Guilty Innocence Read Online Free PDF Page A

He’s a child killer. And even if Mark provides some convincing explanation, can their fragile relationship withstand Natalie striking it such a blow? An accusation of being a notorious murderer isn’t one that can be shrugged off, cast aside like a lesser charge, such as infidelity with A.J.
    As she looks at her watch, concerned now about his lateness, she hears the main door to the building being opened. Footsteps echo in the hallway. A pause; the rustle of letters being rifled through. Mark will be checking the post on the communal table, seeing if anyone’s sent him mail. He won’t find anything; Natalie’s got there before him. The only important letter is the one she holds clenched in her hand.
    He crosses the hallway, puts his key in the latch; Natalie imagines his concern when he finds it unlocked. The door inches open slowly and then Mark is framed in the doorway, surprise registering on his face as he takes in the sight of Natalie, standing there pale and unwelcoming. One hand clutches Mark’s sofa, the other is held behind her back.
    He doesn’t speak at first, but she watches his eyes glance from her to the empty plate and biscuit packet on the table. He’s well aware of her comfort eating and the evidence is there before him, along with her silent, accusatory stare.
    ‘Nat,’ he says, his voice uncertain and a note or three above his normal pitch. ‘What…what are you doing here?’ It sounds as though his throat is as closed over as Natalie’s is. When she doesn’t reply, he tries again.
    ‘Has something happened? Are you all right?’
    For answer, she brings her hand out from behind her back. In it, she holds the letter, now replaced in the envelope.
    She thrusts it towards Mark’s face. Confusion floods his expression in the seconds before he recognises what she’s holding. Then all she sees is a weary acceptance, and hope for a plausible explanation of its existence fades within her. Natalie interprets his expression as one of guilt mixed with shame. He doesn’t speak, merely switches his gaze between her face and the letter. Behind Natalie, the kitchen clock ticks the time away and the sound seems magnified by the tension choking the room. She drags air into her lungs, eventually managing to get her tongue to work.
    ‘Why…’ She wets her lips, despite there being precious little saliva in her mouth. ‘This letter…why do you have it?’
    Until he speaks, she tells herself, the chance exists he can explain this, rip away the dread in her gut at the suspicion she’s been sleeping with a child killer.
    The clock continues to tick away behind her, measuring the seconds until he opens his mouth. He doesn’t, though, and Natalie tries again, forcing a calmness she doesn’t feel into her voice.
    ‘Are you Joshua Barker?’ she asks.
    No reply. Mark won’t even look at her.
    ‘Answer me, for fuck’s sake.’
    Anger mixed with fear bites hard at her as Mark turns away. He leans his palms on the kitchen table, pressing his weight forward onto them, increasing the distance between himself and Natalie as though he’s carrying some deadly contagion. She hears him sigh.
    ‘You’ve been going through my things again.’ No trace of annoyance in his voice, just a sad resignation.
    She ignores his words. ‘I’ll ask you again. Why the fuck do you have a letter addressed to Joshua Barker? The child killer?’
    Mark shakes his head. ‘Oh, Nat. Don’t do this. Please.’
    ‘Do what? Check whether the man I’ve been sleeping with is who he says he is? As opposed to a murderer?’ She tosses the letter aside, attempting to shove his arms off the table. Anything to get him to meet her eyes. ‘Don’t you think I’ve a right to do that?’
    He does return her gaze then, weariness in his expression. ‘Yeah. I guess.’
    ‘Then answer me. Are you Joshua Barker?’
    Sadness creeps over his face as the silence thickens between them.
    ‘For God’s sake, tell me. Yes or no?’
    Eventually he