He was quiet for a while and she could hear his breathing. Eventually, he said, ‘Essie must have identifiedsomethingin you.’
She shook her head. ‘I don’t know what it is, and you seem to know hermuchbetter than I do.’
‘I’m her solicitor,’ he said firmly.
Liv looked down at the cufflinks in her hand. It seemed the wrong time to ask if he shared Essie’s bed, too. ‘The end to her book is missing and I’m trying to find out if it exists or not. Perhaps there are some missing chapters in her yellow notebook. It was on her desk when I last saw her.’
‘She used it to write down her instructions for us. That’s all.’
Us, Liv thought, thinking the word sounded strange. She wondered what else the author might have asked Anthony to do.
‘Oh, right,’ she said and flopped back on the bed with her mind careening around. She hoped there was a more complete version of the manuscript somewhere, something typed up. Perhaps Matilda, Essie’s last assistant, would know. When she closed her eyes, the room started to spin. ‘Essie only died two weeks ago. How can I possibly keep her secret for another five and a half more months?’ she murmured.
‘I’m sure you’ll think of something,’ Anthony said gently.
‘But it means keeping up a charade that Essie’s still alive,’ Liv said, aware her words sounded slurred.
‘Let’s not discuss all this now,’ Anthony cut in. ‘Let’s converse again when you’re more composed. It’s been a long day, for both of us.’
Liv glanced at the empty champagne bottle and noticed it was growing darker outside.Lights sparkled from the bars and restaurants in the streets below, and she felt like a skydiver on the verge of jumping out of a plane. She started to hiccup. ‘When can we meet again?’ she said, feeling drained.
He was silent for a while. ‘Next week, Wednesday at the Museum of Writing,’ he said. ‘Does 10 a.m. work for you?’
Liv hoped it would be sooner, but she could hang on for seven days. ‘Sure, I’ll see you then.’
After hanging up, she stood and traipsed into the kitchen where she found a bottle of Merlot. She carried it into Essie’s writing room and slumped at the desk. When her phone pinged, she saw the message was from Jake.
Where are you?it read.
She sighed. Didn’t he trust her?
I’m fire, don’t wossy,she replied, only realizing her misspellings after she’d sent her reply.Be home soon x
He rang her back, but Liv didn’t pick up. She closed her eyes until ‘Paperback Writer’ stopped playing. Not wanting to speak to him or anyone else right now, she switched off her phone and dropped it into her bag. She giggled at how inebriated she felt, which made her feel guilty, so she started to cry. Tears streamed down her face and her nose grew snotty.
Exhausted, Liv circled her arms on top of the desk and let her head drop forwards. The varnished oak felt cool and smooth against her skin and her eyelids grew heavy. She drifted off into a woozy sleep.
When she woke up, she had a floor-to-ceiling view of an ethereal peach sky and candyfloss clouds. It was beautiful but also made her feel light-headed. She limply raised her wrist to look at the time.
4.27 a.m.
Liv sat bolt upright. She snatched up her bag and knocked her glass off the desk. Drops of wine sprinkled the carpet and she gave them a quick rub with her socked toe. With no time to worry about stains, she tugged on her shoes in the hallway and scrambled out of the flat.
Once she was out in the street, she attempted to sprint across the city. The thump of her feet against the pavement made her brain bounce painfully. The park gates were locked and the windows of all the cafés wore metal shutters. Figures moved stealthily in dimly lit office buildings, and she recognized the movements of the cleaners.
When she reached her house, the street was silent apart from her panting. Liv gritted her teeth as she unlocked the front door. She pulled off her shoes and crept upstairs. Each stair groaned as if telling tales on her.
She left her clothes on the floor before slipping into bed. For a few seconds she thought she’d got away without waking Jake. But then he sat up.
‘Where’ve you been?’ he hissed. ‘What time is it?’
Liv’s mind jumped around, trying to think of an excuse. She was pretty certain she’d never lied to him properly before, unless knocking fifteen pounds off the true cost of a dress counted. ‘I was at Essie’s place and… um, I felt ill, really dizzy,’ she whispered. ‘I lay down and must have dropped off.’
‘You told me you were fine.’ He was quiet for a moment. ‘Did Essie find you asleep? Why didn’t she wake you up and call for a taxi?’
‘She was… working away.’ Liv half expected a lightning bolt to strike her between the eyes. She had a desperate urge to tell him everything and let the events of the last fortnight come gushing out.She dug her fingernails into her palms to stop herself.
‘I was worried.’ Jake reached out and stabbed the button on the alarm clock, letting out a groan when 5.18 a.m. projected in red digits on the ceiling. ‘Johnny wanted your help with an essay.’
