Readers, Ben has his version of what happened, but it’s tainted by his role in events. I’m Beth’s husband and Elliot’s father, and I think it important you hear the truth from me.
Is it the whole truth?
What does that even mean?
Can truth be broken into fragments and parcelled out to create nuggets of belief? If parts of the truth are torn off, does it become a lie? How badly does it have to be dismembered before it is sufficiently disfigured for the transformation to take place?
We’ll leave Elliot and Harri listening to Ben in the cave. He talks to Harri about the walk they took along the ridge, and the night he saw her at the mosque, and tells her and Elliot the story I’m about to tell you. I will give you my version of events. Since I am the author of this book and believe readers deserve completeness, I will endeavour to make it the whole truth or as close to completeness as is humanly possible. Any disfigurement will be an oversight. It is not my intention to mislead, even if the truth makes you think less of me. I hope it won’t, but I suspect that at least some of you will hate me for what I’ve done.