The Therapist by B.A. Paris

Seven

Eve stops chopping a bunch of leafy coriander and turns to me, the knife in her hand.

‘Nobody remembers him at all?’

I shake my head in frustration. ‘I’ve been all the way around The Circle. You and Will are my last hope.’

‘You said he was tall?’

‘Yes, taller than Tim.’

‘And he said he was Tim?’

‘He didn’t say that he was or wasn’t. I presumed he was, because we’d been talking about either him or Maria coming. The only thing I know is that he’s not from The Circle.’

Eve puts down the knife and wipes her hands on a towel. ‘Sounds like a gate-crasher to me,’ she says, laughing.

‘You don’t have to sound so cheerful about it.’

‘Sorry. It’s just that I kind of admire gate-crashers, especially if they manage to get away with something big. As long as they don’t do any damage, or steal anything.’ She looks at me. ‘Did he?’

‘No, but that’s not the point. We didn’t invite him so he shouldn’t have been there.’

‘Me and Will gate-crashed a wedding once,’ she says. ‘It was amazing. We were having a drink at a hotel and we were surrounded by this huge wedding party – there must have been at least two hundred guests. Then someone came in and called everyone through to help themselves to an enormous buffet. It was the summer and we could see people carrying their plates out to these white-clothed tables which had been set up outside. We watched for a while and it seemed to be very casual; there were no set places, people just sat where they wanted. So we tagged onto the end of the line, filled our plates high with food and plonked ourselves down on a table where there were three older couples.’

‘You didn’t!’

‘We did. We didn’t feel bad as they seemed relieved to have us making up the numbers at their table. When they asked us how well we knew the bride and groom, we said, almost truthfully, not very well at all. It turned out that they didn’t either. They were neighbours of the bride’s parents and they sort of hinted that they’d only been invited out of politeness, because they were neighbours, not because they were good friends. And we definitely livened up their evening so didn’t feel we’d done any harm. Besides we were hungry, and very young. We probably wouldn’t do it now.’

‘I’d never be brave enough,’ I say. ‘But, our mystery man – what would his motive have been for gate-crashing a drinks evening? He would only have got a sausage roll and a few crisps out of it, and he didn’t even get those because no-one remembers seeing him in the garden. I saw him getting a drink of water from the tap in the kitchen but I doubt that thirst was his motive for turning up uninvited.’

‘Are you sure nothing was taken?’

‘Pretty sure. Nothing major anyway. My jewellery and credit cards were still there when I checked and there doesn’t seem to be anything missing from the house. We don’t have anything valuable anyway.’

‘Did he go upstairs?’

‘Yes, but only because I offered to show him the work we had done.’

Eve pauses at this and rubs her hand across her forehead. ‘Did you stay with him all the time?’

‘Yes – but I suppose he could have gone back up when I was outside. Leo is really annoyed because he has sensitive work-related stuff in his office.’

Eve picks up the knife and goes back to the coriander. ‘I’ll ask Will if he remembers a stranger at your party. He’ll be here in a minute. Have you eaten? Would you like to stay for dinner?’

I get reluctantly to my feet. ‘That’s lovely of you, it smells delicious. But I’d better phone Leo back. And go through the house again, just to make sure nothing is missing.’

I check that our computers, tablets and valuables are where they should be, but before I can call Leo, Ginny phones.

‘How did your drinks evening go?’ she asks.

‘Really well. I managed to meet just about everyone who lives in The Circle. The best thing is, there are quite a few couples who seem to be the same age as us. Eve and Will are younger, but the others seem to be in their late thirties, early forties. Next time you and Mark come over, I’ll invite them round so that you can meet them.’ I pause. ‘I managed to make an enemy, though.’

‘Oh?’

‘Not really an enemy but she didn’t seem to like me very much. A beautiful redhead called Tamsin. I think she thinks I’m going to muscle in on her friendship group. She’s friends with Eve, and as Eve lives next door, maybe she’s worried we’re going to be popping in and out of each other’s houses all day long.’

‘I suppose you’re going to have to be a bit careful about already established friendships,’ Ginny says. ‘Especially in a small community like The Circle.’

‘You make it sound like a sect.’

‘Maybe it is,’ she whispers dramatically.

She’s joking, but it doesn’t stop a shiver running through me.

‘Everyone seemed really interested in the work we had done upstairs,’ I say.

‘I’m not surprised. It’s lovely. Leo did a really good job.’

‘What about you, did you have a good weekend?’

‘Mark had a round of golf with Ben, so it was very good.’

I laugh. Ginny and Mark work together, so are pretty much together twenty-four/seven and Ginny has been trying to get Mark to play golf each weekend so that she can have some ‘me-time’. She’s roped in the services of Ben who, as well as being an amazing estate agent, is also an amazing golfer.

‘And will that now become a weekly thing?’ I ask.

‘I hope so,’ Ginny says fervently. ‘You can’t believe how good it was to have some time alone in the house.’

‘I’ve got a bit too much of that at the moment.’

‘You’ll be fine once you’ve settled in.’

‘I hope so.’

I don’t mean to sound despondent but Ginny picks up on it straightaway. ‘Is everything alright?’

‘It’s just that I really want to start making friends here but Leo thinks we should take our time. He wasn’t too pleased when I went ahead and invited people over for drinks. And then I let a gate-crasher in so he’s even less happy with me now.’

‘Ooh, tell me more. I’m intrigued!’

I tell her about the man who nobody remembers speaking to, and the more I talk about him, the more uneasy I feel.

‘Sorry, Ginny, but I really need to phone Leo,’ I say. ‘At least I’ll be able to tell him how our gate-crasher got in.’

‘No problem. Give him my love.’

I call Leo and tell him what Lorna told me.

‘Well, that’s one part of the mystery solved,’ he says. ‘Although we still don’t know why he turned up.’ He gives a sigh of irritation. ‘I really can’t believe you showed people around the house.’

‘Sorry,’ I say guiltily. ‘But all your client files are locked away in the filing cabinet, aren’t they?’ I add, wondering if that’s why he won’t let it go.

‘That’s not the point.’

‘Do you think it might have been something to do with your work, then?’

‘I’m a consultant, not a spy.’ His voice has an edge to it. ‘Look, I don’t want to worry you, but have you got your keys?’

‘They’re in my bag. Why?’

‘It’s just that – well, you know I heard someone in the house last night? I was wondering if it might be linked to our uninvited guest.’

I feel a prickle of alarm. ‘I thought we agreed that there was no-one there.’

‘I know. And if you have your keys, it’s fine. I’ve got mine and they’re the only two sets that were in the house during the party, so it’s not as if one of them has gone missing.’

‘And we have a mortice lock on the inside of the front door, so nobody can get in anyway,’ I point out. ‘Unless you to forgot to lock it before we went to bed?’

‘No, I don’t think I did. But make sure you lock it tonight, Alice. And carry on asking around, will you? We need to find out who that man was.’

‘Will do.’

But there isn’t anyone else to ask. The mystery man has slipped away as easily as he slipped in.