Page 147 of The Making of Jonty Bloom
“Won’t the police?”
“Not unless Brad confesses, I’m guessing. Though I don’t know. Maybe they’ve already called Tay’s parents.”
“I’m not sure you’re in a fit state to talk to them. You look shattered.”
“I cried. I don’t cry very often.”
“Did you tell the police everything?”
“This time, yes. The guy was kind. He didn’t say I should have told them before, but I should have.”
“You think that would have saved Tay? When did Brad shove the ladder? Before or after he assaulted you?”
“Before,” Jonty whispered. “But—”
“No buts.”
Jonty stared out of the window. “Doesn’t matter. Tay saw in Brad what I’d missed. He warned me and I ignored him and now Tay’s life is shit. I’m not sure I can ever forgive myself.”
PHILIPPA WAS SURPRISED TO SEEthem, so Jonty assumed the police hadn’t yet been in touch. Should he have waited? Was it better or worse to tell her first?
“Back so soon?” she asked.
“I have something to tell you,” Jonty said.
“Come in.”
Jonty clung harder to Devan’s hand as they walked through the door.
“Tell me or Tay or all of us?” she asked.
“Whoever’s here and Tay.”
“Go into Tay’s room and I’ll get Jeff. It’s just the two of us.”
Jonty let go of Devan’s hand and went over to Tay. “I’m back again. I know what happened now and—”
Tay’s parents came in, concern written on their faces.
“Hi Jonty,” Tay’s father said.
“Hi,” Jonty mumbled.
“I’m Devan, Jonty’s boyfriend.” Devan shook Tay’s father’s hand.
“So…” Jonty took a deep breath. “I found out something today, and Tay, I need you to listen carefully. It’s about Brad Greene.”
Tay didn’t react, not that Jonty had expected him to, but he heard Philippa let out a quiet sigh.
“You didn’t like him.” Jonty pulled free of Devan and took Tay’s hand in his. “You told your mother there was something wrong about him and you were right. I saw the truth too late and you paid the price.” He couldn’t bear to look at Tay’s parents. “Brad attacked me…raped me, and obviously, I dumped him. I reported him for assault, but not rape. He’s been pestering me and I kept persuading myself he’d give up eventually, but it got worse. Today, Brad suddenly turned up at the cottage where I’m staying at Shennan Sands. I ran away and he ended up nearly drowning.”
Tay’s mother let out a gasp of shock.
“The police have Brad in custody, but there’s something he told me in the house before I ran that…that…broke my heart.” Jonty bit back his sob.
Devan moved behind him and wrapped his arms around him.
Jonty took a deep breath. “Brad said he’d cocked up with my pal, that the ladder didn’t exactly slip.”
