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Steps

A Story Every Day in 2024 Nov 24th 338/366

By Rachel DeemingPublished about a year ago Updated about a year ago 2 min read
Steps
Photo by Peter Campbell Smith on Unsplash

Christine pressed on, her eyes scanning the ground as she tried to gather what she knew.

"I don't know who you are. You've told me that you're my husband's ex-wife but I don't know how that can be. We've been married for years."

It took all of Bethan's effort not to gasp but she could see that Christine was talking and she wanted to hear exactly what she knew. She stifled the smart of angry hurt and pushed it away. She could dwell on that later although, she thought, I probably won't, side-eyeing the inert form of Dave. Two lives, two wives. Could it be true?

She knew that Dave had married - he'd told her by text a year after they'd divorced - but he'd failed to mention the date it had happened. Prudent.

Christine kept going, working through what she knew.

"I find it hard to believe that he," and here she threw a thumb in Dave's direction without looking at him, "could do that."

Bethan had felt the same but now? Not so much. She was still holding on to the hope that he hadn't killed their daughter but even that felt like it could be possible, despite his protestations to the contrary.

Christine paused. "Although that would give him a motive for killing you if you were intent on bringing up the past." She looked thoughtful. "And exposing him."

Bethan went to say something but Christine was on a roll.

"But that would have meant that he's spent years, years, living a double life."

Christine wasn't looking at Bethan but Bethan was nodding earnestly. This was how it was. It had to be.

"And I didn't have a clue."

Neither did I, Bethan thought.

"Until Katie discovered the camera. And then shortly after, I noticed that he was acting strangely. Not super shifty but edgy. He said it was his health and stress at work but I wasn't buying it."

She looked up.

"And now, you're saying that your daughter had a camera which was never found? And you've had a photo?"

Bethan nodded.

"You think it was from her camera?"

"Yes."

Bethan waited. Would Christine make the link to Katie?

***

365 words

Dave's got to wake up soon, hasn't he?

This started here:

Yesterday's here:

Full list here:

Thanks for stopping by! If you do read this, please leave a comment as I love to interact with my readers.

338/366

MicrofictionMysteryPsychological

About the Creator

Rachel Deeming

Storyteller. Poet. Reviewer. Traveller.

I love to write. Check me out in the many places where I pop up:

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Comments (10)

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  • D.K. Shepardabout a year ago

    If Dave is waking up soon they better make a plan!!

  • Cindy Calderabout a year ago

    Still waiting on that spin of Christine's head.......evolving into someone else......someone more sinister.

  • Caroline Cravenabout a year ago

    I *almost* feel sorry for Dave. Probably be better for him not to wake up!!

  • Christine is a smart woman. As for Dave, when he wakes up, I want both Bethan and Christine to question him. If he seems reluctance to answer, I want them to pull out his fingernails, one by one, until he answers

  • JBazabout a year ago

    You’re drawing this out to drive me crazy 😜….lol Well done

  • Katarzyna Popielabout a year ago

    You're good at suspense, that's all I can say. Waiting for the next part with bated breath!

  • John Coxabout a year ago

    Oh my, oh my! How will this end?

  • Lana V Lynxabout a year ago

    I’d rather let Dave sleep. The women need to talk this out before something horrible happens. What’s going on with Katie and Luke?

  • Come on Christine - you can do it!

  • Qurat ul Ainabout a year ago

    Wow, this is gripping! Such intense emotions and suspense makes me want to know what happens next! 🕵️‍♀️📖

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