Page 30 of We Chase Shadows

‘I never forget a face,’ says Georgie.

That little pause though. Rosie wonders if Steve saw it too. Of course he did. When does Steve miss anything?

Rosie turns to Steve. ‘It seems Miss Glazier can’t help us.’

But Steve is looking out of the window. His face is showing the sort of concern Rosie sometimes notices when Steve is, for example, in a new place and isn’t immediately sure of where the toilet is.

‘Mmm?’ says Steve. So he hasn’t been listening. He will not have noticed the pause or seen the smile. He will have to take her word for it.

‘Are we boring you, Stevie?’ Rosie asks.

‘No, just thinking I wouldn’t mind being on the road before we lose the light,’ says Steve. ‘It’s a good hour and a half to Axley.’

‘It’s 4.15, Stevie,’ says Rosie.

‘Even so,’ says Steve, ‘you can’t be too careful.’

‘Google Maps will tell you to go through the village to get to the M25,’ says Georgie. ‘But if you go left at the end of the road you can take the B107, and that’ll take you to Junction 19, that’s ten minutes saved right there.’

‘Bloody Google Maps,’ says Steve. ‘It’s a liability.’

‘Man after my own heart,’ says Georgie.

Steve is jiggling the car keys in his pocket now, so Rosie knows she’ll get nothing more useful out of him. Georgie was quite the conundrum. Rosie is sure she has been telling the truth for large parts of the conversation. But not all of it. Why has Vern sent them here? And why won’t Georgie admit to knowing Jakob Eriksson?

‘It’s funny, Georgie,’ says Rosie. One last shot at getting a foothold. ‘Coming from Vern’s house, a beautiful villa, to your house, a suburban semi. And all his money from your idea. I rather think I would be getting in touch with him? Asking for a contribution?’

‘Rosie,’ says Georgie, ‘I’ve lived in mansions, I’ve lived in tower blocks. God help me, I’ve even lived in Tunbridge Wells. But this house, on this street, in this village, is my home. And all I’ve ever wanted is a home.’

‘And you’re certain about Jakob Eriksson?’ Rosie asks.

‘This billionaire of yours?’ says Georgie. ‘Never heard of him.’

‘Didn’t recognize his photo?’ says Rosie.

‘I’ll see it in my nightmares,’ says Georgie. ‘But no. You’ll let me know, won’t you? What on earth Vern’s up to? I’m already looking forward to you coming back and filling me in, Steve.’

Steve, oblivious, shakes her by the hand. Georgie then drags her nails down the arm of her sofa and gives herself a slap on the wrist.

Rosie nods her goodbye to Georgie. Would a woman who has just dumped a corpse on an ex-husband’s doorstep really be flirting like a giddy teenager?

Probably, yes, to be fair. Rosie would. Murderers flirt too.

One way or another, Rosie is sure they will be seeing Georgie Glazier again.

16

‘We don’t tell him,’ says Tony Taylor.

‘It’s been a whole day. He’ll be wondering where you’ve got to,’ says Felicity. Tony is being stubborn. ‘We have to.’

‘“Have to” is a very long word,’ says Tony.

‘Tony,’ says Felicity. ‘It’s two words and neither of them is long.’

Tony is propped up on his hospital bed, a large bandage wrapped around his head and a drip feeding his arm.

‘It’s ridiculous,’ he says. ‘I’m fine. He didn’t even hit me that hard.’