Page 70 of The Soulmate

‘Max.’ I held him tightly around his waist. ‘Oh, Max. I’m so sorry.’

He wiped at a rogue tear that trickled down his cheek. ‘Gabe reminds me of him. He’s similarly troubled. And similarly gifted. I guess I just got it in my head that if I took him under my wing and gave him . . . I don’t know, a chance to channel his gifts . . . he might be all right. He might not go the way Harry did. But I was wrong.’

Another tear fell. He tried to laugh it off. ‘Shouldn’t have had that muscle relaxant or the second glass of wine.’

‘You’re allowed to be emotional,’ I told him. ‘Muscle relaxant, wine, or not.’

We found a bench and sat there for nearly an hour. And Max told me things he’d planned never to tell anyone. Things that shocked me, things that made me want to weep. Things that made me understand.

‘Anyway,’ he said, ‘I think Harry would have been pleased that his brother married someone so perfect for him.’

The beauty of the moment was not diminished by the fact that he didn’t say the wordsI love you.

‘Should we go home?’ I suggested, and he nodded.

Then his phone began to ring.

67

PIPPA

NOW

Iam putting away the last of the groceries when Kat throws open the back door.

‘Aunty Kat!’ the girls cry in unison.

‘Hello, poppets!’ She smiles at them, but as soon as her eyes find mine, I know something is wrong.

‘I just need to speak to Mummy for a second,’ she says to the girls. She avoids Gabe’s gaze entirely. To me she says: ‘In private.’

I haven’t seen Kat like this in a long time. Her mouth is tight and tense, as if she can’t move it properly.

‘All right,’ I say nervously. ‘The bedroom?’

Kat nods. She follows me there in silence and closes the door behind us. I feel like I’ve just been summoned to the principal’s office. Tension radiates off her.

‘What is it?’

‘I was just at The Pantry. Everyone was talking about the fact that it was the NewZ owner’s wife who jumped at The Drop.’

My heart sinks. I sit on the bed, cross my legs. Then I uncross them again.

‘Why is this the first I’m hearing about it?’ Kat asks. ‘Do Mum and Dad know?’ When I don’t respond, she adds, ‘Do thepoliceknow?’

‘It’s complicated, Kat.’

Kat comes closer, squatting so her eyes are level with mine. Her bump is starting to show now and it looks uncomfortable. ‘What’scomplicated?’

‘It . . . it was a coincidence,’ I stammer.

‘Pretty big coincidence.’

‘Gabe didn’t recognise her. He didn’t find out until afterwards.’

Kat frowns at me. ‘So, the police know then – that Gabe used to work for Max?’

I hesitate.