The End of Her

He’s lost touch with Greg. They’d worked together day in and day out, but were not so close that he’d told him about sleeping with Erica. He’s glad about that now. Patrick wonders, as he tries to comfort little Jackie, red-faced and squalling, if he should get in touch with Greg. He’s already looked him up; he knows Greg now lives in Denver, and has found out where he works, and has located a home number. Should he talk to Greg? Would he know if Erica has a son? Should he tell Greg what Erica is doing? Or should he hire a private investigator? He’s already tried to find Erica on Facebook but there was no sign of her.

How would Greg react to what Erica’s doing? Surely he would be appalled. He would be on Patrick’s side. Greg had been very supportive after the accident. Greg was the first person he’d called, after 911 … Maybe the fewer people who know about this the better. Patrick mulls over the decision for hours. By the time he surrenders the babies to Stephanie and his head hits the pillow, despite his reservations he’s decided to call Greg.

Stephanie sits on the sofa with the twins as she feeds them; they will go down soon, and she will be able to go to bed. She’s so tired. It’s affecting her ability to think, to cope with even the littlest things. She remembers her visit to the paediatrician. Was it only a few days ago? And now … how the hell is she supposed to cope with these revelations about her husband’s past, and this woman who’s threatening them?

Her thoughts are anxious, confused. She can tell that her husband is afraid of Erica. And he’s more afraid of her today than he was yesterday, she can tell that too. But what’s changed? Is it because Erica was there, at the sandpit? In the drugstore? Or is there something he isn’t telling her?

He’d told her his first marriage was good.

But then why was he sleeping with his wife’s best friend?

The next morning is Saturday – usually their favourite day of the week. Patrick makes pancakes and they laze around together with the twins like they usually do, but this Saturday feels entirely different from the Saturday before. So much has changed since Erica showed up at his office last Monday.

Mid-morning, when the twins go down for a short nap, Stephanie tells him she’s going out to run a quick errand and Patrick closes himself in the upstairs office. He opens his laptop. The house is quiet. Should he call his old friend Greg? Or send an email?

He decides it would be better to talk to him. Finally, he dials Greg’s home number and waits for the call to connect.

‘Hello,’ a voice says, and even over the line, and despite the years, Patrick recognizes it immediately. It gives him a start, just how familiar it sounds. They could be in Colorado again, on the phone; it’s as if almost ten years have fallen away. Suddenly he’s feeling all sorts of emotions that he’d long buried. He’s waited too long to speak, so long that Greg repeats, ‘Hello?’

‘Greg,’ Patrick says, trying to sound relaxed and comfortable, ‘it’s Patrick Kilgour.’ He waits for the reaction. The pause on the other end indicates surprise, certainly. But of course he would be surprised, Patrick calling out of the blue like this.

‘Patrick! Holy shit! It’s been ages!’

Patrick is relieved to hear genuine pleasure in his old friend’s voice … What had he been expecting? The truth is, he hadn’t been sure. He’d wondered if Erica had been in touch with him, after everything that had happened. Or perhaps more recently. ‘I know, it’s been a long time. How have you been?’

‘I’ve been all right. How about you – I saw you started your own company a few years back. Business good?’

‘Can’t complain,’ Patrick says. ‘How’s the family?’ He’s done his research – Greg is married now, with a little boy and little girl.

‘They’re grand, really good. You?’

‘Married, four-month-old twins.’

‘Twins! God. What’s that like?’

‘Oh, you know. Hell.’ They both laugh.

‘Are you coming to Denver?’ Greg asks next.

Patrick feels an immediate alarm. Why would Greg think he’s coming to Denver? ‘No, why?’

‘Just – figured that’s why you 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 do, what kind of influence he might have with his wife.

When the twins go down for their nap on Sunday afternoon, Patrick tucks Stephanie into their bed and tells her that he’s going into the office for a bit, to catch up on some work. Then he gets into his car, but instead of turning towards downtown, to his office, he takes the highway to Newburgh. He’s already looked up Erica’s address – he found it on her job application.

He doesn’t know exactly what he has in mind. He’s so overtired and stressed that he can’t think clearly. He just feels that he must do something. He has to turn the tables somehow, but how? He must get Erica to stop this – this madness.