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“I admit I found her a bit challenging at times but as I said, I made the decision not to continue treating her. That was my solution to the problem.”
Holmes looks at the floor a second, then back at Nick. “And did she ever mention her boyfriend acting violently towards her?”
“No,” Nick replies. “Why?”
Holmes wags his head from side to side. “It seems her boyfriend, this Benedict Lewis, found some of the emails Jessica sent you on her computer and went totally ballistic. Neighbours say they heard constant arguments in the days leading up to her death.”
I bite my thumbnail. “Surely you don’t think Jessica’s boyfriend did it?”
“We don’t have any conclusions yet,” Ashford interjects quickly. “We are simply trying to gather the facts, establish a timeline of events and the whereabouts of all those concerned.”
The interrogation continues for another twenty minutes or so, but they don’t get much more out of him. Nick’s got his alibi and he’s sticking to it.
“Thanks again for your time,” Holmes says as we see them out onto the doorstep. “Listen, Nick, would you be available to come by the station tomorrow to sign a statement?”
“Certainly,” Nick smiles. “I’ll pass by around two-thirty?”
“Perfect. I’ll see you then.”
As we close the door on the detectives, I grimace. Nick has got some serious explaining to do.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
The Truth
“Why didn’t you tell me about Jessica?” I hiss, following Nick through the hall into the living room. “Why didn’t you tell me she was obsessed with you?”
“I didn’t think it was relevant,” he replies sheepishly.
“Of course it’s relevant!”
“Come on, Carly; the poor woman is dead. No good ever comes of speaking ill of the dead.”
“Yes, but you could at least have told me she was stalking you. I had a right to know.”
“She wasn’t stalking me. She was just a little…over-excited.”
“That’s putting it mildly. Bombarding you with emails twenty-four-seven and then dropping her knickers for you… oh, I think I’d call that stalking.”
“As I recall, Jessica’s behaviour was not too dissimilar to a certain other person I know. Only in that case, the attention I received was very much wanted.”
My cheeks flush as I realise he’s talking about me.Jesus, he’s right. My own conduct was pretty obsessive in those first few weeks of meeting him. That wild, crazy love that drove me to the brink of insanity. Suddenly, I put myself in Jessica’s shoes and feel desperately sorry for her. I imagine her sprawled out on a bed, her pale face twisted and caked with blood. It’s so horrible it doesn’t bear thinking about.
Shaking my head ruefully, I collapse on the sofa, clutching my temples. “My God, Nick, the police think Jessica’s boyfriend killed her. They’re planning to send an innocent man to prision.”
“But how do we know he’s innocent?”
“Because we know it was a vampire.”
“Correction. Wethinkit was a vampire, we don’t know for certain.”
“But if it was, Nick, and an innocent man gets blamed for it, that would be so terrible. I mean, if Benedict goes to prison, Jessica’s daughter would be left without a father. I refuse to let that happen. We have to do something.”
“What do you expect me to do?” Nick explodes. “Call the police and say, hey, I’m a vampire and I think one of my kind may have been responsible for Jessica’s murder?”
I fall silent. I have no comeback. Seething, he strides over to the window, his face the picture of disquietude.
“I feel like you’re hiding something from me,” I say quietly.
