Everything had begun to unravel after that dreadful row over the will. Just the previous month she thought she’d finally done it: their relationship was solid, they’d put down the deposit on the house, and she was winning the children over. She couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment he had started to withdraw from her, because it was so gradual, but after a while he had become less attentive, more preoccupied – with his work, she presumed – and unable to give her the attention he’d lavished on her before.
That night they went out for dinner, she could never have predicted what was to come. He’d made the booking, wanting to talk to her, telling her he was sorry for the way he’d been behaving and that he wanted to make it up to her. Lots of wine had been drunk, but it had been necessary in order for them to lower their barriers and get them really talking about their deepest desires. He told her how much he loved her. That was when she made the mistake, the biggest mistake of her life.
They got back to the flat and he poured them both a whisky, and she opened up with her secret longing for them to get full custody of his children and move into the big house together. She’d judged it so badly. At first, he didn’t react, but simply stared into his drink. Heidi hated the silence and had to fill it with words, foolish words, words she couldn’t get back once spoken. She confessed how much she hated Rachel, how Rachel had everything she herself wanted in life: the man, the house, the children.
When Tom finally spoke, his voice was cold. ‘That’s what this has all been about, hasn’t it? That’s why you wanted me to change my will. You don’t love me, you just want my money. You want Rachel’s life.’ He had promised her the previous month that he would rewrite his will, finally giving in to her pressure to make her feel included.
She managed to reassure him that she loved him, that that was the only thing that mattered, but it was soon after that conversation that his attitude towards her changed drastically, especially once he found texts from Danny on her phone, and she had to confess that she’d seen him a couple of times since she and Tom had got together.
She’d never wanted to hurt him. This she told herself in the days, weeks, months, years afterwards. They’d driven that Monday night to Heidi’s friend’s place out in the country, a chance for the two of them to talk in different surroundings. She’d been on about taking him there for ages. It was cute and rural, with woodland behind the garden; it would be a complete change of scene.
The evening started so well, until once again alcohol was drunk and he lost it with her, telling her he’d never actually signed a new will; he’d had it drawn up but had changed his mind at the last minute. Thank God he’d stopped himself from actually signing it, he said. When children were involved, these were complicated decisions, he added, as if she was a child herself who had no comprehension of how the adult world worked. And he couldn’t resist blurting out about sleeping with Rachel and admitting to still having feelings for her and was thinking about going back to her. The admission drove her to grab hold of the ornate candlestick and whack him over the head, causing him to fall face forward into the Georgian fireplace, sustaining a further blow to the temple. Either one of them would probably have killed him. With two blows, he didn’t stand a chance.
Heidi did what she always did in a crisis: she called Danny. Danny, who’d been her on-off lover since they were teenagers. Danny, who’d grown into a small-time villain with a lot of shady contacts who would do the jobs nobody else wanted to do as long as the money was right. She’d called him once before when an ex-boyfriend wouldn’t leave her alone – a quick word from Danny and she’d never heard from him again. She’d never asked him how he’d achieved this minor miracle.
This time was no different.
He came straight over and took charge of the situation. He wrapped the body in tarpaulin and brought his car round to the back of the house so they could get it in without being seen. Heidi stayed in the house to clean up any traces of the accident while Danny first got rid of Tom’s car by calling one of his dodgy friends who owed him a favour. The friend collected the car and that was the last they saw of it. After that Danny drove to the woods near Blackberry Farm, the once derelict farmhouse he used to play in as a boy, and dug the grave.
She owed Danny big-time and he’d never let her forget it. One word from him and she’d be incarcerated, her life would be over, while Rachel got to keep the house that Heidi had tried so hard to get for herself. With Tom missing – and incredibly, more and more days passing without his body being discovered – she found herself becoming obsessed with the woman who was living the life she herself deserved.
When her attempt to get the guardianship failed, though, Heidi had given up and tried to concentrate on her own life. But that was before she took a chance stroll past the house and saw the scaffolding with the name of the expensive builder Rachel was using. She knew that the seven years were almost up – Tom could be declared officially dead and Rachel would get her hands on his assets once and for all. She called Danny and they came up with her plan.
The draft of the old will could still be somewhere in that house. The plan was to find it. Danny would be able to look for it while he was on the job. She’d gain access too, and if they couldn’t find it, she’d plant her own, for Rachel to find.
He contacted the builder through his mate who owed him a favour, and requested some casual building work.
And she wrote Rachel a letter.