Page 149 of When We Were Young

Stan darted back inside, making straight for the telephone. He dialled the number they kept pinned on the wall.

‘Didn’t he pay?’ asked the lady.

But the call connected before he could answer. ‘It’s Stan from the Queen’s Head… Yes, a few minutes ago… Male, twenties… Sorry, I was keeping an eye on him, but I missed him leaving… See you in a minute.’

Blue lights flashed around the pub, glinting on the glasses and the polished brass of the pumps. Melanie, the local bobby, came in.

Stan looked at her expectantly, but she shook her head. ‘He left his stuff by the edge.’

Stan brought a trembling hand to his mouth.

This was the third time he’d called that number, but the first time he’d been too late.

Chapter 70

July 1999

Emily walked down the street. As she got closer to the flat, she saw a figure sitting on the wall outside their building. It was Scott. He didn’t acknowledge her or wave, instead he stood up, ground his cigarette into the pavement and ran inside. What was he up to? You’d expect that kind of behaviour from someone organising a surprise party. But it wasn’t her birthday. Maybe he hadn’t seen her.

She climbed the stairs and braced herself as she opened the door, but no one shouted ‘surprise’. As she hung her jacket on the peg in the hall, Miranda came out of the kitchen. Her eyebrows were pinched together. ‘Em, Matty’s here to see you.’

‘Matty?’ Emily whispered as if to saywhy did you let him in? But Miranda’s expression was so dark and serious she said no more and followed her to the kitchen.

Matty and Scott stood up from where they were sitting at the table. Matty looked awful. He was unshaven, and his eyes were bloodshot – he was probably hungover. ‘Hello, Emily.’

‘What are you doing here?’

‘Why don’t you sit down?’ It was odd that Matty was offering her a seat in her own home. A home he’d never visited before.

‘What is it? What’s the matter?’ She looked at Miranda, then Scott.

‘If you just sit––’ said Matty.

‘I don’t want to sit down, Matty! I want to know what you’re doing here.’

Matty’s eyes dropped to the floor. ‘It’s Will…’

‘What? What about Will? Where is he?’ But she knew it was something bad, really bad.

‘He’s… he died.’

Emily’s heart stopped. ‘What?’

‘He took his own life. Yesterday.’

She felt dizzy. He wasn’t making any sense. ‘Why would you say that? Why are you saying that?’

‘I’m sorry.’

Her breaths were coming in short little gasps. ‘What do you mean he took his own life?’

‘He went to the coast… a beauty spot in Sussex. Someone saw him go to the edge of the cliff… They found his body this morning. In the water.’

‘It must be someone else… It can’t be Will…’

‘His dad identified him––’

‘No!’ she yelled. ‘They’ve made a mistake. He wouldn’t…’