‘Look, I didn’t know Robert Walker, okay? I’d never heard of the guy until all of this happened. Detective Jansen says that I murdered him as some kind of revenge for my girlfriend, who killed herself years ago. He thinks I blame Walker for not saving her. But that’s insanely stupid. Miriam died ten years ago. If I was going to get revenge, why wait ten years? I didn’t even know that she’d gone to see the guy, okay? She never told me.’
Judith’s eyes were on his face, watching every movement, every micro-expression, looking for anything at all that would indicate he wasn’t telling her the truth.
‘I checked the dates,’ she said. ‘Walker died ten years to the day after Miriam’s suicide. That’s doesn’t seem like a coincidence to me.’
Jack stared at her helplessly.
‘Tell me about the letter,’ she said.
‘The letter?’
‘You told Detective Jansen that the gun was delivered to your home. That it came with a letter.’
‘It wasn’t a letter. It was a note. Just a sentence.
‘Tell me what it said.’
‘I... I can’t remember, exactly. I think it said something likeHe’s still here but he’s gone.’ It didn’t make any sense.
Judith corrected him. ‘The exact line wasHe’s still here, sometimes, but he doesn’t want to be.That doesn’t mean anything to you? Really?’
‘Should it? Jesus, I don’t—’
‘Think about it for a moment.’
But it was clear Jack wasn’t seeing a connection. Judith didn’t know what to make of that. Was he being obtuse? Was it so close to him that he couldn’t see it? Or maybe it was her... maybe Rocky was right, and she was reading too much into the line, seeing things that weren’t there.
‘Tell me about Ruth.’
‘Ruth.’
‘Miriam’s sister, Ruth.’
‘Miriam didn’t have a sister,’ Jack said flatly, with absolute certainty.
‘She did, Jack.’
He stared back at her, clearly disbelieving.
‘She was four years younger than Miriam. You’re telling me that you never met her? That Miriam never once mentioned her to you?’
‘I don’t know whether to believe you or not. Whether this is all part of some game you’re playing. No, Miriam never mentioned that she had a sister. No, I never met her.’
‘You knew that Miriam had been in the foster care system?’
‘Yes, of course. Her parents were killed in a car accident. She went through three different foster families before she aged out. That was something we had in common. Messed-up childhoods. Wait, do you mean a foster sister or something? Because she would have had foster sisters.’
Judith ignored the question. If he was telling the truth, then he wasn’t going to be much help to her. He couldn’t tell her where to find Ruth.
‘Tell me about the box,’ she said. ‘The one you say the gun came in.’
‘It was just a box. Like a shoebox, but plain cardboard, and wrapped up like a present. Kind of gothic, black wrapping paper, a red velvet ribbon, a little daisy stuck into it. There was a handwritten card with my name on it. And that note. Why did you ask me about the note?’
There was no reason not to tell him. He’d find out eventually. His lawyer would get all of the information in discovery.
‘Because Robert Walker’s wife was also sent a box like yours. Sounds like it was the same kind of wrapping. Came with a similar note.’
Jack’s eyes widened. ‘What did the note say?’
