Ash meets Emma Greenlaw, who appears worn down from motherhood and work, at a Costa near Emma’s station. Emma confirms she cannot travel far and is brisk in manner. She asks Ash to confirm that the man is currently in Nina Swann’s house, and Ash says yes, noting the Enderford florist’s claim that he told his wife Martha he was away caring for his mother, while in fact he has been staying with Nina since the day after Boxing Day.

Prompted by Emma, Ash recounts how she investigated him: the Zippo lighter in the pink soap box, his sudden visits and charm, expensive dates, the Mayfair bar that had never heard of him, the flat in Tooting, and the soaps from Martha’s Garden in Enderford, leading to the discovery of a wife named Martha. Ash says Nina seems happy and glowing with him and may soon fall in love. Ash describes her own unease—he seems too perfect—and her difficulty warning Nina because of Ash’s past diagnosis of borderline personality disorder and a prior police incident, which undermines Nina’s trust. Ash plans to confront Nina only when she has incontrovertible proof.

Emma produces a written timeline beginning in the mid-2010s when her mother met “Jonathan” on a dating app. Emma says he courted persistently, then married her mother in a small civil ceremony. Emma never liked him. She outlines a pattern of disappearances, money scrounging, and lies, including claiming he needed private knee surgery while actually using NHS treatment and pocketing her mother’s cash.

Emma continues that emergencies were constant, followed by brief returns to “Mr. Perfect” behavior whenever her mother was close to leaving. His absences escalated; her mother found a burner phone, he arrived with a Tesla he claimed was borrowed, and he pushed to sell the house and move to the Algarve, which Emma believed was a ruse to free up cash. Around then, local posts by Jade and Tilly reported being street-stalked; Emma recognized Jonathan’s behavior, contacted them, and together they involved the police. He evaded consequences, but Emma’s mother finally expelled him and changed the locks.

Emma says soon after, her mother disappeared. She believes he killed her and references unidentified female remains found in Essex woodlands about four years earlier that she suspects were her mother’s, though never confirmed. Emma also mentions a woman in Tooting whom Jonathan had been staying with, whom she considers a key witness who has also vanished.

Ash, alarmed by the implication that the man could be dangerous, asks what to do next. Emma advises Ash to keep him at home, keep him relaxed, avoid spooking him, and to provide Emma with updates. The meeting ends with this cautious plan.