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Arnav Gee:This isn’t just about women. Men get murdered all the time too.
Sue Leone:I work at the hotel and I’m the one who checked in poor Alice. She seemed happy. Not scared or anything. She was nice. Kind.
Bruce Halsted:Should you be saying stuff like that on here? Isn’t it confidential or something? Just saying. And shouldn’t the police be looking into her clients as well?
Tabby McClure:They are. I was one of her clients and they’ve already spoken to me. I’ve told them confidential stuff that I’m sure will help. The net’s closing in on the person who did this.
For several days I avoid going to the hospital. By saying he doesn’t want Poppy to see him the way he is, Max has given me the perfect excuse to stay away. And Poppy needs me. I can’t keep leaving her with other people.
Poppy and I have settled in to our new routine, and I begin to wish it could stay like this. If I went to the police about Max, he would be out of our lives for good, and I would be safe.
I’m watching Poppy play in the garden on her trampoline, bundled up in her coat, scarf and gloves, when I resolve to do this. It’s what I should have done in the first place. I leave my green tea on the kitchen table and hunt for my bag.
It’s in its usual place in the hall, hanging on a coat hook. I take it down and open the zipped compartment.
My hands clasp fabric instead of the hotel key card. I tip the bag upside down and rummage through the contents. But thecard isn’t there. I check my wallet, and pull out every card I own. None of them are the white hotel card.
‘Poppy?’ I call, rushing to the kitchen and throwing open the back door.
‘Yeah?’ She carries on jumping.
‘Have you been in my bag for anything?’
‘No!’
‘Are you sure? I’ve lost something. A white card. Have you seen it anywhere?’
She stops jumping and shakes her head. ‘No, Mummy.’
With a rising sense of dread, I try to recall the last time I saw it. It was yesterday at work. I was in the office and I’d looked in my bag just to check it was still there. It’s a habit I’ve formed since I found it in Max’s pocket. It helps me remember this is all real.
And now the only evidence linking Max to Alice Hughes that night is gone.
I check coat pockets and anywhere else it could be, lifting up sofa cushions and hunting through drawers. My search is futile: it’s nowhere in the house.
‘Can I help you look?’ Poppy asks, when I’ve already turned over the whole house. ‘Is this what you were looking for the other day when you made a big mess everywhere?’
‘No, sweetheart. This is something else. But it’s not here. I think I must have left it at work.’I didn’t, though. I’ve been carrying it around in my bag with me for days. Unwilling to let it out of my sight. And then this happens.
‘We can go and look,’ Poppy says. ‘I’ll help you, Mummy.’
As much as I’m desperate to find the card, I can’t have Cole asking any more questions. He’s already suspicious of me. My only choice is to go after the shop closes.
My phone rings when I’m making Poppy a sandwich for lunch. I put down the knife, loaded with peanut butter, and rush to answer it.
‘Hi, Mrs Chambers? This is Hilary Clough, one of the nurses at St Thomas’.’
My heart feels like it’s stopped beating and I suck in my breath.
‘The doctors have just seen Max this morning, and they feel that he can be moved from ICU to a ward, with a view to discharging him on Monday. That’s good news, isn’t it?’
Seconds tick by before I can answer. ‘Yes, it is. Are you sure he’s okay to come home? He didn’t look too good when I was there last. Doesn’t he need to be there longer? What if something happens when he’s at home?’
‘He’s doing well. He’ll be ready to go home. He’ll just need a lot of rest. We’ll go over his discharge summary with you on Monday.’
I’ve been living in a bubble for the last few days – just me and Poppy. I’m not ready for it to end. Eventually, I find the words to thank her, and be the wife she’ll expect me to be.
I’m numb as we end the call. I knew Max would come out of hospital eventually, but I hadn’t expected it to be so soon.
