Meg went back to the table and picked up her phone, studying the photo of Chrissy. Was she Jenny’s sister? Or was Meg getting ahead of herself? She had a tendency to do that, to run headlong down one track. She needed to slow down. These were all just thoughts. Mere speculation. She needed proof.
DNA. A ripple ran up Meg’s spine as the idea struck her. She had done a DNA test a few years before, but it had been a disappointing exercise. Her only matches had been distant cousins, but that might change if Chrissy did one. A DNA test would turn Meg’s suspicions into facts. A DNA test would prove she was right. Or wrong.
How would she get Chrissy to do one, though? She couldn’t even finish a conversation once Meg said Tina’s name. Meg could hardly turn up at the café, DNA test in hand, and announce, ‘I think you might be related to my reclusive mother, would you mind spitting into this tube?’
That wasn’t an option, clearly. She looked at the screen. As she clicked back to Georgie’s profile, a thought crystallised in her head:Georgie and Chrissy would share the same DNA.
DNA Sleuths Facebook Group
Mel Hunt:Hi all, I have a question I’m hoping someone here can answer. I think I may have found my mum’s sister, but she’s not convinced. I need DNA proof, but she’s unlikely to agree to do a test. I get the sense she would prefer me to leave her alone altogether. Her daughter might agree to do one though. She would be my cousin if I’m right about this. If I can persuade the daughter to do a test, will that give me the proof I need?
Top comments
Patricia Pine:A DNA test will prove you are related, if you actually are. It won’t prove she’s definitely your cousin though, you need to work that out based on the centimorgans shared and your family tree.
Mel Hunt:Centimorgans?
Patricia Pine:It’s the unit used to measure how much DNA you share with your relatives. You will share roughly the same amount of your DNA with your great-grandmother as you will with your cousin or your half-niece. How old is the daughter? How old are you?
Mel Hunt:ThanksPatricia. She’s 18, I’m 29. If she’s my great-granny she looks great for her age …
Zelda Merlino:Hello, Search Angel here. I think some commenters are over-complicating this and confusing you! The simple answer is yes, a DNA test will confirm if you have found family members. If you and the daughter share between 550 and 1200 centimorgans, she is most likely your cousin.
Mel Hunt:So if the result came back in that range, I could confidently say her mother is my aunt?
Zelda Merlino:Well, yes, given what you know about their ages and the likely family relationships.
Mel Hunt:Great, that makes sense. ThanksZelda.
Zelda Merlino:Pleasure, reach out if I can help.
Chapter 18
‘Sorry, Warwick,’ Issy said as she entered the site office. ‘I was on the phone to my dad. He was keen to get an update on the project.’ She watched him, curious to see what he made of that, but she could read nothing. She went on. ‘Spencer messaged too. I didn’t know you two were old friends.’
Warwick shrugged. ‘Wouldn’t say friends, exactly.’
‘He said you went to primary school together.’
‘Primary school was a long time ago.’
‘But you stayed in touch, I hear?’
Warwick nodded. He was a man of few words, Issy was learning. She sighed. If she was going to pull this off, she needed his help.
‘Warwick, I want to apologise for yesterday.’ She swallowed hard, almost unable to form the words. It felt distasteful, shameful almost, to admit she was even slightly wrong. Attack was the best form of defence, in her opinion. It was a basic survival strategy in the Ashworth family, but something told her it wouldn’t work with this man sitting in front of her, eyeing her warily.
The corners of his mouth turned down as though he wasn’t sure what she meant. He wasn’t going to make this easy for her, clearly.
‘I think we got off on the wrong foot,’ she said. ‘A message was meant to be sent from the corporate office, to let you know I was coming down to oversee the final stage of the project. It was obviously an inconvenience to have me turn up without warning. To be honest, it put me in a tricky position too. The team seemed thrown by it.’
He rubbed his stubbled cheek. ‘If you don’t mind me saying, I think it might have been your approach that threw them.’
Her heart rate picked up. ‘My approach?’
He cleared his throat, shifted in his seat. ‘Can I give you a bit of feedback?’
She bristled, sensing criticism was about to follow.No, thank you, I’m fine,she imagined saying, as though he was offering her an unwanted cup of tea. She didn’t want feedback. No one ever wanted feedback. She was positive about that, despite what they might say. Instead, she arranged her face into an expression designed to look open and attentive. ‘Of course.’
