she’s sitting on a ticking timebomb.
‘The police are going to be crawling all over this now,’ says Jess. ‘And I’ll make sure that they don’t rest until they find out who killed my mother. So if there’s anything you’re not telling me . . .’ Jess raises the knife, her eyes never leaving Rose.
‘Okay, okay!’ calls out Rose, closing her eyes and shaking her head, as if trying to dislodge a deeply buried memory. ‘Harry packed his bags and said he was leaving – I pleaded with him not to go, but his mind was made up. When he got to Julia’s, she said she couldn’t do it – that her husband had found out and threatened to kill her and the baby if she went.’
Tears fall onto Rose’s cheek and Noah turns to look at his nana, momentarily forgetting the hostile situation he finds himself in. ‘What’s wrong, Nana?’ he asks, innocently, dabbing at her cheek with the sleeve of his top.
‘Please Jess, let me take him,’ says Lauren, falling onto her knees. ‘None of this is the children’s fault.’
‘Go on!’ barks Jess, ignoring her.
‘They rowed,’ says Rose, ‘and there was a scuffle. Harry said that she lost her footing and fell, hitting her head as she went down.’
A stunned silence descends on the room.
‘How could you!’ cries Kate. ‘How could you make up such wicked lies?’ It feels as if there’s an obstruction in her airways. She closes her eyes and forces herself to breathe in for three, and out for three.
Rose’s chest heaves as she sobs. ‘I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, but it was an accident – he never meant for it to happen.’
‘So why didn’t he just call the police?’ asks Jess, almost robotically. ‘If it was an accident.’
‘How could he?’ cries Rose. ‘He was a highly regarded lawyer. Imagine the investigation that would have had to be done. He could have lost everything: his job, his family and, if they didn’t believe him, his liberty.’
‘They’d know if it was accidental,’ says Jess. ‘An accident is an accident, but murder is murder.’
‘It was an accident,’ says Rose. ‘A terrible accident.’
‘And you’re prepared to take your husband at his word, are you?’ asks Jess. ‘The man who cheated on you, fathered a child, was going to live with someone else . . . you’re willing to believe his version of events?’
Rose nods. ‘Yes.’
‘Well I guess it’ll be down to the forensics now,’ says Jess, visibly relaxing, but not quite enough for Kate to feel confident to make a grab for Jude. ‘They’ll prove what really happened.’
‘I know what really happened,’ says Rose.
‘They won’t go on the hearsay of a scorned wife,’ says Jess, acerbically. ‘No matter how much she wants to believe it.’
‘I know what really happened . . .’ Rose says again, ‘. . . because I was there.’
50
One year later
‘How’s it going?’ Kate asks, as she sits down next to Lauren on the bench in Court One.
‘I didn’t think you’d come,’ says Lauren, leaning in for a kiss.
‘I had to force myself. I don’t know how I’m going to look her in the eye.’
‘It’s been a long time,’ says Lauren, rubbing her younger sister’s arm. ‘But she’ll be pleased to see you’re here.’
‘I’m not here for her,’ says Kate tightly, before offering a weak smile. ‘I’m here for you.’
‘Well, I appreciate it,’ says Lauren, taking hold of Kate’s hand and giving it a squeeze.
‘Are you still okay for Sunday?’ asks Kate, absently swiping a photo of a beaming Matt holding their baby, Charlie, from her phone’s home screen. She checks for any last-minute texts and emails before turning it off.
‘Yes, the kids are looking forward to it. It’s supposed to be Simon’s weekend to have them, but he’s been unusually civil and agreed to swap it.’
‘Wonders will never cease.’
‘Don’t hold your breath,’ says Lauren. ‘He’s still a bastard most of the time.’
‘I was going to suggest a barbecue if the weather stays like this,’ says Kate. ‘It’ll be our first chance to use the garden since we moved in. It also means we can put Matt and Justin in charge of the grill, whilst we put our feet up with a bottle of wine.’
‘Sounds like my kind of afternoon,’ says Lauren.
The banality of the conversation jars against the seriousness of their surroundings.
‘What do you think’s going to happen?’ asks Kate, suddenly conscious.
‘Well, she’s still maintaining that Dad called her in a panic and asked her to meet him at Julia’s house. And that when she