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It strikes me that it’s easier to confide in this man I barely know than it is my closest friend. Sarah would be distraught to know how much I’m keeping from her. I sit down too, and fold my arms across my chest. ‘Yes, he is,’ I tell Taylor. ‘And it’s weird.’
He nods. ‘You should have got away when he was in hospital. Maybe gone and stayed somewhere else while we find something to prove he’s guilty.’
‘No. How would that look? My husband’s recovering from a traumatic brain injury. I can’t walk away. Not until I know.’
‘Not even if he’s a murderer?’
‘I don’tknowthat. Having an affair doesn’t mean he killed Alice.’
‘I know.’ Taylor buries his head in his hands for a moment. ‘It’s doing my head in. I just want to know what happened to her.’ He jumps up and walks to the window, pulling open the blind and peering through.
‘Max happened to her,’ I say.
He walks back over to me and places his hand on my shoulder. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘Actually, can I have some water, please?’ My throat is dry and hoarse.
In the kitchen, I put my bag on the worktop and pull out the laptop. ‘I’ve brought this with me. I’ve gone through it, and didn’t find anything other than that bank transaction. But maybe you could have a look too? In case I’ve missed something.’
He frowns. ‘I’m no expert, though. If you didn’t find anything then I doubt I will.’
‘Can you just try?’
He looks at me for a moment. ‘Yeah, sure.’
I perch on a bar stool. ‘Max always has his head buried in it. I know he’s a workaholic, but this evening he was saying how lost he feels without his phone or access to his laptop. I told him I’d take it to my colleague to have a look and see if he can get in. I lied to him.’
‘Not as bad as the lies he’s told you, though. Guilt’s a pointless emotion, Hannah. Especially where Max is concerned.’
I nod. ‘I was thinking – what we need to do is work backwards. Start with why he might want Alice dead.’
‘I’ve done nothing but think about that,’ Taylor says. ‘It can’t be because she was threatening to tell you about the affair. Not when he was planning to leave anyway.’
My throat constricts. ‘According to Alice. What if she was lying to you?’
Taylor fills two glasses with water, and hands one to me. ‘It’s possible. She would never need to, though. I never judged her. She knew that she could tell me anything.’
‘And I thought Max could tellmeanything. Don’t you see? How well do we ever know anyone?’
My words float around us, infusing the air with tension.
‘Do you trust me?’ he asks, taking a sip of water.
‘No. Do you trust me?’
He laughs. ‘Not a jot.’
‘Then at least we both know where we are. Maybe she was threatening to go to the police, then? About what he’d said he was planning to do…to me.’ The words slice into my mouth.
Taylor continues browsing through the laptop. ‘Possibly. But unless Alice had evidence, why would Max have been worried?His word against hers, and he’d just claim she was a woman scorned.’
There are too many unanswered questions, and the more we dig, the more we flounder in the infinite possibilities.
For over an hour, I sit and watch Taylor as he scans every inch of Max’s laptop. His face is a blank canvas, expressionless, and several times I open my mouth to ask if there’s anything, before deciding against it. I need to leave him to it.
‘There’s nothing on here,’ he says, finally. ‘But then why would he leave any evidence on his laptop? This isn’t the place we’ll find answers, Hannah.’ He shuts it down and slides it back to me.
The truth lies with Alice. Even though the dead don’t speak, that’s where we have to look. I tell this to Taylor and his face creases.
