Part 6 (1/2)

'h.e.l.lo, Maggie?' a voice said. It was a voice that she didn't recognise, but the tone was oily, slick.

'I'd like to speak to your husband. Get him for me, would you?'

'May I ask who's speaking?' she answered, hearing a slight tremor in her voice.

'No, you may not. Is he there?'

'I'm sorry, he isn't. Can I take a message?'

'He's not answering his mobile, and that's not good enough,' the man said, his words clipped. There was an undercurrent to the voice that she had heard so many times in the voices of her clients. It was the sound of threat.

'Well, maybe I can ask him to call you,' she said, trying to pretend that this was all perfectly normal.

'He's not coming home, though, is he Maggie. He's run run from his obligations. Again.'

Maggie didn't respond. She didn't know what the man was talking about, and she stared down at Lily, her gaze fixed, her heart pounding. She was waiting. For what, she didn't know, but she knew it wasn't good.

'I'm glad I've found you, Maggie. It makes it all so much more worthwhile. Your husband has had his first warning. If he calls, remind him of that, and be sure to tell him we know where you live. Do you understand? We know where you live. Tell him.'

The phone went dead.

14.

It was minutes since the call had ended, but Maggie was still holding the phone, looking at it as if the answer lay there. What did the man mean?

He had said, 'I'm glad I found you.' Did that mean he had found her. Or found them? Or did he mean he had found Duncan?

'If he calls...' he had said.

What did he mean about running away from his obligations again? Did the man mean he had run away from her? Was she or his family an obligation?

Finally, Maggie slowly replaced the receiver, and without conscious thought made her way across to a chair and sat down heavily, her eyes unfocused.

Vaguely she was aware that Lily had been saying something, but the little girl had obviously given up on her mummy and gone back outside because the kitchen was now quiet. Quiet enough for her to think.

She grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil and wrote down what she remembered of his words. The words themselves seemed fairly innocuous. They could almost have been the words of a disgruntled customer. But it wasn't the words that had made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end; it had been the tone of his voice.

There was no doubt at all in Maggie's head that this was a threat, and she sprang to her feet, rushed to the back door and called the children into the house. She didn't want them out of her sight for a moment.

The children didn't understand why they couldn't stay in the garden, but she silenced them by saying Josh could download a new game for his console and plug it into the TV in the study and Lily could watch Frozen for about the fiftieth time in the sitting room after lunch. Bolting all the doors, including the one from the garage into the house, her mind spun through all the different options.

What had Duncan done?

From nowhere, an answer hit her. If Duncan had run off with another woman, it must have been the woman's husband on the phone. And he was after Duncan. It was the only thing that made sense.

And yet somehow it didn't.

What else could it be? A debt that he hadn't paid, maybe? She had known of some dreadful crimes committed against people who owed money. But surely he would have told her? They had some savings money for the renovation of their house they could have used.

She could develop any theory she wanted, but the truth was she didn't know, and the uncertainty was unbearable. She could face the truth, she was sure if only she knew what the truth was.

Maggie picked up the phone and dialled.

'Suzy,' she said when her sister answered, 'I need to talk to you. I'm sorry about earlier, but I didn't think I could speak right then not even to you. I've come unstuck, though, and 'Maggie's voice broke ' I don't know what to do.'

'Hey, don't cry, Mags. Tell me. Let's see if there's something I can do to help.'

'It's Duncan. I think something might have happened to him.'

'What sort of thing? Is it something to do with last night?'

Maggie took some deep breaths and tried to control herself. 'I don't know where he is.'

Somehow Maggie managed to stumble through most of the story of the last few hours.

'He's having an affair. I know he is.'

'That's a bit of a leap, Mags,' Suzy said.

Maggie was about to tell her sister about the photo on Duncan's phone and the threatening call, but the sound of her mobile ringing in the next room set her pulse racing.

Duncan. It had to be.

She quickly ended the call with Suzy, promising to call her over the weekend and dashed into the hall. As she got there, the ringing stopped.

's.h.i.+t!'

She grabbed the phone and stared at it as if by some magic it would ring again. The screen said number withheld. She wanted to throw the phone at the wall. It had to have been Duncan, and she had missed him.

She sat down heavily on the bottom step of the stairs, rested her folded arms on her knees and dropped her head.

15.

12 years ago May 15th The television news was showing photos of dark-haired beauty Penelope Cruz arriving at the Cannes Film Festival, and Tamsin Grainger stared at the screen hoping to catch a glimpse of the actress's current boyfriend, Tom Cruise. She was out of luck.

With one eye on the television and one on the mirror, she continued to apply her make-up, going a bit heavier on the eyes than usual.

Tonight was going to be the party of the year. Tamsin could feel it, and she wanted to look her best. Especially now she had rid herself of that w.a.n.ker who seemed to think he was the love of her life. What a p.r.i.c.k he had turned out to be. A good-looking p.r.i.c.k, though, she had to admit.

She had never said they had an exclusive thing going she was having fun, and nothing was going to interfere with that. Maybe messing about with that lecturer had been a bit stupid, but at least it might get her some good marks in her next exam.