AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He takes his time to answer, and when he does, it’s as if he’s only just made up his mind in that moment. ‘I’m moving on,’ he says. ‘I want to put all this behind me. I don’t want to fight this battle any more. There’s not enough evidence, so what’s the point? And I have to believe that one day the truth will come out about him killing Alice.’
I study his face. It occurs to me how differently things might have worked out if I’d called the number of the law firm he gave me when we first met. But somehow in the midst of everything, it slipped my mind. ‘That fake business card you gave me. I never called the number. But what if I had?’
‘It was Archie’s number,’ he admits. ‘And he was ready in case you did.’
A big risk. I could have lost it and googled the number instead. I tell this to Taylor.
‘You’re right. I just panicked and didn’t think that through properly. I got lucky that you didn’t call.’
We let that sit between us for a moment.
‘You must have the key card,’ I say. ‘Max’s fingerprints will be on there somewhere. That would have been enough to go to the police with, so why didn’t you?’
Taylor shakes his head. ‘I don’t have the key card. I never did. I don’t know who took it from you but it wasn’t me.’
I contemplate his words. Could Sarah have found it in my bag? There would have been plenty of opportunities. But how would she have known it was there? Aside from Taylor, nobody else knew about it.
‘I can’t take anything back,’ Taylor says. ‘But I want you to know that I did really start to care about you. We spent a lot of time together. I don’t expect forgiveness, but I need to say that.’
‘Same here, Taylor,’ I say quietly. He will never be Shane. I stand up, checking my pockets for my phone and car keys.
Taylor walks me to the front door. ‘Will I see you again?’ he asks.
‘Probably not.’
‘I’ll take that as a maybe.’
And as I walk towards the stairs, unseen by him, my mouth forms a faint smile.
THIRTY
I walk to the high street, my footsteps silent as they sink into the thick blanket of February snow. The tip of my nose is painfully cold, as are my fingers, even through my gloves. It would have been easier not to do this. To stay at home and focus on putting the house on the market.
Seeing Taylor last night helped me make this decision. For things to become clearer, people always need a voice. The chance for truth and honesty without fear of judgement. Or worse. I owe Sarah the chance to explain. And then I hope she will do the right thing.
As I approach the coffee shop, guilt burns inside me. It feels like I’m ambushing her, and I begin to waver. Perhaps I should have told her on the phone that I know. Given her a chance to prepare herself. But if I had, she would never have agreed to meet me. I slow down, despite being desperate to get inside and feel some warmth on my skin.
She’s already there, in a seat by the window. She looks up and waves, her whole face lighting up with her smile. Since Dean’s come back into Ivy’s life, Sarah seems to be glowing, as if a heavy cloud has shifted and is no longer hanging over her. But now that she’s told Max the truth, I wonder how she isn’t worriedthat he’ll tell me. Poppy and Ivy ran back to the park bench to grab the camera as soon as she’d admitted killing Alice, so I don’t know how their conversation ended. All I know is that Max has kept Sarah’s secrets before.
I push through the doors and try to smile when she stands and gives me a hug.
‘What are you having?’ she asks. ‘Sorry, I couldn’t wait. It’s freezing. I’ve already got mine.’ She points to the large cappuccino on the table.
‘Don’t worry, I’ll get my own,’ I say, walking off to the counter before she can argue.
Despite the early hour on a Sunday morning, the queue is slow-moving, but this only buys me more time to prepare. I glance back at Sarah while I wait. She’s busy tapping on her phone and I wonder who she’s messaging. Dean? Max?
When I get to the table, there’s a wide smile across her face and her eyes seem to sparkle. Dean, then.
Everything will change when I start to speak.
‘Dean’s with Ivy,’ she says. ‘Can you believe it? It’s the first time he’s had her on his own. I can’t believe this is all coming together. We’re planning to introduce her to his other kids next week. Did I tell you? Layla and Oliver. They’re a bit older than Ivy but we’re hoping…Oh, it sounds so, I don’t know. We’re hoping they’ll all get along.’
I nod and smile. It’s only nine a.m., and I wonder if Dean spent the night so he could be around to take Ivy out. I’m not going to ask Sarah. It no longer feels important, or any of my business.
She looks at me, waiting for more of a reaction, but when I don’t speak her smile fades. ‘What is it? What’s wrong? Are you still worried about Dean? It’s been months now, and everything’s working out well. Please don’t worry.’
I take a deep breath. This will be the hardest conversation I will ever have, and half of me wants to pretend everything is normal. ‘I know everything,’ I say, my voice barely audible.
