Page 45 of The Last One to See Him

She’s numb as she makes her way to Thomas’s school. With all the things that have happened to her over the last two weeks, Rowan’s bombshell shouldn’t have hit her this hard. She’d been hoping she could persuade him to give her more time before she had to go to the police – just enough to prove that it was Harper who killed Jamie out of rage, and that Kate had nothing to do with it.

Kate scans the school playground, looking for Harper. As far as she knows, Dex isn’t in any after-school clubs. There are a few parents she knows chatting by the gate, so she pulls out her phone and holds it to her ear, to deter anyone from approaching her.

It works, and she’s left in peace until the gates open and the basketball coaches begin dismissing the kids one by one. Kate searches the line – Thomas is usually near the back, but she can’t see him. Moving closer so that she can see all the kids, her stomach tightens when she sees he’s not there. The line gets shorter and soon there is only one child left, who quickly points to his mum and heads towards her.

Kate rushes up to one of the coaches. ‘Where’s Thomas?’ she asks.

He frowns. ‘Um, Thomas didn’t come today. We got a message from the office saying he was missing basketball today.’

‘No,’ Kate says. ‘Thomas was meant to be here.’ Turning away, she pulls out her phone and calls Ellis. ‘Have you got Thomas?’ she asks, the second he answers.

‘No. It’s your weekend. What’s going on?’

‘I’ll call you back.’ Kate hangs up and rushes to the office, pressing the buzzer and peering through the glass doors.

The door clicks open and Ruth comes out of the office, strolling over and smiling. ‘Everything okay, Mrs Mason?’ she asks.

‘No! Thomas wasn’t at basketball and I don’t know where he is!’

Ruth frowns. ‘Oh, but you called this morning and said Dexter Nolan’s mum was picking him up after school for a playdate. Nancy took the call and let the basketball coaches know.’

Kate stares at her as she processes Ruth’s words. She hadn’t heard from Harper and assumed there was no way she’d believe the playdate was still on. Kate’s about to tell Ruth that she’s wrong, that it wasn’t Kate who called, and this is a dreadful safeguarding incident, but it would take too long. ‘Yeah. Sorry, I’ve been busy at work and completely forgot. Sorry.’ She rushes off without giving Ruth a chance to respond, but before the door closes Ruth calls out, asking if everything is okay. Kate ignores her; she needs to find her son.

Harper answers the door with a smirk on her face. ‘How lovely to see you, Kate,’ she says, glancing behind her.

‘Where’s my son? Where’s Thomas?’ Kate pushes past Harper and stands in the hallway. ‘Thomas!’ she shouts.

‘He’s fine, Kate. He’s upstairs with Dexter. They’re having a great time. I hope you don’t mind – I’ve given the boys some biscuits and I’ve got pizza for dinner. Oh, I know it’s not the healthiest thing, but what harm does the odd treat do? Actually, you’re a bit early for picking Thomas up. Didn’t we say seven?’

‘What the hell are you doing?’ Kate hisses. ‘You abducted my son from school!’

Harper’s eyes widen. ‘Don’t tell me you forgot!’ she exclaims. ‘Oh, I know you’ve had such a lot on your mind lately, but we had this planned, didn’t we, and Dexter reminded Thomas at school. I had a feeling you might have forgotten. And Thomas said you wouldn’t mind if he missed basketball just this once. Otherwise I would have had to make two trips to school.’

‘I’ve been wondering what it is about you that just isn’t right,’ Kate says. ‘And now I think I’ve finally worked it out. You act nothing like a grieving wife who’s just lost her husband. Why is that, Harper?’

The smile on Harper’s face disappears. ‘What exactly are you saying, Kate?’

‘That I don’t trust you. Or believe a word that comes from your mouth.’

Thomas appears at the top of the stairs. ‘Hi, Mum,’ he says. ‘But it’s not time to go yet. I’ve only just got here! We’re about to watch the fourth Harry Potter.’

Seeing that Thomas is okay calms Kate. Harper hasn’t done anything to him. ‘Can you get your things? We need to get home. Now.’

‘Why? We haven’t had dinner yet. We’re having pizza.’

‘No, I’m sorry but we have to go. I can do pizza at home. Sorry, Thomas. Quick, go now. Get your stuff.’ She fails to keep the urgency from her voice.

With a huff, Thomas marches back upstairs and Kate waits until he’s disappeared before turning back to Harper. ‘Pull a stunt like that again and?—’

‘And you’ll what? Call the police? I doubt that very much. You’re the last person who’ll want the police involved. In fact, you’re lucky I haven’t called them myself. It’s still an option, of course. But I prefer to deal with things myself. Can’t rely on other people, can you? Too many loopholes. Too much bureaucracy.’ She smiles. ‘At least I know I can get things done. Make things happen. You’ve just had a taste of that today. Of how easy it is for me to manipulate things.’ Her eyes bore into Kate.

But Kate refuses to be intimidated. ‘Maybe there’s another reason you haven’t told the police,’ she says, stepping closer to Harper so that there’s no chance either of the boys will hear.

‘And what’s that supposed to mean?’

Before Kate can answer, Thomas and Dex thunder down the stairs, laughing with their heads together as if they’ve known each for years rather than a couple of weeks.

‘Why does Thomas have to go?’ Dex says to Harper. ‘It’s not fair, Mum.’

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