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There are many things I wouldn’t defend Max about, but Taylor is wrong. ‘It’s not his fault you made mistakes at work. That you couldn’t live up to what was needed for the job.’
He closes his eyes, lets out a deep sigh. ‘So he’s told you that same old lie?’
I blink. ‘What? How can it be a lie?’
‘Everything he told people at work was a lie. Max was my mentor. I looked up to him. Respected him. I was learning from him. But then, quickly I began to overtake him. Once I’d learnt everything I needed to from him, I was in a different league. I know he’s good at his job, but I was hungry. Fresher. I could seethings in an instant that he might take longer to work out. It’s just how my brain works.’
Taylor’s words are like a bomb exploding around me.
‘Everything started to change,’ he continues. ‘Max felt threatened. I’m not arrogant, Hannah, but with a few more months, I would have got a higher position than he had. It doesn’t make me feel good saying that; it makes me feel sick now.’ He pauses. ‘Then the sabotage started. A whole campaign to try and make me look incompetent. Max would alter reports I sent to him, then point out to people how I’d made huge errors. He’d withhold essential info or give me wrong information. All of it made me look like I couldn’t do my job. Then he’d take credit for my ideas, but I had no proof when it had just been the two of us present.’
Taylor pauses again, looks up at me as if he needs me to say something, but I don’t know what to reply.
‘Then he’d tell me things were urgent when they weren’t – so I’d spend time working on that, only to find that I should have been prioritising something else.’
Finally, I find my voice. ‘How can you expect me to believe this, when you’ve been misleading me this whole time?’
He nods. ‘Do you remember when you brought the laptop to me? And I was going through it? I was able to send myself all the emails I’d sent to Max, with the original reports that he hadn’t edited. There’s loads of stuff on there. Proof. I’ll show it to you.’
Without waiting for a reply, Taylor leaves the room, coming back with his laptop. He logs on and begins talking me through what he found on Max’s laptop. Although I don’t understand the financial reports, Taylor has meticulously cross-referenced his original emails with the documents Max had changed.
And it looks like everything he’s told me just now is true.
‘Why didn’t you tell someone about this? When it was happening?’
‘Because I didn’t know Max was doing it until it was too late and I’d been fired. By then I had no access to my work emails. But Max had everything saved on his laptop. It was all easy to find on there. He must have assumed I’d never find all of it.’
‘It was you who broke into our office at home, wasn’t it?’
‘I’m sorry, Hannah – I had to.’
‘And the man in the Golf? Who was he? Max never wanted me dead, did he?’
‘I was desperate. I didn’t think just having an affair would have been enough to convince you to leave him. Some people forgive their partners, don’t they?’
‘It would have been enough.’ I say this loudly. ‘You didn’t need to?—’
‘I didn’t know you then! I’m sorry. If I could take it back, I would. All of it. I’d have told you right from the start and hoped that you’d believe me. But Max was such a good liar. He had everyone at work convinced.’
‘You haven’t answered my question. Who was that man? He nearly killed me.’
‘His name’s Archie. I lived next door to him when I was a kid. He wouldn’t have hurt you. He’s not a hitman. Not saying he doesn’t do things he shouldn’t – but he’s not a murderer.’
‘Did he attack Max, though? Or was it you?’
‘It wasn’t him. I know the timing doesn’t look good, but I had nothing to do with that. It must have just been a random robbery. But I can’t say I’m sorry it happened.’
I take a moment to consider what he’s said. So many lies have been interwoven into the fabric of our connection, it’s hard to know what to believe. But somehow, it feels as though he’s telling the truth. ‘What about when you were attacked?’ I ask. ‘You planned all of that. It was all part of trying to convince me to believe your lie.’
‘Because IknowMax killed Alice. When I made sure we met outside the hotel that day, it wasn’t about ruining Max’s life any more. It was about trying to prove he killed Alice. But I couldn’t go to the police because I knew Max would say that I was trying to get revenge. They wouldn’t have listened to me.’
‘You had the photo.’
‘I couldn’t take the risk. Max would have won. He has anyway. He’s got away with murder.’
Taylor’s wrong, but I can’t tell him who really killed Alice. I’m convinced Sarah will do the right thing, but out of loyalty to her, I won’t force her hand. Not yet.
‘Max hasn’t won anything,’ I say. ‘Our marriage is over, and Poppy and I won’t be living with him much longer.’ And if there was the tiniest fragment of doubt in my mind before, Taylor has made sure that’s eradicated. ‘Now you’ve got evidence that Max was sabotaging you at work, what will you do?’
