Seconds after she’d pressed send her mobile pinged. She let out a bark of laughter when she saw Jasmine had replied with a line of pig emojis. The feeling that it would be good to have some time with just her four friends washed over her. She was keen to have their take on the weird situation with Dawn.
FOURTEEN
Florrie was greeted by a welcome rush of warmth and the delicious aroma of her mum’s lasagne as she pushed open the door of Samphire Cottage. She loved her little home and was always happy to return to it. Florrie had got it for a song, but there’d been no denying the two-up, two-down that sat at the end of a quiet Victorian terrace had been in dire need of renovation. Luckily, her dad had come to the rescue, carrying out the necessary work and saving her a small fortune. She’d had fun sourcing furniture and putting her own stamp on the place and, naturally – being a serious bookworm – there were bookshelves everywhere. She’d created a haven where she loved to relax and unwind. And it had felt even more like home when Ed moved in.
‘Hello, I’m back,’ she called as she hung up her coat and hat on the line of hooks by the door. The words had just left her mouth when Gerty appeared, hurling herself down the short hallway, her tail wagging frantically. ‘Hello there, lass. It’s grand to see you, too.’ Florrie chuckled as she leant down and ruffled the Labrador’s ears. Gerty’s greetings were always guaranteed to be full of enthusiasm. ‘Shall we go and see what your dad’s up to?’
Florrie found Ed setting the small dining table in the kitchen, the fairy lights strung along the blue painted dresser adding a cosyair to the room. ‘Mmm. Smells delicious,’ she said, smiling. Her mum had dropped off a couple of two-person meals for the freezer last week – something she regularly did – and Ed had lifted the lasagne out the previous evening, giving it time to defrost in readiness for their evening meal.
‘It’s just about ready. All we need to do is pop the garlic bread in; should be good to go by the time you’ve got changed.’
‘Sounds fab!’ She headed over to him and pressed a kiss to his lips, savouring his warmth.
‘Blimey, your nose is freezing.’
‘I’m not surprised, it’s really chilly out there, the temperature’s plummeted. I reckon there’ll be a ground frost tonight. My dad was telling me it’s set to be one of the coldest Aprils for decades. Hopefully, thing’s will’ve warmed up by the time we get to May and our wedding.’
‘Yeah, let’s hope so. How were your parents? Is your dad any better?’ Ed lifted the garlic bread out of the fridge; he’d picked it up from the deli earlier that day. When they were on their way home after work, Florrie had split off from Ed and Gerty, taking the road that led to her parents’ house while he’d headed back to Samphire Cottage so he could get the evening meal underway.
‘He’s still looking pale, but he says he’s feeling a bit better; not as dizzy, which is good. And he’s determined to help out on Thursday night with the reading and window reveal like he usually does. Not sure my mum’s too keen on that, though. When we were on our own, she mentioned that she thinks it’s too soon for the tablets to have properly kicked in. Reckons it’s wishful thinking on his part.’
‘Oh, poor Charlie.’ Ed pulled a sympathetic face. ‘It’d be a shame if he couldn’t join us; wouldn’t be the same without him. We could give him and Jack a stool each to sit on while they’re on the door, rather than your dad having to stand for long. And maybe it’d reassure your mum if we tell her we’ll keep a close eye on him – without making it obvious to your dad, of course. We wouldn’t want to make him feel like he’s notup to it.’
‘Oof! Heaven forbid.’ Her eyes widened. ‘They say hi, by the way. Asked after your mum, too.’ That wasn’t strictly true; they hadn’t so much asked after Dawn, more that they were keen to know what she’d been up to, and wondered if Florrie had found out what she’d been plotting.
‘That’s kind of them.’ His mouth turned up in a quick smile. ‘Am I okay to put this garlic bread in the oven now?’
Florrie took the hint. ‘Yep, I’ll go and change out of my work stuff. I’ll be back in a flash.’
Upstairs, Florrie quickly slipped into her loungewear and hung up her trousers and Happy Hartes Bookshop hoodie, hooking the hanger on the handle of the wardrobe door. As she smoothed her hair in the mirror, her gaze snagged on the collection of crystals she had set out on the dressing table, her brow creasing with a frown. They were a gift from Lark in a bid to give a layer of protection and calm the last time Ed’s parents had been causing problems. Florrie had the crystals set on a small wooden tray and had them arranged in a particular order, with the large piece of amethyst at the back, the other crystals, a mix of rose quartz, onyx and fluorite, to the front.
She wasn’t OCD with her home by any stretch of the imagination, but she liked to keep it tidy, and she could’ve sworn the bowl of crystals weren’t like that when she’d left the room this morning. It was as if they’d been tipped out and dumped back in haphazardly. Her mind went to the last time they’d returned home and found things knocked over at Samphire Cottage. They’d been relieved to discover it had been next-door’s cat, Clarence, who’d sneaked in through the open kitchen window and helped himself to a prowl around the cottage.
Gripped by a feeling of alarm, she rushed to the spare room. Like yesterday, the door was ajar. Florrie knew for a fact it had been closed when they’d left that morning since she’d made a point of checking it. She glanced around the room, her heart thudding as the feeling that someone had been snooping around crept over her, and worse, that something told her it wasn’t Ed. Her gaze stoppedat the small desk tucked beneath the window, her attention instantly grabbed by one of the drawers where a clutch of papers were poking out, preventing it from closing properly. Her stomach flipped over.
‘Oh no!’ she said quietly. She’d never leave it like that. It’s where she kept the folder that contained the correspondence and invoices for all their wedding-related items. The spilt crystals might be explained away as another visit from Clarence, but the open drawer was a different matter. ‘We can’t blame next-door’s cat for that,’ she said to herself.
She rushed over, pulling the drawer fully open, her heart steadying when she saw the wedding file was still there. She flopped down onto the seat, pressing her hand to her chest as her mind tried to make sense of it all. Yes, Ed had been in the house on his own, but she knew instinctively he wasn’t responsible for her things being disturbed. Someone else had been in their home and Florrie had a strong feeling that someone was Dawn Harte. Another thought crept into her mind, building as she processed it. The crystals hadn’t been disturbed yesterday – she would’ve noticed straight away if they had. The same went for the papers that were sticking out of the drawer – other than the feeling that someone had been in the room, nothing had looked out of place yesterday, nothing leapt out as being different, and the drawers had definitely been shut. Dawn had given Ed his key back earlier that day which meant…
Florrie let the thoughts permeate for a moment, her heart thumping…
It meant either Dawn had been back to Samphire Cottage before she’d returned Ed’s key, or Ed had been searching for something. She felt the latter option highly unlikely, especially since he’d only recently asked if he could have the ruler from the pot on the desk, rather than fetching it himself, knowing she’d prefer him to avoid going in while her wedding dress was in there. Every bone in her body was telling her she could trust Ed, that itwasn’t him. He was as honest as the day was long. His mother, however, was a different matter.
‘Tea’s ready.’ His voice travelled up the stairs, pulling her out of her thoughts. Florrie knew she had no choice but to mention something. The only problem was, she wasn’t sure how to bring it up in the conversation. She was reluctant to add to his guilt for letting his mum have a key.
‘Coming.’ She tucked the wedding folder back into the drawer and made to leave, her eyes roving over the garment cover that contained her wedding dress on the back of the door. At first glance, everything looked okay, but Florrie made a mental note to give it a check over after they’d eaten and before she hopped in the bath.
Back in the kitchen, Florrie found Ed serving up two generous portions of lasagne alongside a selection of vegetables as Gerty watched with hopeful eyes from her bed, drool forming at the corners of her mouth. Florrie couldn’t help but laugh. ‘What are you like, Gerty? I’m not sure lasagne will do your insides much good.’ The Labrador responded with a woeful whimper.
‘Right then, time to eat,’ said Ed, setting their plates down on the table, steam rising from them.
‘Mmm. That looks fab.’
‘Can’t beat a plateful of Paula’s lasagne on a nippy evening, although I have to be honest, it’s a close-run thing with her shepherd’s pie, especially when it’s got loads of cheese grated on top.’ He grinned over at her. ‘She’s a total star, your mum, dropping off meals like this.’
‘She is.’ Though she agreed with Ed, Florrie had to force a smile. His comments had made her even more conscious of how to broach the subject of the possibility of his mum snooping around their home. And though she didn’t expect him to hit back all defensive as he’d always been honest about his less-than-perfect relationship with his parents, she knew he’d be mortified at the suggestion, and that, somehow, felt worse. She couldn’t imagine having to face hearing something like that about her own mother,but then again, her mum had never put her in a position like this. Her heart went out to Ed. He was a good man, and really didn’t deserve this.
‘Have you heard anything from Jean?’ he asked, breaking into her thoughts, a forkful of lasagne poised in front of his mouth.
