Page 83 of The Summer That Changed Us

Every hair on her body stood up, her flesh prickled in goosebumps. There were other pictures, too. An image of Auntie Small’s printed from Google Maps. An old class photograph, the last one they’d had taken in sixth form. Katie’s face picked out with a red marker pen. What did this mean? Why would Rose have these in a folder? How did she get that photograph?

Katie’s heart suddenly felt too big for her chest; it pounded against her ribcage and no matter how hard she tried, she could barely breathe as the reality of this evidence hit home.

‘It’s Rose,’ she gasped.

The person sending her threatening letters, blackmailing her, was her old school friend Rose Dunbar.

‘That’s it, slowly does it,’ Mike was saying to Rose.

In slow motion, Katie turned to looked down the thin hallway. The three of them were in a line: Mike nearest to the door, supporting Rose who was in the middle and Jess bringing up the rear, holding a dressing to Rose’s head.

‘Why?’ Katie called. Her mouth so dry she could barely form the words. ‘Rose, why?’

Rose twisted away from the paramedics and stared straight at Katie, she looked like she was in pain, but there was contempt there too. ‘I hate you.’

Jess glanced from Rose to Katie uncertainly. ‘How are you feeling, chick? You still look very pale.’

‘I’m fine,’ Katie lied, her eyes trained on Rose. ‘You were supposed to be my best friend. Have you any idea what you’ve been putting me though? Why would you do this to me?’

Mike was pushing bags of stuff out of the way with his boot, clearing a path to the door. He pinned it right back with his foot and daylight flooded into the dim hallway. ‘OK, mind the step.’

Mike led them outside over the threshold and onto the path and Katie followed. Jess darted past them to the ambulance.

Rose’s face was ashen and sweaty. Katie looked at her, her heart heavy with sadness. She couldn’t help but wonder what had gone wrong for her friend. Where had that bubbly extrovert with the flashing eyes and flirty smile gone? She’d spent the last weeks terrified of her invisible tormentor. And now here she was face to face with her. Her head was spinning with emotions: anger and hurt and relief.

‘Rose, I don’t understand?’ she said quietly.

‘Get off me.’ Rose tried to free herself from the paramedic’s support and staggered backwards.

‘Let’s calm down, shall we?’ Jess ran back up the path pushing a wheelchair. Between them, she and Mike manoeuvred Rose into it.

Rose began to cry.

‘Can we get your things for you?’ Mike asked. ‘Keys? Handbag?’

She shook her head. ‘Don’t want to go. I want you all to leave me alone.’

‘I know,’ Jess soothed, ‘but we need to get that head X-rayed.’

‘I’ll check the back door’s locked and fetch her handbag,’ Katie offered.

Back in the kitchen she took the photograph from the folder. The memory of the day that the envelope had arrived through the post came flooding back. She remembered her panic, how she’d shut herself into the toilets at school to open it. How the shock had made her pass out, her horror at coming round to find two teachers and Rose standing over her, the contents of the envelope spilled onto the floor. Rose must have stolen the photograph then. It would have been easy for her and Katie would never have missed it; she hadn’t counted the exact number of prints she’d been sent. Now, she put it in her own bag, locked the back door and collected a grey leather handbag from the hall.

Jess waited with the wheelchair while Mike pulled out a ramp from the back of the ambulance. Katie worked through the keys until she found one which fitted the front door and double-locked it.

‘Is this the right one?’ Katie held the bag up to Rose. Rose turned her face away but gave the briefest of nods. The wheelchair was rolled up into the ambulance. Jess jumped out again.

‘Two ticks and we’ll be off,’ said Mike.

He and Jess stood to one side out of earshot and conducted a low volume conversation leaving Katie to stare into the ambulance at Rose.

‘Are you going to the police?’ Rose asked sullenly.

‘Depends on you,’ Katie said. She pulled the edge of the photograph out of her bag. ‘Is this the only one?’

She nodded.

‘And you haven’t got copies?’