Page 48 of The Last One to See Him

‘No. Enough screen time. Can we just talk for a minute?’

He shrugs.

‘It’s about your dad.’

Dexter’s body stiffens.

Harper moves across to him on the sofa and takes his hand. ‘I know it’s difficult to talk about and I’m so sorry to ask you this, but do you remember much about the last day we saw him?’

It floods her with guilt to see the way her son stares at her, and the pain he must be feeling to conjure memories of Jamie.

‘I dunno,’ Dexter says. ‘I remember him being in the kitchen with you. And you were fighting.’

The breath is sucked from Harper’s lungs. Dexter’s never mentioned this; she’d thought he hadn’t heard them. He was on the top floor of the house, playing in the spare room – even with their voices raised, their son shouldn’t have been able to hear them.

‘Do you know what we were fighting about?’ Harper ventures.

He shrugs. ‘Not really. I couldn’t hear. Just shouts. Angry voices.’

Harper lets out a sharp breath. ‘I’m sorry your dad and I were fighting. I feel bad about that every single day. Our last words to each other were angry, and that makes me really sad.’

‘What were you arguing about?’ Dexter says, glancing at the TV remote control, his fingers twitching.

‘We were trying to sort things out,’ Harper explains. ‘We’d been having a few problems. Sometimes it’s hard for adults and we disagree about things. But it was all being sorted out – I promise you.’

The doorbell rings and they turn to each other. It’s past eight p.m. and Harper isn’t expecting anyone. ‘Stay here,’ she says. ‘You can watch TV.’

When she opens the door and sees Ellis standing there, her confusion quickly turns to concern. This won’t be a friendly visit – there’s no reason for him to be here. Is this because of Maddy? Her insistence that she recognised Harper from somewhere is a loose thread that might unravel at any moment. And Harper needs control of this. ‘Hi,’ she says. ‘Is everything okay?’

‘Sorry to just turn up like this. But I thought you might want to know that a space for Dexter has just come up in the team. A kid has dropped out. Parents said they were struggling with the time commitment.’

Harper frowns. ‘That’s a coincidence. We were only talking about it this morning.’

‘I know. Bit of luck really.’

Harper’s not sure she trusts him, but she’ll give Ellis the benefit of the doubt for now. ‘Do you want to come in? Dexter’s just watching TV but we can go through everything in the kitchen.’

Ellis glances back at his car. ‘If you’re sure? I really don’t want to intrude.’

‘No, come in. To be honest, I’m glad of the company. Dexter and I were just talking about Jamie and it’s all a bit much. I could do with a distraction. I was just about to open a bottle of red – like to join me?’

Ellis hesitates. ‘I would, but not when I’m driving.’

‘Sensible. But you don’t mind if I have one, do you?’

‘Not at all.’

In the kitchen, while Harper opens the bottle, Ellis takes in his surroundings. ‘Nice place,’ he says. ‘Reminds me how much my place needs doing up.’

‘No, it’s not.’ Harper says. ‘It needs gutting. My husband Jamie and I never got around to it before he died. And now I just can’t imagine ever feeling like I want to sort this house out. I’m sure you heard all about Jamie dying?’

‘Yeah. Sorry. It’s only been a short while, though, hasn’t it? You need time.’

‘Yeah, I know you’re right,’ Harper says. ‘But knowing something doesn’t make it easy.’ She pauses. ‘Don’t you want to sit down?’ Ellis’s hovering is making her uncomfortable.

‘I’ve been driving a lot today. Feel better standing.’

‘Okay.’ Harper frowns, and leans on the worktop. ‘So, how is Kate?’

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