TOYL

disappearing, don’t they?’
    ‘Yes,’ Emma said.
    ‘He didn’t,’ Guy replied. ‘I’m sure he didn’t have anything to do with it.’
    ‘What makes you so sure?’
    Guy looked down towards his right, in thought. ‘Because I asked him, and he swore to me that he had nothing to do with it.’
    ‘You asked him whether he had kidnapped Dan?’ Emma said, shocked at the revelation. ‘What made you even ask him? When did you ask him?’
    ‘I asked him two weeks ago,’ Guy admitted. ‘I just wanted to be sure – to hear him say that he didn’t have anything to do with it.’
    ‘Two weeks ago? That would be about the time Dan disappeared.’
    Guy nodded.
    ‘I don’t understand,’ Emma said. ‘Why would you even think of asking Stuart that question at that time?’
    Guy blew out his cheeks and ran a hand through his hair. ‘I’m afraid I’ve not been straight with you, Emma. I’m sorry – but hopefully I can start to make amends now.’
    ‘What is it?’ she pressed.
    ‘I always knew that Stuart wanted you back. That day, when you asked who had recommended you for the part and I didn’t want to tell you, it was an act. Stuart wanted me to tell you. He was hoping you would ask.’
    Emma shook her head. ‘So everything to do with the film role – the initial recommendation, the auditions, your compliments – was all just a way for Stuart to try and win me back?’
    ‘Initially,’ Guy admitted. ‘But I swear that once I saw you at the reading, then that wasn’t an act. I did want you for the movie – and I still do.’
    ‘But Stuart still planned this, with your help.’
    ‘Yes.’
    Emma thought about that for a moment. ‘What I don’t understand is why you would help Stuart out. What made you do this?’
    ‘Because I felt I owed him something.’
    ‘Owed him something?’ Emma echoed. ‘How do you mean?’
    ‘This is difficult,’ he said, rubbing his chin. ‘Stuart and I have been through a lot together. You know we knew each other, but he never told you where we met, did he?’
    ‘No. I assumed it was through television contacts, or maybe he’d auditioned for a part in a movie you were casting.’
    ‘No,’ Guy said. ‘It wasn’t anything to do with the industry. We met at a support group. A mental health support group.’

    ***

    ‘A few years ago, I was going through a really bad time,’ Guy said, now clutching a drink. ‘I was depressed – not for any particular reason, which I guess makes it all the more depressing. I’d been seeing a shrink for a while. He helped a bit, but I was getting pretty lonely. Then one day I saw a leaflet for a local mental health support group, so I thought, what the hell, what had I got to lose?’
    ‘And Stuart was also in that group?’ Emma asked.
    ‘His psychiatrist recommended it to him,’ Guy said.
    ‘Psychiatrist? I know things weren’t right, that he was having a tough time mentally, but I never imagined he’d have sought professional help. He never mentioned anything to me. So that was how long ago?’
    ‘About three years ago,’ he replied.
    ‘It must have been right after he walked out on me.’
    ‘It was,’ he replied, surprising Emma at his certainly of that fact.
    ‘How do you know that?’ she asked.
    ‘Because he spoke about you at the group,’ he explained. ‘He told us all how much he regretted walking out on you – how much he loved you.’
    ‘Then why walk out?’
    ‘He’d been forced to leave you.’
    ‘Forced? By what?’
    ‘He never told us the full details,’ Guy replied. ‘As a group, it was always made clear that we should never push people. As far as the group were concerned, Stuart had a right to tell as little or as much as he wanted. And anyway, I expect most of the group were also keeping big secrets. I know I was.’
    ‘You said you owed him something,’ Emma said.
    ‘We became friends,’ Guy continued. ‘He really helped me through a pretty bad time – a time when I considered suicide. If it hadn’t been for Stuart, I really believe that I would be dead by now.’
    ‘So he called in the favour, to try and get me back?’
    ‘Yes. When I told him about the casting for the upcoming film, he begged me to contact you. He saw it as his chance of trying to win you back, of getting back into your life. I didn’t think there was any harm in it, at least at first.’
    ‘Did Stuart know I was getting married to someone else?’
    ‘He told me he didn’t know