Leah Martin sat in silence on the sofa and hoped that Tom would leave her alone to think of something to say. But she knew him better than that; he wouldn’t let this go until he knew the truth. She couldn’t believe what Charlotte had told him. Of course she meant well, but it really wasn’t her place. Leah could handle the past, handle what was lying in front of her.
‘Right, what’s going on Leah?’
‘Nothing’s going on,’ she lied. ‘I’m fine.’
‘No, you’re not, Leah. Your best friend told me that she’s worried about you and that you might be in trouble. Then someone takes a shot at you in a carpark. That’s not right, Leah. What is going on?’
She’d never heard Tom using such a firm tone before. He was going to pull the truth from her no matter what. But how could she tell him what she’d done? How could she explain her past without it tearing apart her future? That’s if there was a future left. If her messenger meant what he said, then he would be coming after her sooner than later.
‘Okay. But you have to let me tell you this from start to finish. No interruptions. I need you to understand everything before you say anything or ask any questions. Okay? And remember, everything I’ve done in my life was to protect Samuel. You need to understand that.’
Tom nodded, his expression stern. ‘Of course I’ll understand.’
Taking a steadying breath, Leah got to her feet and left the room before heading out to the hallway where her handbag was sitting next to the front door, containing the picture and the small box with the bullet inside. As much as she knew she was being watched, waiting for the right moment to appear at the door and cause havoc, Leah glanced out of the window, wondering if he was out there right at that moment. The drive and street were empty, but Leah knew that didn’t mean he wasn’t there. She had to be sensible about this. Keeping her secret hidden was not only important to her, but necessary. However, Tom had a right to know what was going on. She’d involved him simply by falling in love with him, becoming his wife and allowing him to become Samuel’s dad.
Pulling the box and the photo out of the bag, Leah felt herself tremble with fear as she stepped through to the lounge. Holding them in her hand by her side, she sat down next to Tom and looked him in the eye.
‘Okay, here goes. A few years before I met you, I was with someone else. Something happened and I chose to leave him.’
The sound of footsteps on gravel alerted them both. Tom glanced around and out of the window and Leah’s heart banged hard against her chest. It was too late. He was already here before she could explain things.
‘The police are here,’ Tom said with frustration in his tone. ‘Are you feeling okay to speak to them?’
‘Yeah,’ Leah replied. ‘If I can help them in any way then I should. That poor woman, I can’t stop thinking about her. How awful to witness your son being shot dead.’
‘And what about you, Leah? You were lucky the bullet missed.’
But Leah had already switched off. A wave of relief washed over her; a combination of knowing that she would have to put this conversation on hold and that the police would scare away her ex if he was out there settled her stomach.
Tom got up and answered the door while Leah stuffed the box and picture down the side of the sofa. Stomach churning, she got up and made her way through to the hallway to meet the police.
‘Leah Martin?’
Leah smiled politely at the two officers. A male and female. One tall and one short. One blonde and one ginger.
‘I’m PC Tennick and this is my colleague, PC Robertson. We’d like to ask you a few questions regarding the shooting this morning,’ the female officer said. ‘May we come in?’
Tom pulled the door wide, allowing the officers to step inside. They followed Leah through to the lounge and she sat down on the seat where she’d hidden the box and picture.
‘How are you after this morning?’ Tennick asked, glancing down at Leah’s arm. ‘You were lucky.’
‘Yes, I was. And I’m okay, thanks. Don’t think it’s hit me yet,’ Leah replied as Tom sat down beside her and placed a hand over hers in sign of support. ‘The guy had a bad aim,’ she laughed harder than she’d meant to. No one smiled and Tennick lowered her eyes. ‘Sorry, I’ve always had bad taste in jokes.’
‘It must have been quite traumatic, Mrs Martin. We’ve a couple of questions to ask you if you don’t mind,’ Robertson said.
Nodding in response and feeling like an idiot for trying to make light of the situation, Leah was eager for this to be over as quickly as possible.
‘Can I get anyone a tea? Coffee?’ Tom asked, getting to his feet. Tennick and Robertson shook their heads. Leah asked for coffee and Tom left the room.
‘We’ve gathered some stills from the CCTV footage in the multi-storey carpark where the shooting took place and we were wondering if you would be able to have a look to help us with our enquiries,’ Robertson said, pulling some paper from an envelope.
Leaning forward, Leah took the images in her hand and glanced over them. There were three. One of two men getting out of a car and dressed in black. The second contained three men, clear to Leah that they were engaging in conversation. One of the men was the man who was shot dead in his car, she recognised his clothes. The third was a close-up of one of the men who she assumed the police thought was potentially the shooter.
‘Do you recognise any of the men as the possible killer from this morning, Leah?’ Tennick asked. Her voice was tense, as though pinning everything on what Leah was about to say. Of course, a man had been killed but Leah thought there was something else in the PC’s voice.
Glaring down at the images again, Leah stopped herself from gasping out loud. She couldn’t show her fear or they would know she was hiding something.
Eyes stared back at her from behind the still image captured by the CCTV and she shuddered.
‘Leah, are these the men you recognise from the carpark?’ Robertson pressed.
‘Yes, possibly. I’m sorry, I don’t know for sure…’
Tennick and Robertson looked at one another before nodding. ‘The men in the images are under investigation for a series of crimes in the city and we’re hoping that this is what we can use to bring them in,’ Tennick said.
‘I understand. But I’m sorry, today is such a blur.’
‘Do you think you’d be able to pick them out if we brought you in to identify them?’ Robertson asked.
Leah shifted in her seat. She couldn’t do that, it was too risky. Her entire being was about to be blown apart as it was without becoming embroiled in a murder investigation.
‘I’m sorry. No, I don’t think I’d be able to give a reliable ID.’
Just then, Tom appeared with a mug in his hand and smiled down at Leah. She was thankful for the interruption.
Glancing back down at the image, she knew exactly who she was looking at. The image was grainy but she recognised the man straight away. A face from her past that she didn’t want to admit to. Links to a life she was no longer part of.