“I think I need to rewind a bit to make this make sense. Thomas has been in love for years. With his much younger, dead best friend’s daughter. God, he’d never admit it, but, well, I know him. I worked next to him every day for years. I know every flicker of his eyes, every tut. I know his mood by how he walks into the office and how many times a day he jokes about firing me. I think that’s why I’ve worked this out and no one else has.”
She shook her head and continued, “He lost touch with this woman years ago, but his friend had a heart attack recently and Melissa—the best friend’s daughter—was one of his doctors. He told me how they spent the weekend together, and now he had her in his life, he’d burn down the world before he let anyone take her from him again.”
Silence fell between us.
“Before he left for Ireland, he told me that he had to go away to burn down the world… he used those exact words and then he told me not to forget who he was.”
I wanted to understand, but she wasn’t making any sense.
She turned to me, letting out a massive sigh. “I’m sure that’s what he said, but I’ve gone over it so many times I think I’m losing my mind. But then there was the note.”
“The note,” I repeated.
“Thomas didn’t come into the office yesterday, which is weird as well because his flight wasn’t until late afternoon. Anyway, I found a note he’d left me in a file he knew I’d need while he was away. It said ‘Don’t fall apart. I’m counting on you’.”
“And he left that note for you?”
“Well, I mean, it wasn’t addressed to me and it didn’t have his name on it, but no one else looks at the files but me and him. They’re all confidential.”
“Could he have written it for himself?”
She shook her head. “Thomas was not the affirmation, writing inspirational notes for himself type of guy.”
“Right, so you have something he said, something he wrote, a weird flight and a sports car.”
“Exactly.”
“But what do you think it means? Why is he a liar?” I tried to keep my voice level because I didn’t want to upset her, but I was worried about how on edge she seemed.
She chewed her lip and stared at where her hands rested in her lap. “I called Red this morning to tell her how sorry I was.”
“Red?”
“She runs a charity from Thomas’ building. She has the office next door to his. They’re best friends. She was so upset about Thomas but even more so because apparently, he and Melissa got engaged. He left her this romantic note and a ring telling her to wear it while he was away in Ireland, not to take it off, and that he wanted to ask her properly when he got home.”
“Romantic,” I offered, not sure what she was implying.
“He met with a man who specializes in surveillance the day before he left.”
Not sure what else to do, I took her hand in mine.
“I think Thomas has done something really stupid,” she whispered.
“Helen, he died,” I replied softly.
“No, I don’t think he did. I think he wants us to believe he did, but I think he pushed that car off the cliff and he put a tracker in his girlfriend’s engagement ring that he left for her before he ‘died’ so he could keep an eye on her while he does something stupid because he thinks someone is trying to hurt her.”
“Helen,” I gasped, because that seemed so unlikely. It sounded more like a movie script than real life.
“Thomas Lanton can’t have been killed by the weather. That man has fought monsters, put himself in danger more times than I can count, been shot at, threatened. I mean, he’s ex-SAS. He’s fought wars. I can’t believe the rain killed him.” She burst into tears. “Am I clutching at straws? How likely is it that he’s faked all of this for a bigger reason?”
I pulled her into a hug, holding her tight. “Faking your death so that firefighters or the police think you’re actually dead… that would take a lot, beautiful. Is he really capable of that?”
She looked up at me, laughing quietly. “I wish you could have got to know him. The man was terrifying when he needed to be, but God, the things he’d do to protect the people he cared about… there was nothing he wouldn’t do. He would have gone to the ends of the world if one of his team got hurt or if someone he loved needed his help.” Her words turned to sobs. “Why am I talking about him like he’s past tense? Like he’s really gone?”
“Maybe deep down, you know the truth.”
She stood up, wiping her face on the sleeves of her jumper. “Maybe, but I need to make sure Melissa is safe. I’d never forgive myself.”