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SIXTEEN

TUESDAY 28 JANUARY

With adrenalin coursing through her body, Kate makes her way home from South Kensington. It’s still busy on the underground, but she manages to find a seat this time, next to a woman with a crying toddler in her arms.

There’s a silent clock ticking now – Rowan has promised to give her until the end of tomorrow to go to the police, otherwise he will do it himself. But Kate will make sure it never comes to that.

Ellis opens the door before she turns the key, immediately pulling her inside. ‘Where have you been? I’ve been trying to call you for the last hour. Why haven’t you checked your phone? You said you were working late but I called and David said you’d left ages ago.’

Kate stomach twists. ‘Is Thomas okay? Where is he?’

‘He’s fine. It’s not that. But we need to talk.’ He takes her arm and leads her into the kitchen.

‘Let go.’ She pulls away. ‘What’s going on?’ This can only be about Jamie; she’s never known Ellis to be agitated.

‘Sorry. It’s just…what did you say to Maddy?’

‘Maddy?’ Kate’s been so sure that Ellis was about to confront her about Jamie that she’s momentarily stunned.

‘She’s left me. For no reason. She said you’d called her and had a long chat about me. Warned her that I’ll never love her. You told her I still have feelings for you! Why would you do that, Kate?’ He shakes his head.

Stunned silent, Kate struggles to comprehend his words. ‘I…but I didn’t call Maddy!’

‘So you’re saying Maddy’s lying?’ Why would she do that? I don’t believe you, Kate. You’ve been acting really strangely lately and I don’t know what’s going on with you. Is this because of the other day? When I told you it doesn’t have to be over between us? Why are you punishing me?’ In all the time Ellis and Kate were married he’d rarely raised his voice, and Kate has never experienced this level of anger coming from him.

‘I’ve already told you – I didn’t call Maddy! Why would I interfere in your relationship?’

‘I don’t know! To get back at me for having an affair?’

‘How long have you known me? You know I’m not vindictive!’

With a heavy sigh, Ellis looks up to the ceiling. ‘So you haven’t spoken to Maddy at all?’

‘Only when she stopped by here to drop off Thomas’s homework book. I swear. We barely spoke for more than a minute and Thomas was right there. He heard it all – you can ask him.’ This is Harper’s doing, Kate knows it.

His looks her straight in the eyes. ‘She said we weren’t working and there was no future for us. It doesn’t make sense. It’s only been a couple of days since she said we should move in together! She sounded so upset. I’ve never heard her like that before.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Kate says. ‘But I honestly had nothing to do with that.’

Thomas strolls in holding an empty glass. ‘Hi, Mum. Didn’t know you were back.’

Kate glances at his backpack on the floor in the hallway. ‘How was school? Everything okay?’

‘Yeah. Good.’

‘And is…Dex all right?’

He shrugs. ‘Yeah. Course. He’s looking forward to Friday.’

Kate’s stomach tightens. ‘I haven’t arranged it yet,’ she says. ‘Please don’t get your hopes up.’

‘Okay,’ Thomas says, filling his glass and taking it back to the living room. ‘But they are free, remember.’

‘What’s this about Friday?’ Ellis asks.

‘He wants a playdate with Dex. The one with the mum who called you about football.’

‘Oh,’ he says, wrinkling his nose. ‘Not surprised you’re not keen, then.’ He glances at his phone. ‘I’d better go. Maddy’s got some stuff at my place and I’m sure she’ll want it back. Better get it over with.’ He looks at Kate then shakes his head. ‘I hope you sort out whatever’s going on with you, Kate. But you can talk to me – you know that, don’t you?’

She nods. ‘I’m fine. Really.’

At the door, Ellis picks up Thomas’s backpack and hangs it on the peg. ‘I checked his bag. Nothing from the school.’

And that’s when it hits her – Ellis always checks Thomas’s bag. He likes to know what’s going on at school. ‘Did you check Thomas’s bag yesterday?’

He frowns. ‘Can’t remember. Why?’

‘There was a letter in there. And you normally check it.’

‘I guess I must have forgotten.’ He shrugs. ‘Was it something important?’

‘No,’ Kate says.

Kate has ignored her phone all day, and now she sits on her bed and picks it up, scrolling through the urgent messages Ellis sent earlier. There are no other messages from anyone, and Aleena hasn’t replied to the voicemail Kate left, asking how she’s doing. Kate sends her a message, telling Aleena she’s worried she hasn’t heard from her, then places her phone on the bedside table. Kate knows she didn’t do anything to him, but the police will never believe her. Not unless there’s another suspect.

Unless Jamie called Harper that night, after Kate had left, and admitted to sleeping with someone, how is it possible that she knew Kate had spent the night with him? He was dead the next day, so there was no time for Harper to have found out. Unless Harper saw them. Was she stalking Jamie and followed them from the club? But still, Harper would have no evidence that they actually slept together.

Kate doesn’t want to believe that Harper killed Jamie out of revenge; it sickens her to her core, but it’s possible. Though surely the police must have explored this line of enquiry?

Kate messages Maddy, asking if they can talk tomorrow. Kate needs proof that Harper was impersonating her on the phone, and she needs to know if Maddy can remember where she recognised Harper from. She’s surprised when she gets an immediate reply.

I think you said everything you needed to say last night .

Please, Maddy. It’s really important. It wasn’t me who called you.

Tomorrow morning at mine. 10 a.m.

Relieved, Kate calls David, praying that he’ll answer even though it’s late.

‘Kate? Is everything okay?’

‘Actually no, it’s not. You were right. I think I need to take a few days off. Sort things out in my head. The divorce has hit me harder than I thought. Could you manage without me until Monday?’ By then this will all be over – Kate will make sure of that.

There’s no hesitation in his response. ‘Of course. We’ll be fine. But Kate…’

‘Yes?’

‘Look after yourself.’

WEDNESDAY 29 JANUARY

Kate stands outside Maddy’s apartment, anger and determination strengthening her resolve to put a stop to Harper. She rings the doorbell and scans the road, just in case Harper is watching her.

At the school this morning, Kate had walked right past Harper when she’d dropped Thomas off. Their eyes had locked, neither of them looking away until they’d walked past each other. Harper will never let this go – it will be a fight to the end. Graham White’s face forces its way into her head. Ultimately, he lost, and Harper will too. Kate will do whatever is necessary.

Maddy answers the door, wearing a trouser suit and dark purple blouse. ‘I can’t be long,’ she says. ‘I’m due at work in just over an hour.’

‘This won’t take long,’ Kate says, though the truth is she has no idea how long it will take to convince Maddy.

Inside, Maddy’s flat is clean and bright, with a long corridor leading to the kitchen. Kate follows her into it, trying to picture Ellis here.

‘I know why you’re here,’ Maddy says, flicking on the kettle. ‘And I should have saved you the bother. I’m not changing my mind about Ellis. What makes it even worse is that he obviously went straight to you and told you I’d left him. That alone shows me I’ve done the right thing.’ She blinks away tears.

‘It wasn’t me who called you, Maddy. I swear to you.’

‘What are you talking about? I thought you were just saying that in your text to get me to see you.’

‘No – it’s the truth. I did not call you.’

Maddy stares at her, frowning.

‘But I think I know who did. What number did the call come from?’

Maddy takes her phone from the kitchen worktop and scrolls through it. ‘It was a landline. Local number. Here.’ She shows the phone to Kate.’

‘Can I call it?’

‘Why? What the hell’s going on, Kate?’

‘Just humour me.’

‘Fine.’ Maddy hands Kate the phone.

Dialling the number, Kate puts it on speaker. It rings three time before someone answers.

‘Good morning, Lucio’s. How can I help you?’

‘Sorry, wrong number.’ Kate hangs up and turns to Maddy. ‘That’s the coffee shop near Thomas’s school.’

‘I don’t get it.’

‘Do you remember that woman who was at my house when you dropped off Thomas’s homework book the other day?’

Maddy nods. ‘Yeah. What about her?’

‘She’s been…doing some stuff. Stalking me is the best way I can describe it. She’s trying to mess with my life.’

‘But why would she do that? Your sons are friends.’

‘She’s disturbed, Maddy. That’s all I know. But she must have called you and pretended to be me so she could mess with your head. She wanted you to leave Ellis.’

‘But why would she do that? My relationship with Ellis doesn’t affect you now.’

‘No, but maybe she wanted to turn Ellis against me. And she was right – he wasn’t happy when he confronted me about it. I’ve never seen him that angry.’

‘I’m surprised,’ Maddy says, folding her arms. ‘You’re the one he really wants to be with – not me.’

‘That’s not true,’ Kate says.

‘Isn’t it? I think you know the truth, Kate.’

Kate ignores that comment. ‘Whatever she said about Ellis is not true. She doesn’t even know him. And why would you listen to this woman? She’s a stranger to you.’

‘Not entirely. I remember her now.’

Kate’s leans forward, her pulse racing. ‘How do you know her?’

‘I met her through Ellis.’

Horrified, Kate stares at Maddy. ‘I don’t understand.’

‘It was a while ago now. In the summer. I’d randomly messaged Ellis the day before, just to see if he wanted to meet up. He seemed happy to hear from me and we arranged to meet the next day after work. It had been a while since I’d seen him. When I got to the bar, he was talking to a friend of his who he’d bumped into. They were deep in conversation so Ellis didn’t notice me at first.’

‘Who was this friend? Did you know him?’

Maddy shakes her head. ‘Never seen him before. And now that I think about it, Ellis seemed a bit shocked that I was there, as if he didn’t realise what the time was, and that he was supposed to be meeting me. Anyway, his friend quickly left, saying his wife was waiting for him outside.’

Kate gasps. Her body turns rigid. His wife . Ellis was meeting Jamie. She pulls her phone from her pocket and finds a photo of Jamie. ‘Is this the friend Ellis was with?’

Maddy studies it. ‘Yes, that was him. Who is?—’

‘What happened next?’

‘I watched him leave and saw his wife through the window. It was Harper. Definitely. I told you I never forget a face.’

Kate struggles to make sense of what she’s hearing. ‘Are you sure it’s her?’

‘I’m one hundred per cent sure. But Harper never really saw me. Unless she looked through the window. That’s why she was adamant that she didn’t recognise me.’

‘When exactly was this?’ Kate asks.

‘Why does that matter?’

‘Please, can you just think when it might have been.’

Maddy sighs. ‘I can’t remember the exact date. But as I said, it was definitely during the summer – I remember she was wearing a red sundress and I thought it went really nicely with her hair.’ She smiles thinly at Kate. ‘What a small world it is. And now you know her.’

‘Did Ellis see her?’

‘I don’t think he was looking out of the window. He was just asking what I wanted to drink and then we discussed where to go for dinner.’ Maddy glances at her watch. ‘Look, I need to leave for work now.’

‘Listen, Maddy. That woman – Harper – is…not a good person. I think she was stalking her husband. They were separated but she’s making out that they were still together when he died.’

‘Well, they looked like they were still together to me,’ Maddy says. ‘When I saw them in that bar. Anyway, I don’t want anything to do with this. Please can you just go?’

‘We’re just stopping by Dad’s for a bit,’ Kate tells Thomas when she picks him up from school.

‘What? Both of us? You’re coming in too?’

‘Just for a bit, yeah.’

‘Are you getting back together?’ Thomas’s face brightens and hope glints in his eyes.

‘No, I’m sorry. It’s not that. Your Dad’s feeling really sad at the moment, and might need some company. He and Maddy have split up.’

‘What? Oh. Why?’

‘It’s complicated adult stuff. But let’s just go and see him. I’ve parked around the corner to save time.’

When Ellis opens the door, his hair is unruly and there are grey circles under his eyes. ‘Don’t ask how I am,’ he says to Kate. ‘Hey, Thomas. School okay?’

‘Yeah, Dad. Sorry about Maddy.’

We need to talk , Kate mouths, while Thomas isn’t looking.

‘Okay,’ Ellis says, ushering Thomas inside. ‘Why don’t you set up Mario Kart and I’ll come in and play once I’ve had a quick chat with your mum.’

Thomas races to the living room, leaving Kate and Ellis alone. ‘Let’s go in the kitchen,’ Kate suggests.

She closes the kitchen door. ‘Don’t get angry, but I went to see Maddy today.’

‘What? Why are you interfering, Kate?’

‘Because it wasn’t me who called her. But I know who it was.’

‘Who?’

‘Do you remember that school mum who called you about the football.’

‘Yeah.’

‘It was her. She’s been…doing some weird things. Messing with me.’

‘Why would she do that?’

‘I don’t know. But I need your help proving what she’s been doing to me. And to you now. She’s messed with your relationship, Ellis. We can’t sit by and do nothing.’

Ellis sits at the table and folds his arms. ‘Hardly something we can go to the police with, is it?’

‘I’m not talking about the police.’

‘Then what?

‘I’ve ordered some tiny cameras, and I need to hide them in her house. We might be able to catch her doing something. And then I can go to the police. She’s not going to stop at this, Ellis.’

‘Is this why you’ve been acting strangely lately? Do you realise how far-fetched it all sounds?’ He lets out a deep sigh, then stands and paces the room. ‘You’re disturbing me, Kate. All this stuff about hidden cameras and spying on someone. It’s not…normal. You need to stop.’

‘I know exactly how it sounds, but everything I’ve told you is true and I need you to trust me. The thing is – I can’t go to her house. She won’t let me in. We’ve already had a confrontation, so even if she did let me in, she’d never leave me alone long enough to hide them anywhere.’

‘Let me guess – you want me to do it.’

‘You could go round there. Say a place has opened up on the football team or something. Anything that will get you through the door.’

Ellis shakes his head. ‘Surely this is illegal, Kate.’

‘So is what she’s been doing. Please, Ellis.’ Under the table, Kate crosses her fingers.

Minutes of silence tick by, and Kate can hear the sounds of Thomas’s game in the living room.

‘I don’t like this,’ Ellis says finally. ‘But I’ll do it.’