Page 61 of The Last One to See Him

‘I was just driving past and saw you. I hate us not speaking. I’m so sorry, Aleena. Please can we put things right?’

Aleena sighs and stares at Kate. ‘I’m scared of you, Kate.’

Of all the things she could say, Kate hasn’t expected this. ‘Please don’t say that. I’m still the same person and this doesn’t have to change our friendship.’

‘I’ve done a lot of thinking about it,’ Aleena says. ‘And maybe I’ve never noticed before, but you’ve always had…anger issues. But there was no reason for me pay it much attention before because…I thought I knew exactly who you were. But the way you were with Ellis sometimes. Losing it with him when he’d hardly done anything. I just dismissed it. Especially as you were never like that with Thomas. But then when I heard about Graham White, it all made sense.’

‘Don’t say that. I told you – I was being attacked. What would you do if it was you?’

‘Itwasme, Kate. Remember? And I didn’t end up killing him.’

‘That’s not fair.’

Aleena stares at her. ‘I know it’s not. But I don’t believe it was as black and white as that. There’s more to this – I know it. So what is it?’

‘It was self-defence,’ she says quietly.

‘I want to believe that, but how can I? You’ve been lying for too long. Please, just leave me alone.’ Aleena turns away but then changes her mind and spins around to face Kate. ‘You need to watch out. You’re in a lot of trouble, and I don’t think you can run from it this time.’

TWENTY-SEVEN

SUNDAY 2 FEBRUARY

Harper knows she shouldn’t call him. They have a pact, made months ago; each of them bound to keep its promise – but this is an emergency.

She closes her bedroom door and dials his number, holding her breath while she waits for him to answer. Two seconds. Three. Four.

‘Hello.’

‘We need to talk.’

There’s a pause so long she assumes he must have ended the call, until he finally speaks. ‘What’s happened?’

‘Not on the phone. Can you come over? When Dexter’s asleep?’

There’s a heavy sigh; he must be weighing up the consequences of this decision. He’s cautious like that, and they both know this is risky.

‘I don’t know,’ he says. ‘I don’t think it’s a good idea. We said?—’

‘I know what we said and I don’t care. You need to come tonight. Dexter goes to bed around nine so should definitely be asleep by ten. Come then.’

Another heavy sigh. ‘I’ll see.’

The beeps on her phone warn her he’s gone. But he’ll come; she knows he will.

Downstairs, she finds Dexter in the living room, playing on his Xbox. ‘Enough screen time,’ she says, when the truth is he’s probably only just gone on it – he’s spent most of the evening doing his homework in the kitchen.

‘Just ten more minutes,’ he pleads.

‘Five. And then shower.’

Dexter nods and resumes his game.

There are three hours to fill, and Harper can’t bear idly waiting. She’s nervous – a feeling she’s tried so hard to push from her body whenever it surfaces. Normally she can do it, but right now it’s overpowering her. She grabs the vacuum cleaner from the cupboard under the stairs and sets to work on carpets that are already spotless.

When she gets to Dexter’s room, she’s surprised to find it messy. He’s normally particular about things; Jamie’s death is affecting him in unpredictable ways. She needs to provide him with answers if he has any hope of healing.

She picks clothes and books off the floor, taking her time to make sure everything is neat. There’s a scrunched-up tissue down the side of his bedside table, and when Harper picks it up something drops to the floor. It takes her a moment to realise what she’s looking at. She bends down to pick it up, and her breath is snatched away from her. Jamie’s ring. The one she got him even when they decided they wouldn’t marry. It made her feel better, somehow. And he’d done the same for her, even though she never wore it. The one she’s holding now is just a plain gold band with a bevelled edge, yet she knows it’s Jamie’s. But she examines the inside, just to be sure, and there it is – the italicised message that Jamie thought would be funny to have engraved in both their rings.It’s just a piece of paper.

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