Chapter 8: What Marsh Knew
Adrian put the phone on speaker.
Clara sat beside him on the stair.
Neither of them moved.
"You know who this is," Marsh said.
It wasn't a question.
"I do," Adrian said.
"Talk."
A breath on the other end.
The sound of a man calculating.
"I want it on record that I didn't know what Holt was planning to do," Marsh said.
"I provided information.
That's all I've ever done.
What she did with it — what happened with the child — that was nothing to do with me."
"You provided information about Clara to people who used it to put my daughter in danger," Adrian said.
"You can explain the distinction to a solicitor."
"I'm calling because I want this to stop," Marsh said quickly.
"Raymond has gone further than any of us agreed to.
This was supposed to be a background check.
Keep an eye on the situation.
That's it."
"Who is *us*?" Clara said.
Silence.
Then: "Miss Lawson."
"Who is *us*, Mr.
Marsh?"
Another pause.
"Raymond.
Holt.
And a third party who I was told was a concerned family member."
"Patrick," Clara said.
The silence that followed was confirmation enough.
"Patrick Wren," Marsh said finally.
"He approached Raymond fourteen months ago.
Said he had a mutual concern.
That you were — his word — unstable.
That you'd caused problems before and would cause them again." A pause.
"I had the file from the previous arrangement.
Raymond paid for access.
I didn't ask questions."
"And Vanessa Holt?" Adrian said.
"She was Raymond's idea.
He'd used her before.
She's good at — getting close to people.
Finding things." Marsh's voice had the flat tone of someone reading from a list they're ashamed of.
"She was supposed to find something in the file that could be used.
When she couldn't, she started looking on her own."
"And the stroller?" Adrian said.
A long silence.
"I found out about that this morning," Marsh said.
"From Holt herself.
She called me after she left your house.
She was — not calm." He paused.
"That was not sanctioned.
That was her own decision.
I want to be very clear about that."
"A baby," Clara said.
Her voice was quiet.
"She put a baby at risk."
"I know."
"And you want to be clear that you didn't sanction it."
"Yes."
"Then be clear about something else," Clara said.
"Tell us everything.
Names, dates, what was in the file, what was shared, who paid for what.
All of it.
In writing.
Signed."
"That would expose me to—"
"Yes," Clara said.
"It would.
And not providing it exposes you to more." She looked at Adrian.
"We have a solicitor.
We have Olivia's notes.
We have the security footage.
We have the text message you sent tonight.
We have enough to take this to the police and let them work backward from Vanessa to you." She paused.
"Or you give us a full account and we use it to go after Raymond and Patrick directly.
Your choice."
Marsh was quiet for almost a full minute.
"I'll put it in writing," he said.
"Everything I know."
"Send it to this number by nine tomorrow morning," Adrian said.
"And if I do?"
"Then we'll know who the principals are," Adrian said.
"And we'll act accordingly."
The call ended.
Clara looked at the phone.
Then at Adrian.
"Patrick," she said.
It was the first time she'd said his name without the careful distance she usually kept around it.
"I never thought he'd go this far."
"People who feel entitled to something," Adrian said, "don't always know when to stop."
She nodded.
She was quiet for a moment.
"He wanted to make sure I couldn't build a life," she said.
"That's what this is.
Not protection.
Not concern.
He just couldn't stand the idea that I was fine without him."
Adrian didn't say anything.
He put his hand over hers.
Upstairs, Emma made a small sound in her sleep.
Both of them listened until it settled back into quiet.
"Tomorrow," Clara said.
"Tomorrow," he agreed.
But as they stood up from the stairs, Clara's phone lit up on the hall table.
A message.
Unknown number.
Different from the one Marsh had used.
May you like
Three words.
*Don't trust him.*
