I decide to make another cup of tea to tide me over, and then I get back to work. I plan to read over the rest of the contents of Nicki’s computer and take notes.
I start with theConfessionssynopsis, but it’s disappointingly brief. Kit continues to plan two weddings, but the pages end with the question, ‘Will she go through with them?’ so I have no idea if Nicki intended her character to choose between the two men, get dumped by either or both of them, or marry them both. When I’m done with the synopsis, I move on to the next file in the folder.
Whereas the morning flew by, the next hour and a half passes in slow motion. Eventually, I can stand it no longer and go back downstairs in search of food. There’s a loaf of bread in the breadbox, so I guiltily slice off a couple of pieces and pop them into the toaster before raiding the fridge and cupboards for condiments.
While I’m waiting for my toast to pop up, I tidy up a bit. There’s a dishwasher, but, upon investigation, I discover it needs unpacking, so for now I just take the dirty plates from the table and relocate them to the pile already in and by the sink. After I’ve eaten, I wipe over the worktops and wash up the dirty dishes by hand. Hopefully that will do as payment for my stolen lunch.
It’s almost five o’clock before Charlie comes home with April – I left the office door open so I could hear them returning. I’m a bit confused that Charlie went out without leaving me a key – or even so much as telling me – but maybe he doesn’t want me to have open access to his house yet. I guess it must be weird having a stranger here at all, but he was the one who asked it to be this way. I’ll bring lunch with me tomorrow.
I gather my things together and shut down Nicki’s computer. At least I’ve had a productive day.
On my way downstairs I can hear Charlie talking to April in the living room. I poke my head around the door to see him changing her nappy. She’s lying on a mat on the bay-window sofa, gazing up at him.
‘Hi.’
He jolts and looks at me over his shoulder. Nicki’s yellow bandana is back in place around his forehead.
‘I’m going to head off.’
‘Okay.’
‘I nicked some of your bread for lunch, sorry. I’ll replace it.’
‘There’s no need,’ he says with a frown, smoothing down April’s red dress and sitting her up.
‘I’ll see you in the morning?’ I say. ‘Nine o’clock?’
‘Sure.’ He stands up and lifts his daughter into his arms. She smiles at him.
‘She seems happier.’ I linger at the door.
‘I think the teething gel helped.’
‘Your mum’s idea?’
‘Yeah.’ He comes over to me, so I step out of the room and head towards the front door. ‘Everything all right today?’ He sounds tense.
‘Yes, good. I’m just reading everything in theConfessionsfolder.’
He nods curtly and opens the door. ‘See you tomorrow, then.’
‘Yep, see you then.’
The door closes with a loud clunk before I’ve even made it onto the footpath.
Chapter 6
The same thing happens the next day, but this time I came prepared. I go downstairs to the empty kitchen and clear away the breakfast things before eating my sandwich at the table overlooking the back garden. At least I’m not missing out on sunshine. The sky is completely overcast.
What I previously thought of as a bit of a dumping ground, I now realise is some sort of outdoor workshop. The trampled grass is carpeted with sawdust and wood chippings and there are workbenches peppered with tools and wooden planks lined up on the ground. Charlie was sanding a branch again this morning and there are several smooth, finished branches lying under the veranda. I wonder what he’s making.
When he comes back at the slightly earlier time of three forty-five that afternoon, I go downstairs to make a coffee and to ask him.
‘Some recreation equipment for a local primary school,’ he tells me, popping April into her pen. She immediately squawks and hauls herself up to a standing position, her chubby fingers clutching onto the side of the pen as support. ‘Play with your toys for a bit,’ he says to her.
She cries out with annoyance, but he ignores her, opening the dishwasher.
‘You set it going,’ he says to me, seeming almost perplexed by the sight of clean dishes.
