Theo stood on the other side of the locked door, his voice cracking with desperation. I leaned against the wood, my forehead pressed flat against it, feeling the vibration of his pleading through the frame. “Theo, come on. I’m scared, Todd.
I’m scared I’m going to lose you forever. Open the door. Let’s talk properly. ”
“I can’t.
I can’t because you’ll leave me. ”
“I’m going nowhere. Theo? ”
“And you’re lying!
And you’re lying! And you’re lying! And I can’t trust you! I can’t!
And sometimes I hate you, Todd. I can’t stand the look of you. Do you know what? I wish I’d never met you.
I just love you so much. You know, I’ve never loved anyone like I love you. I can’t imagine my life without you in it. I’m nothing without you, Todd.
Nothing. Todd! Why do you do this to me? Why?
You made me feel like something you scraped off the bottom of your shoe. ”
I closed my eyes and waited for the storm to pass. It always passed. But the calm that followed never lasted long anymore.
We were supposed to be leaving for a getaway that morning. A fresh start, Todd had called it. He had seen some special alarm go off on his phone the night before and told me he did not want to go. Then, by morning, he had changed his mind.
It had taken me a while to understand why. “What changed? ” I asked him. “I told you, all right?
It’s someone needs me. And Theo, don’t take this the wrong way, but last night, this morning, I’ve realized that you need me a lot more. ”
I wanted to argue. I wanted to tell him he was wrong, that I could manage on my own, that I did not need to be looked after.
But the words would not come. All I could say was, “I’m sorry I didn’t see that. I was so afraid I’d lose you. ”
“I know you do, but you shouldn’t.
You’ve got me. Let me help you. ”
“How? ”
“Honestly, I don’t know.
But please open the door, all right? And we will work it out together. ”
“I can’t. I can’t help.
”
“Theo, please. ”
“I don’t trust you. You’ll leave me. ”
“I won’t.
”
“I don’t believe you. ”
“You can trust me. How can I prove it to you? ”
I had no answer for him then.
But I was about to find one. Meanwhile, Bernie was on the phone to Roy. Reuben had been in hospital, and the doctors were due to let him out later that day. Roy could hardly speak.
“Roy, I’m so sorry. Listen, Bernie. I’m heading into work in a bit. You don’t want me to leave.
”
“Yeah, I know. I know, but I want to look into this. Is there anything else I should know about my Reuben? ”
“Roy, what’s he said?
”
“I don’t know. Why? What do you think he’ll say? ”
“I don’t know.
No idea. ”
“Roy, don’t worry. It’s all right. You can move in with us, okay?
Both of you can. For as long as you need. ”
But Roy’s mind was elsewhere. Something had happened to his grandson, and he needed to understand it.
He needed to know who was responsible. Back at the flat, I came out of the bedroom to find Todd standing by the window, phone in hand. “What’s up? ”
“The police have phoned.
”
“And? ”
“They couldn’t recover the CCTV from the hotel. ”
“Right. I guess you’ll be relieved.
”
“No. Of course not. Because I wasn’t there with Megan, and it would have showed you that. ”
“I’m going out.
”
“No, you’re not. ”
“Stop me. ”
The air between us thickened. Todd put a hand up, trying to calm the moment.
“All right, listen. Why don’t we all go out? I think we could all do with a change of scenery. ”
“Yeah.
”
“So, is this what Sarah told you then? ”
“Yeah. We need to stop him going. Listen though, it’s a video doorbell, so just be careful what you say and how you say it.
”
Sarah and her lot turned up at the door just as we were about to leave. The video doorbell caught them standing on the step, smiling awkwardly. “Hi guys. Hi Theo.
We’ve just come to wave you both off. ”
Todd answered through the speaker. “Aw, no, you’re joking. You’ve just missed us.
You’ve come through to my phone. ”
“What, you’ve gone already? ”
“Yeah, we got up early and then took it, wanted to get on the road, you know. ”
“Whereabouts are you?
”
Todd looked at me and mouthed a place name. “Where are we? Oh, we’ve stopped at Warrington for some petrol. ”
“Can we speak to Todd?
”
“He’s in the queue to pay. Shall I get him to call you back? ”
“Yeah, if you could, please. ”
When the call ended, I watched Todd.
He had just told a lie to his own sister. And he had done it for me. “What was that? Have Todd call Sarah.
”
“Oh yeah, no, of course I will. Yeah. ”
Sarah’s voice came through again. “Listen, Theo, I know we’ve had our disagreements, but that’s just because we care about Todd.
Look after him. ”
“Yeah, yeah. Oh, look, I’ll get him to call you. All right, bye.
”
After the screen went dark, Todd turned to me with a strange calm in his eyes. “Theo. What? I know how to prove you can trust me.
”
Later, Todd went to see DS Swain about the fire that had destroyed Roy’s café, Greasy Spoons. Their main suspect had been Roper, the man who had attacked Bernie’s son, Brian. But Roper had a new story now. “I wanted to speak to Browning about the fire.
He interviewed our Roper this morning. You know he’s pointing the finger at you. ”
“Wasn’t he found with a petrol can? ”
“Not the fire.
He’s now saying you’re the one that put him in hospital all those weeks ago. ”
“Wouldn’t surprise me. ”
“Really? First Bernie was Brian, then he’s accused Dev, now he’s pointing the finger at me.
While he’s the one burning down Greasy Spoons. The guy’s got it in for anyone connected with Bernie. Browning agrees? ”
“Yeah.
”
“He thinks it’s a vendetta. Says he’s unhinged. ”
“That sounds about right. Thanks for the update.
”
“You know, just because Browning’s convinced doesn’t mean I am. ”
“You believe Roper over me? ”
“Give me a good reason not to. ”
“It’s like Browning said, the bloke’s unhinged.
Are we done? ”
Todd stood his ground. “I could have shouted out. I told them what was going on, but I didn’t because this is between you and me.
So, please open the door and give me the phone. I’ll talk to Sarah and back up what you said to her. ”
“Thank you. So, I give you the phone.
What are you going to say? ”
“Exactly what you said. Petrol at Warrington, that we’re already on the road. Look, we both know that you can’t lock me in here forever.
So, just give me the phone, and either way, you’ll know if you can trust me or not. ”
I handed him the phone. He called Sarah back. “Hey.
Sorry I missed you. I know we were just excited to get away. Yeah, I’m sorry. Right, it’s all been a bit last minute.
I’m fine. Better than fine. Look, we will be back in a couple of weeks to sort out all the loose ends, and we can have a proper bon voyage, old school knees up in the Rovers. I promise.
”
He ended the call and held the phone out to me. “See? Lock me back in here if you want. But I promise you I want to sort this out.
”
I felt the weight of what he had just done. He had lied for me. He had protected me. He had told Sarah we were safe when we were not.
“I’m just so sorry. I’m just so sorry, Dad. ”
“It’s okay. It’s okay.
All right, but I know that this isn’t you and you do know this isn’t healthy, don’t you? ”
“I want to stop. I can’t stop. ”
“No, I will help you.
All right, you can talk to someone or I will talk to someone or we will do it together, but I don’t know how, but you’re my husband and I’m not going to give up on us. ”
“I don’t deserve you. I don’t. ”
“Stop.
All right, we’re a team. And if memory serves right, then there’s another ferry to Belfast this afternoon. We can still make it. ”
“Really?
”
“Yes, staying around here’s doing you no good. Come on. Let’s get out of here. ”
We packed quickly.
I threw essentials into a bag while Todd sorted his own. The plan was simple: get to Belfast, disappear for a while, sort out our lives together. It felt like the first hopeful thing we had done in weeks. But someone had been watching.
Billy’s sister Summer had been listening. She had heard something, seen something. She started asking questions about how Billy had really died. “Worked it out.
It was Theo, wasn’t it? Well done. ”
“Have you got any evidence? ”
“I heard him apologizing to Billy in the undertaker’s night before the funeral.
”
“So, that’s a no, then. ”
“I can get proof. ”
“How? ”
“Confession.
Right, well, good luck. He’s gone to Belfast with Todd. ”
“Another person he’s stolen from me. I’ll find him.
”
“Why would you do that? Well, Billy was a sensible bloke. Good job. I imagine he made provisions for his only daughter.
Excuse me? Life insurance must have gone through by now. Must make you nice and comfortable. ”
“I’d give it all up to have Billy back.
”
“Well, I can give you the next best thing. Theo’s head on a plate for, say, 10 grand. ”
“Ah, you’re all right, actually. Thanks.
”
Summer walked away, but the damage was done. She had put a target on my back. And she was not the only one circling. Maggie turned up at the restaurant to see Laura.
The tension at the table was immediate. Carla noticed Maggie’s coat and made a cutting remark. “You might want to check that coat for things that’ll stab you in the back. ”
“I didn’t raise you to be so melodramatic.
”
“You just raised me in ignorance. ”
“I just thought it was time that we all got on. ”
“If she’s staying, I’m leaving. ”
“No, you’re not.
Maggie, will you sit down, please? You know I only did what I thought was best. No harm befell you. ”
“Maybe not for you, Laura.
I did try to warn you off that girl. ”
The family fractures were widening. And in the middle of it all, Bernie was trying to hold everyone together. At the restaurant, Steve was eyeing the lamb bone on the counter.
The cook told him it would keep till tomorrow. “No, it won’t. I had it last night, okay? I didn’t know you wanted it.
”
“What did you think it was doing in the fridge? Keeping the margarine company? ”
The bickering was familiar, almost comforting. But Bernie had bigger news.
“I just thought, you know how I’m not going to be around forever. ”
“Oh, here we go. ”
“No, it is not that. All right, I’m going to tell you.
I want us all to go away. ”
The table erupted in cheers. They started planning, choosing music, picking destinations. For a moment, the family was happy.
But not everyone was in the mood to celebrate. Bernie’s son was causing trouble again. Summer had wound up his daughter, telling her he knew something the police did not about Billy’s death. “She says he wants Bill’s life insurance for the info.
Oh, that is the lowest of the low. ”
“So, what are you going to do about it? ”
“I’ll deal with it. ”
Back at the flat, we were preparing for the ferry crossing.
I packed noise-canceling headphones, a pack of biscuits, and started debating which book to bring. “Have I got time for a shower? ”
“Yeah. ”
“I’m nipping after you.
”
“I bloody love you. ”
“I bloody love you, too. ”
“Why don’t you come and join me? ”
“Good idea.
”
For a moment, it was just us. No accusations, no locked doors, no fear. Just two people trying to hold on to each other. But the moment broke.
Todd saw something on my phone, a message, a name. The trust we had built crumbled in a second. “Looking for lace. Yeah, quiet.
Quiet? Because everything that you say is a trick or a con. And you lied to me for the last time. ”
I tried to explain.
I tried to tell him it was nothing, that he was reading it wrong. But he was already gone, the walls back up between us. Meanwhile, Summer’s accusations had reached Roy. He called a family gathering to address it.
Billy’s mother, agitated and confused, started talking about tombolas and raffles. “Families, they’re a bit like a tombola, aren’t they? You don’t know what you’re going to get. We didn’t choose each other, did we?
But we make it work. ”
Her daughter-in-law snapped back. “I might have guessed. Because you knew his da a little bit too well.
So, you’re going to take her word over mine? ”
“The value of your word is plummeting by the day. ”
“Time to invest then. ”
“Cal, this is not funny.
”
“No, it’s not. I know. She’s taking it the wrong way, that’s all. ”
“So, you didn’t ask for money for a scrap of information?
”
“I don’t have any information. All I said to her was I wouldn’t mind having that little nest egg to fall back on. That was it. It was a joke.
A bad joke, but still a joke. ”
“So, if there’s nothing else—”
“Well, that’s it. You’re just going to shrug it off. ”
“Well, it’s a misunderstanding.
What can I say? Can I go now? ”
“Crossed wires, he says. You’ve got to wake up.
He’s been taking you for a ride since day one. And if you keep giving him the benefit of the doubt, he’s never going to stop. ”
Roy had been the one to find the wedding album in the ruined flat. He had gone back to see what could be saved after the fire.
Most of it was smoke and water damage. But the album had survived. “Managed to find this, yours and Haley’s wedding album. ”
“Thank you.
Did you find any papers besides? ”
“There were some bills or something, but they were completely destroyed. ”
“Not bills. Letters from Hayley, from her trip to Africa.
”
“Oh. On this. I’m so sorry, Roy. ”
Roy’s face went pale.
Those letters were all he had left of her. Now they were gone, burned in a fire started by a man who had wanted to hurt his family. He thanked me for looking after Sam, for being there, then quietly changed the subject. “I don’t suppose you’ve seen my warrant card anywhere, have you?
”
“Warrant card? No. ”
“Well, that’s annoying. I reported it missing, but can you imagine being the DS who can’t find her own warrant card?
”
“Everything okay? ”
“Oh, yeah, I just misplaced something, that’s all. ”
I knew she was lying. I knew she had found the letters.
She had hidden them away, just like she had hidden so many other things. But I did not confront her. I could not. Not then.
The takeaway arrived. We sat around the table, pretending everything was normal. Connie was down visiting, and the mood was almost festive. Almost.
“So, it’s over? ”
“Yeah, well, he’ll go to prison. Doesn’t fix the flower coffee, though. Poor Roy.
”
“I’m going to have to watch my back as well. ”
“How come? ”
“Lisa doesn’t buy it. She thinks I had something to do with the assault.
”
“Well, that’s because you did. ”
“All right, don’t rub it in. Anyway, if I want any kind of career, I’m going to have to be on my best behavior now. ”
But there was no best behavior coming.
Because the truth was about to catch up with all of us. The phone rang. It was Sarah. Her voice was shaking.
“Hello. Sarah. ”
“Todd. I thought you’d gone.
”
“Come up. I can’t. ”
“Pete. Right, Sarah, wait where you are.
I’ll get the car. ”
“I’m so sorry. ”
“What has he done to you? I will take you to the hospital.
The police station. ”
“Oh. Oh, no. ”
The line went dead.
Todd looked at me, and I saw the fear in his eyes. Whatever we had been running from, it had finally caught up with us. And now it had Sarah too.
