Page 15 of The Last One to See Him

But Kate knows this was deliberate. She just doesn’t want to think about what it means.

SEVEN

WEDNESDAY 22 JANUARY

Harper waits by the window, as daggers of rain pelt against the glass and dark clouds loom in the sky. Every bone in her body aches for Jamie; for the person he was before everything changed. A few weeks ago, he’d discussed moving to Portugal. Starting over. Just the three of them. She’d quickly dismissed it, of course, and put it down to Jamie trying to run away from things again, and she wasn’t going to let him do that.

She shouldn’t be nervous – she is the one who is in control here – Kate Mason has no idea what she’s walked into. She will have worked out who Harper is by now, so she’ll be on her guard. Harper just has to make sure she doesn’t slip up. Jamie has taught her that it’s all about being one step ahead of your opponent, knowing things they don’t know.

But none of that explains why Jamie spent the night with Kate. And that’s what Harper can’t wrap her head around. Jamie and that woman, his hands all over her. It sickens her. She needs to find out why it happened, why Jamie veered off course. Kate is not someone he should have become involved with. What the hell was he doing?

Through the window, Kate walks up the path with Thomas. She hesitates briefly at the gate; no doubt she’s taking in the air of neglect in the small front garden, the overgrown grass and flowerbeds full of weeds. Everything dying. Just like Harper feels she is. Just like Jamie did. But let Kate judge her; neglecting her garden pales in comparison to what Kate has done. And Harper has no concern for the garden – how can she care about such a trivial thing now?

Thomas walks in front as they make their way to the door, and Harper is certain he’s the one who has led the charge to come here today. ‘Dexter?’ she calls, as she makes her way to the kitchen, just as the doorbell rings. ‘Would you mind answering the door? I need to get the cakes out of the oven.’

Harper hates baking – she only did it to create the impression that she’s welcoming Kate into her home, and her life, but then she discovered that it was a good distraction from thinking about Jamie. How senseless his death is, yet so significant.

She hears Dexter thundering down the stairs and pulling open the door. Then muffled voices. ‘Come through,’ Harper calls, as she places the baking tray on the worktop. She walks to the kitchen door and waits.

‘Come up,’ Dexter says to Thomas. ‘I can show you my Harry Potter Lego.’

The boys rush upstairs, as if they’ve known each other for years, and Kate watches after them, as if she wants to call her son back and drag him home.

‘Hi,’ Harper says, forcing a smile, mustering the energy to propel her legs towards Kate. ‘Thanks for coming. This really means a lot to Dexter.’

Kate returns her smile. ‘You have a lovely home.’

‘Oh, it’s not really. Not yet. We’ve only just moved in and I’ve hardly done a thing to it.’ Harper gestures to the long, narrow kitchen. She loathes the Farrow & Ball Hague Blue walls, but at least the skylight in the ceiling brightens the room.

Kate’s wearing jeans and a loose cream blouse, while she’s dressed in black leggings and a dark grey jumper. The colours of mourning.

‘I hope these are okay,’ Harper says, pointing to the tray of cupcakes. ‘You’re not dairy or gluten intolerant, are you? I should have checked. Seems like these days everyone has something they can’t eat.’

‘No, I eat everything,’ Kate says, glancing at the cakes. ‘They look lovely. You really didn’t have to do this, not when…’ Kate’s words evaporate.

Harper knows exactly what she’s talking about but wants to hear the words from Kate’s mouth. ‘When what?’ she asks.

‘I just meant you must be really busy, moving here and settling Dex into school. And… losing your husband.’

‘School has been no problem. And I actually like baking. Don’t often get the chance. Coffee?’

‘That would be lovely, thanks,’ Kate says, her eyes darting around the room. She must feel threatened here, and that right now she’s probably wishing she was anywhere else but in this house.

They sit with mugs of coffee at the kitchen table, while above them the boys thunder around.

‘Thanks so much for coming,’ Harper says. ‘It really means a lot. It’s not easy making new friends at the best of times, but…I’m sure you’ve heard the details about what happened to my husband? Everyone must be talking about it.’

Kate shakes her head and sips her coffee. ‘No.’

Liar!Harper turns away and stares through the kitchen doors. The lawn, just like at the front of the house, needs mowing and the flowerbeds surrounding it are full of rampant weeds. ‘He was murdered.’

‘I’m so sorry.’

Kate is so believable – her words, her body language. Everything about her. It’s a shame; perhaps if they’d met under different circumstances, Harper might have quite liked her. But Harper has seen Kate’s hands all over Jamie, and she will never remove that image from her head.And what happened afterwards. Bile edges along her throat. ‘I’m surprised you didn’t know,’ Harper manages to say. If she keeps probing then Kate is bound to slip up. ‘The other parents must be talking about it.’

Kate twists her mouth. ‘I try to stay out of other people’s business,’ she says.

‘I know what they’re all saying.’ Harper fixes her eyes on Kate. ‘Or thinking, at least. And you probably are too now. How could I send Dexter to school so soon after his dad’s murder? How can I arrange a playdate for him as if nothing’s happened? But he wanted to keep going to school. He insisted. He needs…everything to feel normal.’ Harper wills her tears to stay behind her eyes. As broken as she feels, she won’t let this woman sense any weakness. ‘He’s a very conscientious child. Couldn’t bear the thought of missing out on his learning. I even told him I could get him a tutor but he wouldn’t have any of it.’

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