AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I order the pizza on my phone. ‘What about Max?’ I ask, when I’ve finished.
‘What about him?’
I try to organise my thoughts. ‘What if I’ve got this all wrong? Max was attacked too. What if this is something to do with Alice?’
‘You’re not making sense. I know my head’s foggy, but?—’
‘What I mean is – what if it was Alice who wanted to hurt me?’
‘No. I told you she wouldn’t hurt anyone. When I said I didn’t trust her, I didn’t mean that she could hurt people. She never would. This is a woman who would save ants if she ever found one in her kitchen. I’d tell her just to hoover them up and she’d have a go at me, tell me that they’re all God’s creatures. And why are we more important than an ant just because we’re human?’
‘That doesn’t mean?—’
‘She was leaving Max, remember? That’s the whole reason she’s dead! Why would she want you hurt? Sorry, Hannah, but you’re wrong.’
‘What about the photos she had of me?’
He sighs. ‘I know. I’m not saying she wasn’t a bit obsessed with you because you’re the woman Max chose to marry. Maybe he was messing her around in the beginning. Making her believe he would never leave you. I don’t know, Hannah!’ He closes his eyes for a moment. ‘Let me see those photos again.’
I reach under the sofa cushion and pull out the brown envelope. He stays silent as he studies each one, and then he begins placing them in some kind of order.
When he’s finished, he turns to me. ‘Right. From what you’re wearing in each photo, I’ve tried to put them in order. In some of them you’re wearing a light jacket, others no coat at all.’
I look at the photos. Taylor’s right.
‘Notice anything?’ Taylor asks.
And that’s when I see what he’s getting at. ‘I’m not wearing my winter coat in any of them.’ It’s been colder earlier this year,so I’ve had my coat on since at least the middle of September. Which means none of these photos were taken after the summer.
‘Alice stopped following me a couple of months ago,’ I say.
Taylor nods. ‘Looks like it. But we can’t be sure why. Maybe Max told her he was leaving you and he and Poppy would have a new life together. With her.’
Even after everything I now know about Max, hearing this from Taylor cuts deeply into my flesh.
‘And then Alice realised what he was going to do,’ Taylor continues. ‘It fits with the photos stopping. Everything changed.’ He takes my hand. ‘I know it’s hard to face. And after everything, you still don’t want to hear that Max could do something like this to you. I get that. It’s horrific. But don’t lose sight of that, Hannah. Don’t crumble now. Hold it together or we’ll never get to the truth.’
Nausea swirls around my stomach, snatching any words I want to say. All I can do now is wait to see what happens tomorrow. Will I get any answers from a man who is most likely capable of murder? Eventually I compose myself, just as the pizza arrives. But there is no way I can stomach any food now.
It’s two a.m. and I’ve barely slept. Without Poppy here, on the other side of the bed, everything feels strange. Out of place. I pull on my dressing gown and grab the duvet, dragging it to the living room.
Taylor is asleep on the sofa, and I spread the duvet on the floor and lie down, closing my eyes.
‘Hannah?’
‘Yeah. Sorry, do you mind me being here? I couldn’t sleep.’
‘Not at all. As long as you don’t snore.’
Despite everything, I laugh.
We talk for a while, whispering even though there’s no one else here. Like two old friends. Only we’re not. And maybe we never can be after all of this.
But when Taylor reaches down and takes my hand, holding it while he turns onto his stomach to drift off to sleep, I keep hold of it. Hoping that when I wake up, he’ll still be holding my hand.
‘I’ve made you coffee.’
My eyes snap open. Everything slowly coming into focus.
