The rest of them had waited out in the corridor , none of them quite sure what to do . While they blustered , Harry had remembered the card that Detective Jennings had handed to him , pulled it out of his jacket pocket and dialled the number . Jennings hadn 't sounded particularly happy to hear his voice , but had promised to send a team out , straight away . A silence fell on them all again until Jennifer had broken it by quietly mentioning that she used to work with a man who had killed himself , though he 'd used a bullet rather than hanging himself . This had caused Elizabeth to start sobbing loudly while Nicola had turned a ghostly shade of white and begun to shake . Matthew and Frederick had taken their mothers downstairs , a futile attempt to put distance between them and the fact that Gary was lying , far from at peace , on the other side of the door . The others had quickly drifted off , eventually leaving just Reece and Harry , standing a morbid sentry in the corridor . Reece had stayed out of duty , it was his father lying dead on that bed , Harry had stayed simply because he had nowhere else to go . He was the outsider in this family , the one who had not lost anything , and by being that outsider , he had accepted the responsibility of knowing what to do next . It had been him who had called the police , and it would be him who talked to them once they arrived . The problem with dead bodies , aside from the obvious , of course , Harry thought , is that it doesn 't matter if you know the person or not . Just seeing a corpse caused you to remember just how short and pointless life could be . Just seeing a corpse reminded you of all the people you 'd known that had died . He slowly walked back upstairs , hesitating a little before passing Gary and Nicola 's bedroom and heading into his own . Frederick was sat at the desk , facing away from him , tapping quickly away on his laptop . Harry gave a small cough to let him know he was there , but he gave no reaction , he didn 't turn to face him , although the tapping of the keys ceased suddenly . " Anything to do with this ? " He asked , handing over two pages of printed paper . Harry only needed to glance at Tricia 's trademark garish red font to realise what it was . " No ! " Harry zipped up his case , surprised at just how little he 'd managed to unpack since they 'd arrived , forgetting that he 'd been there less than a day . " It isn 't … it wasn 't like that . " Frederick snorted through his nose and turned back to his laptop . Harry sat down on the end of the bed and looked at Tricia 's email . He suddenly felt very foolish , his bags were packed and he was ready to go , but he wouldn 't be picked up until the following morning . Harry checked the clock on the wall , he had more than twelve hours to kill . " I … I hadn 't really thought about it . The way Gregory tells it , I 'm in charge of the company until the twelve months is up . If I 'm not married by then … well , we 'll deal with that when it happens . " " You can 't have it all , you know . You can 't keep me , and get married . If you still want me , that is . " " Your home is with me . " He said , sitting next to Harry on the end of the bed , moving Tricia 's email on to the desk . " And you can get roles here , they make British movies too , you know . " " I don 't know . But it 's the only idea I 've got . " Frederick reached out and took hold of Harry 's hand and they sat in silence , staring at the dark skies outside . " Now … I pee . " Harry made his way into the en suite . The two months break will do us good , he told himself , I can concentrate on my career for a little while , and Freddie can spend some time with his family . Help get them back on track . Harry stared at him in disbelief for a moment , unsure whether he was genuine or not . " I can 't . We don 't have any condoms . " Harry knew what he was trying to do , a gesture , an apology , a way of making things right between them . He could see he was genuine . Frederick wanted to do this , he wanted to make them work as a couple . But in that moment , with that pledge of trust , Harry knew that he couldn 't trust him . He knew then that in two months , they 'd still be apart , that they wouldn 't get back together . This was it . This was the end . When Harry woke up he was alone on the bed . With his right hand he reached behind him and braced himself against the headboard , stretching his whole body into consciousness . As he sat up he became aware of the sound of running water coming from the en - suite , Frederick was having a shower . He looked at the clock on the wall and groaned . The taxi that Tricia had hired to take him to the army base would be arriving within the next twenty minutes , somehow he 'd managed to sleep for over twelve hours straight . Although , he supposed , that wasn 't really surprising considering just how little sleep he 'd had the night before . He was still wearing the same clothes he 'd changed into when he and Frederick had arrived on Christmas Eve . All his clothes were packed away and although he probably would have had time to change , he wanted to get out of the room before Frederick left the shower . In a way , they had already said their goodbyes the night before , anything more this morning would just be … awkward . His shirt didn 't look too rumpled , despite having slept in it , and his jeans were black so hid any creases that might appear . To his delight - and probably to his mother 's too - Harry had managed to not spill anything down himself either . He may not have been at his most presentable , but he could hardly imagine the army boys complaining . Harry smiled to himself at the thought of all their uniforms , and what lay beneath them , as he quickly sprayed himself with one of Frederick 's deodorants that was sitting on the side . He grabbed his case and was halfway out of the bedroom door when he suddenly remembered the itinerary Tricia had emailed over . He returned to the desk and picked up the two pages Frederick had printed out . Underneath , was the copy of Ernest 's will that Gregory Lloyd had given to Frederick . He looked down at it and smiled wryly . Ernest had wanted them to split up and for Frederick to get married , that 's why he 'd written the will the way he had . Of course , Harry knew it was nothing personal , it wasn 't him that Ernest wanted rid of , but any boyfriend of Frederick 's , in fact , Harry had a sneaking suspicion that Ernest actually quite liked him , in his own way . He frowned as he looked at the signature on the paper next to his . Pat 's handwriting was scrawled and hard to interpret , but she had quite clearly printed her name underneath . ' Patricia Cromwell ' . Harry 's stomach rumbled loudly and he glanced over at the fruit bowl on the side . He 'd barely eaten anything since the sandwich he had made himself in the kitchen with Pat on Christmas Eve , and his stomach was trying to remind him . He 'd already eaten one apple while he 'd been waiting , and was just reaching for a second when he heard a noise from above him . Harry nodded gently , without making eye contact . " Don 't worry , he doesn 't blame you . He knows it 's not your fault . " " Doesn 't happen to be a light lunch does it ? " Matthew held up a plastic CD case , and Harry took it , looking at the silver disc inside . " What 's this ? " " I couldn 't have done it without my co - star . " Harry clutched it to his chest as if it were an award . Matthew blushed a bright red , and Harry 's face turned serious . " I need to destroy this . " " But , " Harry frowned , " he … he was a tyrant . He hated everything that you are , everything that we are . I thought you hated him . " " I did . But I loved him too . He was a stubborn , prejudiced old bastard , but he did love us . He was more of a father to us than dad ever was . " " Thanks . " He wiped his tears with the cloth and went to hand it back to Harry , before stopping with a frown . " Did you cut yourself ? " " You 're leaving ? " She asked , looking him in the eye for the first time since he 'd entered . Harry noticed that her eyes were bloodshot , the skin around them red and worn . " It 's not easy , trying to get that image out of your head , " Harry said , watching her closely as he spoke , " believe me . I found my mum 's body , when I was eighteen . She … it 's not the same , she didn 't kill herself , she 'd been ill . For the longest time , she 'd been ill , so that we were ready for it . Still … that Sunday morning , waking up to find her lying at the bottom of the stairs … it was the most disturbing thing I 've ever seen . " " I 'd thought as much . " She looked at him curiously . " Something you said earlier , didn 't seem like you were upset about another death , more another death in that way . You said to Pat , ' why again ? Why is it happening again ? ' " While outwardly , his face remained sombre , compassionate , inwardly , he smiled . He 'd found his way in , only now , Harry felt almost guilty for going down this route . If his suspicions were correct , though … " Yeah , you must have heard about it , it all came out on Christmas Eve , he had this son , years ago . They had a big falling out over money or something , and they haven 't spoken to each other in about forty years . No one knows what happened to him . Nobody told you ? " " I guess she 's been here so long , she 's forgotten she 's not a Cromwell . " She laughed nervously , before stopping abruptly . " What time 's your flight ? " Harry stood up and walked around to her end of the table , dropping it in front of her as he did . While she picked it up and looked at the blood stains smeared across it , Harry moved over to a counter . A window in the wall looked out at the side of the mansion , the gravel of the pathway level with the bottom of the glass , and Harry stared at his own face , reflecting in it . " Right . " He nodded . In the glass pane of the window , he could see Ella 's reflection , almost enveloped by the darkness of the outside world . " You know what 's funny , Ella ? " " If I was to just … let my imagination run wild for a moment , " He said , turning around so that he was now facing her , " I might think that Raymond Cromwell married your mother . That would explain why Pat uses Cromwell … but why would your father change his name ? Why change it to French ? " " Ernest didn 't know that Raymond and I had married . " Harry turned to see Pat stood behind him , wearing a thick dressing gown . " After Doreen died , Ernest refused to let Raymond see the children , wouldn 't let him anywhere near them . I felt bad for him . I used to visit him , keep him up to date with news of them , so he didn 't feel left out . I wanted to maintain the link between them , so it wouldn 't be too late if Ernest changed his mind . " " When I realised I was pregnant , I left my job without Ernest ever knowing . I didn 't want him to know , now we had our own child , Raymond and I would have our own family to look after . We would concentrate on her . " Pat sat down at the table and took hold of her daughter 's hand . " I still kept in touch with the children , though of course they were hardly children by that point . Elizabeth wrote to me , inviting me to her wedding and Raymond found the letter . " He wanted to go , said he had to be at his sister 's wedding , so we left Ella with a friend , she was only a baby , and travelled to the hotel . Ernest spotted us and he started arguing with Raymond in the bar . Michael witnessed it , figured it out - most of it , anyway , he didn 't realise Ray and I were married . " " I knew we needed to stay part of that family , and he seemed to enjoy writing my pay cheque out to Patricia Cromwell . " She shared a long , searching look with her daughter . " I didn 't want you to never know your family , I thought perhaps I might be able to convince Ernest to see sense , to speak to his son again . " " No . It was easier at first not to - I didn 't know what he would do . Then as time went on , it became harder and harder to find the right moment , and so I just never did . " He buried the thought away and made a show of looking at the clock on the wall . " Perhaps I ought to be going after all . There 's just one thing that 's still confusing me , though , Ella . " " The other night , the night Ernest was murdered , I came in here , " Harry gestured around the kitchen , " to get a sandwich . You left to have a shower , I even heard you turn it on , the water coming from the boiler or something . But then , later , when everyone heard Pat 's scream , you 'd only just got out the shower , you were dripping wet . " " Go away . " Ella murmured as she felt someone poking her in the ribs . When the poking continued , she slowly opened her eyes , and looked up to a man standing before her . " Dad ? What do you want ? " Her courses at college were demanding a huge amount of her time , she needed to hand in her Psychology coursework in less than a week , the same date as her first Law exams . Quite why she had decided to take those two courses on top of the English Language class she was in , she didn 't know . She had been warned about the workload when she 'd first signed up nearly two years previously , but had insisted that she would be able to cope . Of course that had been before her father had lost his job at the bank . Since then he 'd found it difficult to get another , nobody wanted a fifty three year old with a heart condition for anything excluding shop work . And he wouldn 't do that , he 'd explained , after all he still had his pride . So , he had promptly signed on the dole and hadn 't looked for work since . " No reason . " She shrugged , but they both knew the reason . Her father didn 't cook . He didn 't clean , he didn 't pay the bills , he barely even acknowledged that there were other people in the house , and yet , here he was cracking eggs into a frying pan and whistling along to some pop group on the radio . " Well , as much as I 'd like to , " Ella said , pouring some orange juice into a glass , " I 've got to work tonight . Steve 's given me an extra shift after college . I 'll probably just grab a sandwich somewhere . " " No . I was tidying up some old paperwork , and I 've found something that can help you . Us . Just come home for dinner tonight , and I 'll tell you about it . " Ella stared at her father for a moment and hesitated . " Dad , no offence , but what if it doesn 't work out ? Steve 's worked really hard to try and get me some overtime , it 's not going to look right , if I don 't turn up . " Ella pulled her ticket from the machine and slowly trudged up to the back of the bus . She dropped her college bags on the long bench and leant into the corner between the rough back of the seat and the hard plastic of the window . She closed her eyes and for a moment , the silence of the near - empty bus combined with finally getting to sit down and not have to do anything , nearly sent her to sleep . The bus juddered to a halt and from her vantage point at the back of the bus , Ella could see the driver scowling at the doors as they folded open . A figure stepped onto the deck and started to apologise to the driver . He set down two Cromley 's plastic carrier bags and started to search through his wallet as Ella groaned and busied herself with leaning forward and looking through her bag , obscuring her face from anyone who happened to look her way . Mr Reid had been a regular customer at Cromley 's in the town centre for longer than Ella had worked there . Every member of staff had had dealings with him and his wife , and the more experienced staff were able to spot them coming and quietly find themselves something that they needed to be getting on with . If you were working on the customer services desk , and suddenly found yourself alone , the chances were that the Reids were on their way . Ella didn 't mind serving them , they were both harmless enough , they simply came in two or three times a week to pick up the magazines that were specially put by for them . The trouble was that Mr Reid liked the sound of his own voice , so much so that you could lose half an hour of your day if were stuck with serving them . She had once spotted him in the town centre talking at a young homeless Iranian woman who Ella knew through experience only knew three words of English ; ' Big ' , ' Issue ' , and ' please ' . As the bus began to move off again , Ella dared to look up and was relieved to find that he had taken a seat halfway down the bus and had started up a conversation with the elderly couple . After a few minutes the bus stopped again and a girl , the same age as Ella stepped onto the bus . Emma Reynolds had been a close friend of Ella 's ever since Emma had first moved to the area almost ten years previously . Ella pulled herself to her feet and picked up her bags - one filled with college books , the other a change of clothes - pressing the bell for the bus to stop as she did . She moved down the aisle of the bus , determinedly facing Emma and smiling in order to not have to ' notice ' Mr Reid . Emma gave a little wave and continued on with her phone conversation , a different one now , and judging by the sly giggles and hushed words coming from Emma , a rather intimate one . " I want to , Ella . " He said continuing to look past her . She turned around and followed his gaze over to the group by the bushes . One of them was grabbing the crotch of his jogging bottoms and leering across at her . Ella couldn 't help but think that he must be incredibly blessed if he was actually grabbing himself considering how low slung his trousers were . " Really ? " Ella asked , unable to keep the surprise out of her voice . Mr Reid laughed slightly and Ella realised just how she 'd sounded . " I just meant that I thought you were retired , I mean … you 're always in during the day and stuff . " She stepped through the gate and made her way to the door . She set her bags down and fished through her pocket for the key . She glanced behind her and noticed Mr Reid stood watching her . " Goodnight . " She briefly smiled at him and let herself in , quickly moving through to the front room , where he wouldn 't be able to see her . She dropped her bags on the floor and switched the light on . She moved over to the curtains and pulled them shut , she could see Mr Reid still outside , walking away , but at a snail 's pace . " Dad ? " She shouted . It was unusual for the house to be so dark at this time of night . Her father had never been very good at turning lights off , you could usually tell just where he 'd been by following the glare of burning bulbs . Suddenly she felt herself being moved out of the way , Mr Reid was pulling her away . She stepped back and he moved over to her father , started to lift him down . Ella looked up at her father 's mottled face , a rope tightly framing his features , tied at the top of the banisters . As the customer laid down her father 's body on the floor , Ella moved back into the living room and sat down on the sofa . One thought was going round in her head , how stupid she 'd been to leave the door unlocked . That 's how Mr Reid had gotten in , he could have done anything to her . She should have locked the door . She could imagine the looks on the faces of her colleagues when they found out that he 'd been in her house . They would have a ball , winding her up about being his new girlfriend probably . Through the corner of her eye she could see Mr Reid leaning over her father 's body in a desperate attempt to resuscitate him . She frowned and moved to the other end of the couch , but could still see her father 's curled fingers lying on the floor . She moved over to an armchair and perched on the edge of it . From her left , she could hear Mr Reid cursing under his breath , from her right came a cold breeze , from the open door to the house . She stood up once again and moved outside , setting herself down on the wall of the garden . She sat there for what seemed like hours , but could only have been ten minutes . She couldn 't believe her father had killed himself , he 'd seemed so excited so happy as he 'd cooked breakfast that morning . He had no reason to do it . Did he ? " At least now he has something to write about . " She told herself , and couldn 't help but laugh . A few moments later , Mr Reid left the house and stood in front of her . " I know . " Ella said , though she really wanted to ask why he 'd called an ambulance . There was no emergency , not any more , they could be out there saving somebody else 's life , rather than clearing up after her father . That was her job . " I found this on the side . " He handed over a small envelope , her name written on the front in her father 's unmistakeable handwriting . She carefully opened it and pulled out two pieces of folder paper , one a thick wad of A4 , the other a piece of folded notepaper . Dearest Ella , it read , I 've been a burden for too long . I wanted us to have dinner tonight , to say goodbye , but I understand you have to work . I understand . That 's my fault . I hope this can make up for it . With love always , Dad . Ella looked down at the key ring she was fiddling with . " Oh , yes , yes . I 'm supposed to be getting to know the place . " " No , mum , he 's not ! Today is the first time I 've met him . He might be family to you , but to me , he 's not , he 's just some stranger ! " " That boy is like a son to me , that means he is like a brother to you , so you are going to leave him well alone , do you hear me ? And how many times do I have to tell you , you are not to call me mum when we are in this house . I am Pat . " Ella narrowed her eyes at her mother accusingly . " They don 't even know I exist do they . They just think you 're some stubborn old spinster born to serve them . They don 't even know you were even married , they all think you 're still Pat Curtis . Well , I 'm not going to lie to them just to protect your secret . " " You will do as you 're told . I brought you here so that you could get to know these people . They 're a brilliant , vibrant family , one that I am proud to have been part of , and that is just want you need right now . " " How ? How do you know what I 'm like , when dad was alive , you would spend half a day with us every fortnight . Don 't claim that you know what I 'm like , you barely even know me . I 'm my own woman and if I want to flirt or smile at - or even fuck - that boy out there , then damn it , I will ! " Pat sighed and sat down at the table , resting her head in her hands . " He 's your cousin . Mr Cromwell , he 's … he 's your dad 's father . " Pat took hold of her daughter 's hand and looked her in the eyes . " He 's your grandfather . " A bad reading experience can really put you off reading for a while . Last week I didn 't finish a book which was why I published no review . This week , I simply haven 't read anything to tell you about . Although , I have just started something new which I have high hopes for . But why did I stop reading ? Was it a bad book ? Not particularly - a lot of people have really enjoyed it , so much so that I 'm not going to tell you what it is because I 'm starting to wonder if I 've been a bit unfair to it . When I came to dipping back into the book on my second night , I got through about a page and a half before throwing it down , officially giving up . I was in a bad mood , and there was something about that page and a half that annoyed me . It didn 't take much . I can read anywhere , I sometimes proudly exclaim - but should I ? Should I find some where that helps me enjoy the books I 'm reading ? And is it the same place for each book ? Harry stared out of the window and watched as Robert was led from the house into the police car waiting outside . Suddenly he stopped , turned his head and looked straight up at Harry , as if he had known he was there . They held each other 's gaze for a moment , and then Harry smiled down at him , giving a small wink as he did . As they moved out of the way , Harry caught sight of Ella sat on the bottom step . He watched her for a moment as she stared at the police car speeding off down the driveway . Finally , once the car was just a speck in the distance , Ella stood up and slowly followed the others back inside . The hollowness , the emptiness , had been there since the night before , since he 'd discovered what Frederick had done with Robert , and it hadn 't stopped growing since then . He closed his eyes and tried to remember the look on Robert 's face as the police pushed him into the police car , an attempt to regain the feeling of satisfaction , but as Harry opened his eyes again it was gone . The emptiness inside him expanded and Harry hugged himself in a vain attempt to keep it as small as possible . " Robert used me as back - up , " Harry explained , " either in case you didn 't play ball , or they didn 't believe you . He told them that I heard you two talking about it , that I knew he was innocent . An alibi for an alibi . " But had he acted too rashly ? What if I was just lashing out because of what he 'd done with Frederick ? What if I was just punishing him for Frederick lying to me ? What if he 's innocent ? " Yeah . " Harry said , sounding more confident than he really was in an effort to convince himself . Still , there was something niggling away at the back of his mind . " Did he ? " Jennifer didn 't seem too interested , she was already heading out of the door . " I guess I must have seen it before then . " Harry watched as Jennifer left the room , a bad feeling was stirring inside him . What was it that Frederick had said ? That it was the only one of its kind still working , that Ernest always had it on his desk . But Ernest had taken the watch from his safe , he 'd shown it to him , it was already broken . It hadn 't worked for nearly sixty years . A muffled thud from the room next door broke him from his chain of thoughts . He looked behind him at the bed and yawned . He 'd been awake for what felt like days and the plump white pillows looked so welcoming . Blindly , he reached down into his pocket and pulled out the mobile . " What ? " He asked , without checking the display , knowing that it could only be one person . " No . " He sighed , sitting up . " I haven 't . What do you think I should do ? You 're my agent after all , you 're supposed to advise me . " " Honey , you know what I think you should do . " Harry glanced up at the doorway , as a figure entered . " I 'm just ringing to let you know , I 'll email you all the details . You 've got your laptop , right ? " " Yeah , thanks , T , that 's great . Listen , I 've got to go , someone 's just come in . I 'll give you a ring when I 've made up my mind . " " No ! " Harry shouted loudly , jabbing a finger into his chest . " You look ! You lied to me ! I was trying to comfort you and I … I … you filmed me . " " I didn 't lie , ok ? " He said , a confidence in his voice that he hadn 't heard the previous evening . " I just … I forgot . " " I know . I 'm sorry . I wouldn 't have shown anyone . I wouldn 't have told anyone you were gay . I wouldn 't do that to you . To anyone . " Harry 's mind quickly flashed through the list of people in his life who knew he was gay , and the list of people he used to know that knew the truth . It was short , manageable . Controllable . At least it had been . Harry looked at him , and smirked , well aware of just what he was talking . He sat down on the bed and stared quietly across the room , his eyes resting on the laptop Frederick had brought with him . He never went anywhere without it . " Right . " Harry said , but frowned as he remembered seeing the pile of clothes on the floor in his bedroom , and the way the bag had folded in on itself when he 'd dropped it to the floor . " Your bag was empty . " Harry bowed his head sadly , and wrapped his hand around the boy 's wrist , pulling his palm away from his face . " You don 't know me . And I love Frederick . " " No , no , it wasn 't like that . Last night was special , I 'll never forget it . We had a real connection but … " " But nothing . " Matthew whispered , lowering Harry 's hand and raising himself on his toes . Harry 's lips descended towards his and were millimetres apart when the door opened and Frederick walked in , holding some papers in his hand . " Oh … nothing , he … " Harry floundered at the sight of Frederick 's accusing eyes . " He just wanted to know what it was like to kiss a film star . He 's … kind of got a crush on me . " " She came in here last night . Looking for you , actually . She wanted someone to confide in , apparently you and her , you 're like that . " He crossed his fingers and held them up , a solid , angry look on his face . " But she had to make do with me instead . " " She 's fourteen ! And you 're encouraging her to have sex with her eighteen year old cousin ! What 's wrong with you , man ? " " I 'm so sorry , Harry . I really am . If I could go back and change what happened that night … well , it wouldn 't have happened , none of it . You 've got to believe me , Harry . I 'm sorry I lied to you . " As Harry stared down at him , he remembered his own sordid liaison with his cousin , less than twenty - four hours before . He looked at Frederick 's screwed up face , flushed with redness and coated with tears . Frederick was not an actor , this was genuine remorse . Harry 's heart broke , he could never stand to see Frederick when he was in this much pain . Frederick brought his hands up to Harry 's face , the pair of them sat grasping each other 's cheekbones on the floor , and pulled him in for a deep kiss . For a moment Harry let him , and he enjoyed it as he kissed him in a way that he hadn 't in months . It had taken all this to bring the passion back . Frederick continued to speak , but Harry no longer heard him . His hands were still clamped around his face , and as Harry pulled away from his mouth and opened his eyes , he 'd noticed the silver band of his watch , hanging slightly from Frederick wrist . He stood up and his hands dropped to the floor . " Get up . " Harry said calmly turning away from him so that he couldn 't see the tears forming in his eyes . He moved over to the door and closed it . " GET UP ! " He shouted angrily , with such force , that he had to hold onto to the door handle to steady himself . Behind him , he heard Frederick pull himself up . " I don 't care about Robert . Not anymore . " Harry said , his voice sounding calm again , though inside the blood was pounding through him faster than it ever had before . " Look at this , Freddie ! " He grabbed the paperwork that Frederick had brought in with him and shoved it into his hands . " Look at the signature at the bottom , that 's me ! I was in that office tonight , I was there when he took that watch out of his safe . I was there when he told me how he 'd never shown it to anyone . " " Why ? Why would he lie about breaking that watch himself , over sixty years ago ? Why would he lie about his brother dying in his arms in some leaking tin shack ? About discovering his mother 's naked body tangled up in the debris of his neighbour 's house ? " " On side ? On side for what ? The old man didn 't need me for anything . " They both went quiet . " You know , in that moment , he seemed like a real person , I felt sorry for him . " " You 're lying to me , Frederick ! What is it with this family that makes everyone lie so much ? You , him , me ! Just lies , lies , lies ! Just tell me the truth for once , Frederick ! " " That watch could have been Robert 's . It could have his name engraved all over it , for all you knew ! A right idiot you would have looked then , the police would have wanted to question you , wanted to know why you were lying . How did you know it wasn 't Robert 's ? " " I knew . " He said , leaning against the door . " I knew that something wasn 't right . When we found his body , you just followed everyone else down . You weren 't surprised at all . " " He had it coming . " Frederick looked down at me , pleading with his eyes again . He turned away from him . " I did it for you . " " For me . " Harry repeated . " You did it for me ? Why the hell did you think I would want you to become a murderer ? He was your grandfather for fuck sake ! " Frederick sat down on the edge of the bed , he didn 't make eye contact . " Fiona said that Reece had been saying stuff , saying how much he hated Grandpa . He said that someone ought to teach him a lesson . She asked me to find Reece , she was worried he 'd tell him what they 'd done . " " I thought that Reece might go to see him . Grandpa wasn 't in his bedroom , so I went downstairs . The door to his office was open and I could see the light on inside . I knocked first , but there was no answer , so I went in . He was just lying there , the knife sticking out of his back , that watch in his hand . I knew it was Robert , it had to be . " " I knew it was him . It had to be . There 's no one else who could have done it . No one else who would . I wanted to make sure the police knew that as well . " " I was going to , but I couldn 't . He was my grandfather , Harry , I just … I couldn 't bear to touch him , not like that . " " So you took the watch instead ? " Frederick nodded through a loud , hoarse sob , tears falling from his eyes . Harry pulled him forward , resting Frederick 's head on his shoulder . " Shh , come on . " " The knife , it wasn 't there when Matthew and I found the … your grandfather . The police found it in Robert 's jacket . Who put it there ? " " Umm … " Frederick stared blankly down at the floor , his mind trying to recollect what he 'd been trying so hard to forget . " Mum was asleep . I don 't know where Robert was . His jacket , the one he wore at dinner , it was on the back of the chair . I slipped the watch in the pocket and left . " I was in the corridor , and I thought I 'd just head back upstairs , pretend to have been sleeping . But I heard a noise , someone behind me . I hid in the utility room , I just thought , this is it , someone is going to find him , any minute now . " " I don 't know . I didn 't see them . There was silence , for ages and then I heard the click of the door to his study . I looked out in the corridor , but there was no one , and the door to Grandpa 's office had been closed . I just felt this huge wave of relief shoot through me . " " I … I don 't know , I was having second thoughts , I guess . I thought about it for five , maybe ten minutes . I went back upstairs - to mum 's room . She was still asleep , but I could hear him , in the bathroom … he was … whistling . I went to the jacket , I was going to take the watch , take it back down to Grandpa but I … I found the knife . It was in there , Harry , it was in his jacket pocket . It must have been him who 'd gone down , to get rid of the weapon , make sure it was never found . " " I froze . I didn 't know what to do , and then … then Pat screamed , it seemed like everything in the room was shaking . Mum sat up in bed , but she was facing the other way . I ducked to the floor and crawled under the bed . Robert came out of the bathroom and I heard them talking and … " They sat in silence , their hands linked . Harry 's mind was racing , if Robert didn 't kill Ernest , then who did ? He assumed Frederick was thinking about the same thing . He soon realised he wasn 't . " Where 's … ? The driver he … he gave you two . " He looked up at Harry with a confused smile as he took the wallet from him . " You didn 't give them both to Fiona … what did you do with the other one ? " Harry looked away from him as his confused smile tensed into a look of slow realisation . In that moment a scream came from nearby and like a greyhound from a trap , Harry shot from the room into the corridor . The screaming continued , it was coming from the room next door . He ran in and stopped so suddenly that Frederick ran into the back of him . On the floor , a small wooden chair lay on its back , a pair of feet suspended limply above it . Gary 's face was purple but still . " Oh , God ! " Frederick rushed forward and started trying to take his uncle down . Harry stepped back , wide - eyed in horror , and stumbled on something . He looked down . A foot . Ella was in the corner of the room , crying and mumbling to herself . A pair of hands were rummaging through the pocket on the front of Ella 's apron . " Oh , where 's your hanky , you daft girl ? Never mind , here , use mine . Come now , let 's wipe those tears away . " " I already told you , we need to find his will . " Jennifer said , moving over to Ernest 's desk , and looking through the papers piled up on it . " Now , don 't just stand there , help me look for it . " Fiona pulled herself away from the door and pulled a book from the case on the wall . " So , let 's say we do find it . Which one are we looking for ? " " Well … " Jennifer frowned in confusion , " find the one where it all goes to your father , and then we 'll look to see if he 's actually made the newer one yet . Chances are we find one , we find the other . " Jennifer paused for a moment and stared at her daughter , a quiet contemplation passing between the two of them . Finally Jennifer spoke . " Of course I 'm not . I … I just need to know where we stand . " " If that 's what it takes . All we need is to get him sectioned , as the sole beneficiary of his current will , you would get power of attorney , so you can then control everything , including whether he makes another will or not during that time . Then when he dies of his own natural causes , we get the business and the money . " Fiona paused for a second . " I think . " " You will stay here . " Jennifer repeated . " And you will look for the will . While you 're doing that , I will find your grandfather and I will , I don 't know . I 'll see if I can drive him crazy . Maybe if I can make him lash out again , we 'll have more evidence that he 's becoming unstable . " Fiona sat down in the large leather chair behind her grandfather 's desk and sighed . Ever since her father had died her mother was becoming increasingly desperate to get her hands on the family business . Some people , Fiona supposed , might say that her behaviour over the last few months was down to grief , that it was her own unique coping strategy , but Fiona knew differently . She lifted the lid on a bottle of scotch on the table , sniffed it and smiled . It smelt like her father 's kisses , after he 'd stayed late at the office for meetings . Fiona had always imagined her father during these meetings , sat at a table with her grandfather , laughing heartily as they drank their scotch and counted their money . She 'd always pictured herself , one day , sitting at the same table , sharing a bottle of drink with her father as they ran the business together . If only her father had outlived her grandfather , that would be the future she 'd be looking forward to . But now , thanks to her father 's death and her grandfather 's vindictiveness towards her mother , her future was an unknown . She and her mother would be in the gutter while that man , Robert , would be spending all of her money . " Oh , never mind that , it 's too late . " Jennifer collapsed into a chair in the corner of the room . " I 've just been and checked with Pat , your grandfather 's lawyer is on his way here now to get the will changed . Unless we can get him sectioned within the next couple of hours , we 're screwed . " " Oh , mother , it 's so simple , even you can pull it off . I don 't know why we didn 't think of it before . All that you need to do is - " Ernest ! " Jennifer interrupted her daughter suddenly , as the both noticed Ernest stood at the end of the corridor with Harry . He would want to know why they 'd been down there , he would know they 'd been in his office and that they were up to something . " Fiona and I … we were just … " " Getting my top from the wash room . " Fiona interrupted her mother 's stammering . " I spilt some water down it , and I wanted to get it dried before I went to bed . " Jennifer grinned at her father - in - law and then took hold of her daughter 's arm , leading her off down the corridor . " Nice save . " She murmured through the side of her mouth . " In here . " " I hadn 't forgotten , Nicola , " Jennifer patted her sister - in - law 's hand . " It 's just , there 's nothing to really help him with . He 's done the hardest part , he 's probably just embarrassed . " " Does he need a reason ? " Nicola raised an eyebrow at Jennifer . " You know as well as I do , that boy hasn 't been right since his father died . Oh no , it 's getting all over your jacket . " " Seduce him . " Fiona whispered back . " Get him on side , so that when he 's running the business , you 're right there with him . " " Exactly . Which is why there should be no reason for you to need it , but if you do find Reece … I don 't think he 's in any position to remember it himself . Or to take no for an answer . " Fiona nodded to him and then made her way upstairs , her mind racing . If Harry was right and Ernest was not going to leave everything to Robert , then who was he going to make the beneficiary ? Fiona mulled it over in her mind , and came up with only two options , one of them , more preferable than the other . Perhaps he wouldn 't change the will straight away , perhaps he would be so shocked over the revelations of the evening that he would need to rethink it all . If that was the case , then Fiona and her mother would still be the sole recipients of the estate . If the old man should die , or they could get him sectioned before he had a chance to change his will , then everything would be ok . Fiona didn 't know of anyone else her grandfather worked with that he might trust , also there was the fact that he 'd always wanted to keep the business within the family . He wouldn 't trust the entire business to a woman , so that ruled out the possibility of either leaving it to Elizabeth , Victoria or specifically naming herself or her mother . He didn 't get on with Gary at all , so that just left Frederick , Reece , Matthew or Joshua . Fiona knew that Frederick wasn 't interested in working for the company , all he wanted to do was write . Her mum would be able to charm him into letting her run it all for him . As for Reece , other methods would have to be used . " Fiona ! I was just … " Reece trailed off , as he desperately tried to protect his modesty with two inadequately sized hands . He clearly had no way of explaining what he had just been doing . Fiona hadn 't been listening anyway , she 'd been too busy thinking . Did she really need to count on her mum to provide for her ? After all , she was closer to Reece age - wise . She was a lot younger than her mother , a lot more innocent , she knew men liked that sort of thing . She would be a fool to give up such a prime opportunity to get him on side . " What 's this ? " He asked , taking it from her . Fiona didn 't answer , instead she took hold of his wrists , and pressed her body against his , making him step backwards , until he was forced to sit on the edge of the bed . She wrapped her legs around his waist and sat down , she could feel his considerable girth growing , trapped between his thigh and hers . " It doesn 't matter . " Fiona hesitated for a moment and then entered the room , resting on the corner of Frederick 's desk . " Anything I can help you with ? " " Fine . " Frederick leant over the desk and turned his laptop back on . " We 've got a detective , he 's in a bar , in a foul mood . There have been these murders all over the city , and he 's getting stick from the media , from his bosses for not finding the guy that 's been doing it . He 's drowning his sorrows with whiskey after whiskey - we 're talking hollow legs here - when this girl comes in . She 's the sister of one of the victims and she 's demanding to know why he hasn 't made any progress . " " I know what it 's code for . I just mean , she 's pissed at him , right ? She goes into the bar having a go , all with the grief because of the dead sister , and then all of a sudden she 's inviting him back for ' coffee ' ? " " I guess that 's your problem . The sister doesn 't want to have sex because no self respecting sober woman would be talked into sex by a drunk man in a bar , like that . Especially not by one she 's angry with . " Fiona trailed off and shrugged . Frederick stared at her for a moment , her suggestion was actually quite good , and was a tactic he hadn 't thought of . It would make the relationship between them seem more real , which would make it more heart - wrenching when the sister was kidnapped later in the film . Frederick wasn 't prepared to admit to Fiona that her idea might work , though . He was stood outside Fiona 's bedroom on the top floor of the house . Once he 'd managed to calm her down she 'd explained everything that had happened between her and Reece . She 'd told him that once it was over , she 'd immediately regretted it , which was why she 'd been looking for Harry . She 'd wanted to talk about what had happened , and apparently Harry had known something about it . He forced Harry out of his mind , and tried to concentrate all his anger on Reece . Drunk or not , his cousin should have known better than to take advantage of such a young girl . Careful not to make any noise - he 'd told Fiona he would leave Reece alone - Frederick slowly made his way over to Reece 's bedroom . Frederick sighed and made his way back out into the corridor . Once again , he thought he could hear Harry 's voice . He looked up at the door ahead of him . Matthew 's room . Perhaps Matthew had finally let someone in , let someone talk to him . He leant against the door , straining to hear if there were voices inside , but could hear nothing . He tried the door handle , but the door didn 't move , the lock was firmly in place . " It was a scream , right ? " Robert asked , following her . " I mean , we 're sure it wasn 't just a creaking floorboard ? " " Come on . " Robert took hold of her hand and led her down the corridor Reece had just come from . Harry , Matthew , Victoria , Pat , Ella and Nicola were all gathered together outside the office door , all whispering to one another . Gordon suffers from OCD . She has done for most of her life . Like most people who suffer from a mental illness , she is vulnerable to other mental illnesses as well . As a result , what we get is a guarded insight into her thoughts . We are a viewer to her episodes . She manages to tell us about them , without us actually experiencing them . Perhaps thankfully , she doesn 't do that . This is real life , not fiction , and that makes it infinitely sadder , infinitely more distressing . If we were truly able to experience it along with her , we 'd all be writing our own books afterwards . The statistics on mental health illnesses are alarming . 1 in 4 people will suffer from a mental illness over the next year , which is why books like this are important . They do two things . Bryony Gordon manages to say everything I 've wanted to say - about mental illness , and everything else as well . A comment was made at the bottom of one page , which caused me to go off on a mini rant . When I finally turned the page , I discovered that Gordon had almost word for word written that rant down . I may hire her to follow me round to tell you what I 'm thinking . She know exactly what it is , and she puts it so much more eloquently than I . Go read . " Oh , you hadn 't heard , dear ? " Elizabeth gestured wildly with a glass of wine . " Robert and my father had rather a large set to . Daddy disinherited him . " " The police seem satisfied . " Harry said , looking to Jennings for support who merely nodded at Robert . " Besides , I 'd need a motive as well . " " Oh , didn 't I say ? " Jennings shrugged at me innocently , his hands held together in front of him . " Mr Cromwell was killed by a single knife wound to the back . " " I 'd love to , young lady , but we need some proper evidence , other than the fact that Mr Forrester here lied about his alibi . " Jennings smiled through a row of crooked , yellowing teeth . " But you can go to the toilet if you so wish . " " I wouldn 't quite go as far to say that . We 're still looking for the murder weapon , but we 've conducted a thorough search of the lower level of the house and are satisfied the knife isn 't there . We 're moving our search to the second floor , in the meantime , feel free to wander around as much as you like down here . Although , Mr Cromwell 's office , is , of course , off limits . " " Like I said , ma ' am , we have no proof yet . But rest assured , we 'll be keeping a close eye on … everyone . " Jennings nodded to the room in general and then left . " Is everyone happy with bacon sandwiches ? " Ella looked around the room for confirmation , almost as if she were seeking permission , but got none . " Joshua ? " " He said he was with me . " Elizabeth swallowed the last dregs of her glass and then set about pouring herself a refill . " But I was alone when I went to bed , and I was alone when I woke up . " " Look , all I know is , that you 've been lying to me ! " Elizabeth shouted . " You might not have known who my daughter was , but you knew what you did with my son ! Who knows what else you might have been lying about ? " The room fell silent , Elizabeth didn 't seem to have a comeback and nobody wanted to talk in case they were the next person accused . Harry looked across at Frederick , he was sitting on the couch with Matthew and staring quietly ahead . He hadn 't spoken a word since Gregory had revealed the contents of Ernest 's will . Harry could almost see the mechanisms in his mind working . Harry had spent a great deal of time with Frederick and he could tell what he was thinking , often before he did . Frederick was never short of something to say , and usually he said it . The only time Harry had ever known him to be quiet like this was when he had something to say , but the small voice in his head told him it was too inappropriate to say . He glanced around the room , mentally calculating the value of everything in it , and Harry knew then he was fighting the urge to ask more about the contents of the will . He let out a deep sigh , and started to chew on the end of his thumb . The moment he raised his left eyebrow Harry knew he was going to bring it up , deciding that his curiosity couldn 't be suppressed any longer . He looked over at Gregory . " I 'll come and find you in a bit . " Harry said , not making eye contact with him . He feared that if he did , Frederick would be able to look into him and know everything . " Are you being serious ? " Harry asked him . " Are you trying to deflect your guilt onto him now ? He 's just had quite a bombshell dropped on him , it 's no wonder he 's quiet . " " Maybe you 're all in on it . You got Ernest to change his will , then told Frederick about it . He did away with the old man , while you hid upstairs with the boy here . " " Least all of his own grandfather , I mean , come on , Ernest was like a father to that boy . What kind of person would kill their own - " Nicola cut herself short as she caught sight of her niece . " Oh , Vicky , I 'm so sorry , I didn 't mean - " " I know what you meant . " Victoria took a deep breath . " Look , I 'm going to take Joshua to open some of his presents , it is still Christmas Day , after all . " " That 's a good idea , I 'll come with you . " Matthew looked straight at Harry as he walked across the room . " Does anybody else want to come ? " " Ha , he can talk ! " Elizabeth laughed as Robert closed the door behind him . She pulled herself to the edge of the chair and leant forward , towards Harry . " Listen , darling , as much as I may … regret what Frederick did with that man , he 's still my son and I love him . " " No , no , it is , you see , because … because you two shouldn 't break up over this . " Before Harry could open his mouth to speak , Elizabeth held up a finger . " Now , don 't say anything , it 's plainly obvious to all of us that this has caused friction between the two of you , and its up to the pair of you to sort that out . But he does love you , I can tell , I can see it in his eyes when he 's talking about you , to you , and I just think you should both try and salvage whatever you can from this . " " Like I said . " Nicola repeated almost parrot - like . Harry had a sinking feeling in my stomach that he knew where this was going , and could also tell that he wasn 't the only one . " I thought maybe he 'd listen to me , listen to reason , that if I could just make him understand , then everything between us would be ok again . And … and … I just wanted to keep my family safe . Together . " " I hid . I went to see him , and he wasn 't there . But he came back and I … panicked . I was scared of what … that he 'd reject me again . So I hid , while he made his will . " He looked across at Harry . " While you signed it , when you argued , I was hiding in the closet . " Gary avoided eye contact with Harry , instead , just seeming to sink lower into the carpet . " You had an alibi … Matthew he … I would never have … " A stunned silence fell across them all . None of them moved , none of them spoke . He didn 't know about the others , but Harry didn 't even blink . A dry sob squeaked from Gary 's throat as he flinched away from his son . He looked up at his sister , staring back at him with a face like thunder . " What happened ? " She asked , her tone revealing nothing . " He knew I was there … when Harry left , he told me to come out . Said I wasn 't a quiet drunk . He laughed at me , Lizzy , I told him I wanted my job back and he laughed at me ! " " I mean … I don 't remember ! The last thing I remember is standing in his office , and he was laughing at me . That horrible , vile , cackle of his , it just kept going round and round in my head , and I was just stood there and I was holding that showy little letter opener of his and then … then … " " It 's the epilepsy . I must have had another fit , that 's why I can 't remember . It killed mum and now it 's made me kill dad . " " Does it feel the same as when you 've had seizures before ? You were drinking quite a lot , maybe you just blacked out ? " Harry asked , not really knowing a lot about epilepsy . " You 're not listening ! None of you are listening ! It 's my fault ! I killed dad ! " Gary stood up suddenly and looked around at them all , a panicked look on his face . " I … I need to get out . " " You 're right , it doesn 't . " Harry shrugged , facing up to him as he approached . " The fact that I 'm simply better than you is what makes be better than you . " " For God sakes , will you two just give it a rest ? " Nicola shouted loudly , collapsing backwards onto the couch . " There are more important things going on than your petty squabbles ! " Elizabeth moved over to sit next to her sister - in - law . " What are we going to do ? " She asked , taking hold of Nicola 's hand . " You did what ? " Harry laughed , not quite believing just how naïve he was . " Don 't you see that just makes things worse , that - " " He 's right ! " Harry looked down at Elizabeth , for a moment , thinking that she was agreeing with Reece , but she briefly smiled up at him before turning to speak to the other two . " You two digging up stuff about that knife isn 't going to help anyone . " " Maybe , " Harry said , " but the police will start to suspect . Why did Gary have the knife ? Obviously he 'd been in the office and not told them about it . Why would he lie to them ? Why did Reece hide it ? " " If you 'd asked me this time yesterday whether I thought he was capable , I 'd have laughed in your face . Right now , I don 't think I could be shocked by anything he did . I thought I knew him , turns out I don 't know anything about him . " Elizabeth was quiet for a moment . " We 're going to have to move the knife . Someone is bound to find it eventually , and when they do , people are going to start to ask questions . Harry - " " Hey , leave me out of it . I already know more than I want to . " He looked across at Reece . " This is your mess , you can sort it . I 'm going to find Frederick . " He didn 't need an agent to tell him that being involved in the brutal death of a frail old man wouldn 't be a good idea . Although , most agents in Hollywood , Tricia included , would be able to spin several lucrative magazine deals out of it . And in Tricia 's eyes it would probably be more preferable to him being openly gay . Harry decided to face Frederick . He thought that Harry was still angry with him for what happened between him and Robert , but the reason he been avoiding him was because he felt ashamed of what he 'd done . Not only had he slept with Frederick 's cousin , but he was underage and it had all been caught on camera . Harry could already feel the tabloids circling . " Robert , I still don 't get it ! Why didn 't you tell them you were with me ? It 's not like you 've got anything left to protect with Elizabeth . " Harry frowned . That was Jennifer 's voice . " Protect me ? Ha ! Last night may have been a lot of things , Robert , but deep and meaningful it was not . The only reason it happened , is because you 're a randy bastard who can 't keep it in his pants longer than two minutes and I 'm - " Robert let out a breathy laugh . " He 's got everything to do with it . He 's going to need a wife , there 's nothing in that will that says it can 't be you . " There was a long silence , and Harry shifted on his feet to gain a better position . Finally , Jennifer spoke up . " Fine . What do I need to do ? " Robert knew how to throw a good punch . It came hard and fast , almost from nowhere and hit Harry just above the left eye . Harry quickly punched back and then heard Jennifer scream as Robert shoved him hard against the wall . Harry slid down to the floor and Robert started kicking him in the gut . Harry managed to grab hold of his foot before he made impact the third time and with a sharp twist , pulled him down to the floor . Robert was faster than Harry though , and while they grappled for a moment , he was soon sitting astride him , his fist raised menacingly in the air . Robert punched him hard in the face , and then pulled back to do it again . Harry braced himself , but the punch never came . The weight was lifting from his waist and he looked up to see Robert being hauled off by a couple of policemen . Jennings was stood at the bottom of the stairs , a triumphant grin on his face . Frederick was stood with Gregory at the door of the corridor Harry had just come from , Reece , Elizabeth and Nicola , approaching behind them . On the other side of the hall were Matthew and Fiona , both had come running when they 'd heard Jennifer scream . " You 're arresting me ? " Robert asked incredulously as one of the officers slipped some handcuffs on his wrists and started to read him his rights . " For a stupid fight like that ? " " Murder ? " Robert asked with a genuine frown . Harry figured that either he hadn 't done it - unlikely - or he was arrogant enough to believe he 'd never be found out . " Where 's your proof ? " " That 's grandpa 's , " he said plainly taking the bag , " he always had it on his desk . He got it , years ago at an antiques fair , said it was the only one of its kind that still worked . " Harry looked at Frederick with a frown . He held up a second plastic bag , and once again , Harry recognised the item inside immediately . Ernest had taken great pride in showing it off at dinner the night before . Of course , then , the gold handled carving knife hadn 't had quiet as much blood on it .