Monday morning’s alarm brought with it both dread and relief.
Olivia didn’t relish going back to work. She was unsure what reaction she would get from her colleagues and did not want to rehash everything that had happened over the past week. But going back to work was a return to normal and she really needed normal right now.
Aside from food shopping, she had spent the weekend at home. Molly still seemed shaken from the encounter in the garden and Olivia didn’t want to leave her alone.
Not that she had any plans to go anywhere. Noah had shown up unexpectedly on the Saturday morning, insisting on fitting fancy cameras to the front and back of the house, but he hadn’t stayed. They had no weekend plans and he didn’t attempt to make any, leaving things casually open.
Olivia wasn’t sure how she felt about that. While she appreciated that he was giving her space, she also worried that he was losing patience with her. She knew she had to talk to him, that she had already let everything become too big a deal, but she was still building up to that, so she hadn’t pushed. Instead she holed up with Molly for a Netflix marathon, and tried her best to forget about Noah, the notes, and the anguished screams of Gary Lamb.
She didn’t sleep well Sunday night and was exhausted before she had even arrived at her city centre office. Esther was off sick, which meant Olivia was stuck all day with Roger and Jeremy. While she had been off, someone had put up a Christmas tree and there was a CD of Christmas songs quietly playing on loop. She was certain this was going to drive her mad before the end of the week.
December was a quiet time for property sales, and with few customers, it was the Roger and Jeremy show as the pair of them engaged in unfunny, occasionally sexist banter.
Olivia kept her head down, having no interest in joining in. Instead she flicked from her home screen on to Google and tried to find out what she could about Gary Lamb.
She had already scoured the news reports and there was no new information available. Thirty-one and divorced, he had worked as the foreman for a building company. His death was being treated as murder and both Cadwallader brothers had been questioned, as had Gary’s ex-wife, but if the police did have any leads they weren’t being reported.
Olivia was grateful that so far her name had been kept out of the press, though knew it wouldn’t take much for the media to find out her identity.
Instead she turned her attention to social media, finding Gary had been prolific on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Most of his posts were repeated across the three sites and, given that she could see plenty of them, it seemed he had been lax on privacy. They were mostly memes and there were a dozen a day, but interspersed between the memes were personal posts and it was those that gave the best insight into Gary’s life.
He had never been much of a looker, but that hadn’t dented his confidence. Age had taken its toll on both his waist and his hairline, but Gary Lamb still considered himself to be both a lad and a ladies’ man, and from what Olivia could see, he hadn’t changed much from school. The memes bordered on offensive and from the comments it seemed he still liked to play the bully.
One name that repeatedly popped up was Rita Works, liking and commenting on all of his posts, and from the flirty way Gary responded, it suggested the pair of them had probably been involved.
Rita’s profile was private and her picture, which was heavily filtered, showed a red-haired woman, her face swallowed up by huge sunglasses, pouting at the camera.
Seeing Roger get up from his desk, she quickly flicked her screen back to her work emails, knowing that her boss disapproved of social media use during work time.
‘I’m going to take an early lunch, then head straight on to my appointment,’ he announced, slipping into his coat. ‘Jeremy, can I leave you to lock up tonight?’
‘Sure thing, boss.’
‘And, Olivia, you’ll have the rest of those properties typed up before you leave?’
‘Of course.’
She wanted to salute him behind his back, but knew Jeremy was watching and he would snitch. Roger had decided to revamp all of the property portfolios on purpose just to punish her, she was certain of that. They had all been waiting on her desk for her to retype and he hadn’t even gone through the charade of dividing them up between the team. No, he was annoyed that, backed into a corner, he had been forced to give her a few days off.
Roger was all about profit and building his bank balance. Those days off had cost him and now Olivia was paying for it.
The afternoon passed painfully slowly and Olivia tried to keep her head down, concentrating on her workload, and ignoring the popping sound Jeremy kept making as he sucked his cheek. She couldn’t see his monitor, but she was fairly certain from his laid-back stance and the fact he kept grinning at his screen that he wasn’t doing anything work-related. Whatever it was kept him occupied, though, and that was fine by her.
She was halfway through typing up the final portfolio when her phone vibrated on the desk and Noah’s name flashed up on the screen. Picking it up, she read the message.
How was your first day back?
She fired a quick reply.
Same old. Stuck in the office with just Jeremy this afternoon. It’s dragged.
As she put her phone down, she glanced across at her co-worker, irritated when she realised he was watching her. ‘What?’
He didn’t answer her, instead smirking, letting his gaze linger for a few seconds longer before turning back to his screen.
Odious man.
Trying to forget he was there, Olivia finished typing up the portfolio, saved it, and logged off her computer, just as the clock hit 5.30. She glanced at her phone, noted that Noah hadn’t replied to her message. He had been quiet most of the weekend, so she guessed he was either giving her some space or was annoyed about Friday night.
Olivia had to talk to him. He deserved to know the truth. She just wished she hadn’t put it off for so long.
She went through to use the toilet at the back of the building while Jeremy started locking up the office. As she washed her hands, her thoughts remained on Noah. She would message him again, she decided, see what he was up to and invite herself over, then she would act like an adult, sit down and talk to him. She couldn’t let one humiliating experience define her.
Jeremy had already switched the main lights off and Olivia made her way along the hallway in darkness, cursing him and knowing he had probably done it on purpose. She had almost reached the door that led to the front office when he stepped out of the tiny kitchen, scaring the bejesus out of her. ‘Damn it, don’t do that!’
‘You’re a bit jumpy, Blake.’
‘So would you be if someone sprang out at you like that.’
‘Take a chill pill, woman. You need to lighten up a bit. A good shag would probably sort you out.’
Olivia’s temper spiked, but she kept her tone cool, ignoring his crude observation. ‘Is that how you get your kicks, lurking in dark hallways, scaring the shit out of women?’
Although it was dark, she saw him curl his lip and was satisfied that her jibe had hit its target.
‘Trust me, you have no idea how I get my kicks.’
There was something in his tone she didn’t like. Jeremy Fox was slimy, rude and had a nasty streak, but she had never found him intimidating before.
Not wanting him to see that he was creeping her out, she stuck out her chin and gave him her best haughty look. ‘No, you’re right, I don’t. And I have better things to do than hang around here and discuss your pervy inclinations.’
As she made to walk past him, he moved, so he was standing between her and the door, and a cool sliver of fear iced its way down Olivia’s back. This was Jeremy. She had worked with him for a year. She knew him, and yes he was a bit of a dick, but he wouldn’t actually hurt her. He was just fooling around and trying to spook her a little. And it was only working because of everything that had happened over the past week. Which made him an even bigger shit for not cutting her any slack.
Still, as she rationalised, a niggling little voice kept chipping away, reminding her that she didn’t actually know him that well. Yes, they worked together, but what did she know of his life outside of work? She knew that he had moved to Norfolk at the start of the year, that he lived alone, that he was good at selling houses, and that he was a sleaze. Beyond that though, she knew nothing about him at all.
‘What was it like?’
‘What?’
‘What was it like?’ Jeremy repeated, stepping back so his body was now fully blocking the door. He was taller than her, maybe by half a foot. ‘When you walked into the house and found him, that man, what was it like?’
Was he being serious?
‘What the hell do you think it was like? He died in front of me.’
‘Did you watch his skin melt off? Could you smell him burning?’
‘You’re disgusting.’ Anger overriding the fear, Olivia shoved into him, barrelling him out of the way. As her hand closed on the door knob, fingers dug into her arm, pulling her back.
‘I think you were lured there on purpose.’ Jeremy’s voice was almost a whisper against her ear. ‘I wonder why.’
‘Let go of me!’
Olivia wrenched her arm free, pushed open the door to the front office. Jeremy didn’t follow. He stood in the doorway watching her as she grabbed her coat from the rack and slipped into it, an amused look on his face. She kept a wary eye on him as she picked up her bag, crossed to the front door, part afraid he had locked it. On the other side of the glass it was raining. Commuters were rushing by, some with umbrellas, others hunkered down in coats. They were so close.
She tried the handle, relieved when it opened. Out in the street, she let out the breath she hadn’t realised she was holding, fastening the buttons of her coat with shaking fingers. The rain was coming down hard and fast now, slicking down her hair and dripping off the end of her nose. As she reached in her bag for her umbrella, Olivia glanced into the dark window of the office. She could just make out Jeremy’s silhouette in the doorway, knew he was watching her. Quickly she turned away, blending into the rush-hour crowd, eager to get back to her car.
The encounter had unnerved her. Was Jeremy playing one of his mindfuck games or had his intentions been more sinister? Regardless, he had stepped over a line and made her feel unsafe in her workplace. She had to tell Roger.
But what would her boss do?
Ultimately it was her word against Jeremy’s. There had been no witnesses and, aside from asking a couple of wholly inappropriate questions, the rest was circumstantial. Yes, Jeremy had turned the lights out. Olivia could say it was to scare her, but Jeremy would point out he was simply locking up. And okay, she had felt threatened when he blocked the door, but other than grabbing hold of her arm, he hadn’t actually done anything to her or prevented her from leaving.
Jeremy sold houses by the shedload and was an asset to Roger. There was no way he would be cut loose.
Frustrated, she cut down the side street that led to the car park, ignoring the niggling question of why Jeremy had been so interested in Gary’s death. Had he simply been asking out of morbid curiosity? Her mind went back to the note she had received, the one she had found on her car.
She had initially toyed with the idea that Jeremy had put it there as a joke.
Was he somehow involved in Gary’s murder?
