A week or so later, another note was posted through the door:

Vince,
Stop searching, he's not in love with you anymore. He loves me. He loves me. He loves me.

Again, Vince gave it to the police and, again, they said it didn't give them any truly significant information but they took it anyway and promised to keep looking in the local areas.

"I know this whole note thing is creepy and weird, but at least we know Howard's close by." Alice said hopefully.

"I agree." Jim chimed in. "With every note we've got to be getting closer to finding him, haven't we?"

"Yes, each note can only lead us closer to Howard. It's a bit like a Shirlock Holmes mystery."

"More like a Hollywood horror movie or a backwards fairy tale." mumbled Vince, "Where they've captured the knight in shining armour and left the pathetic princess to do the rescuing."

"Vince," said Jim. "You son, are in no way pathetic. I know you've worked bloody hard to become a rock star and I know about your childhood, none of that could have been easy for you. And you're no princess. Princess' are unable to fend for themselves. You're an incredibly strong individual Vince Noir. And don't you forget it."

--

A few days later a third note arrived, which read:

He's never going back, we're happy together. He's told me he loves me.

--

Over time, Vince drove himself crazy thinking about the notes and the texts. He'd recorded them all to memory and he'd run them through his mind over and over again. He couldn't think of anyone he knew who loved Howard. A few of his friends had admitted he was quite good looking but no one was fanatical to the extent of obsession about the northerner. It was strange. Vince was the famous one, Vince was the one who got voted sexiest male in every competition known to man and Vince was the one who had the manic fans that sent him letters with pictures of themselves, asking to meet up or sent him bras and knickers with telephone numbers stitched inside them, begging for a phone call or the odd love letter claiming that he was meant to be with a total stranger because it was destiny; and yet, it was Howard who had been kidnapped. It didn't make sense.

"I just don't understand why this person would send me letters, if they don't want to be found." groaned Vince, as he sat cross-legged studying them for the millionth time."They're bragging, aren't they? They're proud of themselves. Think they've won." Alice sighed "But Vince, they may have Howard's body but you'll always have his heart - always. Now, stop reading those. You'll drive yourself crazy."

---

A few days later;

He hates you.

--

Vince stood on the balcony, looking over his vast garden. He pulled Howard's coat around his thin shoulders. Even the extra layers failed to protect him from the intense cold of the evening and he shivered dramatically.

"Vince?" Alice's soft Yorkshire lilt broke the silence. "You okay?"

He didn't turn around he just said simply, "Look at this."

"At what?" she asked, joining him by the banister.

"Everything. Look at what I own." They stood there for a moment or two in silence, just looking, before Vince continued. "D'you know I've never seen the end of my garden? I could never be bothered to walk that far. And look at this view, it's probably perfect. I'm famous, people love me. I've got the best job in the world. It's not even like real work. I've got all I ever dreamed of when I was a child. I've got everything, but… I'd give it all up tomorrow if I could just have him back." He turned to face Alice, tears shining in his eyes. "I need him Alice. I can't live without him."

"Come on Vince." she pulled him into a big hug. "You stay strong. He wouldn't want you to be like this."

"I know, I just… I miss him so much."

"We all do."

---

Almost a week later a fifth note arrived.

Vince,
He's over you. We're in love, we always will be. He's never coming back Vince. He doesn't want you anymore. Till death do we part. That's what we said and now it's true.

Vince finished reading and walked to the phone to ring the police with this new 'clue'.

"Woah!" said Alice, jumping up and taking the paper out of Vince hand, "What was that last bit? 'Till do death do we part?' Mum, you don't think it could be…"

"Charlotte?" her mother finished, in a hushed tone.

"His ex-wife?" frowned Vince

"psycho ex-wife." Alice said through gritted teeth. "She was always mental. Totally wrong for him, but someone" she glared at her mum, "told him she was perfect for him."

"I didn't say that."

"You did!" snapped Alice. "He told you he was gay and you told him to stop trying to give you a panic attack and then you convinced him to marry Charlotte. And that turned out well, didn't it?"

"Alright Alice." warned Jim, "I'm sure your mother realises that was a mistake."

"Mmm." scowled Alice. "That was the stupidest thing he ever did."

"Why was she a psycho?" That was Vince.

"I thought he'd have told you about her." said Jim.

Vince shook his head. "He mentioned she'd existed. But he said that she was a part of his life he'd rather forget. All he told me was that they'd gone out for a while and then he'd divorced her because he wasn't happy."

"Well, that's half of it." Alice scorned

"Half? What's the other half?"

"Okay." sighed Alice. "But you're not going to like it."

"Just tell me, it sounds important."

"And I'll ring the police and tell them about this new note." said Jim. Vince nodded but was staring straight at Alice as if to say 'come on then, tell me.'

"Right. As you know, Howard married Charlotte because someone made him feel guilty about liking a guy." Two younger people in the room looked at Helen, who shifted uncomfortably in her seat and said,

"I'm sorry, okay? It was a stupid thing to do. I was in shock."

"It wasn't about you though, was it mum?"

"I know, I'm sorry. Just tell the story will you." Alice shook her head disapprovingly but continued,

"They got married. And it was fine, for a few months but it was obvious Howard wasn't really comfortable with everything and he wasn't exactly the best husband. He wanted to be a jazz musician, so he refused to work apart from a few gigs at a local club. Charlotte refused to work or do… well, anything. Because she wanted to be a WAG. They lived in a horrible flat, barely surviving on government money, spending everyday together. Their marriage was cold. They hardly ever slept together and one day she caught him watching…" Alice stopped and saw her mother pricking her ears up. Helen didn't know this bit so she said "well, she worked out he was gay anyway."

"What a way to find out." smirked Vince.

"Oh I might've known you'd like that bit. Anyway," Alice continued, "I think he told her it was a one off and that they'd work through it. They didn't and eventually he found out she'd been cheating on him since before they got married. He was broken by it. Humiliated. That's why he's so fragile when people talk about being unfaithful."

"That's why he's always so on edge…"

"…with these rumours about you? Yeah, probably. Anyway, he filed for divorce and suddenly she decided she was in love with him. Couldn't be without him and basically stalked him for a few months. Eventually, he took out a restraining order against her and moved house without her knowing.""And then I made him famous and she found him again… Why didn't you tell me any of this earlier?"

"He didn't want people to know about it, he pretends it never happened."

"Yeah, but when the police asked 'do you know anyone who might've done this?' you could have said then. Or when I asked."

"I just didn't think." said Alice. "I thought she'd have got over it by now. It was fifteen years ago."

"Well at least we know who it is now." Vince said eagerly, "tell the police and they can find her."

"Okay but don't get to excited, we don't know it was her."

"Yes, we do! The police can arrest her and find Howard."

"Yeah, but they might not find him.""Don't be so pessimistic."

"I just don't want you to get your hopes up, Vince. It'll be hard to come back from if they don't find him."

"They will, I just know they will."

----

So there you go! Now you know who it is. It's not the biggest surprise ever, though I never really intended it to be. I did think about making it an ex called Gregg like a few of you suggested but… I thought this made more sense.
Sisi…xx