Page 103 of The Last One to See Him

‘No, I think he’d just reached the end of his tether. Because of what Mona had done. He was desperate.’Like Rowan, and Jamie too, people do desperate things when they’re pushed to their limit.‘I really believe he was just an innocent man. He took us away in his van to scare us, to tell us to leave him alone.’

Ellis listens, chewing over her words. ‘Do you think Mona was lying about it being self-defence?’

‘I’ll never know. She’d never admit that now. And the only person who can answer that is dead.’

‘But the truth has to come out, doesn’t it?’ Ellis says. ‘For Jennifer’s sake too. She needs to know that the man she loved was innocent.’

Kate knows this. ‘I’ll find a way,’ she says. Her head flops back against her pillow.

‘Speaking of the truth,’ Ellis says, chewing his lip. ‘I need to tell you something.’

Kate closes her eyes. What is she about to hear?

‘I’m the one who put that photo of Jamie in Thomas’s school bag for you to find. I did it after I picked him up so I knew he wouldn’t see it.’

Kate stares at him. ‘Why?’

‘First, I was angry with you for ending our marriage over my affair, when I thought you’d had one yourself. But then I kind of hoped you’d be so worried about it that you’d confide in me. I just wanted you to talk to me about what was going on.’

‘Does Harper know it was you who sent it?’

‘No. I never told anyone. I’m sorry, Kate.’

What does it matter now? ‘Well, we’ve both lied,’ Kate says. ‘Let’s just move forward. All I want right now is to be with Thomas.’

‘I’ll bring him to see you in the morning,’ Ellis promises. ‘They said you should be able to go home tomorrow afternoon.’

Home. I no longer have one.‘And where exactly is home?’ Kate says, more to herself than to Ellis.

‘My home. It’s always there for you and Thomas. I know there’s no going back for our marriage, but we can move forward with a different kind of relationship. As Thomas’s parents. That’s all I want.’

Kate smiles, and prays Ellis means this. ‘Me too. Maybe you and Maddy can?—’

‘No, that’s not what I want. I’m moving forward, Kate. Do you want some water?’ Ellis doesn’t wait for a reply but pours water into Kate’s cup and hands it to her. ‘Harper said she’d like to visit this evening. Is that okay?’

Kate nods. It’s more than okay.

Harper hovers in the doorway, waiting for Kate to beckon her in. ‘I wasn’t sure you’d want to see me,’ she says. ‘It’s hard to know anything really after all that’s happened.’

Kate pulls herself up. Her pain medication is starting to wear off and she’ll need more soon if she’s going to get through the night. ‘We’re in this together, aren’t we?’ she tells Harper.

Harper comes in and sits by Kate’s bed. ‘But I wasn’t there for you when you needed me. I’m sorry we didn’t get to you in time. If Rowan’s wife hadn’t left her phone behind…’

‘It’s best not to think about that,’ Kate says.

Harper nods. ‘Actually, I think you would have handled him. You’re a fighter, Kate. A survivor. And now everyone will know you didn’t kill Graham White. Or Jamie. I’ve just read a post from Faye Held’s younger sister – she’s planning to take over theBeneath the Surfacepodcast in memory of her sister. I’ve already messaged her to see if she’ll re-examine the Graham White story. Because of Mona’s confession to Kate. And then there’s Jamie too. Everyone should know who was responsible, even if the police will never be able to prove it.’

‘But we have to be mindful of Daniella,’ Kate says. ‘She didn’t deserve to be married to such a psychopath.’ And Kate will always feel guilty about her affair with Rowan.

‘People might wonder how she didn’t know how disturbed he was,’ Harper says. ‘But I know from Jamie that people are too good at hiding what they don’t want others to see.’

‘I don’t think it’s as straightforward as saying Rowan was a psychopath,’ Kate says, reaching for her water. ‘I think he was just faced with losing everything in his life, and he did what he thought he had to, to keep it. My blackmail pushed him to his limit.’

‘But there must have been something always there for him to have snapped that badly,’ Harper counters.

‘Yeah, you’re right,’ Kate agrees.Unless we’re all just close to the edge.‘I’m sorry about…about me and Jamie.’

Harper sighs. ‘You don’t need to say that. Jamie was never mine. And actually, Dexter and I were never his, so it’s all fine.’

---