Page 46 of Her Deadly Promise

He leaned back in his chair as Gina opened her file on Anderson.

‘You got caught kerb crawling when you were nineteen.’

He shook his head and huffed out a breath. ‘I’d just passed my driving test and I was lost. I was asking for directions.’

‘You were charged.’

‘Whatever. I have my story and just because you lot falsely charged me; I’m sticking to it. You were wrong. Are you arresting me?’

‘No, Mr Anderson, but please stay close by. We might need to interview you again.’

‘That’s all I’ve got to say. Can I have my invoice back? I need it for my records in case the hot tub doesn’t arrive next week.’

Frustrated, Gina clenched her hands together under the table as Jacob concluded the interview for the tape. Everything was still pointing towards Brock being the murderer. As Edward Anderson stood, he straightened his shirt and brushed his trousers down. The man was a liar; that was certain, but a murderer? Unless he was working with someone else, it was looking unlikely. She stared at him for a few moments wondering if he had any reason to hate Billie enough to hide the truth from them. It was convenient how he had such a tight alibi during the murder. Maybe he’d planned it that way. For now, that was a theory but one she couldn’t dismiss. Until she got confirmation from the hot tub company, he was still a suspect and Meera could still be lying about the times he was with her.

‘Well?’ He held his hand out.

‘Mr Anderson, like I said, stay close and as a word of advice, don’t go asking for any more directions.’ She emphasised the word directions. ‘You’ve already lost your way one too many times.’ The man seemed to care more about his hot tub than he did about his wife’s best friend.

‘What does that mean?’

She grabbed her things and left the room, allowing the door to slam behind her.

THIRTY-ONE

NADIA

‘Shake those ropes,’ Nadia called to her client, while the woman panted and held her side. ‘Come on. Just one more minute to go. You’ve got this!’ Her mind wandered for a few seconds to the evening before. Still fuming from Ed’s game, she couldn’t let it go. She’d called him several times. He had to have been involved and scaring her half to death, which wasn’t on. No more sneaking around and trying to discreetly check messages. She had evidence he couldn’t deny. She’d taken a photo of his message to Billie on the day she’d died and as for him trying to make her lose it, it wasn’t going to work. She was onto him. He poured that wine and he had to have sent Meera upstairs to stage the doll’s house. Maybe he drove out while sending Meera back in her car. They were in on it together, they had to be. She shivered at the thought of someone in her house and William, he thought he saw Ed. Maybe Meera had borrowed his jacket. Her son would have been half asleep. She huffed under her breath. She expected this of Ed, but not Meera.

The young woman bent over on the empty tennis court while she got her breath back. ‘I’m done.’ She waved a hand in front of her face and ran a hand through her hair.

‘Okay. For a first session, you did really well, and I can definitely recommend some areas that we can work on. What did you say you were training for?’

‘I didn’t.’

That’s odd. Nadia was sure her new client had mentioned a half marathon or a triathlon. ‘Shall I book you in again next week?’ She could do without the work but given that Ed had insulted her with the hobby remark, she was going to prove him wrong and build her business up until she had personal trainers working for her. Billie had reminded her how short life was.

The woman shook her head, her dark blonde hairline damp with perspiration. ‘No.’

‘Are you okay?’ The woman swigged from her water bottle but didn’t take her gaze from Nadia.

‘How long was my sister shagging my boyfriend for?’

‘Sorry?’ Was Nadia meant to know the woman in front of her? They’d only met an hour ago. ‘Do we know each other?’

‘I’m Serena. Billie mentioned you and Meera a lot, but we were never introduced.’ A tear drizzled down her cheek. ‘I’m so angry at her and I can’t do anything about it because she’s dead. Then, I hate myself for being angry with her. She did the unthinkable to me. To her own sister and then I find out from the police about everything else she was in to.’

Nadia could relate to Serena’s anger and hurt; she was feeling bad after seeing Meera with Ed. The others didn’t hurt so much, they felt less personal, but Meera was her friend. She didn’t know if she’d be able to trust anyone ever again.

Nadia placed a comforting hand on the woman’s shoulders as she cried. ‘Is that why you came?’

‘I needed to find someone who knew her, someone who could tell me what she’d really been like recently. I don’t know why she’d do something so awful. I can only think that she wasn’t in her right mind.’ Serena wiped her eyes.

‘I think Billie had a lot going on and I’m not sure any of us really knew her as well as we thought. Maybe she wasn’t in her right mind. She loved you, though. She was so proud, telling me of her sister who was going to become a dentist. She made one bad decision, don’t let that tar all your lovely memories.’

Serena began to sob. ‘Why are you being so kind to her?’

‘Because we were best friends and I know she was going through some tough times. People don’t do what Billie did if they’re not. I’m upset that I didn’t do more—’ Nadia felt herself getting choked up.

---