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1
AVERY
“Thank you for coming in.If we need any further information, we’ll be in touch.” Simon shakes the officer's hand, and I barely manage a nod.
They know we are lying.
Simon squeezes my elbow and helps steer me down the steps of the police station.
I offer a wobbly smile to Detective Langridge. His direct gaze pierces through me, suspicious and hostile. I open my mouth to yell the truth, but Simon tugs me away, and my guilt acts as gravity pulling my head downward.
Four days ago, we had raced home, packed a small suitcase, and Simon had driven us to the Cotswolds for a spontaneous weekend away. There we had corroborated our story, a story I was certain that Langridge and his colleague, Officer Mercer, had seen right through.
“They didn’t believe us.” I shakily rub at my face, hiding my quivering lips.
“They have no proof. They are investigating Jeff, not us,” Simon mutters, holding his hand out. “Now, pass me my car keys.” I unclip my handbag and lift them out. “Plenty of couples go away on the spur of the moment.”
“I know. I just can’t help thinking how hopeless his family must feel, especially when I know something.” I sniffle. “I could help them.”
“We’ve been through this, Avery. If you talk, we will be implicated.” I blink at his terse tone, and slip my hands in my coat pockets as I walk alongside him, making our way to his parked car.
“I thought they would tell us something, maybe say what Jeff was involved with,” I whisper, conscious we are still close to the police station.
“They don’t know anything, that's whywewere there,” he drawls. The car bleeps as we near it, and I side-eye Simon, my eyes pulled tight. I know that's why we were there. I just hoped we’d leave with some closure ourselves.
I settle in the seat next to him, and as soon as we pull out into the traffic, Simon shakes his head.
“You shouldn't have mentioned we are afraid to go home.”
“But we are!”
“You basically admitted we know something!” he snaps. “They don't believe us because you contradicted me.”
“How did I?” I twist around in the seat, bristling at his confrontational tone.
“Because I made out we had a romantic weekend away. You practically told them we fled for our safety.” He glares at me, and I sit back, shoulders slumped, feeling foolish.
Staring out the window, I mull over the last hour in my mind. Hot tears pool in my eyes.
“I hated what we just did. How are you so calm?”
“Calm? My friend was murdered!” he bellows.
“Stop shouting at me,” I reply softly, hoping to ease the growing tension. Reaching across, I rub his knee, and Simon jerks away. Pressing my lips together, I tuck my hand in my lap, keeping quiet as we make our way home. The thought of leaving Simon now seems such a silly idea. I’m terrified and ultimately lost without his support.
Nothing will ever be the same again. How do you come back from something like this? Forget witnessing something so brutal?
I have no one and nothing but the man sitting beside me to help me through this. Simon thinks it will make us stronger.
I think we’re too broken to ever be apart. I no longer trust myself. Leaving him is no longer an option.
When we return home, Simon says we need to lay low, but to act normal as well. I’m not sure I can do either.
* * *
I closethe locker at the gym and head out of the door into the foyer, smiling at the receptionist when I pass her. News of Jeff’s murder has spread like wildfire over the past three weeks. It’s been all over the news, and as a result, people are treating us differently. I feel different. Sullied. Infected with a sickness I can’t cure. With us disappearing so soon after Jeff’s death, people are wary of us. Questioning our motives and pointing fingers our way. Jeff’s wife, Aileen, has ignored every one of my calls, and his daughter slammed the door in my face last week. They believe us to be guilty. Have pegged us as liars, and they are right. I chew my nail and gnaw on my lip when my heart scatters at an unusual pace, leaving me short of breath and lightheaded. The lady behind the desk doesn’t reciprocate. My mouth droops and my feet slow into a trudge when she leans to whisper something to her colleague.
I will forever be the girlfriend of Simon Belks, the guy with a murdered business partner.
