‘Of course.’
Kit walks towards the living-room door. ‘Right, I’m going to call the police. It will be fine, Lena. But before I go there’s something you should know.’ He looks down at his hands. ‘The reason I was at their door in the first place.’ His expression is hard to read in the glow of the corner lamp. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a newspaper cutting, which he passes to me. Rufus must have given it back to him. ‘The baby … it’s me.’
I stare at him as I try to reconcile this strapping lad with the tiny newborn Simone had found on those hospitalsteps all those years ago. Of course. Why hadn’t I realized? Why else would he have been so interested in that newspaper story?
Rufus doesn’t look surprised – Kit must already have told him. Charlie just appears confused, and I hand him the cutting so he can read it for himself.
‘So you were the one in the Morgans’ house that night?’ I ask.
He looks shocked. ‘Which night?’
‘Last Friday. I was there too, and I saw someone rooting around.’
He flushes with guilt but doesn’t ask why I was there. I suspect it was Kit who stole Joan’s key from my kitchen drawer a few days later, then discovered they’d changed the locks. ‘Yep. I didn’t mean any harm. I was just trying to find out what I could about them. I already knew I was adopted and found on the steps of St Calvert’s Hospital. When my adoptive mother died I decided to look into it and that was when I discovered through my records that I was abandoned and found by a midwife, Simone Harvey.’
I remember what Oliver had told me about a call from a ‘journalist’. ‘Did you contact her brother, Oliver?’
‘I did. I’ve been searching for my real parents for over a year, and I’ve discovered … well, I’ve discovered a lot.’ He glances from Charlie to Rufus. ‘I’m sorry I used you guys to find out more from Lena.’
‘What? Why?’ Charlie looks up in surprise.
Rufus doesn’t say anything but moves even closer to me.
‘It’s almost impossible to find out about your real parents when you’ve been abandoned,’ Kit says, in a small voice. I glance at him with his floppy hair, and I can see the lost little boy who lurks beneath this handsome young man. ‘After a lot of digging I found someone who showed me old hospital records from the time I was found. Simone’s name was there, of course, because she’d been the one to find me, but also your name came up, Lena.’
‘Because I was with Simone when she reported the abandoned baby.’
He nods. ‘They’d recorded your name too. When I couldn’t find Simone I found you, hoping you’d know something about my parents. I befriended Charlie and Rufus, hoping to get close enough to confide in you and ask you questions. It was a long shot. I certainly didn’t expect you to lead me right to them.’
I remember the Barnardo’s sticker on his guitar case.
It all clicks into place. The date: 22 February 1999. That was the day after Marielle said she’d given birth to her baby. She had been right. Her baby never died. But who faked the baby’s death? Simone? Hugh? Simone must have pretended to find him on the steps of the hospital after she and Hugh had taken him from Marielle. He hadn’t been abandoned, but stolen.
‘And … your birth parents?’
He throws me a knowing look. ‘You’ve already guessed, haven’t you?’
62
‘Why don’t you go up to bed, love?’ I say to Rufus. ‘I’ll be okay here with Dad.’
Kit has gone next door to keep an eye on the Morgans, calling the police on the way over. I suspect he also wants to tell Marielle and Henry the truth about who he is. I wonder how much he knows about the circumstances of his birth and hope he isn’t in for a nasty shock.
Rufus kisses my cheek and leaves the room. I sip my Coke, feeling on the edge of tears. Charlie gets up from the chair and takes the seat next to me, made warm by Rufus.
‘I’m so relieved you’re okay,’ he says, his face pinched with worry. ‘The police should be here soon. You should be checked over by a hospital. They did drug you.’ I just want to be at home. I lean forwards to place my can on the table. When I sit back Charlie takes my hand. ‘God, Lena, you could have died. Those people. I can’t believe it.’
‘Marielle killed Simone.’ I gulp. ‘Henry was so adamant that the baby was stillborn, but how do you make a mistake like that? He must have been in on it. I just don’t understand why Henry would do something so horrific.’
‘Let the police deal with it now. I’m just thankful you’re safe.’
I snatch my hand away from Charlie, suddenly angry. ‘What were you doing in my garden last night? Why were you sneaking around?’
He turns away from me and looks down into his lap. He had just finished a gig when he received the call from Kit, and he smells of dry ice and fresh sweat, but it’s not unpleasant. I miss the smell of him. He looks up at me, his face earnest. ‘I’m sorry … it was stupid. But I – I wanted to see if you were with anyone.’
‘With anyone? I don’t understand.’
‘With another man?’
