The Vow - Debbie Howells Page 0,112

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 my colleagues knows her. She’s done this to people before – stopped them and told them about their future – and now and then, she’s been right. I’ve no idea what you take from that, but I thought you’d want to know.’ Then she adds, ‘By the way, I’ve spoken to Jess. She’s on her way here.’

Jess

It’s Cath who drives me to Bronzefield. When we get there, I go to reception, but this time no-one goes in. Instead we wait a few minutes, before it’s my mother who walks out. She looks lighter, her eyes brighter. As I rush towards her, her arms wrap around me and in that moment, I never want to let go of her. Then as we walk arm in arm towards Cath’s car, she glances up at the sky just as the clouds part, the faintest trace of a smile crossing her face. But for the first time in as long as she can remember, she has no secrets to hide. At last, the nightmare is over.

2019

Eeny meeny miny mo, Amy or Fiona, who shall I choose? Does it matter? When whatever one of you did could incriminate both of you.

Then fate took a hand. After reading the magazine piece about Amy the herbalist, something snapped inside me. It took a while to trace where she was. To pick the right time, when Jess would be going away: to build up those social networks, so that when we met, it seemed the most natural thing in the world. Then came the next part, slowly homing in on you, the successful lawyer, knowing it was only a matter of time before that carefully constructed law career would