Page 10 of The Dead Ex

‘It’s all right, love,’ said the cop. ‘You’re safe now. Come with me.’

‘GET AWAY.’

The man pulled his hand away but not before she’d sunk her teeth into his flesh.

‘Don’t bite me, you little cat.’

They were putting her in one car and Mum in another. Hers went first.

‘COME BACK,’ she wept, hammering on the window with her fists. But Mum grew further and further away untilthe other car was a little black spot.

And then she was gone.

Rose. Neroli. Sandalwood. Ylang-ylang. Patchouli.

All are said to have aphrodisiac qualities.

Do they work? Put it this way.

Some days I love him still. Other days I hate him. Right now I wish he was dead. It would be so much easier. Then no one else could have him either.

3

Vicki

‘This is David,’ says the smooth, husky voice. ‘You know what to do.’

But I don’t. In fact, I lost my way on the day that it happened. I put down the phone.

Stop. Don’t think about it. Or the stress might trigger it off. The ‘thing’ that sits on your shoulder, day after day. Teasing you into thinking that everything’s all right now before striking you out of the blue.

Deep breath.That’s better. Work this out calmly. Why not just ring again? He might pick up this time. Even though my ex-husband has said he never wants to hear or see me again, I miss him. That’s why every now and then I call, just to hear his voice on the answerphone. Besides, this is an emergency. So I’ll give it another go.

‘This is David …’

My ex-husband’s deep, assured tone takes me back to the eveningwe’d met. It was a fundraising dinner in aid of a scheme to rehabilitate prisoners, and I’d been told, in no uncertain terms by the authorities, that my presence was ‘required’.

David Goudman (as his nameplate read) was late, which meant I had an embarrassing gap on my right, limiting me to conversation with a very quiet woman onmy left. When he finally arrived, he was deeply apologetic as wellas courteous and charming. Dismissing my questions about his work – property development – he seemed far more interested in me.

‘Tell me about your life,’ he’d said, straight out. David had a way of listening with his cheek resting on his right hand, as though you were the only person he wanted to hear in the whole wide world. How old was he, I found myself wondering. Those crinkly lines witha hint of a suntan suggested late thirties perhaps, like me. How had he got that slightly hooked nose which somehow didn’t detract from his good looks? Maybe a sporting injury. He looked like he might play rugby.

‘That’s amazing,’ he said when I gave him a brief outline. His brown eyes – with a hint of green in the middle – locked with mine. Something stood out about them. That was it! He wasn’tblinking, which added to the intensity of his gaze. But it was his deep voice that really struck me. There was laughter there: something I’d been missing for so long! It seemed at odds with that strong, set jawline, which spoke of determination. I had a sudden urge to run my finger along that faint hint of stubble as he continued to talk. ‘I’d love to know more, Vicki. May I call you that?’ Heglanced at my place setting.

He was still there at the end of the evening when the great and the good and the press had filtered out. ‘I don’t suppose you have time for a drink,’ he asked. ‘My place is near here.’ He raised an eyebrow. ‘My ex-wife always said I was handy with both a corkscrew and the coffee machine. One of my few pluses, apparently!’

Ex-wife. I glanced at his left hand. No ring.To my embarrassment, he noticed.

‘Single,’ he said, with a directness I admired. ‘You?’

‘The same.’

Sometimes we act completely out of character. Of all people, I should know that. Or perhaps my boldness was down to something one of the girls had said when she’d seen me earlier, all dressed up in heels and a lime-green suit that seemed to go with my hair.

‘Letting you out for the night, arethey?’

She must have sensed how nervous I was. It can be daunting after being inside for so long.

I’d walked on, conscious of the titters behind me and the odd word like ‘lezzie’.