Page 90 of The Perfect Son
Have I got this whole thing upside down? I thought Shelley was being kind to me that day, but maybe she was just killing time, keeping me away so Ian could look through our things.
If I take Richard out of the equation, what is left? The threats from a voice on the answerphone, Ian and his money, things missing from the house.
Are Shelley and Ian working together? What do they really want, Mark?
CHAPTER 56
Transcript BETWEEN ELLIOT SADLER (ES) AND TERESA CLARKE (TC) (INPATIENT AT OAKLANDS HOSPITAL, HARTFIELD WARD), WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11. SESSION 2 (Cont.)
TC: Have you spoken to Shelley’s friend Mel? Maybe she’s helping Shelley. Maybe she has Jamie.
ES: How well do you know Mel?
TC: We met once—well, twice actually, but only once properly. Shelley took Jamie and me into Ipswich for a shopping trip on Saturday. So much has happened. It feels like a long time ago. There was something off about the whole thing. It was like Mel was watching me, assessing me—they both were. Then Ian turned up out of the blue and it was like the three of them knew each other.
ES: Did they?
TC: They didn’t say as much, not at first anyway. Ian wanted to talk to me privately, so I left Shelley in charge of Jamie. She didn’t watch him properly and hewandered off to the second floor to look at a telescope. I panicked. I guess I might have overreacted, but Jamie is everything to me. Shelley knew that. She should’ve stayed with him. After I’d found Jamie, we came back downstairs, and Shelley and Ian were arguing.
ES: About what?
TC: I don’t know, but it definitely felt like they knew each other. They stopped the second they saw me. I’m sure it’s all connected. Ian and the money and Shelley and Jamie, Mark and the threats. It’s all connected somehow. If I could just get my notebook. What has Ian said?
ES: Let’s stop here for now. Your mother will be here in a minute.
TC: My mum? Why?
ES: You were stabbed, Tess. The hospital found her contact details and phoned her. She’s on her way right now.
TC: Oh. I wish you hadn’t.
ES: Why?
TC:(Shakes head)
ES: I have your notebook. I’ll bring it to you.
TC: Thank you.
CHAPTER 57
IAN
After the time I found Tess in the rain, I didn’t actually see her again until the shopping center. Tess stopped taking my calls, which I bet was Shelley’s idea. So I went to see her last week. She wasn’t home, or at least, she didn’t answer the door. I heard her phone ring and a message from Shelley saying that they were going into town on the Saturday. So I went along to see if I could find them. I’ve made mistakes, I’m not denying it. But when I went to find her in Ipswich, it was so I could make things right.
What happened in Debenhams was all the proof you need that Shelley was in way over her head. I needed to step in, and I did. But I tell you one thing—I had no idea it was Jamie’s birthday until I turned up at the house.
SHELLEY
There wasn’t time to stop and think about what I was doing. My judgment was clouded, I know that now. I let myown personal problems and the connection I felt to Jamie get in the way. I just kept thinking of the unfairness of it all. I’d lost Dylan, and Tess still had Jamie. It wasn’t fair.
The shopping trip was awful. That’s when I knew I had to do something. Things got out of hand, and that was my fault. I never should’ve invited Mel and her daughter, Indra, along. I think in the back of my mind I wanted someone else there to keep an eye on Tess. I didn’t trust my judgment around her. I have no idea how Ian knew we would be in Debenhams, but he couldn’t have chosen a worse time to show up. When Tess flipped out about losing Jamie, Ian was shouting at me that it was my fault, and maybe it was. I should never have told Ian to meet me at Tess’s the next day. I should’ve gone alone. If only I’d gone alone, maybe none of this would have happened. I’m so sorry.
CHAPTER 58
Sunday, April 8
JAMIE’S BIRTHDAY
