TOYL

Miranda explained. ‘Thought I’d just rustle up something.’
    It looked more like a king’s banquet than something that had been just “rustled up”. From what her dad had told Emma, Miranda often cooked for work friends. She was a newly qualified consultant in paediatric medicine over at St. Thomas’s and, judging by the volume of food, she had a lot of friends there.
    ‘I’ll go and get Edward,’ she said, heading towards the stairs. ‘He’s in the bedroom, I think.’
    ‘It’s okay,’ Emma interrupted. ‘I’ll go up there.’
    It seemed petty, but this still felt like her house, and it always would. She didn’t want to be treated like a guest.
    ‘Emma,’ her dad said, rubbing his eyes and rising from the bed as he saw her standing at the doorway to the bedroom. ‘I didn’t hear you arrive.’
    He got up from the bed and gave her an uncharacteristic hug.
    ‘Miranda told me you were up here,’ Emma said, warming to the embrace.
    ‘How are you feeling?’ He pulled back and examined her intently with his hands on both her shoulders.
    ‘I’ve been better,’ she admitted. ‘Dan has called off the wedding.’
    ‘What? You’ve heard from him?’
    ‘Not exactly,’ she said. ‘He left a message on the answering machine at the bridal shop, cancelling the wedding dress.’
    ‘What? And you’re sure it was him?’
    ‘I heard the message myself.’
    ‘Oh, I’m so sorry, Emma.’
    ‘At least I know now that he’s okay.’
    ‘Have you told the police?’
    ‘The police? No.’
    ‘I think you should,’ he said. ‘Emma, I know you still feel loyalty towards Dan, but if he had anything to do with what happened to Richard, then they need to know.’
    ‘I know. I will call them, but just not yet.’
    ‘I know it’s difficult,’ Edward said. ‘C’mon, let’s go for a walk.’

    ***

    They walked for a while, mostly in silence. It reminded Emma of a similar walk they had made some years ago. Her dad had ended it by telling her that her mother was dying of cancer. She prayed that the news her dad had promised to tell her this time wouldn’t be so devastating.
    They stopped on a bridge overlooking the Thames, and watched as a team of rowers skimmed past below them. The sun reflected off the river, making it sparkle.
    Emma decided to break the silence.
    ‘I went to visit Stephen Myers yesterday,’ she said, as the rowers disappeared into the distance.
    ‘What?’ Her dad was visibly shocked. ‘Why would you go and visit him, after all he did to you?’
    ‘I thought he might have had something to do with Dan disappearing.’
    Edward went to speak, but, seemingly flabbergasted by the news, no words came out.
    ‘So what happened?’ he said at last.
    ‘Stephen’s dead,’ she stated. ‘They found him in a canal. It happened a few years ago.’
    ‘Oh, right.’
    ‘It was terrible, Dad,’ she said. ‘I met his mum, and she’s got real problems because of what happened. The house she was living in, it was in such a state.’
    ‘It must be difficult to deal with a death like that.’ Her dad looked up at the sky. ‘I can’t imagine how I’d react if you or Will did that. As a parent, you’re bound to wonder whether you could have done anything to stop it happening.’
    ‘Pardon?’
    He looked confused. ‘I said, I can’t imagine how I’d react if one of you did that – killed themselves.’
    ‘How do you know he killed himself?’
    ‘What… well… you just said… they found him in a canal,’ he said, sounding flustered.
    ‘I said he was dead, I didn’t say he killed himself.’
    Her dad blew out his cheeks and gripped onto the bridge, as if for support. The colour seemed to drain from his cheeks. ‘I’m sorry, Emma.’
    Emma shook her head. ‘You knew. You knew Stephen was dead and you didn’t tell me? All this time, you knew what had happened and you didn’t say anything to me?’
    Her father nodded.
    ‘Do you know how many times in the past few years I thought I saw Stephen Myers following me? I used to lie awake at night, wondering whether he was outside the flat, pointing that damn camera up towards the window. If I’d known…’
    ‘I’m really sorry, Emma, but we thought it would be for the best. We didn’t want to bring up old memories – we were worried about how you might react.’
    ‘We? Who else knew about this?’
    ‘Just three of us – myself, Will and Stuart.’
    She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. ‘This just gets better.