“I’m afraid I have some difficult news to tell you,” says Da Silva.
“What is it?” asks Jack, his voice high-pitched. “Is it Paige? Is she okay? Please tell me she’s okay.”
A heavy silence fills the air as Da Silva contemplates how to answer.
“Do you not want to know how your wife is first?”
“Yes, of course,” snaps Jack.
“Your wife—she is fine, but I am afraid to say Paige Collins was not quite so lucky.”
“What do you mean?” asks Jack, panic-stricken. “Where is she? What’s happened to her?”
“Mrs. Collins’s body was recovered a little while ago,” says Da Silva.
Jack lets out a strangled cry. “No, she can’t be. She can’t be.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Was she hit?” asks Jack. “Did the car hit her? Who’s the driver? You need to find the driver.” He’s verging on hysterical.
“Her body was found in the car,” says Da Silva.
“What the hell,” cries Jack. “But why? Why would she do that?”
“I’m not entirely sure she did,” says Da Silva.
“What?” Jack chokes. “What do you mean?”
“It appears Mrs. Collins might not have been alone in the car.”
There’s a sharp intake of breath. Rachel doesn’t know if it’s hers or Jack’s as she’s suddenly reminded of what she’d already been told.
“Are you suggesting that someone…？” Jack chokes. “Someone did this on purpose … to hurt her?”
“We’re looking at all lines of inquiry at the moment, but if you have any reason to think someone might have had cause to do such a thing, I’d be grateful to hear it. I understand your wife and Noah Collins found out about your affair at the wedding party?”
“They did?” answers Jack, almost in question. “Erm … erm, yes … yes, they did.”
“Did you tell them?”
“Er, no, I was intending to, but someone else got there first.”
“And who was that?”
“Ali,” spits Jack, with such venom that it makes Rachel shudder.
“Alison Hunter?” asks Da Silva, double-checking. “Why would she do that?”
Jack makes a strange snorting sound. “Because she’s been threatening to do it for months. She’s jealous of Paige. Jealous of what we have.”
Rachel can imagine the confusion that must be clouding the policeman’s features. “Why would she be jealous?” he asks.
“Ali and I had a thing,” says Jack, resignedly. “A little while back.”
“An intimate relationship?” asks Da Silva.
“We slept together a few times,” says Jack.
Rachel’s head falls back onto the pillow. So they’d lied, though she doesn’t know who she’s most disappointed in: Jack or Ali.
“I called it off when I started seeing Paige about two years ago,” he goes on. “But Ali couldn’t handle it and she’s been blackmailing me ever since.”
“So, it’s fair to say Alison Hunter disliked Paige Collins?”
“With a vengeance,” says Jack.
“Do you think she is capable of causing Paige harm?”
“Without a doubt,” says Jack, making Rachel gasp.
“But Alison Hunter was found on the terrace and is critically ill,” says Da Silva.
“Well, maybe she…” starts Jack. “I mean, God, she could have driven the car and jumped out at the last minute.”
There’s a moment’s silence. “That is a possibility,” says Da Silva eventually.
“It’s more than a possibility,” says Jack. “It would explain why she’s so badly injured.”
“Mmm,” muses the policeman. “I will certainly bear it in mind. But tell me, what was your wife’s reaction to this news? How did she take it?”
“As you can imagine,” says Jack stiffly. “Rachel’s pretty calm normally, but understandably she just saw red. She went completely crazy—I’ve never seen her so angry.”
“What did she do?”
“She was shouting and swearing, telling me I’d never see our son again. Then she started hitting me in the chest with her fists.”
The blatant lie makes sweat spring to every pore on Rachel’s skin and her mouth instantaneously dries up, making it impossible to speak, even if she wanted to.