Page 70 of On the Edge

‘I got a result on the DNA,’ he said in an undertone, launching straight into it without even saying hello.

‘And?’

‘It belongs to Ryan Jason Warner.’

‘You’re kidding.’It seemed too good to be true.

‘Direct match.His DNA must have been stored from the assault conviction.’

Nel felt like punching the air.For sixteen years she’d been saying he was there that night.Now they could prove it.

‘So what happens now?’

‘Well, it suggests he lied in his police interview.He said he hadn’t been in the area for over a week, but the condition and location of the hair sample makes that highly unlikely.’

She frowned.Suggestshe lied?Unlikely?‘So you’re basically saying it doesn’tproveanything?’

‘It’s good news for sure.’His tone was measured.‘It puts him in the location at the time.It suggests he lied to the police, which innocent people don’t tend to do, but it’s still circumstantial, Nel.Even if hewasthere that night, it’s possible it was still an accident.’

‘So it’s still not enough for an arrest.’

‘Not even close.’

Harry returned with a beer in each hand.They thanked her as she put them down, then went to pick up some empty glasses from a nearby table.

Once she was out of earshot, Nel told Jimmy about their conversation.He listened intently, the crease appearing between his eyes.

‘Roy Warner knew too.That’s interesting.’He looked out the window into the darkness.‘So Harry, Ryan and Roy all knew about the pregnancy.’He counted them off on his fingers as he spoke.‘That’s a lot of people all keeping a secret.’

‘I suppose they all had very good reasons to keep it.’Nel thought of her conversation with Sophie.‘We were right, Jimmy.Ryan went to the lighthouse that night to tell Maddie to get an abortion.He told Sophie.’

His eyes widened.‘When did she tell you this?’

Nel recounted what Sophie had told her about the abuse, about why she was scared to leave.She lowered her voice even further before she went on.‘And she’s pregnant.’

‘Shit,’ he murmured.‘Maybe I should go around there and speak to him, so he knows we’re watching.’

An image came to Nel’s mind.The mother with the sparkling eyes and smiling children.Just one of countless women from countless news reports about women just like Sophie.She shook her head.‘The best way for us to help her is to prove what Ryan did to Maddie.’

Jimmy looked at her for a long time.He went to speak, but hesitated.

Nel frowned.‘What?’

‘It’s not your job to save her,’ he said gently.

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘I just wonder if maybe you want to save Sophie from Ryan because you feel responsible for what happened to Maddie.’

Nel felt herself stiffen.‘I want to prove what Ryan did to Maddie because it’s wrong that he got away with it.If it helps Sophie and her kids too, then what’s wrong with that?’

‘Nothing.Nothing’s wrong with it.’

‘Exactly.’

‘But what happened to Maddie wasn’t your fault, Nel.’He held her gaze.‘You were just a kid who had a fight with her friend.’

She blinked back tears.It felt good to hear him say it, even if she didn’t believe it.He reached across the table and put his hand over hers.