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Kerry grinned. ‘Jeff’s a good-looking fellow, and he
did
more or less sweep you off your feet.’

Laura nodded sadly. ‘How could I have thought you weren’t happy for me?’

‘I
wasn’t
happy for you – I was certain that you were making a terrible mistake, and in my own clumsy way, I tried to tell you so. But there’s only so far that a friend can interfere – I mean, it’s your life. I just hoped that you’d delay the wedding for a while, so that you’d discover what Jeff was like before you actually married him.’

Laura laughed ruefully. ‘And, of course, I didn’t listen – I
couldn’t wait to sign on the dotted line! But how did you know what he was like?’

Kerry shrugged. ‘I didn’t, but there was just something about him – a kind of possessiveness that I didn’t like. But for all I knew, that might have been a trait you admired. No one can ever know what goes on in someone else’s relationship, so I just had to hope that you knew what you were doing.’

‘Well, I think you’ve proved conclusively that I didn’t,’ Laura said, grimacing. ‘I really did love Jeff at the start, and I genuinely thought we’d be happy together. I suppose I identified with his pain – he’d lost his parents too, so we had a lot in common. I think we were both lonely, and longed to create our own family unit.’ She sighed. ‘I’m embarrassed to think that I fell for him because he seemed so needy – I thought I could give him the stability he craved, and that in return he’d never leave me. Now I know that we couldn’t have been a worse combination.’

In retrospect, she’d realised how quickly Jeff had spotted her vulnerability. Then like a heat-seeking missile, he’d honed in on her own neediness, and her desperation to be part of a family had blinded her to the reality of their situation. She’d never again allow a man to bowl her over like Jeff had. Perhaps her emotional journey would take her to true love next time – if she ever bothered with another man, that is. Now, at least, she knew what she
didn’t
want in a man.

She turned and looked searchingly at her friend.

‘Why on earth did I stay with him after he’d hit me? I’m an intelligent, independent, educated woman, for Christ sake!’

Kerry looked away. ‘Probably because you’re still riddled with guilt over the deaths of Pete and your parents. I think you probably let Jeff punish you for it.’

Laura bowed her head. There was a ring of truth in what Kerry said – she’d always felt responsible for her family’s
deaths, because if she hadn’t delayed her mother that fateful morning, their journey might not have led to such catastrophic consequences.

Kerry stood up and went to make coffee. ‘Let’s stop talking about Jeff right now – he’s in the past, and you don’t ever have to see him again. He doesn’t deserve any more space in your head.’

Laura nodded. ‘Let’s go out on the town tonight – there’s a new bar open on Flower Street, and I’d like to give it a try. What do you think?’

Kerry punched the air. ‘An excellent idea! Let’s paint the town red!’

The new bar on Flower Street was already packed when they arrived. There was a pleasant air of camaraderie among the customers, and the staff seemed efficient and friendly. There was a range of introductory drink offers written up on boards, and a group of young men were standing near the counter and downing shots in some kind of drunken competition.

‘This place could become our local,’ Laura said approvingly, as she sipped her gin and tonic. ‘There seems to be a nice crowd here, and it’s within walking distance of your place, Kerry. If I get an apartment near here too, we could meet up for drinks after work on Fridays.’

Kerry nodded, glancing around. ‘Yeah, I like the design and layout of the place. They’ve made the best use of the limited space, and I love the way they’ve disguised the reinforced steel joists holding up the mezzanine floor over the bar –’

‘Can’t you ever stop thinking about how things work?’ Laura said, exasperated. ‘There are some nicely built guys here, too! Needless to say, I’m off men myself for the foreseeable future!’

Kerry suddenly gasped. ‘Oh, Christ, no! Don’t look now, but Jeff has just come into the bar!’

‘Then we’re leaving!’ Laura said resolutely, downing her drink in one gulp. ‘I don’t want to be anywhere near that – that –’

But it was too late. Jeff suddenly materialised beside them.

‘Well, hello!’ he said, smiling at them both. ‘What an amazing coincidence!’

‘We’re just leaving,’ Laura said abruptly.

Jeff looked hurt. ‘There’s no need to go on my account,’ he said, using his most reasonable voice. ‘I’ll stay at the other end of the bar if that’s what you want. Can I get you both a drink?’

‘You have to be kidding! I don’t want anything from you, Jeff – just for you to leave me alone,’ Laura replied, angrily.

‘I understand, Laura, but we do have some things to sort out. Can’t we talk about things over a drink? I wanted to ask you what you wanted to do about our stuff, all the wedding gifts we have. Would you like to have the coffee machine and the dinner service back? I feel it’s unfair for me to keep all our wedding gifts. I could drop them off for you at Kerry’s place –’

Laura found she was unable to speak. How weird that Jeff should be thinking about the very same thing that she and Kerry had been discussing earlier!

‘No, thank you, Jeff,’ she said at last, her voice trembling. ‘I don’t want you anywhere near Kerry’s apartment. You can keep them.’

Jeff looked crestfallen.

Kerry grabbed Laura’s arm. ‘Come on,’ she said firmly. ‘We’re leaving.’

Strong-arming Laura out of the bar, Kerry marched her along the street, still holding onto her arm tightly, as though trying to control a recalcitrant child.

As they turned a corner, Kerry finally let go and the two women stared at each other.

‘Is it always going to be like that?’ Laura whispered. ‘Am I going to keep bumping into him everywhere I go? I feel sick.’

‘Don’t worry,’ Kerry said firmly. ‘I’m sure he was just as surprised as we were. Besides, what else could he do but say hello?’

‘But he came right over to us!’

‘Well, he wanted to ask you about the wedding gifts.’

‘If he’d just stayed at the other end of the bar –’

‘Look, maybe that bar isn’t the best place for us to make our local – I mean, it’s quite near to where you and Jeff used to live, so he could turn up there at any time.’

Laura was shivering. ‘Don’t you find it strange that we were talking about Jeff hanging onto the wedding gifts, then he turns up and offers to return them? It’s as if he could read our minds …’

Kerry smiled, linking her arm through Laura’s. ‘Now you’re really becoming paranoid!’ she said. ‘Come on, let’s go over to the Irish bar in Cook Street.’ Kerry glanced behind her. ‘Hopefully, Jeff will stay in Flower Street tonight, but you’ve got to face the fact that you’re bound to bump into him from time to time.’

C
HAPTER
32

T
he man stood in the shadows as Kerry left the offices of Sea Diagnostics and began heading for home. He glanced at the photo again. Yes, it was definitely her. There could be no doubt about the likeness.

He followed at a safe distance, comfortable in the knowledge that she had no idea who he was. Even if she turned around, there would be nothing suspicious about him being there.

As she reached the entrance to the Underground, Kerry began to experience a prickly sensation running up her spine, and she got the distinct impression that someone was watching her. Swinging around quickly, she was just in time to see a man ducking into the shadows of a shop doorway.

As she continued on down the steps to the Underground, Kerry couldn’t resist another quick glance back. No one seemed to be following her now, and she sighed with relief. Maybe she’d just imagined it. After all, there was no logical reason that anyone would be following her. She’d been working so hard lately that her brain was probably fried, and she was letting her imagination run riot. On the other hand, this wasn’t the first time lately that she’d felt someone was following her. For some time now, she’d been experiencing the same uneasy feeling as she’d left work, and on several occasions,
when she’d been alone in her apartment, her phone had rung. But when she’d answered, no one had replied, although she’d got the distinct impression that someone was on the other end of the line.

Kerry glanced around her, but none of the other passengers on the platform seemed remotely interested in her. She sighed with relief as her train clattered into the station and she got on board.
Was
she imagining it, or had that man genuinely been following her? Maybe it had simply been a coincidence that he’d chosen that precise moment to step into a doorway. She was being ridiculous. But it gave her the creeps to think that someone might be spying on her.

Even though she was in a public place, with people all around her, Kerry suddenly felt very scared.

Outside the Tube station, the man was feeling very annoyed with himself. By stepping into the doorway, he’d only drawn attention to himself. But when she’d turned around so decisively, he’d been worried for an instant that she might be about to challenge him. He’d have to be more careful in future. He wasn’t ready to make his move yet. He slipped into the shadows once more, deciding to abandon his mission until another night.

Laura was watching TV when Kerry arrived home. She jumped up, concerned, when she saw Kerry’s slumped shoulders and worried expression.

‘Are you okay?’

‘I’m fine,’ Kerry replied abruptly. She no longer wanted to talk about what had happened. She just wanted to go to bed and seek the oblivion of sleep.

‘You look a bit –’

‘I’m just tired,’ Kerry lied. ‘We had a lot of meetings today.’

‘You poor love, let me make you a cuppa. Have you eaten this evening? Let me cook something for you – ‘

‘Stop fussing – I ate earlier, with Norma and Jack,’ Kerry lied. ‘I’m just going to have a bath and an early night.’

Laura looked anxious. ‘Are you sure I can’t get you anything?’

Kerry shook her head. ‘Right now, I just want some peace.’

Laura got the message, and left her friend alone.

As Kerry lay in the bath, letting the warm water wash around her, she was annoyed with herself for not making more of an effort to hide her distress from Laura. Her friend was clearly aware that something was wrong, but Kerry didn’t want to be quizzed about it. She saw no point in telling Laura about the man until she’d assessed the situation for herself and decided what to do about it.

Kerry wondered if Jeff could have arranged for someone to follow her. Perhaps he’d actually spotted her that day when she’d followed him to the Docklands hotel. She was also well aware that, by showing her support for Laura, Jeff would see her as a threat to his chances of getting back with her. Equally, Jeff’s drug-dealer breakfast companion might have alerted Jeff to her presence in the hotel that morning, and she suspected that neither of them would have been happy that she’d spotted them together. Perhaps they were giving her a warning. Kerry shivered, remembering the newspaper cuttings she’d looked up. Lots of the people who had been due to testify at the drug-dealer’s trial had conveniently disappeared …

Kerry climbed out of the bath and reached for her towel. She wasn’t going to let anyone unnerve her! And if it was Jeff, how dare he or his drug-dealing friends think they were going to intimidate her …

The following morning, Kerry arrived, bleary-eyed, at the Sea Diagnostics offices.

‘You look as though you’ve had a rough night,’ Norma said, surveying her colleague’s look of exhaustion as she headed for the coffee machine.

‘I didn’t sleep a wink,’ Kerry admitted. She hadn’t intended to say anything to her colleague about the events of the previous evening, but she was so on edge that the words suddenly came tumbling out. ‘I was followed last night,’ she blurted out. ‘When I left here, some man was hanging about, and he followed me as far as the tube station!’

Norma grinned. ‘Oh, don’t mind him – he’s always hanging around outside. He’s a bit weird, but I think he’s just lonely. He’s pretty ancient, and totally harmless.’

Kerry’s eyebrows shot up. ‘What? Then why haven’t I seen him before?’

‘He only comes out in the evening. You’re only seeing him now because you stayed late to work on the project.’

Kerry’s heartbeat was returning to normal. She felt rather foolish now – after all, she was a woman of the world, not an innocent schoolgirl. It was an immense relief to discover that there was a simple explanation for her concerns, not the complicated scenarios she’d been envisaging in the early hours when she couldn’t sleep. She was almost feeling affectionate towards the old guy now.

‘You’re such a fusspot!’ Norma said affectionately, mussing her colleague’s hair.

Kerry laughed good-naturedly as she poured herself a cup of coffee. She was also relieved that she hadn’t said anything to Laura the previous evening – if she’d unburdened herself to her friend, she’d now be left with egg on her face. And that was something Kerry could not abide. She always took pride in being sensible and fearless. At least now there was no longer any reason for her to worry.

C
HAPTER
33

‘O
h, hello, Ellie. Do you mind if we join you?’

‘No, of course not. How nice to see you!’ Ellie tried to hide her discomfort as she saw Sylvia, with baby Laura in her arms, looking down at her. She was sitting in the busy village café, with Kerry balanced on her knee, awaiting the arrival of her coffee and scone after doing her weekly shopping.

Sylvia pulled her buggy in alongside Ellie’s, lifted Laura out and sat down facing her. The two women smiled at each other.

‘It’s rather crowded in here this morning, isn’t it?’ Sylvia said. ‘It must be the miserable weather that’s brought everyone inside!’