‘No. I followed her, that’s all.’ Growing irritable, I go to the window, parting the curtains a fraction to peer through the gap in the hope of seeing Jemma approaching. ‘I expect the police will have a light-bulb moment and interview the person responsible at some stage.’
‘But why would you want to follow one of Evie’s friends?’ she asks, sounding bemused, which I findimmenselyirritating.
‘Because shewasn’tEvie’s friend,’ I point out sharply. ‘She was a little slut, attracted to men she couldn’t have.’
Dropping the curtain, I turn around to see her looking utterly clueless. ‘She stole Evie’sboyfriend. If that wasn’t enough, she was having sex with Jack, for God’s sake!’ I spell it out for her, though I have no actual proof other than the argument I’d overheard.
I recall the evening I’d seen Evie with Imogen in Worcester city centre, Evie’s thunderous expression as she stalked away from the pub, Imogen stumbling after her, clearly having beendrinking or popping pills. ‘Evie, hold on,’ she yelled. ‘I thought we were making up.’
‘You have to be joking?’ Laughing in disbelief, Evie whirled around. ‘You’re a complete slut. You even dress as if you’re touting for business,’ she’d fumed, looking her over derisively.
‘Look who’s talking,’ Imogen retorted. ‘You’re not exactly the Virgin Mary. I don’t know what’s up with you anyway. I was only kissing him.’
‘You had your tongue halfway down his throat,’ Evie seethed. ‘Aiden had his hand up your skirt. You knew I fancied him and you just moved in on him.’
‘I didnot,’ Imogen protested. ‘He asked me if I wanted to go outside to smoke a joint, so I?—’
‘Decided to give him a blow job!’ Evie growled and turned to stride on. Seeing her swipe the tears from her face, I’d so wanted to go to her, but how could I?
‘Evie, wait.’ Imogen continued to follow her. ‘I’m sorry, okay? I thought you weren’t that interested. I would never have?—’
‘Course you wouldn’t,’ Evie spat. ‘Just like you never would with mydad.’
Imogen stopped. And by the look on her face – guilt, I could see it a mile away – I knew in an instant that she had probably slept with my ex-husband. She’d befriended Evie to gain access to Jack, that much was blindingly obvious. Evie had never been outgoing or brash. She and this brazen creature were the unlikeliest match.
‘Don’t come near my dad again, Immy,’ Evie warned her. ‘I swear I’llkillyou if you do.’
‘What? Are you his babysitter?’ Imogen shot back. ‘He’s a grown man, capable of making his own decisions. I didn’t exactly have to seduce him, you know. He was desperate to fuck me. It was good, too!’
Evie didn’t respond.
‘Aidendidn’t wantyou!’ the girl continued, trying to get a rise out of her.
‘Fuck off!’ Evie yelled.
‘And nor did your mother!’ Imogen yelled back, ripping my heart from inside me. ‘She couldn’t have, could she, to have topped herself?’ she added, spitting pure venom. ‘In fact,you’reprobably the reason she did, and I don’t bloody well blame her.’
I wanted to kill her then. I didn’t dare move, though, for fear Evie might see me. Somehow managing to contain the white-hot rage from exploding inside me, I stayed where I was, shrinking back into the shop doorway as Evie approached.
Imogen waited a second, indecisive. Then, ‘Evie,where are you going? I wasjoking. I didn’t really sleep with your dad. I was winding you up.’ It was a feeble attempt to rescue the situation.
Evie stormed on.
‘Right, well, go then,’ Imogen tossed moodily after her. ‘It’s no wonder none of the other girls have anything to do with you. You’re a complete fuck-up. A right moodycow!’
‘Ignore her,’ I heard Evie mutter as she passed by, her face tight and seething with anger. ‘She’ll get her comeuppance.’
And she did, I reflect. Suitable retribution, considering all she’d done and said.
Shaking myself, I refocus on the here and now. Time is limited. I can’t allow myself to be distracted. Retrieving Kara’s phone from my pocket, I switch it on to find several voice messages from Jack, all of them no doubt heart-wrenching, telling her how worried he is, how devastated. He’ll miss out the bit about how he’s already planning to sell her beautiful house and invest the money for future income. He will have some plan already hatching, I’ve no doubt of that either.
‘You’ve been following Jack too,’ Kara murmurs, realisation obviously dawning that I’ve been back from the dead for some time.
‘I wasn’t following him particularly,’ I answer. ‘It was my daughter I was interested in. I needed to find a way to get her back. Things did become rather intriguing when he moved in on you, though. Naturally I was interested to see how it all played out. I knew it wouldn’t be long before he started gaslighting you,’ I go on, since she clearly does need the scales peeling from her eyes. ‘The gas rings weren’t his doing, by the way. I just wanted to rattle him, make him wonder whether his ghosts had come back to haunt him.’
And he had been rattled. I can’t help but smile at my own ingenuity and my mother’s complicity. She hadn’t gone along with it entirely willingly, but she’d needed to keep me on side, her hope, I think, that she could continue to be part of Evie’s life.
‘It didn’t take him long to start his manipulative behaviour, though, did it?’ I add with a despairing shake of my head. ‘Impregnating you so you were invested in the relationship. Telling you there were no affairs, blaming anyone but himself, insisting that my mother is insane. Her memory is a bit dodgy, it’s true, but she knows what she’s doing, trust me.’
