Jessica couldn’t believe the turnaround in him over just a few minutes. He had gone from being sullen and withdrawn to being upbeat and interested. His memory was astonishing too. She knew from experience it had always been good and he could comfortably recall events and people from years previously but, given the state he appeared to be in, the attention to detail was remarkable.

‘Was there anyone else?’ Jessica asked but Harry was already nodding before she finished the question.

‘There was a teacher. One of Toby’s friends said something about the two of them having a close relationship. We spoke to him but you know what it’s like with teachers and so on, you have to be careful what you accuse them of. There was no evidence of anything untoward and maybe it was just a bloke who wanted to help. You know what I’m like – suspicious.’

Harry gave a small laugh but Jessica felt a chill go down her back. She wondered if she did know what he was like but tried to forget everything that happened three years ago, at least for now. Her priority was getting the information she needed.

‘Can you remember the teacher’s name?’ she asked. She had read it in the file but wondered if Harry’s memory stretched that far.

‘Ian someone.’ Harry shook his head as if trying to jog his memory before finally admitting defeat. ‘Sorry, I can’t remember the last name.’

Jessica got to her feet. ‘Have you still got my phone number?’ Harry had an initial look of disappointment but quickly stood.

‘Yes.’ His response sounded like an apology for not contacting her; he didn’t know that, until now, Jessica hadn’t wanted anything to do with him. There was a moment where he looked at her and Jessica thought about asking him the question that had been in her mind for three years: ‘Did you help Nigel Collins become Randall Anderson?’ Would he even know the significance of those names? Did she want to know the answer? It was as if the man she would have once called a friend was reading her mind again as Harry looked at her expectantly.

‘I’ve got to go,’ Jessica said. She didn’t trust herself to stay quiet and walked past Harry towards the front door. She was about to open it when she heard him shouting behind her.

‘“Sturgess”.’ Jessica turned around and saw Harry entering the hallway. ‘“Sturgess”, that was the teacher’s name. “Ian Sturgess”.’ Jessica faced him and nodded to indicate she knew he was right.

‘Call me if you think of anything else,’ she said before opening the door and making her way quickly back to her car.

Rain continued to fall as Jessica sat in her vehicle. Everything Harry had told her was already in Toby Whittaker’s file, but it had helped to hear it from someone involved and she knew there were now two names to concentrate on – Simon Hill, the neighbour, and Ian Sturgess, the teacher.

She phoned the station where DI Reynolds said the dig at the woods would be beginning the following day. Jessica told him what she had found out and they agreed to meet again in the morning. Someone would be assigned to find out what Hill and Sturgess were up to nowadays, which would hopefully be straightforward.

Jessica drove home but thoughts of Harry swirled in her mind to such a degree that she wasn’t even annoyed by the queuing traffic and falling rain. Something made her wonder if she would ever see him again.

As she pulled into the parking space outside her block of flats and switched off the engine, it took her a few moments to get her bearings. It felt as if she had completed the journey without any conscious thought of where she was heading. Picking up the photocopy of Toby Whittaker’s file from the passenger seat, she held it under her armpit so her jacket would shield it from the rain. Hopping out, she locked the car and bolted down the pathway to her front door, her head down as she ran. As she neared the porch Jessica felt her foot connect with something and found herself falling forwards. Her first thought was to hold onto the file, which she managed to do at the expense of her forehead which crashed head-first into the doorframe.

Jessica’s head felt fuzzy as she tried to turn to see exactly what had happened. Before she could swivel completely she heard the person’s voice.

‘Oh God, Jess, I’m so sorry.’

9

Caroline Bateman was Jessica’s oldest friend and they had known each other for over fifteen years. They had travelled together, moved to Manchester at the same time and shared a flat before drifting apart and finally reconciling shortly before Caroline’s wedding almost a year and a half ago.

Jessica stood, still feeling a little groggy from the fall, and turned to see Caroline also getting to her feet. She could see two large rucksacks on the ground, one of which she had fallen over. ‘What are you . . . ?’ Jessica started to ask but her friend’s tear-streaked face stopped her.

‘It’s over . . .’ Caroline was crying uncontrollably, a combination of the rain and her own sobs drenching her face. Jessica put down the file on the floor underneath the overhang of the porch and pulled the other woman into a hug.

‘What’s over?’

‘Between me and Tom, I’ve left him.’ Jessica had been a mixture of chief bridesmaid and ‘father’ of the bride at her friend’s wedding to Thomas Bateman. She didn’t know him that well but had met him on plenty of occasions. This was the first she had heard of any problems between them.

Jessica released her. ‘Let’s go inside, you’re soaking.’

She picked up both of her friend’s bags, wedged the file under her arm, and then led Caroline upstairs to her flat. The other woman seemed in a daze and followed without saying anything. After getting inside, Jessica took her friend into the kitchen and gave her a towel while putting the kettle on. Jessica rarely made hot drinks for herself but she knew Caroline was an avid tea-drinker. They sat opposite each other at the table, her friend half-heartedly drying her hair.

‘Do you want to talk about it?’ Jessica asked.

Caroline had stopped sobbing and put the towel on the table. ‘You were right,’ she said, not looking up.

‘About what?’

‘Do you remember when I got married and I asked if you thought I was on the rebound from Randall? I wanted you to say “no” but you just said you didn’t know. The problem was that I knew, but I didn’t want to admit it.’

Jessica could feel the burden of Randall and therefore Harry hanging over her even more heavily than before.

Caroline stared at a spot on the table. ‘We’ve been arguing on and off for ages. He’s always at work but it’s not even that. I just don’t love him. It’s taken me all this time to admit it. We had a massive row this morning and I ended up telling him I hated him.’

‘Oh, Caz . . .’

‘It’s okay. The thing is it feels awful but, at the same time, it feels like everything has been lifted too. I’ve known since before the wedding it wasn’t going to work out but it’s taken until now to say anything.’

Caroline made a noise that was somewhere between a laugh and another sob before they were interrupted by the sound of the kettle boiling and clicking off. Jessica made two cups of tea, even though she wasn’t that bothered, and put one down in front of her friend, hanging onto the other one to warm her hands.

‘What are you going to do?’ she asked.

Caroline picked up her own cup then looked at Jessica. ‘I was hoping I could stay here for a while until I’ve figured it all out. I don’t know yet.’

‘That’s fine but isn’t it your flat you were sharing?’

‘It was. I took out the mortgage but then added Tom onto it. It’s both of ours but he doesn’t have anywhere to go. I just want somewhere to stay for a bit until we’ve decided what to do.’