He stood up. ‘We should talk more later. I can tell you’ve got a lot going on, but I’m a good listener. Ask the Turners.’
She returned his smile. He was being so kind to her.
‘I’d better go, get the photographs taken beside the helicopter.’
‘You can have my office for the interview if you like,’ she said.
‘I appreciate that. Thank you. The photographer will probably take half an hour, then I’ll do the interview afterwards. How does that sound?’
‘I’ll be out of here in ten minutes then use the room for as long as you need.’ She was talking to him like nothing unusual had happened in the last couple of days since her life had flipped, been thrown into disarray.
After Hudson left, Nadia re-read the text Archie had sent that morning for the umpteenth time. He’d gone to the police as she’d advised; they’d taken him seriously and had followed up several lines of enquiry: they’d checked the hospitals in the country just as he had but nobody of Monica’s description had been in; they’d checked with passport control that she was still in the country and hadn’t yet left so that was reassuring, Archiesaid, although he was no closer to finding her. They’d also begun to look at Monica’s online presence, see what they could find there, but so far, there was no news.
Archie’s text had been lengthy; it explained how the police had asked him whether he thought Monica was in danger. He’d had to admit that all he really knew was that she would never harm her baby, that she wanted to find her sister after all these years, and he truly believed Monica was still here in Dorset. He’d offered to do a blood test, to see if baby Lena was his, but he was advised that at this stage, that wasn’t necessary until they’d looked into this further.
They think I’m a nutjob, he’d written at the end of his text.
Nadia had almost wanted to reach out to her former friend, comfort him, tell him that everything would be okay, that his missing wife would be found and his baby would be safe. But she felt numb. So instead, she wrote a swift reply thanking him for the update and telling him that it was up to the police now.
She swilled the dregs of her tea and turned in her chair so she was facing the wall with all the framed photographs of the crew and their fundraising efforts. There was a beautifully framed picture of last year’s big fundraiser: the gala held at a town venue when they’d raised thousands, the blue team in attendance this time. That picture would soon be replaced by one from this year, taken at the start of the night before the tables had been cleared and the dancing commenced. Another photo was of the sponsored run everyone here had gone in for, taken at the finish line, all of them gathered hot and sweaty given the hills in the area – their efforts were represented in a special gigantic fake cheque they were holding to show how much they’d raised. Another picture featured Nadia, Maya, Bess and Kate when they’d done Tough Mudder, a gruelling obstacle course and mud run – their faces said it all. Streaked with mud,they were jubilant, they’d had fun, her and her teammates – her family.
Monica had been family once. But she’d always taken; she’d never given. Was she about to take more from Nadia by coming here and forcing her to tell her truth she’d kept hidden for years? Nadia had never wanted that. She never wanted people to know that she could turn her back on her own flesh and blood; it seemed so cruel, so hard. Hudson already thought badly of her, she could tell. It was only because he was a decent person that he was giving her the time of day. She doubted whether he’d want any more than a professional relationship, a friendship at best, after this.
Nadia turned her focus to the volunteer applications in her inbox. They’d take her mind off things.
The Whistlestop River Air Ambulance could never drop the ball when it came to raising crucial funds. The dinner dance had raised thousands, it had defied expectations, but there was always more to be done and like many air ambulances, members of the public who volunteered were additional heroes to their team. She perused four separate applications, two from retirees, two from school leavers trying to get something on their CV that might give them a leg up when it came to looking for work. There were plenty of roles to fill – they could help at fundraising events, provide admin support at the airbase, drive fundraising materials to events, engage in public speaking. She followed up each application and requested the further details she needed as well as setting up suitable times to talk with the applicant. It was a part of the job she really enjoyed: getting more people involved. She’d wondered, when she left nursing, whether she’d crave that nurse-to-patient contact, the continual rotation of different people in her orbit. But she hadn’t had a chance to miss it because, whilst the crews were relatively statichere, the amount of other people involved was more than she’d ever realised.
There was a knock at her door as Nadia finished setting up a time with the last applicant. Kate came inside. ‘Visitor for you in reception.’
‘I’ll be right there.’
Kate lingered a moment. ‘It’s the guy from the party.’
And her heart sank. Trying to avoid the past was pretty difficult when it insisted on showing up at your door.
14
Nadia went through to the reception to face Archie once again. Why had he come here? Did he have news about Monica and the baby?
Worrying about her sister was something she’d done her best to bury after having done it for so many years when they were growing up. But now, she couldn’t help herself from wondering all over again where she was, how she was, whether she was okay.
Archie was sitting on one of the seats at the far end of reception and she went straight over. As soon as Giles saw her, he ran towards her with so much joy, she wanted to burst into tears and hug him tightly.
‘I want to see a helicopter, Auntie Nadia,’ Giles blurted out.
‘Is that so?’ How could she maintain a frown when this wonderful little boy seemed so enamoured by her presence? Perhaps she was simply a novelty.
‘Can I go see one now?’
‘I’m not sure whether that’s possible today.’ And how was she going to face a barrage of questions from everyone she worked with when he was calling her auntie?
In a completely different tone, she addressed Archie. ‘What can I do for you?’ She might be worried but she still wanted to keep the extent of her concern hidden; she wanted to keep that part of herself away from those who’d hurt her.
Taken aback by her formality, he addressed Giles. ‘Why don’t you look out of the big glass doors, see whether you can spot the helicopter if it goes up?’
‘That’s a good idea.’ Nadia wanted to get this over with.
As soon as it was just them over this side, Archie asked, ‘Has she come here? Tried to get in touch? I’m running out of options, the police have nothing so far, I don’t know what to do.’
