‘If you really love your wife, you’ll let her go,’ she said and turned to him. ‘You’ve put her through enough. I guess I’m lucky you never laid a hand on me.’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘Your wife came to me.’

His face grew white instantly. He froze.

‘I saw what you did to her.’

‘She came to you? When?’

‘Today.’

‘What did she say?’

‘She warned me about you, and how abusive you can be.’

‘I’ve never abused my wife. Is that what she told you?’

‘I saw the bruise, Richard. You can’t lie yourself out of it.’

‘I never touched her.’

Neena scoffed and opened the door.

‘Say that to the police when she reports you. That’s if she has any sense. We deserve so much better than you.’

Neena walked through the doorway and up the drive towards her car. Dayal was still asleep in the back seat. She looked at her reflection in the window and wiped away the tears. Behind the steering wheel, she placed the cheque in the glove compartment and started the engine.

They had fifteen thousand pounds to start a new life, fifteen times more than she had been given the first time. This time, she would make sure they had the life they deserved.

‘We’re going to be OK, Dayal,’ she whispered as she eyed him in the rear-view mirror. ‘We’re going to be OK.’

The Neighbour

ELEVEN

Friday 24 November, 05:30

James was always too excited to sleep when he was so close to executing one of his deals. Knowing that a large sum of money was coming his way kept him awake throughout the night. Excitement boiled in his gut until he couldn’t eat, sleep, even think about anything but the chase. He watched the video repeatedly, thinking of how just thirty-four minutes of footage would earn him fifty thousand pounds.

He looked around his bedroom and admired his belongings, the walls and windows of his home, and thought how he had earned his small empire all on his own. Property development was simply a way to throw off the taxman from the cash ‘investments’ that he deposited into the company every quarter from equally fictitious business partners, and solidified his fortune in bricks and mortar; his real passion was the art of deception and exploitation.

He closed the laptop and took a deep breath. He was obsessing again. If he shut his eyes now he would be able to recollect every second of the tape, from the first words Richard and Neena muttered as they entered the hotel room to the sound Richard made as he came.

Penelope, his small long-haired dachshund, was nestled beside him and snoring lightly. James eased away so as not to wake her, placed the laptop on the dressing table and headed to the bathroom. He turned on the light and looked at his reflection in the mirror.