Page 32 of The Last One to See Him

‘Thisisurgent. Someone put a photo of the man I slept with in my son’s school bag. Addressed to him. Thankfully I found it before Thomas saw it and opened it. And there are things I haven’t told you.’

Rowan stands. ‘You’d better sit down.’ He walks to the door, leaving it slightly ajar.

‘Do you mind if I stand?’ Kate says. ‘I really can’t sit right now.’

‘Whatever makes you comfortable. Just start from the beginning.’ He sits down, showing her he’s ready to listen.

Kate tells him how she found the photo, and how when confronted, Harper denied all knowledge of it. ‘I know it was her – it had to be. Nobody else could have put that envelope in Thomas’s bag. What I don’t get is why she’d do that? Why not just confront me? What is she hoping to achieve?’

For a moment, Rowan considers everything she’s said. ‘I agree this is troubling,’ he says. ‘And I’m happy to talk through any of it with you, but you know I can’t tell you what to do, Kate. I can help you work it out, though.’

As frustrating as this is, Kate understands. ‘I know. I’m not looking for you to tell me what to do. I just…’She takes a deep breath. ‘There’s more to this. And telling you will change everything.’

Rowan shifts in his seat. ‘Okay. But again, we can work through that together.’

‘I wasn’t exactly honest with you about the man I slept with.’

‘Okay.’ Rowan’s forehead creases.

‘I’m sorry. I just wasn’t ready to talk about it. It was too painful. But now I have no choice, because things are escalating and I need you to believe that this woman is targeting me.’

‘Go on,’ Rowan says.’

‘The man I slept with was called Jamie Archer. And I…I lied about how he died. It wasn’t natural causes…it looks like he was murdered.’

Silence descends on them as Rowan grapples with the bombshell she’s dropped. ‘I’m very sorry to hear that,’ he says, after a moment. ‘That must have brought up all kinds of feelings. And I can see that this makes everything with his wife so much harder. When did he die?’

Kate pauses. Part of her still can’t believe she’s telling Rowan all of this. But what choice does she have? It’s all catching up with her. ‘The day after I slept with him.’

Silence again – deafening and excruciating. Kate hadn’t wanted to do this, but now she has there’s no going back.

‘How dreadful,’ Rowan says, sitting straighter. ‘What happened?’

‘I don’t know. I don’t know anything. All I know is that I left him in the early hours of that morning and he was fine. I spoke to him. We said goodbye to each other and arranged for me to go back the next afternoon.’

Rowan’s mouth hangs open as he stares at her and his body seems to freeze. Kate’s never seen him stunned speechless, and for a second he feels like a stranger, until finally he composes himself. ‘Kate, have you told the police that you were with him?’ he says, glancing at the clock above her head.

‘No. And please don’t tell me to.’

‘But you would have been one of the last people to see him. You must go to the police. Right away. And you can tell them what you believe his wife is doing too.’

Slowly, Kate shakes her head. ‘I can’t.’

Rowan sighs. ‘Because of Graham White?’

She doesn’t answer.

‘That’s gotnothingto do with this,’ Rowan continues. ‘Kate, please listen to me. You need to tell the police. Now. It’s already been several days, hasn’t it?’

‘Nearly ten.’

‘Can I ask what’s made you tell me this now?’ Rowan asks. ‘You must have known that I’m duty-bound to inform the police. Why tell me at all?’

‘Because I need your help. That photo was a warning from Harper. And she’s done other stuff too. Sending me dead lilies. Writing Jamie’s birthday in my calendar.’

Rowan stares at her. He doesn’t believe her – and even Kate, now that she’s said it aloud – wonders if she’s losing her mind.

‘I’m not sure how she knows I was with Jamie,’ she continues, ‘but clearly she does. And I’ve been thinking about this a lot – if she believes I had an affair with him, why doesn’t she confront me? That’s what most people would do? It scares me that she’s trying to make friends, to have me in her life. It can only mean she’s got something else in mind. I told you she wanted to kill me and now this is proof.’

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