Jack nodded exasperatedly. ‘It was with her personal things. I was keeping it for Evie. That’s it. There’s no mystery to it other than the one Lina is trying to create. Her demented mind has fixated on me as the enemy, for reasons I can’t fathom other than out of guilt. This is all assuming she does have some form ofdementia and she’s not just bloody evil. The more I’ve seen, the more I suspect she’s doing her damnedest to turn Evie against me. Maybe to even try to take her from me. And it’s working. She’s dangerous, Kara. If anyone is gaslighting anyone here, it’s Lina. And it’syoushe’s gaslighting.’
THIRTY
KARA
As I watch Evie carry the last of Lina’s things through the annexe door and up to the bedroom, it occurs to me how selfless she’s being, devoting most of her weekend to looking after her gran, making sure she’s comfortable and keeping her company. It’s almost as if she feels compelled to do it, and I wonder if it’s healthy. She certainly seems content enough. Her mood is the polar opposite of the anger I’ve witnessed whenever she feels the need to be defensive of Lina; the almost blind fury I’d seen when she’d turned on Imogen.
‘You realise we’ve spent a small fortune making sure she’s comfortable?’ Jack asks, coming through the front door with the last of the bedding.
‘Shh.’ I nod towards the kitchen, where Lina is pottering around happily making yet more tea, which I’m already awash with. ‘She has to have a duvet,’ I point out.
‘And towels, and curtains.’ He indicates the new burgundy and cream curtains I’ve hung at the patio windows, which flood the small lounge area with light. They match the cream leather sofa and burgundy leather recliner perfectly. With fresh roses from the garden I placed in a vase on the coffee table, the overall effect is cheerful and homely. ‘And the new kettle, crockery,television,’ he adds, looking towards the small flat-screen TV I went into town for first thing this morning, then back to me with a half-amused roll of his eyes.
‘I hadn’t finished furnishing it,’ I remind him. In truth, I hadn’t yet decided whether to convert it for use as an office since I’d decided to get back to work. And now I have Lina installed in it. Ah well, at least Evie is happy. Lina too, I gather from the humming I hear drifting from the kitchen.
‘You have now,’ Jack points out. ‘All mod cons. You could rent it out for a fortune.’
‘Nan can’t afford to pay rent,’ Evie intervenes.
Jack and I glance up simultaneously to see her standing on the stairs, that mutinous look on her face that means she’s in defence mode. My gaze flicks quickly to Jack and I know he’s noticed it too. ‘We’re not charging her rent, Evie.’ I smile and attempt to defuse anything before it gets started. ‘She is family, after all.’
Evie’s gaze glides from me to her father and her wary look gives way to relief. ‘Good.’ She musters a small smile in return and continues on down. ‘Is it working yet?’ she asks, indicating the TV.
‘Not yet, no,’ Jack answers. ‘The settings and internet connection need checking. I was going to do it later. I need to finish off an outstanding job this afternoon.’ He glances at me. ‘As long as you don’t mind me disappearing for a couple of hours on a Sunday?’
He’s talking about the bathroom project he’s working on, I realise, which will secure him a substantial amount of future work. ‘It’s fine. I have a good book to keep me company,’ I assure him, giving him a smile.
Jack looks relieved, not least because, after the worrying events of Friday night, things have been precarious between us. I still don’t have answers to the questions pinging around in myhead, things I feel I need to press him about. Why Evie would be so protective of Lina, seeming to side with her against him. I’ve never heard her actually say it, but it feels as if she does blame him for what happened to Natalia. Whether that’s because of Lina’s influence, or because of something he’s not telling me, I don’t know. I do know that Jack and I need to talk, properly and in private.
‘I can figure out the settings and internet,’ Evie offers, looking keen, as she always seems to be to help Lina.
‘I’m sure you can.’ Jack smiles knowingly. ‘I’d better get on. I’ll see you later.’ He hesitates. ‘You are going into school tomorrow?’ He holds her gaze and I note his no-nonsense look.
Evie clearly does too. ‘I suppose,’ she says with a sigh. ‘That slutty little bitch better keep well out of my way, though,’ she adds, spinning around and heading to the kitchen.
I glance worriedly at Jack, who pulls in a breath, looking both upset and apologetic.
‘I should go too. Let them get on,’ I say, overwhelmed suddenly with tiredness. ‘Bye, Lina,’ I call wearily, turning to the door. ‘I’ll catch up with you later.’
‘Bye, darling,’ Lina calls back, and I stop. She can’t be talking to me, surely? Does she think I’m Natalia? I glance again at Jack.
‘Ignore it,’ he says, with a despairing shake of his head.
I wish dearly that I could. I wonder again at my hasty decision to have her here. Whether I should have looked into some kind of independent living arrangement for her instead. But there was Evie to consider too, in whose mind Lina was possibly a substitute for her mother. I can’t backtrack now. She would be devastated.
‘Talk later,’ I say, placing a hand over my tummy as my little foetus kicks energetically, almost as if he can sense my worry.
Jack follows me as I hurry out, heading for the sanctum of my house. ‘Kara, wait up,’ he calls as I’m almost at my front door. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Fine,’ I assure him, glancing back. I’m actually not. I feel so sick suddenly, I wonder whether I’ll make it to the bathroom. I’m about to tell him I’m going for a lie-down when I skid to a stop, the shoulder of my top snagged by my own wayward climbing rose.
‘Hold on.’ Seeing my predicament as I attempt to unhook myself, Jack comes around in front of me. ‘Stay still,’ he says. ‘I’ve got it.’ His face intent, he reaches his hands towards my neck, and I feel myself flinch as a graphic image from the nightmare that had woken me last night crashes terrifyingly into my mind: Natalia, her eyes frantic, the locket being snatched from her neck as she flails backwards.
A gold chain dangling from his hand, the person standing over her, watching as she’s swallowed by the deep, unforgiving sea, is Jack.
THIRTY-ONE
Jack frowns in confusion as I all but tear my top free in my haste to escape him. ‘Kara? What’s wrong?’ he asks, his voice fearful as I shove the front door open and race to the stairs.
