I walk over to the pool. The paving stones are cracked and uneven, weeds pushing through between. The plants around us are overgrown and lawless. The brilliant white of the house has faded to a greenish-grey with lichen and salty dirt blown up by the winds.

I untie the silk scarf and let it fall to the floor. It flutters in the wind as if breathing. I step down onto the first step. Then the second. The third. As always I try not to disturb the water. It needs to be still. To reflect my face in the darkness. A black mirror hiding my secrets beneath its polished surface.

Sometimes I wonder what I’d have done if she’d fought more. If she’d managed to kick for the surface. Taken a desperate breath of air. I like to think I’d have leant over and grasped her hand or jumped in and pulled her to the steps. But there’s a part of me that knows better. Part of me knows exactly what I’d have done. That I’d have calmly pushed her down. Held her head beneath the surface. Made certain she took her final breath and filled her lungs with water.

It’s the part of me that knows I was always supposed to be here.

I stretch out and push off. In a few strokes I reach the end. I rest on the edge of the pool and stare out across the sea to the horizon. The light catches my bracelet and I look down at it. Beautiful rubies encircle my wrist. Perfect drops of blood cradled safely in a gilded casing.

I turn and glide back through the silken water. I absorb it all, the gulls, the sound of the breaking waves, the unruly garden and overgrown grass which surround this magnificent place.

The Cliff House.

My home.

I glance at him. He smiles and I smile back.

‘I spy,’ I say quietly.

Something beginning with P.

Max lifts his drink and sips and I duck my head beneath the water to drift through the silence.

I spy perfection.

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

My gratitude goes to the incredibly talented team at HQ. Your professionalism, enthusiasm, and warmth has been unerring. Thanks to Lisa Milton for your support and kind words. This book would not exist without my editor Kate Mills who was there from the very beginning of the story. The Sennen setting owes a lot to our shared love of this stunning stretch of Cornish coastline. A brilliant and insightful editor, you understood everything I was trying to achieve and made each step of this journey a pleasure. Thank you.