Job done, seeds of disrepute planted I asked him to tell the head, so hopeful y they’ll take root Waiting for her to arrive.
And then the rest of the messages for today, starting with the first one that morning.
Tues 10.09
We have a problem
When I phoned this morning she said she knew I wasn’t murderer Tues 10.09
Wtf?
Tues 10.10
Didn’t sound frightened either Tues 10.10
What you going to do?
Tues 10.10
Phone back
Wear her down, like before
Tues 10.52
How goes it?
Tues 10.53
314
b a paris
She’s refusing to pick up
Tues 10.53
Sure she hasn’t gone out?
Tues 10.53
Pretty sure
Tues 10.53
Keep on trying
Tues 10.54
Will do
Tues 16.17
Guess what? She just phoned, wants to chat Any ideas?
Tues 16.19
Maybe to do with cal s I made this morning Find out everything you can Tues 16.21
Have arranged to see her in CW
I’ll already be there for J so will kill two birds with one stone
Then I realise I’ll get there much faster if I scroll to the very beginning of the messages. And I see that they start The Breakdown
315
on July 17th, the night I drove down Blackwater Lane
and saw Jane in her car.
17 Jul 21.31
Receiving clear?
17 Jul 21.31
Yes ?
17 Jul 21.31
Good. Remember, no phoning, only text me at work, or when you know she’s not around Important that you keep this phone on you at al times I’ll check in with you every evening when she’s asleep 17 Jul 21.18
It’s going to be hard not seeing you for next few months 17 Jul 21.18
Think of the money
If she had given you some, it wouldn’t have come to this Now we get it al
17 Jul 21.18
It is going to work, isn’t it?
17 Jul 21.19
316
b a paris
Of course. Look how well it’s worked already She already thinks she’s forgetting things And that’s only small stuff, wait until we real y start messing with her head
17 Jul 21.19
Hope you’re right. I’ll send her text about Susie’s present later
If she falls for it we’ll be home and dry *
18 Jul 10.46
Good morning!
Just to let you know she’s on way to meet you 18 Jul 10.46
Ready and waiting
Did she say anything about Susie’s present?
18 Jul 10.47
No but she seemed on edge
18 Jul 10.47
Let’s hope my text did the trick Did you hear about local woman murder?
18 Jul 10.47
Yes, awful
The Breakdown
317
Let me know how it goes
18 Jul 12.56
Omg it went like a dream!
Thought I should warn you she’s on her way home 18 Jul 12.56
Already? Thought you were having lunch together 18 Jul 12.56
She lost her appetite ?
18 Jul 12.57
It worked that wel ?
18 Jul 12.57
Couldn’t have gone better, she had total meltdown 18 Jul 12.58
She real y believed she forgot about present?
18 Jul 12.58
Told her she was the one who suggested it Bril iant watching her pretending she remembered!
Is the money ready, because she’ll check 18 Jul 12.58
160 in drawer
318
b a paris
18 Jul 12.59
Bingo!
It takes me about an hour to read through all the
messages and get back to where I started, with the last message Rachel sent from the ladies’ toilet in the Spotted Cow. Most of them are read through eyes blurred with tears and some remain seared in my brain long after I’ve moved on to the next. They alone are enough to start me on the road to the truth, a truth I’m half scared to face because I know it will destroy me. But when I remember what I’ve been through for the last three months, and that I’m still standing, I realise that I’m stronger than I think.
I close my eyes, wondering when Matthew and Rachel first began their affair. I think back to when they first met, about a month after Matthew appeared in my life.
I was already in love with him and was desperate for Rachel to like him, yet they hadn’t really hit it off. Or so it had seemed at the time. Maybe there had been an instant connection between them, and they had been cool with each other to hide it. Maybe they had become lovers not long after, before Matthew had even married me. It’s terrible to think that my marriage to Matthew might have been nothing more than a sham, a means for him and Rachel to get their hands on my money.
What I want to believe is that he truly loved me and that his desire for my money only came after, and that The Breakdown
319
it was Rachel who planted the seed in his head. But for