We hadn’t got far when the doorbell rang. Auntie Sue answered it and led Jake into the living room.
‘Just calling by to see how you’re all doing.’ He flashed me a heart-melting grin.
Auntie Sue raised an eyebrow at me as Jake wedged himself between the kids on the sofa. I tried to avoid the gaze of my newest audience member and concentrate on my script, but I felt the blush rising in my cheeks. Why did this man give me butterflies every time I saw him?
I stuttered my opening lines but soon found my stride, and actually started to enjoy it. I knew the idea was good and I was confident we were proposing a great concept. If Jennifer Wheeler would give me this chance, I wouldn’t let her down.
My rhythm was broken by Jake’s phone ringing. His face fell when he saw the caller ID and he excused himself to take it outside. I tried to carry on, but my concentration was shattered.
‘OK everyone, quick break time!’ I said, hurrying out of the room after him.
Jake was in the back garden, and I watched him from the kitchen window as he paced across the patio. His shoulders sank, and I knew from the curve of his neck and the way he held his head that we were back to square one.
He put the phone back in his pocket and I went outside to join him. His face said it all.
‘Richard had an alibi.’ He sighed. ‘A solid one. He was nowhere near Seahouses the night that Amy died.’
Something like fury bubbled up inside me. ‘That doesn’t mean he didn’t do it! Why did he have her phone?’
The ground started to spin, and my balance faltered. Jake was suddenly at my side.
‘Easy, there.’ He gently took my elbow. ‘Let’s just sit down here for a second.’ He put an arm around my shoulder and eased me onto the doorstep.
‘I don’t understand,’ I said. ‘He had her phone. He framed Phil.’
‘He took the phone – he’s admitted that, and they’ll charge him with theft, but there’s nothing to suggest he sent those messages from Phil Turner. There’s no evidence linking him to the accident.’ Jake shook his head. ‘Apparently, he says he loved her. He was planning to return the phone. He only took it to get photos of Amy.’
‘That’s stalking!’
Jake held up his hands.
‘It’s creepy all right, and it’s illegal, but it doesn’t mean he had anything to do with her death. Richard was at a conference in Edinburgh when Amy died. Hundreds of people saw him. Apart from the phone, there’s absolutely nothing connecting him to any of it.’
I folded myself forward and buried my head in my hands. I’d let Amy down again. And Auntie Sue was right – Richard wouldn’t recover from this. The people here, they’d never let him forget it. The story would grow and bend and twist and mutate into something hideous and unrecognisable from any version of the truth.
Perhaps that’s what he deserved. He had stolen her phone, after all. Or maybe he’d seen Amy for who she really was and couldn’t help but love her, and had been reckless in his desperation to cling on to any morsel of her memory. Maybe it was nothing more than that. Maybe he had loved her like we all had. Maybe Amy, if she were here, would forgive him for that.
We stepped back into the kitchen. Auntie Sue was waiting by the open door. She shook her head and for the first time in my life, I saw her disappointment in me and remembered afresh that there is no greater pain than letting down the people who love you.
I braced myself, but before she could say anything, the front door burst open, clattering so hard into the wall that the whole house shook. The noise was splintering, and I was running to throw myself in front of the kids before I even had to think about it.
Mike thundered into the hallway, his face a storm of fury and red with rage, lips carved into a snarl, fists balled at his side. He saw me first.
‘Get. Out. Of. My. House.’
He ground out each word through gritted teeth, his jaw clenched.
‘Mike, look – I mean, you can’t think any of this is my fault…’ I tripped over the words, inching backwards as he moved towards me.
‘Get out my house and get away from my kids.’
Auntie Sue came running down the hallway, her face shattered with panicked incredulity. ‘What on earth has happened?’
Mike peered around the living room, doing a double-take when he noticed Rachel sitting in Amy’s chair. She stared at her feet with heavy eyes.
‘It’s her!’ He bellowed, pointing at me. ‘She’s trying to set me up!’
‘Mike,’ I said, trying to stay calm. ‘Let’s talk about this, please. I had to tell them…’
Auntie Sue shook her head and looked away.
‘Get out,’ Mike said, now eerily calm. Staring me down. He glanced at Rachel. ‘You too. Get out of my house and stay away from my kids.’
‘Come on, Mike.’ The words cracked on my tongue. ‘You can’t keep me away…’
‘I can, and I will.’ His voice was as still and deep as the sea, ready to whip into a storm at any moment.
I planted my feet firmly in the carpet and tried to summon the bravery to fight him, but it was no use. He was right. Then a hand at my elbow – and there was Jake, with his kind eyes. He ushered me and Rachel out of the room.
The kids were crying again, all three of them now. I gave a watery smile and mouthed to Hannah, ‘It’s OK…’ as Jake steered me through the doorway, the first tears rolling silently down my cheeks. Auntie Sue was holding Mum, still avoiding my eyes. From the hallway, I could hear the kids sobbing, Betsy
