The Therapist(31)

‘Did she give you her name, or tell you which publication she was with?’

‘No.’ Tamsin’s questions make me uncomfortable. Does she know I’m lying?

‘So how do you know she was a reporter?’

She does know I’m lying. ‘I – I don’t know, I just presumed that she was. Who else could she have been?’

‘Tam,’ Maria says gently. ‘Stop. You’re making Alice uncomfortable.’

‘Sorry. It’s just that I hate the thought of someone poking their nose in, dragging it up again when we’ve only just managed to put it to rest.’

‘Let’s talk about something else,’ Eve says brightly. ‘Like Christmas, or Halloween, or Maria inviting us to supper on Friday.’ She looks over at her. ‘Isn’t that right, Maria?’

Maria laughs. ‘Thanks for reminding me. Tamsin, Alice, are you free Friday evening? I mentioned supper to Eve yesterday and she and Will can make it, so I hope you can too.’ There’s no reply from Tamsin; she’s staring out of the window, lost in thought. ‘Tamsin, are you and Connor free on Friday?’ Maria says again, more loudly this time.

‘What?’ Tamsin shakes her head quickly as if to clear it. ‘Yes, why?’

‘For supper at mine.’

‘That will be lovely, thank you.’

‘What about you, Alice, are you and Leo free?’

‘I think so.’

‘Why don’t you let me know once you’ve spoken to him?’

‘I’ll ask him tonight,’ I promise.

They leave soon after and while I tidy up, I think about Maria’s invitation. I’d love to go because I don’t want to miss the chance to see the friendship group that Nina and Oliver were part of in action. I want to observe the dynamics between the couples, see how they interact with each other, get to know them a little better. There are things I don’t fully understand, like their insistence that Nina and Oliver were blissfully happy. If they were, why did he kill her? Remembering what Eve had said about Lorna witnessing everything, I decide to go and see her.

In the study, I swap my T-shirt, which I managed to spatter with dressing, for a clean one, grab my keys from the table in the hall, throw open the front door – and find myself looking straight at Thomas Grainger.





Sixteen


I’ve startled him as much as he’s startled me. His arm, which he’d raised to ring the doorbell, drops quickly to his side. He takes a step back, as if he’s expecting me to verbally attack him.

‘Ms Dawson, I’m sorry.’ He raises his hands in a backing-off gesture. ‘I’ll leave, it’s fine.’

‘Wait a minute.’ He stops, his body half-twisted towards the drive. ‘You said you were investigating Nina Maxwell’s murder.’

He turns back to face me. ‘That’s right.’

‘Why now, more than a year after she died?’

‘I’ve been investigating it since her husband committed suicide. But I had to put it to one side because I couldn’t get the information I wanted. I’m a private investigator, so persona non grata as far as the police are concerned.’

‘What information do you want?’

He finds my eyes, holds my gaze. He had done exactly the same thing last time, I remember. I want to look away but I can’t. There’s something mesmerising about them.

‘I’m afraid I’m not prepared to discuss anything on the doorstep.’

It’s now or never. If I don’t invite him in, he won’t come back. I open the door wider.

‘Thank you.’ He steps into the hallway. ‘I really appreciate you agreeing to let me talk to you.’ I take him through to the sitting room, wondering what I’m doing letting a stranger into my house. He might be dressed smartly – a casual, lightweight suit and open-necked pale blue shirt – but he could still be a murderer. He could be Nina’s murderer. I take my phone from my pocket, hold it in my hand. I offer him a chair but I stay standing by the door. If I need to make a quick exit, I can.

‘I’d like to apologise again for the shock you must have got last week when I told you about the murder,’ Thomas Grainger says. ‘I had no idea you didn’t know.’

‘I realise that.’

‘I hope it didn’t cause any trouble.’

‘None at all.’ I’m not about to tell him that Leo kept it from me and that we’re barely speaking. ‘My husband and I are deciding what to do.’ He doesn’t need to know that we’re not married either. ‘We’re not sure how we feel about living here now.’

‘I can understand that.’

‘I think you should start at the beginning. How did you know we were having drinks here?’

‘I’m afraid I can’t tell you that.’

‘Why not?’ He looks steadily back at me. ‘Are you in touch with someone from here?’

‘No, absolutely not.’ He waits for me to move on and when I don’t, he nods. ‘Let’s just say that I found out through the invitation you posted.’

It takes me a while. ‘You’ve hacked the WhatsApp group?’ He doesn’t confirm or deny it and I’m not even sure a WhatsApp group can be hacked. I don’t press him any further because he wouldn’t tell me anyway. ‘So why did you decide to crash it?’ I say instead.