Page 55 of Her Deadly Promise

‘It’ll be okay, sweetie. Mummy will be here and Daddy’s on his way.’

Her daughter nodded and allowed the detective to take her hand and lead her to the uniformed officer with the clipboard. Candice watched as he smiled and spoke in an animated voice. Poppy was soon giggling. Whatever he said had made her laugh. As the detective headed back, Candice sat on the bonnet of her car, her legs feeling a little wobbly. She’d already told everyone everything she knew and said she’d go to the station later to make a statement. Right now, she wanted to take Poppy home and lock the door on the scary outside world.

‘I’m sorry to have kept you waiting, Mrs Brent.’

The detective seemed nice and caring. ‘Please, call me Candice.’ She kicked her sandals off, releasing her sore feet and stood on a shady part of the pavement.

DI Harte nodded. ‘Can you just talk me through what happened this afternoon?’

‘I’ve already told the officer everything.’

‘I know, and I’m sorry to have to ask you again, but your friend is missing and all we want to do is find her and bring her home safely.’

Candice closed her eyes and pictured the scene and the blood. The thought of it was sickening. Only after standing around had she been toiling with all that had happened and no matter how hard she tried not to overthink things, she could still smell the hot metallic blood that seemed to coat her nostrils. And where was Gavin? She felt like he’d abandoned her in her hour of need. It was easy to convey the perfect marriage and the perfect family. All that happy family stuff she posted on Instagram was nothing more than fake news. She had as many problems as the next person. Poppy had as many whiny moments as the next child, and she didn’t wake up looking as perfect as she made out when she posted photos of her perfect breakfast-in-bed moments. She and Nadia were alike in that way, but neither would admit it. Nadia was gone. She let out a small sob.

‘Candice…’

‘Sorry. What I saw, it keeps going through my head. When I went into the garage, I felt as though I couldn’t breathe and…’ She choked out another sob and shook her head.

‘Would you find it easier to come down the station now where it might be cooler?’

‘No, I’m okay. I need to wait for my husband to collect Poppy. I don’t want to take her to a police station.’ She swallowed and shook her head. The last thing she wanted to do was go into a police station at all. She wanted to go home. She also wanted to forget that Billie’s younger sister, Serena, had kept leaving her messages. She didn’t even know the woman. It was all getting too much. She wished they could all go back a few days when they all felt so safe and life was simpler. All she wanted was to sip wine in Nadia’s back garden and watch while their children played, but those days were gone forever. Tears flooded her face. She pulled another tissue from her bag and blew her nose hard.

‘Do you need a few moments?’

‘No, I need to do this, for Nadia.’ She wiped the sore delicate skin under her nose and flinched at the stinging sensation from too much rubbing.

‘In your own time.’ The detective pulled a tiny notepad from her pocket and a pen from another.

‘The day seemed like any other. I was at home tidying my salon.’

‘Salon?’

With a shaky voice, she continued, ‘I’m a dog groomer. My garage is a dog salon.’ Candice opened the bottle of water and took a sip of its warm contents. ‘Then I had to pick Poppy up from school. They finish at three fifteen. I was rushing as usual. Nadia and I usually joke that I’m always rushing and she’s normally early. Today, she wasn’t there and the kids’ teacher, Mrs Hallam, said that she’d tried to call Nadia but there had been no answer. I’ve picked up William on lots of occasions, so I’m authorised to collect him from school. I said I’d drop him home…’ Candice shook away her inner thoughts that were threatening to overwhelm her. She gripped her trembling hands behind her back.

‘And after that?’

‘I put the kids in the car and drove straight here to drop William off. At first, I was worried. I thought Nadia might be ill or an emergency might have cropped up. It’s unlike her to not turn up. If something had happened, she’d have called me and asked if I could collect William for her. I even checked my phone and there were no missed calls. We got out of the car, that’s me, William and Poppy. Then we went to the front door and knocked, but there was no answer. I knew there was something wrong, it was like I could sense it. That’s when I told the kids to get back in the car.’ Candice felt her chest tightening.

‘I know this is hard but you’re doing really well.’

‘I looked through the window and saw the cat in the snug. There was also a pile of cat mess up the far end and that seemed strange too. I know Nadia has a cat flap and a litter tray. Fluffball is a well-trained cat so I guessed he must have been accidentally shut in the room at some point.’

The detective made a few notes. ‘Where did you go next?’

‘I thought I’d try the back gate. Although I felt something wasn’t right, I hoped that Nadia was in the back garden. I thought maybe she’d fallen over or hurt herself. The back gate was open, which wasn’t a huge surprise because she quite often forgets to lock it. I checked the garden and couldn’t see her, so I tried the utility room door and that was open. I went in and the air felt strange.’

‘In what way?’

‘Not as in smell or sound, it was silent. I’d never heard Nadia’s house in silence. She loves a bit of music or the radio, or William is always running around. I called out to Ed and Nadia but there was no answer. As I walked through the utility room, the cat darted past me, hissing. It looked scared. I was quite startled by that, and I remember thinking that my sense of worry was stupid. I kept telling myself that Nadia had just gone out somewhere with Ed, as her car is parked over there, and maybe they were caught in traffic. But Fluffball never hisses at me. He’s normally a friendly cat.’ Candice stopped and thought about that moment.

‘What happened then?’

‘Sorry. I went through the kitchen; I checked the snug, walked around calling them, then I saw that the garage door was open. When I reached the garage, I turned on the light and stepped in. At first, I didn’t see that word on the wall. All I saw was the mess. There were boxes and brochures everywhere and a hole in the wall. I stepped in and walked around, that’s when I spotted the blood smeared on the wall and that word almost took my breath away. I knew something bad had happened. I ran out of the front door, opening it from the inside and I hurried straight back to the children. That’s when I called the police. A uniformed officer arrived quite quickly, and I’ve been standing on the kerb since.’

The detective undid one of her shirt buttons. Candice watched as the skin on her neck reddened before spreading to her chin, leaving a cherry-bright shine on it. ‘Excuse me, I can’t bear this heat.’ She exhaled and continued, ‘Do you know of anyone who would want to hurt Nadia? Has she had any disagreements with anyone lately?’

Candice knew this question was coming and it was important to tell the police everything. ‘Nadia and Billie had a bit of a falling out. Nadia let Billie’s secret slip. Billie told her in confidence about what she was doing, for money. I assume you know.’

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