‘They haven’t released that information…’ Molly’s voice quivered. ‘What if it’s Bree?’ Tears slowly rolled down her cheek.
Cam stretched his arms towards her and attempted to pull Molly in for a hug but she resisted.
‘This is because of you. That poor girl died on the hillside because you drove her out of here into those hideous weather conditions.’ Molly pointed towards the window.
‘Let’s try and stay calm. We don’t know that it’s Bree. It could be anyone … a hiker, maybe, who’d gotten into trouble.’ Cam knew he was clutching at straws but he could see the anger in Molly’s eyes and was trying his best to calm the situation.
‘Stay calm. How can I stay calm when a body has been found? We need to do something. I can’t just sit here and wait for news.’
‘You have no choice; you can’t go out in this. We’ve been advised to stay indoors.’
Molly was shaking her head as she reached for the remote control and flicked over to the news channel. ‘We need to ring the police and tell them what happened.’
‘And what is that going to achieve?’ Cam gave her a long-suffering look. ‘Try not to overthink it until we know more details. Molly, there isn’t anything we can do right at this moment. I’ll make some tea.’
‘I don’t want tea. Why would I want tea? Do you not feel guilty at all? Is there not a part of you thinking, if I had listened to that poor girl this morning none of this would be happening?’ Molly barely paused for breath as she continued. ‘There isn’t a hiker mad enough to attempt conditions like those on the mountain in the dark. It must be someone who was desperate to find shelter, and if Sam is helping the police with their enquiries they must know who it is, but just haven’t released the details yet.’
‘We don’t know that. Let’s just wait until we have more information.’ Cam was trying to be the voice of reason but Molly wasn’t having any of it.
‘This is your fault.’
There was an awkward pause as Molly tried to get her thoughts in order.
‘Let me get you a cup of tea.’
‘I don’t want bloody tea.’ Molly’s voice rose an octave.
‘Well, I bloody do.’ Cam stood up and walked into the kitchen. He exhaled and looked out of the window into the pitch black night. He could see the flakes right in front of the window and hear the wind whistling. According to the news, this blizzard was the worst they’d seen in a few years. After making a pot of tea, he returned to the living room.
Before he had a chance to sit down, Molly continued. ‘I want to turn back time to this morning when there was a sixteen-year-old girl here baking bread and looking after our son with a smile on her face.’
Cam didn’t say anything as he watched the same news report play out on a loop. The report hadn’t confirmed if the body was male or female, or the age of the deceased.
‘We need to just sit and wait for news.’ Cam offered his arms for a hug but again Molly rejected him and picked up a mug of tea, her hands visibly shaking.
‘Please, Molly, come and sit next to me,’ Cam said, trying to extend the olive branch again.
Molly didn’t answer. She desperately needed to know who they’d found on the mountain and thought about ringing Sam. But it was getting late and Sam was helping the police with their enquires. It pained her to think that all she could do was sit and wait for news to filter through.
Cam sat back in the chair. He didn’t know what to do or say. The tension in the room wasn’t going to be easy to lift but Cam knew he had to try. ‘Why don’t you go and try and get some sleep and I’ll wait up to see if there is any more news. There’s no point us both sitting here.’
‘I don’t think I can sleep until I know…’ Molly wiped a tear with the back of her hand.
‘Please, Molly, don’t get upset.’
She gave him an incredulous stare. ‘How can you say that? That poor wee girl left The Old Bakehouse this morning and that might have been the last morning she ever saw.’ She sipped her tea before staring back across at Cam. ‘And the other revelations of the night took me by surprise too, if I’m truly honest.’
‘Revelations, what revelations?’ asked Cam.
‘Martha had some very interesting things to say.’
‘Come on, you can’t really take anything Martha has said seriously? Surely? Unless she told you we are expecting a baby, because I think there’s a little bit of a giveaway,’ he said, pointing towards Molly’s stomach and rolling his eyes, but all that did was add fuel to the fire.
‘What are you keeping from me?’ Molly asked sharply, her eyes never leaving him.
Cam was quiet. Yes, he was keeping something from Molly, but there was no way on this earth Martha could know any of his business.
‘Scandals, lies and health problems. Would you like to elaborate on anything?’
