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THIRTY-EIGHT

TUESDAY 4 FEbrUARY

Numb with shock, her hands shaking, Kate takes a photo of the email, then closes Ellis’s laptop. She feels nothing as she makes her way downstairs to tell Harper what she’s just found.

‘What is it?’ Harper says. ‘What’s happened?’ Abandoning the saucepan of pasta, she rushes towards Kate.

‘I found this email to Ellis.’ Kate shows her the photo. ‘It’s from Jennifer Seagrove, Graham White’s ex-partner.’

Harper takes the phone, frowning as she reads Jennifer’s words. ‘I don’t get it. What is she talking about? Why would the two of them be in contact with each other?’

‘You were right that Ellis is involved in this,’ Kate says. ‘I just don’t know why or how.’ That message is clearly a threat to me.

Harper reads it again then hands Kate’s phone back. ‘Did Ellis reply to the email?’

‘No, but it was sent at four thirty-two, just a couple of hours ago. And she gave him her address.’

‘Two hours ago was around the time Ellis called me and asked me to have Thomas,’ Harper says. ‘So this was the emergency he needed to go out for.’

Kate paces the kitchen. ‘If he’s gone to meet her,’ she says, ‘what does that mean?’

Harper rushes back to the pasta as it starts to boil over, and turns off the hob. ‘What did Ellis say when you first told him about Graham White?’

‘He was really understanding. I made sure I told him the moment I felt things were getting serious between us. He was really supportive – he stood by what I’d done and never questioned me.’ Now Kate wishes he had questioned her more in the beginning, and somehow got the truth from her. ‘But then a few months ago he started bringing it up. Asking things I didn’t want to talk about. At the time I just thought he must have been struggling with it.’

‘Well, clearly something changed and he was no longer happy about what you’d done,’ Harper says.

‘He stopped trusting me.’

Harper drains the pasta and serves it onto plates for the boys. ‘None of that matters now; at least we know about it and that means we can take action. We can be a step ahead of Ellis – he has no idea we found the email. You stay here with the kids. I’ll drive to Jennifer’s house.’

Kate shakes her head. ‘This isn’t about you, Harper. I’m going,’ she says. ‘It’s time for me to face Jennifer again.’

‘It’s not safe for you to go, Kate. How about I just go there and see if Ellis is there?’ Harper insists. ‘You stay here with the boys. I just think you should stay here where you’re safe – and double-lock the doors. We have no idea what Jennifer meant in that email.’

Kate still can’t allow herself to fully trust Harper, but she wants to believe in her, and until proven otherwise, what choice does she have?

‘I’ll call you when I get there,’ Harper says. ‘Just make sure you stay here.’

Once Harper’s gone, Kate sits with the boys while they eat, her legs anxiously jiggling under the table. They’re both talking in between mouthfuls of pasta, but Kate doesn’t hear a word they say.

As soon as they’ve finished eating, she scoops up their plates and cups and dumps them in the sink. ‘Come on, boys, get your coats on,’ she says.

Thomas frowns. ‘Why? Where are we going?’

‘It’s a surprise. Come on.’

Outside Aleena’s house, nerves attack Kate. There’s no way to know how Aleena will react to her turning up like this, begging Aleena to take the boys for a couple of hours. Kate hadn’t even known she’d be home until they pulled up and saw the lights on. There is no plan B.

‘What’s going on?’ Aleena says, when she registers the three of them standing on her doorstep.

‘Hi. I can’t really explain right now, but it’s an emergency. I’m looking after Dex for Harper but something urgent came up and I need to go somewhere. I’m sorry to ask this but I can’t take the boys with me.’

Aleena looks from Kate to the boys, then ushers them inside. ‘Theo will be thrilled to see you,’ she calls to their retreating backs. She turns to Kate. ‘What’s going on? I thought you and Harper?—’

‘We’ve sorted through things. I’m sorry – Ellis isn’t home and there was no one else I could ask. Harper had to go somewhere. She’s…helping me with something.’

Aleena frowns. ‘Is this about that man when you were fifteen?’

‘Could be. I won’t be long.’ Kate rushes back to her car, raising her hand to Aleena as she drives off.

She drops the car off at Ellis’s house then makes her way to the Tube station. At this time in the evening it will be faster than driving. Her feet pound the concrete as she walks, determination fuelling her, masking her fear. She’s sick of all the lies – it’s time for the truth to come out. Not just about Mona, but everything else. Kate won’t live in fear any more – no more hiding in shadows, watching every word she says in case she slips up.

She takes the shortcut to the station, walking through the park, where in the darkness she can barely see a few metres in front of her.

It comes from out of nowhere: the arm grabbing her, yanking her towards the trees. The hand covering her mouth, stifling her scream. It’s happening again. Graham White. But it can’t be – he’s dead. Kate tries to kick out, and her arms flail, but whoever’s got her is too strong and she can’t wrestle out from under him. She’s sure it’s a man – it feels like a man – although no words have been spoken. They’re behind a tree now, hidden from view, and he spins her around. He’s taller than Kate; his face is covered in a black balaclava and his hair is hidden under a beanie hat. Definitely a man.

He shoves her to the ground, kneeling on top of her, his hands gripping her neck. And as his thumbs press down, Kate realises she’ll only have seconds to live. She musters every ounce of her energy as she struggles against him, prepared to fight to the end.

But it’s getting harder now, and she’s losing consciousness. In the distance she hears shouts. Footsteps running, the sound growing louder. The man choking her loosens his grip, pauses for a second, then jumps up and runs off. Bodies gather around her, asking her if she’s okay, helping her up.

They’re all young – teenagers she guesses. And they’ve just saved Kate’s life.

‘It must have been Ellis,’ Harper says, handing her a glass of water. It’s been over an hour since the attack, and Kate doesn’t want to be here, sitting still while there are things she needs to do. ‘Ellis wouldn’t hurt me,’ she says, her words as fragile as cobwebs. Kate takes the water, but her throat is too sore to drink.

Harper is agitated, unable to sit, pacing Ellis’s living room, peering through the blinds every few seconds. ‘Don’t take offence but you’re not thinking straight. Ellis has already hurt two people. Jamie and Faye Held, so?—’

‘We don’t know that,’ Kate leans forward, rubbing her sore neck.

Harper shakes her head. ‘Well, he wasn’t at Jennifer Seagrove’s house. No sign of him. Or her. Which means Ellis could have been anywhere. Including the place you were attacked.’

‘It wasn’t Ellis.’ But even as Kate says this, doubts set in. The man who attacked her just now was around the same build as Ellis so it’s possible.

‘How are you so certain?’ Harper asks, checking the window again. ‘I know he’s Thomas’s dad, but don’t be blinded by that. Look at Jamie…’ She trails off. ‘We need to get out of here before Ellis comes back. If those teenagers hadn’t come along…’

‘I’d be dead,’ Kate says. ‘You’re right – I can’t be sure, but if it is Ellis, then I’ll face him – I’m not running from this . It’s time for the truth to come out. ‘I’ll wait for him to come home and confront him.’ Kate springs up and rushes to the kitchen, grabbing a knife from the drawer.’ If it comes to it, she’ll do whatever’s necessary to protect herself.

Harper follows her. ‘I get why you want that, but Ellis could easily overpower you.’ She points to the knife. ‘So that won’t protect you. Come on, you need to come and stay with me. Aleena said she’ll keep the boys overnight and get them to school in the morning, which gives us the night to figure this all out.’

Kate considers her options. ‘Can Lula come too? I don’t want to leave her here.’

Harper hesitates. ‘Um, yeah. Course.’

‘Okay, then I’ll come. Let me just get some things together.’ Kate goes upstairs to the spare room and packs some clothes into one of Ellis’s sports bags. Glancing at the door, she carefully places the knife in the bag.

Everything feels different at Harper’s house this time. The hostile atmosphere – that last time she was here permeated every room – no longer exists, and it surprises Kate how comfortable she feels, how safe being away from Ellis.

‘I know you won’t rest, but I think you should try,’ Harper says, gesturing to the sofa. ‘You’re probably still in shock after being attacked. Again. Tonight must have brought all of that trauma to the surface.’ She sits beside Kate.

Kate lowers her head and stares at her feet. ‘I’m fine. Ready to do what I have to do. I don’t need to rest.’

For a moment Harper silently appraises her. ‘Okay, you can help me, then. I’m going to send an email to Jennifer Seagrove and see if I can get her to talk to me. And I’ll carry on going through Jamie’s emails.’ She pauses. ‘You just get some rest.’

Upstairs in the spare room, Kate gets into bed. She knows she won’t be able to sleep, but Harper is right – she should at least try to rest. Lula is hiding under the bed, where she’s been since they got there.

Even under the duvet, Kate shivers, and goosebumps coat her arms. She goes to the wardrobe, wondering if there’s an extra blanket in there.

Jamie’s clothing is still hanging from the rail. On the top shelf, she sees a folded fleece blanket on top of a cardboard box. Kate reaches up and as she pulls on it, the box and blanket topple to the floor, papers spreading across the carpet. Glancing at the door, she kneels down to gather them up, studying each one as she places them back in the box.

It becomes clear that they all belong to Jamie, and most of them are credit card statements or loan agreements. His finances were a mess; Kate can almost understand why he resorted to conning those poor women out of money.

She pores over every document, drowning in guilt that she’s invading a dead man’s privacy like this. And then, halfway through the pile, Kate picks up an A4 sheet, folded in half. The letterhead catches her attention and time stands still, the room spinning as she stares at it and reads the words written under the letterhead. She glances at the door again, then folds the paper and puts it in her pocket.

Downstairs, she peers into the living room, where Harper sits with her laptop.

‘I have to go somewhere,’ Kate says.

Harper looks up from her laptop. ‘What? Where? It’s not safe, Kate!’

But Kate doesn’t stay to explain herself.