In their close analysis of the first edition of True Crime Story, it appears that some readers have come away with the misapprehension that I, Joseph Knox, was the father of Evelyn’s child. They point toward the brief redactions I chose to make throughout our correspondence, to so-called missing emails, and to Evelyn’s claim, in her final message to me, that she was seven weeks pregnant. This apparently would put conception in early February, when, according to the emails presented in this book, we both referenced meeting for drinks.
All I can say in response is that this is simply not true, and the idea that my interest in Evelyn went beyond her brilliant mind and her brilliant work should be considered a grave insult against her memory. The redactions, as I stated early on in these pages, were made to protect Evelyn’s personal information. The so-called missing emails were simply mundane exchanges with no bearing on the matter at hand. While it’s true that a subsequent systems error led to my losing almost all the original messages we exchanged, this is less a sign of my duplicity than it is of my disorganization. It should go without saying that the dissolution of my marriage following the publication of this book was an unrelated personal matter and that neither my ex-wife nor I will be commenting further on the circumstances.
I have cherished and taken seriously my role in keeping Evelyn’s spirit alive. Contrary to popular belief, it brings me great joy to see that True Crime Story has eclipsed my own work, both critically and commercially. My one regret is that Evelyn isn’t here to enjoy the success that she worked so hard for. And also that in the whirlwind of the book’s original publication, I failed to properly thank her father, without whom none of this would have been possible. I have absolutely no problem in doing so now.
Robert Nolan remains committed to finding his daughter Zoe and still performs music around the Stoke-on-Trent area.
Sally Nolan is retired and entirely dedicated to her garden, her daughter, and her closest friends. She is excited by the prospect of grandchildren.
Liu Wai was promoted internally by human resources consulting firm Mercer UK in early 2019 and used this momentum to shop her talents externally, accepting a higher-paying role with the People People later that year. She loves to travel.
Jai Mahmood is now a professional drug counsellor and amateur photographer. His work has been exhibited across London, Manchester and Paris. At the time of writing, he is stone-cold sober.
Andrew Flowers was tempted away from consumer electronics and into charitable work. During the course of his life, he has lost a fortune but gained a loving partner. He feels incredibly lucky for this but, at the time of writing, is admittedly drunk.
Kimberly Nolan now lives in Manchester but makes frequent weekend trips back to Ambleside. She enjoys great relationships with her mother, Sally, and with her partner, Andrew. As the head of the Nolan Foundation and as an expectant mother, she has broken the habit of a lifetime by working out exactly who and what she is. She is Zoe Nolan’s sister, and she could not possibly be more proud of that.