding as if a lightbulb has gone on in her head that no one else can see. Alice waits for her to offer more.

‘That creep who owned Temple Homes. The one who assaulted you.’

Alice shakes her head, not knowing what he’s got to do with anything. ‘David,’ she says. ‘David Phillips.’

‘Where’s that site? The one he wanted you to work on.’

‘Bradbury Avenue,’ says Alice, a slight irritation to her. How was this solving the very big problem of Nathan?

Beth snatches a look at her watch. ‘Will it still be open?’

‘What, the site?’

Beth nods.

‘I don’t know. Why?’

‘Call David and find out if you can meet him there.’

Alice turns in her seat. ‘Why would I do that?’

‘Just ask him to meet you there now.’

‘Absolutely not,’ snaps Alice. ‘I never want to speak to him again.’

‘Just do it,’ says Beth, her eyes not leaving the road in front of her. ‘I’ve got an idea.’

‘And what do I do if he says yes?’

‘We’ll revert to Plan B.’

Alice begrudgingly looks up his number, unsure of whether she deleted it from her phone after their encounter. She almost hopes that she has.

When she sees it, she fights the urge to lie to Beth. ‘I don’t want him to think that what he did was okay,’ she says quietly, remembering his hands on her behind, his rough fingers kneading her breast.

‘Believe you me, he won’t get away with it,’ says Beth, ‘if you please just do as I say.’

‘Are you honestly asking me totrustyou?’ says Alice, her voice high-pitched and laden with irony.

‘Yes,’ says Beth firmly, and for some reason Alice believes her.

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