Molly blinked, stunned. Her breath caught painfully in her throat.Please don’t say it, please don’t say it.
Shane continued. ‘I booked the hotel because I needed a receipt. It’s a business expense and it would cover my tracks. I didn’t want to deal with the fallout if Julia checked up on me like she always did.’
‘So, by that I’m surmising this isn’t your first affair and Mrs Lassiter was aware of this fact?’ Yates asked.
Shane gave a tired smile. ‘No, it isn’t; and yes, she was.’
Molly sucked in a breath, not sure whether to believe the words that were coming out of Shane’s mouth and praying they were a very clever bluff in order to hide their affair. Bury it deep.
Stone scribbled notes. Yates nodded. ‘So, if we follow up with this woman, she’ll confirm you stayed with her?’
Molly thought she was going to pass out right there and then in the hallway, wished it to be so, because then it would distract them. Or at least if Shane said her name out loud she’d be unconscious and not have to witness the look in the detective’s eyes. When he began to speak, bile rose in her throat and she knew her behaviour, red cheeks and an internal tremble she couldn’t prevent spreading, was going to give her away any minute.
‘Look, if it’s at all possible I’d rather you didn’t involve her, not unless it’s entirely necessary because it has no bearing on what happened here that night,’ Shane said, his tone firm ratherthan placatory. ‘She works at ClearGlass and her job could be jeopardised if word gets out. But if you absolutely must… yes, she’ll confirm that I was there.’
Yates tucked his notepad into his coat. ‘Understood. For now, as you say, your whereabouts that night are not of concern to us. We just needed to know why you lied. We’ve checked the Ring doorbell which confirms you left when you said you did. It’s what happened before you left that’s important, for now.’
With that, he turned to Stone and indicated with a nod that they were leaving, before nodding to Molly who quickly opened the door and watched as the detectives made their way out. The click of the catch once they were gone sounded like the trigger of a gun. Molly turned to face Shane. Silence fell. She could hear the blood in her ears. Her whole body shook as she remembered the conversation she’d eavesdropped on. Her mum told Nancy he was having an affair. Molly had thought they were discussing her. Maybe, maybe they were. She was about to find out.
‘Molly…’
‘Are you seeing someone else? Others before me? Or was that all a bluff to divert Yates because if it was, there’s a damn good chance it won’t pay off? They still might check. So just tell me, and I want the truth because there’ve been too many lies and secrets already and I can’t cope with one more.’ She glared at him. The man she had loved, who she thought had chosen her, on the brink of breaking her heart or saving it, yet deep down, she knew pain was inevitable.
His excuse came too easily, smooth, like him. He ran a hand through his hair. ‘Molly… look, it wasn’t like you think. You and I… the other woman… it’s complicated. You were going to America and your mum didn’t want me anymore…’
In a split second, Molly’s world caved in, again. ‘Oh God… so, so you replaced me before I even left?’
‘That’s not what I meant.’
‘Is she the only one?’
He hesitated again. ‘It doesn’t matter.’
‘Yes it fucking well does!’ Molly screamed so loud she scared herself and him, but before he could spin more lies she stormed from the hallway, out through the lounge and kitchen and onto the patio. The mugs on the glass dining table were an easy target for her temper so she swiped at them hard and fast then watched unfeeling as they shattered across the paving stones, porcelain shards scattering like splinters of trust.
Through the open patio doors, she sucked in air and once calmer, looked back through the downstairs rooms and stepped to the side, watching unseen as Shane pulled out his phone, turning slightly away. Stepping quietly back inside she crept closer and strained to listen.
His voice was hushed, fake fatigue dripping in oil. ‘Hey, babe. Yeah, it’s grim here … babe, listen, I need a massive favour. The police might call and ask you a few questions… about the night Julia died… No, no, hey, I swear I haven’t told them your name but if they come back I’ll have to… Yes, yes I’ll try, I promise. Look, I just need you to tell them I stayed at yours that night. You’ll be doing me a massive favour and I promise I’ll make it up to you. Just don’t let me down, okay?’
Molly’s stomach turned. She listened as he whispered sweet nothings, said he’d try to get away as soon as possible then said he had to go as someone was calling him. Then he ended the call and turned.
His face dropped when he saw her. ‘Molly…’
‘Don’t. Do not speak to me or come near me ever again. You disgust me.’
She walked away. He followed. Even having him a few paces behind was too close now and it made her skin crawl and the hairs stand up on the back of her neck.
‘It’s not serious. It means nothing.’ Shane’s voice was unusually whiny and it grated.
‘I meant nothing. I can see that now.’ Molly couldn’t bear to look at him so stared at the garden instead.
‘No, that’s not what I…’
‘You used me.’
He stepped forward. ‘I care about you. I love you. You have to believe me.’
‘You make me sick. LEAVE ME ALONE.’ She backed away, her voice wobbling. ‘You can lie to everyone all you want. But I know the truth. And I swear to God, if you ever try to manipulate me again…’
