‘You’re welcome. Try to enjoy the rest of your break. Right, I best get back to the station.’ She pops her hat back on and stands.
After I see her out, I head straight back to the kitchen just as Dad is making another coffee.
‘We best get ready to go out. Let’s go to the beach café and get some ice cream on the seafront. The girls are already getting ready.’
He smiles. ‘I’ll get myself dressed and we’ll head out.’ He abandons the half-made coffees. ‘The police don’t seem to have much.’
‘No. Did you see that woman while you were hanging around?’
‘I wish I did. I was too busy looking for you.’
After he leaves me alone in the room. I slump against the fridge-freezer and exhale. What am I doing? I glance at that message again and shiver. Everything will be okay as long as I stay out in the open or with Dad and the girls. Whoever is threatening me is only after me and I won’t give them the opportunity to hurt me again.
My mind flashes back to the CCTV screen grab. The woman in the picture gave me no clue at all. I couldn’t get a feel for this woman’s build or age, and, of course, her features were concealed. I’m in the dark.
Bethany and Daisy – I didn’t like the way they watched me run down that hill last night. I don’t trust them. I hit the worktop and bite my bottom lip. Maybe I’m reading too much into them. But my instincts tell me something isn’t right and I shudder. Daisy has been really pleasant, maybe it’s the nicest people you have to watch out for.
I check my phone again and there’s another message.
You’re still here. Big mistake! There’s no going back now. You’ve lost your chance.
‘Are you ready? Millie and Rosie are waiting by the door.’ Dad rubs his hands together.
‘Yep. Let’s go and have some fun.’
I swallow the need to cry down and follow him into the living room, where I help the girls with their trainers and I wonder if I really have made a big mistake, but the truth is worth it. It has to be, otherwise why am I doing this? As I replay the message in my head, I shiver. I’m getting close to the truth and whoever this is knows that. They will not scare me off. My girls are safe with me and I’ll make sure they don’t leave my side. We are safe. The more I tell myself that, the less I’m starting to believe it.
FORTY-THREE
NATALIE
The weather appeared calm for the first time in days. Natalie hurled a pebble into the sea. She wondered if Laura would mind that she’d left her alone in her bed, the same bed that she couldn’t bear to sleep in anyway. After several shots of whisky, she’d led a staggering Laura to her bed before settling down on the couch.
She squinted as she stared at the low sun. If Laura felt half as bad as she did when she woke up, she’d need the paracetamol and water that Natalie had left on the bedside table. The lack of messages on her phone told her that she hadn’t stirred yet.
As she gazed at the deep blue horizon line, she kept replaying what Laura had told her. The thought that some man had hurt her in the past made her blood boil. The girl needed to know the truth, just like Rachel did, but Natalie knew that Laura was scared to tell Bethany who her father was. Come to think of it, she’d never even noticed Laura with anyone else in this town. She wondered if her friend had a mother, or siblings. It’s as if she appeared from nowhere back then but as she said, she’d been running from abuse. She wouldn’t want her ex catching up with her but it was strange that she didn’t seem to have any family.
There was no getting around what Natalie had to do and throwing all the stones in the world wasn’t going make the day any easier. She dropped the last two pebbles onto the beach. In the distance, she spotted Kate with her family, buckets and spades in hand. It was time for her to make an exit before Kate saw her. Right now, she had nothing more to tell her, but she soon would.
Hurrying past the Pier Café and along the streets, she stopped outside the Old Smuggler and peered through the windows. As always, Rachel and Mary were setting up for the day. The pub opened soon and she needed to see Rachel before then. The woman who was once her friend had her hair tied back with a blue spotty scarf while she pushed a mop back and forth; water and soap suds sloshing on the dark tiles. Rachel had left the sleeping baby next to the bar while she prepared the cash register for the day. It was for the best that Kyle was nowhere to be seen while Natalie broke the news.
She tried the door but it was locked.
Rachel ran over and unlocked it. ‘Hi, Nat, we’re not open yet. You okay?’
She nodded and smiled, taking in the shape of her soft-edged face. Her usually slim figure was slightly rounded from recently carrying a baby and her hair seemed pinker than ever as her topknot bounced with her every move. Did she have Alan’s eyes? They were slightly almond shaped, more like his mother’s.
‘Can I help you?’ Rachel placed a hand on the door frame.
She realised that she’d been staring.
Mary appeared behind her daughter. She scrunched her nose at the acrid smell of disinfectant as she inhaled. ‘You need to go, now.’ She went to slam the door closed as she nudged Natalie out, but instead Natalie wedged her boot in it. A clump of wet sand dropped onto the coconut mat, messing up the newly cleaned floor.
‘I’m not going anywhere. You can’t run away from the truth any longer.’ She pushed her way in. Rachel ran over to her baby and grabbed the sleeping infant up in her arms as she sidled towards the back door. ‘Don’t go, Rachel. You’ll want to hear this.’
‘What’s going on, Mum?’
‘Nothing. Just take the little one and go upstairs. I’ll sort this out.’
