Her neighbour came out of her front door, glanced over. ‘Morning, Sara,’ she called. ‘Another lovely day.’
Sara gave her a tight smile and walked away, pretending she’d been coming out of the house rather than trying to get in. She stalked back up the road to her car, got in and drove away, her mind a haze of racing thoughts. The changing of the locks felt like a big thing. A permanent thing. A statement that she was no longer welcome, that she’d been evicted and wasn’t going to be allowed back.
Whatever ideas she’d had that she and Matt might be able to repair their relationship, given time and patience, had well and truly been stomped into the dirt. It all made sense now: Fiona’s friendliness, getting to know the girls, creating situations where she and Matt could be together, like at the football. And giving Sara the job at the community centre, which made sure she was out of the house. Christ, I am so stupid. So very, very stupid. Her hands tightened round the steering wheel as if they were wrapped round Fiona’s throat.
She heard her mother’s voice in her thoughts: It takes two to tango… Matt was as much to blame as Fiona. Bloody two-timing hypocrite, accusing me of being unfaithful when he and Fiona were… She slammed on the brakes as a bike swerved in front of her, and took a deep breath. She didn’t even know where she was going; remembered that she was supposed to be meeting Hailey back at the house and pulled over. She called her sister.
‘Where are you?’ Hailey asked when she answered.
‘Slight change of plan. Meet me at the coffee shop. You know, the one by the station. I just need to calm down and get my head straight. I’ll tell you when you get here.’
‘Oh, okay.’ Hailey sounded puzzled. ‘I’ll be there in ten.’
Sara took a few deep breaths, hand on her chest as if that would be enough to steady the thundering beat of her heart, and set off on the short drive to the coffee shop. She was glad to park up and get out of the car. This new information changed everything. And there was something flickering in her mind, an elusive thought she was trying to grab hold of, but it was slippery as an eel and she couldn’t quite keep it in her grasp.
Caffeine. I need caffeine, she thought as she pushed open the door. Maybe then her mind would make the creative connection she needed.
When Hailey arrived a few minutes later, she found Sara sitting at the back of the coffee shop, where they could talk without being overheard.
‘Fiona and Matt?’ She almost spurted coffee all over the table when Sara told her. ‘That’s not something I would ever have imagined.’ Sara would have to agree that they weren’t two people you would naturally put together; two dominant characters who were more likely to fight than agree.
‘I know.’ She took a sip of her coffee, wondering whether she was jumping to conclusions. ‘She had an affair with James, though, so it’s not like she thinks her marriage is sacred.’
‘Her husband’s a lot older than her, isn’t he?’ Hailey said, blowing on her drink before taking another sip. ‘You know, when I’ve seen pictures of the two of them at charity dos, I always thought of her as a sort of trophy wife. She’s so glamorous and intelligent, isn’t she? Just the sort of woman a successful businessman would want on his arm.’
‘Hmm. I think she likes the money and status and living in that amazing house of theirs. But I get the feeling she’s happier when he’s away on business trips than when he’s home.’
‘You never know what goes on in other people’s marriages,’ Hailey said, with feeling, and Sara knew she was referring to her own experiences with a husband who was a serial cheater. ‘I mean, Matt’s a good-looking man. Maybe she decided to make a play for him. They see each other often enough at football, don’t they?’
Sara put her cup down, a new thought coming to mind. ‘The woman you saw getting out of Matt’s car the other night. Could that have been Fiona?’
Hailey narrowed her eyes as she thought, then nodded slowly. ‘You know, I think it might have been.’
Chapter Thirty-Three
Having convinced herself that Fiona and Matt were having an affair, Sara was more determined than ever to find out what Matt was doing with his business. She had told him all of her secrets. Now she needed to know his.
Fortified with coffee and cake, they parked round the corner from the house and crept up the footpath that ran down the back of the properties. There was a gate into the garden, which was bolted on the inside and too high for them to climb over. But the footpath ran down the side of the garage to the road at the front of the house, and they snuck around the corner, careful to be quiet.
Matt had arranged for a small glass window to be put in the side wall, to give some natural light in his office. It was frosted security glass, with wire inside, and although they couldn’t see through, they could make out the glow from the lights, a shadow moving. Matt was in there.
Their plan was already decided. Sara would stay out of sight while Hailey knocked on his office door, pretending she was a delivery driver with a package that needed to be signed for. When he opened the door, they’d rush him and get inside. Then he wouldn’t have time to turn things off and hide what he was doing.
Sara’s pulse raced as she had a quick look up and down the street to make sure the neighbours weren’t around, then she pressed herself to the side of the garage while Hailey knocked on the door.
‘Got a package for you here,’ she called in a gruff voice.
No answer. She knocked again. Called louder.
‘Got a delivery that needs to be signed for.’
The key turned in the lock, and as soon as the door started to open, Hailey pushed forwards, Sara behind her, their joint momentum making Matt stagger back. His arms windmilled as he lost his balance, and Hailey was on him in a flash, grabbing his arm and pulling it up his back. He screamed, and she gave a satisfied smile, while Sara looked on in alarm, wondering when her sister had learnt to be a ninja.
‘Don’t hurt him, Hailey.’
‘I’m not,’ she said, between clenched teeth, giving his hand a twist and making him wince. ‘I’m just securing him. It’s a restraining technique we use at work. Quite safe.’
Matt’s eyes slid to the two large screens set up side by side on his desk, both of them blank.
‘You can’t do this. You can’t barge in here,’ he said, all stern and authoritative, as if that would be enough to stop them. ‘This is confidential. I have an obligation to my client—’
‘Oh shut up, will you?’ Hailey snarled. Her eyes had a steely glint and Sara didn’t think she’d ever seen her look quite so ferocious. ‘Start searching. Let’s see what we can find, shall we?’ She tugged Matt backwards to give Sara access to the desk.
‘No, Sara, no, don’t you dare.’ Matt tried to move to stop her, but Hailey held him tight. Was that fear in his eyes? Sara thought it might be.
‘Or what? What you going to do to me?’
‘It’s not what I’ll do, it’s what they’ll do.’
‘And who is this mysterious “they”?’ Sara scoffed.
He shook his head, eyes wild. ‘I don’t know. It’s all done electronically.’