Her Missing Husband

HER MISSING HUSBAND AJ CAMPBELL Her Missing Husband by AJ Campbell Copyright © AJ Campbell 2023 The moral right of AJ Campbell to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. ISBN 978-1-8381091-5-8 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author, except for the use of quotations in a book review. Nor is it to be otherwise circulated in any form, or binding, or cover other than that in which it is published without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. This novel is entirely a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents portrayed are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events or localities is entirely coincidental. Cover design © Tim Barber, Dissect Designs 2023 CONTENTS Also by AJ Campbell A Free Gift For You Seven Years Ago 1. Today Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50 51. Three months later Chapter 52 Chapter 53 Chapter 54 Please Leave A Review The Wrong Key The Phone Call Leave Well Alone Don’t Come Looking Search No Further Acknowledgments About the Author ALSO BY AJ CAMPBELL Leave Well Alone Don’t Come Looking Search No Further The Phone Call The Wrong Key All books are available at Amazon and Kindle Unlimited A FREE GIFT FOR YOU Warning signs presented themselves from the start. Flashing like the neon displays in Piccadilly Circus, they couldn’t have advertised things more clearly. But Abbie was too troubled to see clearly. Too damaged to see the dangers Tony Sharpe brought into her life. Until the day he pushed her too far. See the back of the book for details on how to get your copy. For all my readers. I couldn’t continue writing without you. Thank you for choosing to read my books. AJ x SEVEN YEARS AGO ‘Why the obsession?’ The bald, black-eyed man slouches over his mug of tea, his voice no more than a whisper. Those eyes, how they bore into Lori’s. Unfazed, Lori straightens her back. ‘Justice, Frankie. Justice for Betty Tailor.’ She sips her coffee, the charcoal taste as bitter as her feelings for the monster sitting opposite her. ‘To put me behind bars, you mean.’ Frankie taps his packet of cigarettes on the table. ‘So you can climb the career ladder. That’s all you’re interested in.’ ‘You’re guilty as hell. You know it. I know it. And I have the proof. And so do the police now.’ ‘You’re so wrong.’ Frankie Evans sneers as he pushes his plastic chair away from the table and stands up. Its metal legs scrape along the tiled floor. The sound, so loud against the din of the surrounding diners, grates on Lori’s overtaxed nerves. His immense body dwarfs her petite frame. He smirks at her. ‘I need to take a leak.’ Lori feels her top lip involuntarily lift to the left. Her nostrils flare. The hulk of the man she hates swaggers across the rundown café that smells of fried food and cut-price coffee: a popular go-to place for workers grabbing early morning breakfasts or lunchtime sandwiches. When he disappears around the corner to the toilets, she glances around the shabby surroundings, noticing how the yellow Formica tabletops match the nicotine-stained walls. The owners need to call the decorators in. A phone buzzes. Lori pats the pocket of her camel coat. It’s hers. She fishes it out, seeing her best friend’s name scrolling across the screen – as it has roughly this time every afternoon for the past three months. ‘Just checking in,’ April says. ‘You OK?’ Lori tries to keep her voice normal. ‘I’m fine. I can’t talk.’ ‘Where are you?’ ‘Out and about. I’ll catch up with you later.’ ‘Sure. I’m here all day. Call me any time.’ Lori ends the call as Frankie returns. He sits down, puffing out his chest. ‘You have no idea who you’re dealing with.’ ‘I’m not frightened of you,’ Lori says. ‘What do they say about bullies, Frankie? All cowards, the lot of you. You just don’t know it. And if you did, you certainly wouldn’t admit it.’ His laugh exudes malevolence. ‘You’re way out of your depth, missy. Way out.’ A group of men dressed in white overalls caked with paint leave the café, laughing and berating each other in jest. Most of the tables remain occupied though: a security blanket for Lori. ‘You’re going down for a very long time, Frankie. And with what I have, they’re going to throw away the key.’ ‘You need to back off or you’ll be looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life.’ It’s Lori’s turn to laugh, although she’s not sure how convincing she sounds. She repositions herself in the uncomfortable chair. ‘So, come on, tell me, what did you really bring me here to talk about today?’ He pauses. For effect, she knows. He picks up a set of cutlery wrapped in a napkin as thin as tissue paper and pulls the edge. A knife and fork clatter onto the table. Frankie grabs the knife and points the blade at Lori. ‘Your husband.’ Lori feels a rush of blood through