As she finishes speaking, two more officers walk over to Matt, as she glances towards me. ‘Are you OK, Jess?’
I shake my head, watching as they handcuff him, then lead him downstairs, a look of pure malevolence on his face. Then as the police escort him outside and into a car, PC Page turns to me. ‘I can’t stop now, but I’ll call you shortly about your mother.’ As she walks away, Cath puts her arms around me.
‘I heard what you said to him just now … I wanted to applaud. You’re strong and brave. I’m so proud of you, Jess. And you were right. He’s despicable.’
My legs weak, I sit on the bed, feeling my body start to shake. ‘He threatened me, Cath. He said that one day, when I’m least expecting it, he’ll find me. He means it.’ I look at her, filled with panic. ‘He’ll do it, in the same way he planned everything with my mother.’
‘Jess … He won’t get away with it. We’ll tell the police. They’ll add it to their list of charges against him. Come on. I’m taking you back to Zoe’s.’
*
An hour later, PC Page calls me, to confirm that my mother’s being released and all charges have been dropped. She may be called as a witness at some point, but she’s free. When I tell her about the way Matt threatened me, she takes down all the details, trying her best to reassure me.
Then she tells me about a call the police have just received. ‘It was from a woman who heard our press release this morning. She’d read about Matt’s disappearance in the papers and got in touch because on the night he allegedly disappeared, a man had paid her to book a taxi from Beachy Head to Steyning, offering her £500 if she’d wear some clothes he gave her and book it in the name of Amy. He’d even bought a cheap imitation of your mother’s engagement ring. After she got to Steyning, he picked her up and drove her home. He must have got rid of his car later that night. It had bothered the woman that he’d been up to something, but at the time she was desperate for money. But when she recognised Matt’s photo, she knew she had to call us.’
Dazed, I think of the irony of the timing. ‘It’s a pity she didn’t come forward sooner.’
‘I know. She’s a prostitute – apparently he’d found her a week earlier, wandering the streets. He gave her a lift home, to Kemp Town, when he offered her money just to take a cab ride, as long as she pretended to be your mother. If it’s any consolation, it gives us more against Matt. We’ll be calling her as a witness.’
There’s no mention of Kimberley’s murder, from which I take that it’s Fiona who’s being charged. Taking heart that after all these years, at last there is justice.
Amy
Chapter Thirty-Eight
When I’m taken from my cell to a small room I don’t ask, nor am I told, what’s happened. Sitting down, I wait for a few minutes, hopeless. Then the door opens and PC Page walks in.
‘Amy.’ She looks lighter than last time I saw her. ‘I have some news.’ She sits down opposite me. ‘You were right all along. You were set up.’
‘Allie?’ I breathe the word, incredulous.
‘Not by Ms Rose.’ Her voice is quiet. ‘We’ve arrested Matt.’
As she speaks, euphoria and confusion swirl around me. ‘What?’ I stare at her, unblinking. ‘You mean …’
‘He’s very definitely alive. He came back to …’
But before she can go on, I interrupt her. ‘Does Jess know?’
PC Page nods. ‘She does. She was there when he was arrested. He came back to your house to retrieve his painting. Apparently, it was done by his brother. Jess found the door open and while Cath called us, she went upstairs and confronted him. She’s very determined, your daughter. He isn’t going to be going anywhere very soon.’
‘I don’t understand.’ Dazed, I shake my head. It’s too much to take in. ‘Why?’
‘After your sister died, you weren’t the only one who changed their name,’ she says grimly. ‘Matthew Roche is Matthew Brooks, the younger brother of Charlie, your sister’s boyfriend. After Charlie died, their mother killed herself and their father became a recluse. He died a few years later, when Matthew was eighteen. After his childhood was wrecked overnight, he never got over it. This was about revenge. Did you know Charlie had a brother?’
Still dazed, I try to think back to that time. ‘I don’t think I did. I only saw Charlie when he came to see Kimberley. I didn’t go to his funeral. My parents had sent me away to school by then.’
She looks at me. ‘He went to a great deal of trouble to make sure both you and Fiona suffered. He certainly had us fooled, but he slipped up.’ She pauses. ‘The one thing he hadn’t counted on was us finding your grandmother’s old notebook. We now know it was Fiona who added the poison to Kimberley’s drink and we’ve charged her. But all charges against you have been dropped. We may well call you as a witness, but you’re free to leave here.’
As her words sink in, I can’t move. Then very slowly, I feel a weight start to lift.
But she goes on. ‘We’re looking into the possibility that he might have had something to do with your neighbour’s death. There are indications that the fireplace had been blocked off intentionally. Maybe she saw him leave the flowers – or maybe he wanted somewhere safe to hide for a while.’
I stare at her. How many more deaths? Will this ever end?
‘Oh – one more thing.’ PC Page gets up. ‘About that woman who stopped you in Brighton and told you that you were in danger … Most people write her off as mad, but one of
