Page 25 of Her Deadly Promise

He shrugged. ‘Not sure yet as I’m heading to the Derby office. Could be but probably won’t be. Don’t make any dinner for me, I’ll grab something on the go.’

With that, he left, leaving her alone and wondering where he was going and when he’d be back. She dare not ask him. If she did, the accusations would fly, and it would end with her getting hurt. She’d learnt her lesson on many occasions. She’s too possessive, she always nags him and she’s trying to control him. All that couldn’t be further from the truth. They had a son and she had to be there for him all day, every day. Ed always did as he pleased. Having a child hadn’t changed his life at all. As the kettle clicked, she ignored it, her stomach too nervy for more coffee. Maybe the police weren’t going to come. Police didn’t care about playground chat. She swallowed the disgust she had in herself. Gossip was hardly a crime. She accepted that breaking Billie’s confidence was immoral and wrong, but criminal, no. Her husband on the other hand, he was hiding something, and that text was the key to the truth. Whatever happened, she had to get into his phone. Maybe she could keep topping up his glass when he got home. More wine, a couple of brandies and maybe an Irish coffee to finish the night off. Yes, she’d have to make the night so special he’d end up comatose at the end. Only then could she find out what was on his phone. Maybe he’d also tell her other things, things that could set her free from him. She had to come up with a plan.

As she tried to swallow, the lump in her throat protested. Billie was gone and she was never going to see her again. If only her friend were here now. She’d beg for forgiveness.

A hammering knock shook her front door. As her heart jumped, she hurried through the large kitchen and along the hallway before stopping and taking a couple of deep breaths. If it was the police, she was going to stay calm, not say anything and do some detective work of her own first. She pulled her short-sleeved hoodie over her green sports crop top and half did it up. Deep breaths.

She exhaled.

‘Nadia, sorry about this morning, not stopping. I was running so late that Poppy missed registration. You haven’t been picking up. I tried to call you and then I messaged, twice. With what happened to Billie, I was worried.’ Candice stepped in and hugged her, like she often did. Now wasn’t the best time. She’d rather her friend went home and left her to rummage through Ed’s things, that’s what she needed to do. She relaxed a little. At least it wasn’t the police.

‘Come in.’ No need to have said that as Candice was already in the kitchen helping herself to a coffee cup. ‘Make me one while you’re at it.’ Strange thing to say in her own home but Candice was the woman who took over. This usually annoyed Ed. She didn’t know why her friend was grating on her so much, maybe it was because she was the biggest gossip of them all. Everyone knew Billie’s secret because Candice had blabbed, that she was sure of. She thought she could totally trust Meera, but maybe she’d let Billie’s secret out by telling Candice.

‘Here you go.’ Candice placed the cup down, a tiny bit of her nail polish chinking as she did. She laid a warm hand on Nadia’s arm and tilted her head. ‘I can’t stop thinking about Billie and what happened.’ She removed her hand and wiped a tear away.

‘Me neither. It’s all so surreal.’

‘And, I can’t stop thinking about her and how scared she must have been. When you didn’t answer your phone… I panicked.’ She let out a small sob.

‘Sorry, hun. I really didn’t mean to worry you. Ed has just left for work and my phone is on silent. I didn’t see that you’d called.’

Candice waved a dismissive hand and sniffed. ‘It’s okay. We’re all in shock. I just had to come over. Staying in and stewing was making me queasy. My heart has been pounding with every noise I hear. Sorry to burst in like this. I didn’t want to be alone. I keep thinking, what if whoever did this to Billie does it again? What if it’s one of us?’

‘We both know why this happened to Billie. No one is coming for us.’ Nadia sat at the breakfast bar while Candice turned to the cupboards and rummaged around for a packet of biscuits like it was her kitchen. Nadia wanted to tell her that there were no biscuits, but she left Candice to find out for herself.

‘When I got to the school, everyone was talking about her and what had happened.’

‘What were they saying?’

‘You don’t want to know. It was horrible.’

Nadia scrunched her brow. ‘Why would they say horrible things? Billie was murdered.’

‘I know, but that’s people for you. One of them said that they could do without people like her living in the neighbourhood. Others defended Billie, saying how times were hard.’

‘It’s all my fault, I should have kept my mouth shut.’

Candice rushed over and placed an arm around Nadia’s shoulder. ‘You were a good friend. You offered to help her.’

‘She asked me not to tell. She was so worried everyone would find out, but I told Meera.’

‘I can’t believe that you told Meera and not me. Maybe we could have all been there for Billie. Times must have been tough for her to do what she was doing.’ Candice sat next to Nadia.

‘I’m sorry but it was all my bad. I shouldn’t have told anyone, it accidentally slipped out. I wish I could turn back the clock and force Billie to accept my help. It’s only money at the end of the day. She was too proud to take any and I get that. No one wants a handout but look what happened.’ She paused. ‘We argued on the day she died; I wasn’t sure if she was going to turn up to the fete meeting. I thought the migraine was an excuse to not come. She’d noticed people talking. I could see them looking at her. I tried to tell her they weren’t. That’s when she accused me of betraying her. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I’d told Meera and I felt horrible. I still do.’

Her mind went back to the message on Ed’s phone. She had talked when they’d had a few glasses of wine, so he knew everything about Billie too. For a fleeting second, she pictured Ed turning up at Billie’s. Would Billie have been angry enough with her to sleep with him to spite her? She knew that Ed would go there as he’d never been faithful to her.

‘Nadia.’ Candice took her hand. ‘You were the best friend ever to Billie, and you still are to me and Meera. We have to be strong and help each other through this. We all miss Billie and we loved her.’

‘She died hating me.’ Nadia sipped the coffee and coughed as it got caught in her throat. ‘Someone killed our friend. I still can’t take it in.’

‘Come here, sweetie.’ Candice held her tight. All she could still think about was Ed’s phone. She needed Candice to leave. She’d already stayed too long. ‘I think I need to be on my own for a bit.’

‘Okay, I get that but I’m not leaving you to fester in this cloud of guilt. Why don’t you and William come over to mine after school? And Ed, too. Gavin will be there, so he’ll have someone to talk to. We need to be with friends at times like this.’

‘Ed will be working late, like he always is.’

‘Okay, just you and me. Kids can play in the garden, and we’ll get a takeaway. Damn, I’m running late. Got a dog booked in for a groom at one. I tried to cancel given what had happened but my client never answered her phone, so I guess I have to be there.’ She grabbed her bag. ‘Did I tell you I’m going to open a dog parlour and escape my garage?’

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