Page 87 of The Last One to See Him

‘Hey,’ she says, forcing her voice to sound cheerful.

‘Mum! Dad said Dex could come for dinner. His mum’s making us pasta.’

‘That’s great. I’ve just got some things to do, okay?’

In the kitchen doorway, Kate watches while Harper busies herself with the boys’ dinner. Still not convinced she can trust her, Kate reminds herself she needs to stay vigilant. Especially after what she’s just learned about Mona. Graham White’s death was so senseless now and Kate will never forgive herself for being fooled by her. Too many lies have been told, and she still doesn’t know who killed Faye. Or who’ll be next.

Upstairs, she slips into Ellis’s bedroom and closes the door, surprised to find his laptop open on the bed. She rushes back downstairs and asks Harper if she’s been up there.

‘No. I literally just got here with Dexter. Ask him if you don’t believe me. All I’ve had time to do is take off my coat and find the pasta.’

Kate heads back upstairs, and brings the screen to life, surprised to find he’s still using the same password. She checks his email first, opening his Gmail and scrolling through. Nothing stands out. Just some spam and some from friends. His mum. A couple from Maddy. And then a name catches her attention that has no place in Ellis’s inbox.

Jennifer Seagrove.

Sent two hours ago.

Sweat coats Kate’s forehead as she clicks on it.

Hi Ellis,

I hope we can find a way to work this all out. Your wife is a liar and you need to put a stop to her. It’s just getting worse. End this. Before it’s too late.

THIRTY-EIGHT

TUESDAY 4 FEBRUARY

Numb with shock, her hands shaking, Kate takes a photo of the email, then closes Ellis’s laptop. She feels nothing as she makes her way downstairs to tell Harper what she’s just found.

‘What is it?’ Harper says. ‘What’s happened?’ Abandoning the saucepan of pasta, she rushes towards Kate.

‘I found this email to Ellis.’ Kate shows her the photo. ‘It’s from Jennifer Seagrove, Graham White’s ex-partner.’

Harper takes the phone, frowning as she reads Jennifer’s words. ‘I don’t get it. What is she talking about? Why would the two of them be in contact with each other?’

‘You were right that Ellis is involved in this,’ Kate says. ‘I just don’t know why or how.’That message is clearly a threat to me.

Harper reads it again then hands Kate’s phone back. ‘Did Ellis reply to the email?’

‘No, but it was sent at four thirty-two, just a couple of hours ago. And she gave him her address.’

‘Two hours ago was around the time Ellis called me and asked me to have Thomas,’ Harper says. ‘So this was the emergency he needed to go out for.’

Kate paces the kitchen. ‘If he’s gone to meet her,’ she says, ‘what does that mean?’

Harper rushes back to the pasta as it starts to boil over, and turns off the hob. ‘What did Ellis say when you first told him about Graham White?’

‘He was really understanding. I made sure I told him the moment I felt things were getting serious between us. He was really supportive – he stood by what I’d done and never questioned me.’ Now Kate wishes hehadquestioned her more in the beginning, and somehow got the truth from her. ‘But then a few months ago he started bringing it up. Asking things I didn’t want to talk about. At the time I just thought he must have been struggling with it.’

‘Well, clearly something changed and he was no longer happy about what you’d done,’ Harper says.

‘He stopped trusting me.’

Harper drains the pasta and serves it onto plates for the boys. ‘None of that matters now; at least we know about it and that means we can take action. We can be a step ahead of Ellis – he has no idea we found the email. You stay here with the kids. I’ll drive to Jennifer’s house.’

Kate shakes her head. ‘This isn’t about you, Harper. I’m going,’ she says. ‘It’s time for me to face Jennifer again.’

‘It’s not safe for you to go, Kate. How about I just go there and see if Ellis is there?’ Harper insists. ‘You stay here with the boys. I just think you should stay here where you’re safe – and double-lock the doors. We have no idea what Jennifer meant in that email.’

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