The Vow - Debbie Howells Page 0,18
the table.
‘No – thanks.’ Pulling out one of the chairs and sitting down, she looks at me. ‘Amy … why don’t you sit down?’
I tense, as fear gets the better of me. It’s the tone of her voice, her deliberate hesitation, preparing me. Pulling out a chair, my stomach churns as I sit down. Oh God. Has the worst happened? ‘What is it? Have you found Matt?’
‘Not yet.’ Pausing, she shakes her head. ‘But there’s something I have to tell you.’ She hesitates again, her eyes steady as she looks at me. ‘There’s no easy way to say this. But yesterday, we had another report of a missing person. Another man. The call came from a woman in Brighton, reporting her partner as missing. She couldn’t be sure for how long, exactly. They don’t live together. It sounds as though they lead quite independent lives. Anyway …’ Her eyes look directly at me. ‘We took his details, including a physical description. Then she gave us his name.’ She pauses. ‘Matthew Roche. I’m sorry Amy, but we’ve every reason to believe it’s your fiancé.’
I stare at her in disbelief. Then I shake my head and get up, walking across the room, standing with my back to her, trying to take in what she’s saying, before turning back to look at her. ‘That’s impossible. It couldn’t be him.’ What she’s suggesting is outrageous.
‘I agree it doesn’t sound plausible.’ PC Page is silent for a moment. ‘It’s exactly what I thought, at first. But one of our officers went over there with the photo you gave us. This woman had photos, too – not just of him, but of them together. She described his job as a management consultant at Orbital. She knows about you, too.’ She breaks off, watching me. When she goes on, her voice is more sympathetic. ‘There’s no question it’s him. Your Matt. It very much looks as though he’s leading a double life.’
There’s a moment of silence as I stare at her, reeling, before the shock hits me. Then common sense kicks in. ‘There’s no way.’ I shake my head, adamant. ‘He can’t be. Matt lives here. With me. He wouldn’t live a lie. We’re getting married. We’ve written our vows. His are here – somewhere. I saw them, only a couple of days ago.’ I’m clutching at straws as I frantically search for the piece of paper. ‘He goes to work, then he comes home. To me,’ I add, desperately, unable to find it, sitting down again. ‘There aren’t enough hours in the day for anyone else.’ But as I speak, I’m remembering what David said about all the time Matt had been taking off, of how convinced I’d been that he’d made a mistake. But if what she’s saying is right, maybe he hasn’t. Maybe instead of being at work, Matt’s been with her.
‘I know this must come as a terrible shock to you.’ Her voice is gentle and I know as she speaks, there’s more.
‘Please, just tell me.’ I’m dreading what else she’s going to say, but however unpalatable the truth might be, limbo is worse.
PC Page hesitates, then speaks slowly. ‘The woman told us that Matt, her boyfriend, was with her the evening he disappeared. She even knew he’d called you about the non-existent American client. She also told us he was about to leave his fiancée for her. Their wedding was coming up. He knew he had to tell her, but he was waiting to find the right moment. I’m so sorry, Amy. He isn’t even hiding behind an alias.’
It has to be a mistake. But as I stare at her, I can’t think straight. Instead, my mind is all over the place, thinking about what the woman in Brighton said, about Matt insuring our wedding without telling me. And now this.
She goes on. ‘Allegedly he was at her flat that evening. He left there just before eleven. He was planning to come back here and talk to you – that same night. But no-one’s seen him since.’
As the weight of his duplicity catches up with me, I feel my world collapse into ruins. Our wedding’s just days away. It was supposed to have been the happiest of days – the start of the rest of our lives. I thought he loved me. He wouldn’t leave me. Not when we’d planned a future together. As my mind takes me back to when Dominic left me, the same sense of betrayal fills me. I