The Therapist by B.A. Paris
Thirty-Two
Ginny calls me.
‘Where are you?’ she asks.
‘Sitting in the square.’
‘Coming now.’
‘I can’t believe it,’ she says when she arrives a couple of minutes later, looking as shocked as I still feel. ‘I can’t believe Leo spent time in prison.’
I shove my hands deeper into my pockets, only realising now how cold I am. ‘It’s why he could never admit to having a passport. He must have changed his name officially, because he bought the house in the name of Leo Curtis.’
‘I’m so sorry, Alice, this is awful for you.’
‘How is he?’
‘Upset, broken.’
‘Why do I feel guilty?’
‘Because you still care for him.’
‘Maybe. But I can’t forgive him.’
‘Because of his crime? I mean, fraud is terrible but it’s not as if he murdered anyone.’
‘You’re right, he didn’t. But it’s not that.’
‘Is it because he spent time in prison?’
I nod slowly. I wish I could explain to her why it matters so much, but I can’t.
‘What are you going to do?’ she asks.
‘Go back to Harlestone, I suppose. I’ll ask Debbie if I can stay with her until I can get the tenants out of my cottage.’ Tears fill my eyes. ‘Six weeks, Ginny. Leo and I barely lasted six weeks.’
She puts her arm around me. ‘Why don’t you come and stay with us for a while?’
‘That’s lovely of you but I’m going to ask Leo if he’ll let me have the house for another couple of weeks.’
‘But – won’t he want the house? Especially as he’s going to be working in London from Monday.’
‘Why? Has the Birmingham job finished?’
‘Yes.’
‘Oh,’ I say, deflated. ‘Could he stay with you for a bit, do you think?’
‘Of course. But why do you need the house for another couple of weeks? It won’t take you long to pack up your stuff, will it?’
‘No, but I need time to work out what I’m going to do.’
‘Can’t you do that from ours? You can stay as long as you like, you know that.’
I shake my head. ‘I want to be here.’
She looks curiously at me. ‘This wouldn’t be about the murder, would it?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Leo says you’ve become a bit obsessive about it.’
‘No, it’s not about the murder.’ I hate that I’m lying to Ginny. ‘I want to be able to say goodbye to everyone properly. Anyway, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask for a couple of weeks, given what he’s done.’
‘You’re right.’ She links her arm through mine. ‘Come on, let’s get you back. You’re freezing.’
We leave the square and cross over to the house.
‘Do you think Leo will stay in The Circle?’ I ask Ginny.
‘I think he intends to.’
It doesn’t seem fair, somehow.
She leaves me in front of the house with a hug. ‘If you need anything, you know where I am.’
Leo is waiting for me in the kitchen, leaning against the worktop. I go and lean against the sink so that I’m facing him.
‘I wish there was a bigger word than sorry,’ he says. ‘But there isn’t.’
‘I’m sorry too,’ I say.
‘What for?’
‘That it hasn’t worked out.’
He nods. ‘It’s alright. I always knew this would happen once you found out.’
I push myself upright. ‘But not if you’d been upfront with me from the beginning!’ I say, upset that he doesn’t seem to understand. ‘If you’d told me about your prison sentence when we first met, everything could have been different.’
‘It wasn’t a risk I was prepared to take.’ He gives a wry smile. ‘I’ve never been able to own up to my mistakes, I’ve always preferred to lie my way out of trouble. At least, that’s what my therapist told me.’
‘You saw a therapist?’
‘Yes. But not anymore. My parents found her for me when I was released from prison.’
Something jars. ‘Are you really estranged from your parents?’
He sighs. ‘How could I introduce you to them when I was using another name? You would have found out pretty quickly that they were Mr and Mrs Carter, not Mr and Mrs Curtis.’
I don’t know why I feel shocked. ‘Don’t tell me. They’re loving parents, you had a pretty decent upbringing.’
He ducks his head. ‘Something like that.’
‘And they don’t know about me.’
‘I’m sorry.’
I throw him a look of disgust. ‘It’s bad enough that you lie about yourself. But that you lie about other people – you should be back in therapy, Leo, you still need help.’ I pause. ‘Are you going to stay here, in The Circle?’
He takes a glass from the cupboard and I move from the sink so that he can get to the tap. ‘Yes. I told you, I love this house, despite its history,’ he says, his back to me.
‘I was wondering – I know it’s your house, but would you let me stay here a couple more weeks? I’d like a bit of time to get used to the idea of going back to Harlestone.’
He takes a drink of water, then turns to face me. ‘I thought you’d be overjoyed to be going back.’
‘No, not really. It feels like a failure, to be honest.’
‘I’m going to be working in London from Monday. But don’t worry, I won’t get in your way.’
‘I’d like two weeks on my own. Ginny says you can stay with her and Mark.’
I feel his eyes on me. ‘Why do you need two weeks on your own?’
‘I told you, I need to get used to the idea that I’m going back to Harlestone.’
There’s a rattle as he places his glass in the sink. ‘So it’s not because you’re still trying to solve a murder that’s already been solved?’
‘I’m not trying to solve it. But as I’ve already told you, I don’t believe that Oliver killed Nina.’
‘Why are you so sure that he didn’t?’ he asks, perplexed.
I look for something to tell him. ‘I read an article. Apparently, Oliver’s sister has always maintained his innocence.’
‘Well, of course she’s going to say her brother is innocent! Are you telling me that because of an article you read in a newspaper, you’ve decided to go on a one-woman crusade to clear Oliver’s name? You should leave things alone, Alice.’
‘So you think it’s alright that the real killer got away with it?’
He throws his hands up in exasperation. ‘We’re not going to get anywhere going backwards and forwards like this. You can have two weeks and then I want my house back.’
‘Thank you,’ I say. But he’s already gone.