Chapter 63

Libby released her grip on the tablet like it was burning her hands. Then she stared at the device in disbelief, trying to make sense of what she had just seen and heard.

Jude Harrison had returned. And he wanted to see her again.

When the shock passed, anger began to rise inside her and she wanted to hurl the tablet against the wall until it shattered, then forget she had ever found it. But it wasn’t an option. She couldn’t unsee or ignore that Jude had broken cover to make contact.

She had to call the police. Her hands shook as she reached for her phone and asked her virtual assistant to find the electronic business card she had stored with the details of a Chief Inspector who was heading one of the many investigations into Jude’s disappearance. They had met on several occasions to discuss her first encounter with Jude. Then together, they’d watched and listened to recordings of conversations in the inquest room, trying to pick out and piece together clues as to his potential identity.

‘Would you like me to call the number you have requested?’ asked the VA.

Libby opened her mouth but no reply came out. Instead, she kept replaying the moment on the train when Jude had bumped into her, angry with herself for having drunk too much and let her guard down. Perhaps if she had been sober, she’d have immediately identified him, then called for help. There would have been no shortage of vigilantes on that train willing to apprehend the world’s most wanted man until the police arrived.

‘Would you like me to call the number you have requested?’ the VA repeated.

Libby considered how long Jude might have been following her. Had it only been on the London to Birmingham train or had he been watching her all day? All week perhaps? Longer? She felt sick at the thought of his proximity.

‘Would you like me to call—’

‘No,’ Libby interrupted.

Her focus returned to the tablet, a part of her eager to watch the video for a second time but too afraid to press play. Eventually, she summoned up

the courage and Jude came back to life. ‘What happened that day isn’t as black and white as it seems,’ he said. ‘I would like the opportunity to tell you the truth.’

Of course your guilt is black and white! she thought. Forensics proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that you had never been a Passenger in the car we’d been watching you in. There was no DNA, no empty food cartons or rucksack scattered across the rear seats like we’d seen earlier.

Jude Harrison’s life was never in danger because Jude Harrison had never existed. He was a fictitious character no more real than those in the thriller novels she read. She repeated his words aloud. ‘I would like the opportunity to tell you the truth.’ Nobody knew the truth, not even a version of it. Might this be her only opportunity?

Less than an hour had passed since promising Nia she was going to start erasing Jude from her mind. But she knew that no matter what lip service she paid her friend, she would never truly rest until she had heard from Jude’s own lips the story behind what happened that day.

She replayed the message one last time before making her decision. She had to hear him out in person. If Jude had wanted her dead, it would have happened by now.

‘How do I find you?’ she said aloud. She scanned the tablet again on the off-chance she had missed something. Once assured Jude had left her no way of responding to his request, she moved towards her coffee machine again and picked a capsule with the highest caffeine content. She needed her wits about her. The sound of the tablet vibrating against the table top caught her attention – it had received a message. And it could only have been from Jude. She read it tentatively.

‘There’s a car waiting outside for you. It’ll bring you to me.’

Libby paused to catch her breath. ‘Do you think I’m just going to get into a car that you’ve sent?’ she spoke aloud.

Seconds later, another message appeared on the screen. ‘No,’ it read.

Libby froze. Jude was listening to her through her tablet.

Another message appeared. ‘I have no reason to hurt you.’

‘You had no reason to hurt anyone that day,’ she replied, her voice growing in confidence.

‘It wasn’t my doing,’ Jude texted. ‘Let me tell you everything in person.’

Libby hesitated. It was now or never. If she really wanted to hear the answers she craved, this might be her only opportunity.

She turned to face Jude’s tablet, took a deep breath, pulled her hair back into a ponytail and attached a band to keep it place.

‘Okay,’ she said. ‘Where am I going?’