‘Is everything okay?’
He turns to me, carton in hand. ‘What? Apart from the fact we could have a couple of psychos living next door?’ He grins. ‘I’m just saying life isn’t as exciting as a movie, that’s all.’
Later Freddie calls for Rufus and the two of them head out to the cinema to watch some arthouse film recommended by one of their lecturers. He promises not to be back late. I try Jo again, but it goes straight to voicemail. I know it’s a busy time for her at work, but I’m desperate toseek her advice about the Morgans and to fill her in on everything that’s happened since I last spoke to her on Sunday. I’ll also feel a lot better once Paul has installed the camera in the back garden. The gate, thankfully, has remained bolted.
As I sit down with some tea and toast I feel a stab to my thigh and realize I’ve still got the key I found in the pocket of my dress. I fish it out, staring at the little knitted bear with toothmarks in its foot, thanks to Phoenix, then open the kitchen drawer and dump it in there, along with a ball of elastic bands, an empty lighter, a box of matches, a pen, a couple of blue candles and two Argos pencils. I’m just about to close it when I see a metal keyring in the shape of a poppy. Joan’s spare key. She gave it to me when she lived next door in case she ever locked herself out. It’s cold between my fingers as I grasp it. The developers kept the original front door, but they might have changed the lock. My heart pounds as a plan takes hold. Could I … No, that’s totally unethical. I can’t just sneak into their house. What if they caught me? But if I did, I might find out what the Morgans are planning. There may be something inside their house that holds a clue as to what they’re up to and whether they do know about Sarah-Jane’s disappearance.
No. I can’t. I absolutely can’t. It’s wrong. It’s trespassing. What if someone saw me? How would I ever explain it?
I drop Joan’s key back among the rest of the paraphernalia and slam the drawer shut.
But for the rest of the day I can’t stop thinking about that key.
20
‘We’re just not set up for this heat,’ says Kath the next morning, pulling at the neck of her dress and using the fan on her sunburnt chest. ‘We need aircon.’
‘Aircon is a germ spreader,’ announces Susi, whisking in on a cloud of Jo Malone to go to the filing cabinet, then wafting out again, a folder tucked under her arm.
‘I’m sure she’s an alien,’ whispers Kath with a roll of her eyes when Susi’s left the room. ‘She never gets hot or cold.’
In the winter the office is like a fridge, and when Kath and I are huddled around the radiator, swamped in scarves and thick jumpers, Susi continues to wear her trademark silk blouses.
I try to distract myself from thinking about the Morgans and Joan’s spare key, which is burning a hole in my kitchen drawer, by keeping myself busy, volunteering to be the adviser every time someone walks through the door. I keep my head down and Susi seems pleased with me. I still haven’t heard anything from Charlie, and I’m worried he’s going to push for the house to be put on the market.
‘So, we’ll start with the holiday cover,’ Susi says, when we’re standing in the little kitchen making tea in a lull between clients. ‘Anna is away for the next two weeks so itwould be great if you could work the two extra days a week and cover as much of her load as possible. And if it works out we could see about maybe making it more permanent. I might be able to find some extra hours if the budget allows, but I can’t promise. We’ll see how it goes, okay?’
‘Great,’ I say, stirring my tea, all the while thinking,I need to get into the Morgans’ house. Find out what they’re up to.It goes around and around in my head like a chant.
I half expect Drew to come in today and I’m disappointed when four o’clock arrives and he hasn’t. I remember how dejected he’d looked yesterday, how powerless when we were talking about him going to the police. I consider calling him, but it crosses a professional line, and now that Susi has given me some extra hours I need to keep her onside if I want it to be a more permanent arrangement.
Rufus asks me to pick him up from college on my way home because he’s bringing back some heavy equipment. I wonder if it’s the sound monitor and boom mic but when I get there he’s carrying a tripod and a light ring. I help him load them into the boot. ‘What’s this for?’ I ask, as we get back into the car.
‘Freddie and I are filming a two-hander for our end-of-year project. We’re going to take some footage of Dad’s gig at the weekend. We’ve arranged to do a location recce tomorrow evening while the place is empty, for a before-and-after.’
Tomorrow is Thursday. Our movie night and a week since I overheard the Morgans. I try to keep my voice even. ‘Oh, right. Does that mean we’ll have to do our film night another time?’
‘Maybe Friday this week. I’m thinking ofRear Window.’ He turns to me with a glint in his eye.
‘We’ve watched that loads of times … Oh, I see! Ha ha, very funny.’
‘What aboutDisturbiathen?’
‘Not heard of that one.’
‘A teenage boy under house arrest spies on the man next door and starts believing he’s a murderer when a woman goes missing. Sound familiar?’
‘Hey!’ I protest. ‘I’m not spying on the Morgans, okay? But I do like the sound ofDisturbia. Let’s watch that.’
‘Cool. It’s a date. And, talking of dates …’ he glances shyly at me and I wonder if he’s going to tell me he’s met someone ‘… Dad’s told me about Rosie.’
My heart sinks. ‘Ah, yes.’ I turn into our street.
‘He says you’ve met her. Are you okay with it?’
I sigh. I don’t want him to know how hurt I feel about it. ‘Well, it’s a bit weird, if I’m honest. But … I want Dad to be happy.’
I pull up outside our house. Henry is lifting a small suitcase into the boot of the Jaguar and Marielle is watching him with her arms crossed.
