called me up.’
‘No, I have no plans to come to Denver,’ Patrick says. ‘But you never know,’ he adds.
‘So what’s up? I mean, it’s nice to hear from you, but what can I do for you?’
Patrick’s hand is clammy on the phone. His gaze flits automatically to his office door, which is firmly closed. Should he confide in Greg? He’d always trusted him; there was never any subterfuge about him, any hidden agenda. When he takes the plunge, it feels like he’s jumping off a cliff into water far below. ‘You remember Erica?’
A wary pause. ‘Yes, of course.’ Greg doesn’t say anything else.
Patrick tenses. What does Greg know? ‘Are you in touch with her?’
‘No. I lost touch with her after – afterwards.’
Patrick pauses, closes his eyes. This is difficult. ‘I’m sorry I just left and never kept in touch—’
‘No apology necessary,’ Greg says in a lower voice. ‘It was a hellish time. I don’t know how you survived it.’
‘Thanks.’
‘Why are you asking about Erica?’ Greg says.
Patrick hesitates and then says, ‘She’s been here, in New York. In Aylesford.’
‘Really?’ Greg sounds taken aback. ‘Why?’
Patrick takes a deep breath. He can’t seem to find the words, and the silence grows.
Greg says, ‘She was a bit hard on you at the funeral.’
‘It was my fault,’ Patrick says. ‘It was an accident, but I’m to blame. I – I should have known better.’ His mouth is dry; he can barely get the words out. ‘Anyway, she’s here now, saying some crazy things.’
‘What kind of things?’
He exhales heavily. ‘She’s saying that we were having an affair, that I wanted Lindsey out of the way so that I could be with her. She’s saying that I killed Lindsey on purpose.’ He pauses. ‘Like I said, crazy.’
‘That’s pretty crazy,’ Greg agrees slowly, sounding shocked.
‘Yeah.’
‘Christ.’
‘I know. I think she might be losing it. She seems … different.’
‘I don’t know, I haven’t seen her since then. She moved away and we didn’t stay in touch.’ He pauses and adds, ‘Shit, Patrick. Of course it was an accident. They found it was an accident and I’ve always believed it was an accident.’
Patrick is relieved to hear him say it.
There’s a long pause before Greg speaks again, and when he does, he sounds awkward. ‘I don’t think for a minute that you deliberately did anything to your wife, Patrick. But—’
‘But what?’
‘Erica, before she left, she said she was pregnant. And she said it was yours.’
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
PATRICK FEELS HIS heart start to pound. He wants so much for this not to be true. He can hear the question in Greg’s voice – he wants to know if the child was Patrick’s. Perhaps he’s wanted to know this for years. Patrick asks, ‘Do you know for sure she was pregnant?’
Greg is quiet for a moment, then sighs and says, ‘I’m not sure of anything. She said I was the only one she was confiding in. She might have been lying; I have no idea. But I know at the time I believed that she was pregnant. She left soon after that. I have no idea where she went.’
‘She’s trying to blackmail me, Greg. She’s been stalking my wife and babies. I think she’s unbalanced. I’m – I’m afraid she might be dangerous.’
‘Jesus. Maybe you should go to the police.’
He can tell Greg wants to know if he slept with Erica. He takes a deep breath, exhales and says, ‘I did sleep with Erica a couple of times. We were drunk. You know what she was like. But it didn’t mean anything. Certainly not to me.’
There’s silence at the other end of the line. Then Greg says, ‘Okay. I wasn’t sure.’
‘But the rest of it – she’s delusional. It was just a couple of one-night stands. I loved Lindsey. I would never deliberately hurt her.’ He swallows noisily.
‘I know.’
‘Somehow she’s found out that my wife inherited money. She wants us to pay her or she says she’ll go to the police in Creemore and tell them I had a motive to kill Lindsey. It’s absurd!’ He finds himself running his hand through his hair. ‘Do you – do you think she can even do that?’
‘I don’t know. But I think you might need some professional help, my friend,’ Greg says uneasily.
Patrick has heard nothing from Erica since he saw her on Friday at the Skyway park. Her silence makes him nervous. He knows she hasn’t gone away; she’s biding her time. Waiting for the fear to get to him; waiting to see what he’ll