Page 148 of The Making of Jonty Bloom
“Oh my God,” Tay’s mother whispered. “Oh no, no…”
Jonty swallowed hard and turned to Tay’s parents. “Brad wanted me all to himself. He was jealous of my friendship with Tay. He wanted him gone.”
It had to be Jonty’s imagination but it felt as if Tay was squeezing his fingers, letting go, then squeezing them again.
“What are you saying?” croaked Tay’s dad.
“That Brad tried to kill Tay.” Jonty could barely say the words.
Tay’s father gasped and hugged his wife.
Are you squeezing my fingers?
Yes, you dipstick.
“Tay, if you remember Brad pushing the ladder, squeeze my hand once,” Jonty said.
One squeeze.
“Oh shit. He squeezed my hand.” Jonty began to shake. “If you like tomatoes squeeze my hand once. Twice if you don’t.”
Two squeezes.
“He did it twice.”
Tay’s mother rushed to Tay’s side and Jonty passed Tay’s hand to her.
“Tay, darling, we’re here. Try to wake up. Open your eyes, sweetheart.”
“Ask him something!” her husband urged.
“Is your horse called Mungo?” she asked, then turned to her husband. “Two squeezes. Tay, is your horse called Blue?” She gasped. “One squeeze.”
Tears were rolling down her cheeks. Even when Tay stopped responding, they were still excited.
“I’m sorry,” Jonty blurted.
Tay’s parents turned to him.
Jonty felt Devan’s hand stroking his back. “If it hadn’t been for me, this wouldn’t have happened to Tay.”
“Don’t you dare say that.” Philippa tugged him into her arms. “Don’t you dare blame yourself for what that man did. You couldn’t have known what he’d do. He hurt you too.” She held him by the shoulders and stared into his eyes. “You worked a miracle here, Jonty. They were genuine responses from Tay. No one can argue they weren’t. If he can do it once, he can do it again. We owe you thanks, Jonty. Nothing else.”
Now Jonty was crying. He could feel tears trickling down his cheeks.
“All these times you’ve come to see him, it’s maintained that connection between you and made a difference, will continue to make a difference. I love you for being such a good friend to Tay. You kept faith when others fell away, even his girlfriend and his sisters.” She let Jonty go and hugged her husband. “If we get him back and we will, it will be because of you.”
“But—”
“No guilt, Jonty,” she said. “I won’t allow it.”
That wasn’t going to make a difference, but he kept his feelings hidden for the moment.
“The police will probably call you,” Jonty said. “I guess they might be able to get fingerprints off the ladder, unless Brad was wearing gloves.”
“It’s hanging in the garage,” Tay’s father said. “It’s not been touched since that day. I was going to get rid of it, but…”
“If there’s no evidence other than what Brad said to me, and if he now denies it, it’s possible the police won’t be able to do anything. They might say I had a motive to lie, to get Brad into more trouble.”
