Page 76 of Finding Jacob
“Like what?”
“Your phone bill, chocolate, whatever,” he replied, smiling.
“I can pay my own phone bill.”
“Then pay your own phone bill. It was just an example. Don’t fret over it. You’ll love Sadie, and her husband, Bill, takes care of maintenance.”
I sat at the breakfast bar while Jacob made tea for me and a coffee for him. We’d said we’d get all the bags and suitcases later; I couldn’t be bothered with the unpacking just then.
“I’ll do some change of address letters,” I said, running through who would need to know in my mind.
He smiled as he placed a mug of herbal tea in front of me. I’d recently discovered mint tea and was loving it.
“When you’ve drunk your tea, I’d like to formally welcome you to your new home by fucking you over that counter,” Jacob said.
I spluttered and laughed. “That’s a welcome that I’d... Welcome.”
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
Nathan visited later that evening. The three of us sat in the snug, a room off the kitchen and next to the huge glass conservatory. It seemed to be the most used room, other than the bedroom and kitchen, in the house. It was comfortable with squishy sofas and footstools. I could envision myself sitting in there looking out over the garden and reading a book.
“So, an update,” Nathan started. “Hannah was seen on a neighbour’s CCTV at Jules’s house the evening she died. When I asked her when she’d last seen Jules, she had said it was a few days before. I called her earlier and asked her again, telling her that I’d seen her on CCTV.”
“What did she say?” I asked.
“She said, she’d forgotten that she’d dropped off some shopping, but Jules wasn’t in. She had a key, let herself in, and left the shopping in the kitchen. She also said that Jules’s flatmate was there.”
“Her flatmate?” I asked, as far as I knew, Jules lived alone. She had friends come and stay often, but never anyone permanent.
“Yeah, her flatmate, and I’m guessing it’s the woman we saw when we visited her. Did you know Jules was bi?”
I shook my head. “No, do you think that woman was her partner?”
“I thought you were,” Jacob added, looking at Nathan.
“I wouldn’t say we were partners; we didn’t have arelationshipjust... You know. Anyway, she told me she was.”
“Where is that woman now, then?” I asked. There had been no mention of a flatmate from anyone else.
“No idea. Not at the flat, that’s for sure,” Nathan replied.
“Do you think she could have had something to do with Jules’s death?”
“I don’t know. But when people disappear for no reason, I start to get suspicious.”
I picked up a glass of sparkling water from the coffee table.
“What now?” I asked.
“I’m going to keep digging a little. I think Hannah knew of this woman and maybe she can shed more light on where she is. Back to you, though. Preliminary results are that the substance was heroin. Now, if you’d have taken a drink from those cartons, I think you’d have tasted it or at least smelled something was off. So, whoever injected that didn’t really know what they were doing.”
“Why would they have done that, though?”
Nathan looked between Jacob and me. “Heroin can cause spontaneous abortion.”
I felt my eyes widen. “What?”
“Do you think that was the intent?” Jacob asked.
