From: Ellie Hastings
To: Isobel James
Will and I are on our way home to Eastridge for the weekend, and I am so relieved. I won’t have much time or privacy over the next few days, so I need to get this out of my head now.
I need to ask you something, Isobel.
I need you to lead me to the answer.
The idea of finding this answer terrifies me. I’m afraid that one more truth could hurt this family beyond recovery. And deep down, I don’t know how, but I do know this one is meant for Will.
I’ve been carrying one of your photos around in my bag. You know the one, the photo of you and Ethan with Simon Parker.
God, he was your murderer, Isobel, the cruel man who shot you through the heart.
I promise you that he received the same death he gave you and our gran.
But what is the meaning behind this photo, and what will it do to us?
We know Ethan lied.
You lied.
Fear stirs in my gut now, and it tells me there is something more to the lies you and he shared, the lies that nearly destroyed us all.
The thought of discovering more betrayal unnerves me. And the thought of what it would do to Will if he were to learn that his brother had lied to him further sickens me. He doesn’t know this particular photo exists.
I can’t see him hurt again.
I sent a copy of the photo to Caroline Brown Nielson tonight, and she promised to deliver it to her brother, the commissioner for the Metropolitan Police Service.
Commissioner Brown had interviewed me after your death for the US authorities, and I had known the moment he entered the room that day that he was someone who would be kind, a compassionate soul who would help me.
I pray the commissioner agrees to assist me now in getting to the bottom of this photo. Not only does he have the necessary resources, but also, he knew Ethan. I’m quite sure of that.