Page 74 of The Last One to See Him

As soon as they drive off, Harper gets out and rushes to the front door, glancing back at the road in case they come back for any reason. She knocks and waits.

‘What are you doing here?’ Kate says when she opens the door. She’s wearing a large towelling dressing gown, which must belong to Ellis.

‘I had to come. I’ve…I’ve been wrong about you.’ She glances back at the road. ‘Has Ellis gone to work? Can I come in? Please, Kate.’

Kate frowns, and Harper understands her reluctance. ‘Please. I just want to talk. We need to put an end to all of this. Things are already bad enough, and I think they’ll only get worse.’

‘Why are you doing this?’ Kate says, folding her arms. ‘You can’t stand me. You think I killed your husband. And I’m certain it wasyou. So tell me – how the hell is us talking things over ever going to work?’

‘I know things are crazy,’ Harper admits. ‘And a lot of that’s my fault. But I didnotstart that fire. You have to believe me. And I know it wouldn’t have been you – not with Thomas in the house. So just think about this – if it wasn’t either of us, then someone else is trying to hurt you.’

Harper lets that sink in. If this doesn’t work, then she’ll never be able to get through to Kate. Seconds tick by and Harper turns back to check the road again, convinced that any second now Ellis will reappear.

Finally, Kate stands aside and lets her in. ‘Five minutes,’ she says. ‘That’s all I’m giving you. And don’t think for one second that I trust you.’

When Kate doesn’t invite her further into the house, Harper suggests they go and sit down. ‘I know you want me out of here fast so let’s lay all our cards on the table.’

Silently Kate walks into the living room and sits on the sofa, her arms still folded, while Harper sits opposite her, taking a deep breath. She never thought she’d be opening up to this woman. ‘If I’m honest with you, will you do the same for me?’ she asks.

Kate slowly nods. ‘But how do we know we can trust each other? After everything that’s happened.’

‘Because we’re both mums, and we could have both lost our sons in that fire. Tell me about your affair with Jamie, Kate. How did it start?’

‘There was no affair! It was one night – that’s all. And I thought he was separated.’

Harper wants to believe this, but given all that’s happened, she’s still not sure she can trust Kate. She needs the truth. Now. ‘Think of the boys,’ she says. ‘Nothing is more important than them – not me, or you. Nothing. This is far from over and we’re both in the dark. If we tell each other everything, maybe we can get to the truth. Before someone gets hurt. If anything had happened to either boy?—’

‘Stop! Don’t you think I know that?’ Kate yells. ‘And I would never have forgiven myself…because however I look at it, it all comes back to me. And now Faye, the podcaster, is in hospital. She might not make it and?—’

‘What?’

‘I was going to meet her at her house. She…she was helping me. And when I got there an ambulance and police car were already there. She’d been attacked. It was horrific. She looked…barely alive.’

‘Oh my God.’ Harper tries to process what this means. ‘I only saw her on Thursday. Why would someone attack her?’

‘I thought it was you,’ Kate says, heavy suspicion in her eyes as she scrutinises Harper. ‘But you seem shocked by it.’

‘What have the police said?’

‘I checked just on social media and according to what everyone’s saying, apparently there’s no new information. No suspect. Nothing.’

‘This doesn’t make sense. And if she was helping you, why did she put me in touch with Mona Shaw?’

Kate’s face is ashen. ‘What?’

‘I’m sorry. But after what happened when you were fifteen, I had to know if there was any connection to Jamie.’

‘I wasn’t lying about any of that!’ Kate shouts. ‘Graham White attacked me. It was self-defence.’ She stands up and walks to the window then turns back to Harper.

‘I don’t know what happened to you back then or what you did,’ Harper says. ‘I only care about what happened with Jamie. I need you to tell me all of it. How long was it going on for?’

Kate takes her time to answer. ‘It was just one night. That was it. I’d never met him before that night.’

‘You’re lying to me, Kate. I found a photo of you on Jamie’s phone, months ago. And I followed him to your work the week before he was killed.’

Kate’s face folds. ‘I swear to you – I’d never set eyes on him before that night. But I think he was following me for some reason. Targeting me. But he never approached me until that night in the bar.’ Her eyes drop to the floor. ‘My partner at the surgery told me he’d been in asking for a female vet. The week before. It was weird. It didn’t make sense. I’m the only female vet there – it’s a small surgery, just me and my partner, David.’

Harper already knows this; she’s done plenty of research on Kate Mason. Perhaps it’s foolish to believe Kate, but for some reason she does. ‘Okay. Let’s say I believe you. Tell me how he actually approached you.’

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