Evie was watching the news when Astrid entered the room. She hit the mute button on the remote and scowled at her.
‘Where have you been?’
‘To get us breakfast.’ She dropped bagels and doughnuts on to the table and offered Evie a coffee. ‘How are you feeling?’
She took the drink. ‘Have you been out all night?’
Astrid pursed her lips. ‘No. What makes you say that?’
Steam came out of the cup as Evie sipped it. ‘I woke in the middle of the night and looked over, and you weren’t in the chair. I fell asleep again, but you were still missing when I got up thirty minutes ago.’
‘I needed some fresh air.’ Astrid moved towards the bathroom. ‘I’ll have a quick shower, and then we’ll go through what we took from Kennedy’s house.’ She pointed at the TV. ‘Has there been anything on the news about it?’
Evie shook her head. ‘Nothing. Just bits on the internet about a blaze at the bookshop. The fire service managed to put it out before it spread to any of the other buildings beyond the coffee shop next door.’
‘That’s great.’ Astrid kicked off her shoes and unbuttoned her shirt. ‘Oh, I’ve got some good news for you as well.’
‘What’s that?’
Astrid turned on the shower and waited for the water to get hot. ‘Your brother must have had a change of heart about the lawyer. I received a text from one, a Joan Harris who claims she’s representing him and wants to meet you at the station this afternoon.’ She’d closed the door before she heard Evie’s reply. Astrid discarded the rest of her clothes and stepped under the water. The heat seared her skin and she pressed her head against the tiles.
Twenty minutes later, she was dressed and drying her hair as Evie looked over the papers they’d taken from Kennedy’s house.
‘I know why Jack tried to kill me.’
Evie shuffled the papers together and handed them to Astrid, who draped the towel over her shoulder and read from the first page. Water dripped from her and onto the paper.
‘Why would he want to kill you over this?’
‘Read the title at the top of each page.’
Astrid flicked through the first four pages. ‘A Dark Heart in the Garden of Delights by Jack Kennedy.’ She handed the papers back to Evie. ‘So he wrote a book.’
Evie laughed. ‘He didn’t. That’s my novel, the one I sent him for feedback after he praised my short stories.’
Astrid continued to dry herself as she sat down. ‘Why did you go to the bookshop with him when I told you to stay at the house?’
Evie placed the pages on the table between them. Then she repeated the story Kennedy had told about the publisher’s interest in her novel. ‘I know I shouldn’t have gone, but I was too excited.’
‘That’s what he wanted.’ Astrid finished drying her head and put the towel on the back of the chair. ‘He must have been desperate to get rid of you once you turned up at his shop. I assume he didn’t plan this. He probably thought you were never going to leave that place you were in.’
‘You don’t think there’s a connection to what’s happened to Adam?’
Astrid reached for the laptop and opened it. ‘Anything is possible.’
‘Do you think Jack would’ve returned home?’
‘If he did, I’d expect the police to speak to him about the fire. He must know there was no body found in the bookshop.’
The computer sprang to life. The light on the screen was in stark contrast to the gloom spreading over Evie’s face.
‘Maybe people in this town don’t like my family.’
‘Do they have any reason?’
Evie shrugged. ‘Not that I’m aware of, unless it’s to do with my parents’ congregation. Why do you ask?’
‘Family history could be important for discovering who framed your brother. Was your parents’ church popular?’
She pondered the question for a minute. ‘They called themselves traditionalists, though I suppose others would see them as fundamentalists. It did cause a few problems sometimes in the community.’
‘What type of problems?’
Evie grabbed the papers and straightened them so they lined up on top of each other without a single one out of place. She stared at them, averting her gaze from Astrid as she spoke.
‘They took as gospel everything written in the Old Testament; it was the Word of God, and nothing would convince them otherwise.’
Exactly as Astrid had read on the church website. ‘And they expected you and your brother to do the same?’
Evie’s lips curled up. ‘Can you imagine how much of a disappointment we were to them?’
Astrid peered at the computer and the image of the front of Kennedy’s bookshop. She tried not to let her memories come scampering out of the shadows, but it was impossible. The desktop vanished, replaced with different sets of books, ones from her childhood home, and the sight of her father towering over her. He had a belt in one hand and a Bible in the other, but he was no Christian. Just when she thought she’d eradicated those scars, they came screaming back to haunt her.
She twisted her head from the screen and looked at Evie.
‘At some point, your past will no longer matter.’ She put a hand on the stack of papers and smiled at her. ‘This must be something special to drive Kennedy to attempted murder.’ Evie grinned at her, and Astrid returned to the computer. The ghosts of her past had vanished. She twisted the laptop around so they could both see the screen. ‘Let’s check his email first.’
They spent twenty minutes going through the inbox, the deleted folder and sent messages. Evie’s face grew more expansive with every message they read, especially the last one from the publisher Kennedy had sent the novel to under his name. She lifted her hand to her forehead.
‘There’s going to be an auction for my book at the weekend.’ Her voice was shrill and on the edge of laughter.
Astrid stood and grabbed her jacket from the back of the door. She reached inside and removed what she’d bought on her trip for breakfast earlier. She handed it to Evie.
‘Since Kennedy took your phone, I got you a new one. My number is in the contacts, and it has internet access. You need to log in to your email and message this agent and tell them the truth.’
Every part of Evie’s face sank to the floor. ‘I can’t prove it’s mine. The original file is on my other cell.’
She dropped her head into her palms as her body trembled. Astrid placed a hand on her arm.
‘Don’t worry, Evie. The copy you gave Kennedy will be on this machine somewhere. Even if he deleted it, there’s a good chance it will be recoverable on the hard drive. That version of the file will have an earlier date stamp than the one he sent to the agent. All you have to do is inform them to cancel the auction, and you’ll send proof of your claims.’
Evie peered at her. ‘Fancy me getting upset over this when Adam’s accused of murder.’
Astrid returned to the laptop and read out the agent’s email address. She left Evie to contact them while she checked the rest of Kennedy’s computer. The first thing she did was a search for other versions of Evie’s novel. It didn’t take long to discover several copies, including the original. She reached into her trouser pocket and removed the USB drive she’d bought with the phone. She connected it to the machine and copied the book while telling Evie the good news.
‘Kennedy deleted your original file, but he left it in the Recycle Bin like an idiot. I’ve restored it and made a copy. How are you getting on with your email?’
Evie’s eyes lit up. ‘I’ve sent it now. Couldn’t we send an email from Jack’s account, pretend to be him, and admit to what he’s done?’
‘It’s not that simple, Evie. We don’t know where he is. The computer would timestamp the message, and for all we know, he could be sitting in the police station at this precise moment.’
‘So what’s next?’
Astrid minimised the web browser. ‘We’ll spend the morning going through this machine, and then I’ll drive you to the station to see the lawyer.’
‘And what will you do?’
‘I’m going to speak to as many residents of Elm Street as possible.’
She was looking forward to questioning the neighbours, but first, she returned her attention to Jack Kennedy’s computer. It didn’t take long to find his not so secret folders containing thousands of sadomasochistic photos and videos. They looked through half a dozen before Evie turned away.
‘Do you think he knew my brother was into the same thing?’
Astrid closed the laptop. She’d seen enough for now. ‘It’s possible. Many people like to wear masks at these parties, but others are happy to be themselves.’
‘You sound like you’re talking from experience.’
Astrid stood and checked the time on her phone. ‘I’ve seen and done a lot of things in my life.’
Evie flopped on to the bed and groaned. ‘And all I’ve done is run away from everything.’
‘I wouldn’t say that.’ Astrid picked up the papers. ‘You wrote a novel someone was prepared to kill for and which a bunch of famous publishers are going to bid lots of money on. I’d say you’ve already accomplished quite a bit in your short life. And I’m sure there’s more to come. But now you have to get ready to go and see your brother and his lawyer.’
Evie nodded and went to the bathroom. Ten minutes later, her face was obscured by the hooded top as they left the hotel and stepped into the car. She kept the hood up all the way to the police station.
‘I’ll text you when it’s over,’ Evie said as she got out of the car.
Astrid watched her enter the building before driving towards Elm Street. As the car rumbled down the road, she wondered what Adam’s neighbours would tell her.