Page 71 of A Very Happy Easter

Damn, I missed him.

Nineteen

The panic faded into a baseline of anxiety, and I forced myself to focus on the next task—planning Constance’s hen party. Mama always asked why I didn’t delegate more to Salma, but firstly, Salma already did a lot, secondly, she was a friend as much as an assistant and I didn’t want to burden her, and thirdly, Grandma Elizabeth had been my role model. I could still hear her voice in my head too. Just because you can afford the finer things in life doesn’t mean you don’t have to earn them. I raised a strong, capable family. We won’t talk about Robert. She’d never let me sit around while others pandered to me. I might have struggled with my mental health, and okay, I was a terrible cook, but I followed her lead and worked.

Anyhow, Constance had decided to hold her hen do in San Gallicano just before the wedding, which she said was uber-traditional and I said was to avoid having to put up with her cousin Priscilla, who was rude to everyone when sober and a she-devil when drunk. Priscilla was also afraid of flying.

The wedding would be taking place at the Mandarin Bay Resort on one of the smaller isles—Sasurra, which sat to the northwest of the main island of Ilha Grande. We’d land at the international airport and then take a puddle jumper to our destination.

Mandarin Bay offered everything you’d expect from a luxury resort, which was why I decided to hold Constance’s hen do somewhere else. She had a massage every Wednesday afternoon, so spending a day at the spa wouldn’t be anything special. No, I decided to start the day with a tour of a family-owned coffee plantation. Polly was also going to the wedding, and learning about the colonial inequalities in the coffee industry would be good for her. Then we’d head to a nearby beach for lunch and snorkelling and finish up with a cocktail-making session at a local rum distillery.

The concierge at Mandarin Bay was happy to help coordinate, and he promised to send over various itinerary, transport, and menu options for me to choose from. Solving the Easter egg problem would be more of a challenge. I was about to start emailing everyone I could think of who might be willing to take a dozen eggs off my hands when someone knocked on the door. Not the front door; the study door right behind me.

I whipped around, expecting to see Max or Bryson, but Heath was standing there. Heath was standing there, and he was carrying a duffel bag.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to make you jump.”

My heart flipped and then sank again. Because why was Heath here? Did the bag mean he was staying? He’d said he wouldn’t do that if it put me in danger, which meant he wasn’t in danger, but I was.

And he wasn’t smiling.

My thoughts must have been written all over my face because his expression morphed into sympathy, and he opened his arms. I stepped into them, careful not to squeeze his bruised shoulder.

“What happened?” I whispered as I moved back. “What did you find out?”

And what was bad enough that he couldn’t tell me over the phone?

“He’s out.”

“Who’s out?” A second later, I realised I knew the answer. There could only be one answer. “Neil? They let him go?”

“Part of an early release program for good behaviour.”

“Good behaviour? Tell me you’re not serious?”

“Around the same time, there was a hack at the prison service and the records are a mess, which is why it took us a while to find out.”

“How long?” I asked, my voice hollow. “How long has he been out?”

“Five months. He was staying at a hostel in Barnet, and he got a job with a courier company.”

“It was him on the bike following us?”

“We believe so.”

“Where is he now?”

“That’s the big question. He hasn’t shown up for work since the fire, and he hasn’t returned to the hostel either.”

“He’s on the run on a moped?”

“Not my choice of getaway vehicle, but there you go. The police have put a BOLO out.”

“They won’t find him. He’s a monster, but he’s a smart monster.”

“It’s not just the police who are looking for him this time. He has the whole of Blackwood on his tail too. Well, most of Blackwood.” Heath held up his bandaged hands and grimaced. “How do you feel about fleeing the country?”

Laugh or cry, right? I forced a chuckle. “Isn’t that a bit drastic?”

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