‘Tea and cake it is,’ I say, knowing that drinks are out of the question in my condition. I start to bite the skin around my stubby nails.
‘He’s going to be okay, you know.’
I frown. ‘I don’t know.’
‘They can’t keep him in for long even if they charge him. He’ll be home soon.’
‘But I don’t want him to get charged. He didn’t do anything.’
She looks at me sympathetically. ‘You’re right. I’m sure the police will see that.’
I think of poor Jasmine, the girl who hasn’t been seen since that day in the woods when we were fourteen and she was sixteen. I look at Quinn and she looks at me. I mentioned Jasmine and now neither of us can get her out of our minds. Neither of us says a word. A crawling sensation moves across the back of my neck and I shiver. The very thought of Morgan going into those woods makes me squirm. I clear my throat and take a deep breath.
This is why I never wanted my children to come here – and now look at us. We’re stuck here and I’m alone. The part of me that resents Ethan wants to yell at him as soon as he’s back, but the other half of me wants to throw my arms around him and never let him go. I love him and I always have loved him and I always will love him.
Quinn walks over to check on Cora.
I swallow my nausea down, hating myself for lying to Morgan when I told her I know nothing of the missing girl. It felt wrong. But as long as she keeps out of all this and out of the woods, everything will be okay.
My phone beeps and I open the message. ‘They’re letting Ethan go. Someone came forward and corroborated his side of the story. I wonder who that was?’
‘See, I said everything would be okay.’ Quinn smiles.
I don’t know who called but I’m truly grateful.
Quinn downs the rest of her tea. ‘I’d say my work here is done.’
Did Quinn call the police when I ran downstairs? Did she tell them that Ethan didn’t hurt Ray even though she never saw what happened? Is that why she’s been so sure everything would be okay? Why would she lie, though? I look at her and she’s smiling. I know more than anyone that Quinn is good at telling lies.
Thirteen
Morgan
This is the coolest room I’ve ever seen in my life. I know I should be at home with Mum but I’m glad I came.
‘Can you pass me the box of pins?’ Harry asks.
I nudge them across the coffee table so he can reach them. Harry has thrashed me twice at pool and now we’re sitting in a snug with racks of board games stacked up everywhere. The one wall was blank until now. Harry pins a hand-drawn map of all the houses on Clover Lane to the wall, along with a few more sheets of paper to represent the lake, the woods and the den.
‘Will your mum mind us sticking pins into the wall?’ I ask as he keeps adding notes to the wall. Mum would never let me put pins in the wall back in Bristol. I wanted to put my Taylor Swift poster up but she insisted that it had to be professionally framed with a mount. Overkill! This room is cool and Harry’s mum is cool. I like Harry and being around him is fun.
‘My mum won’t care. This is my room which is why I thought we’d make it our investigation centre. Every good investigation has to have a name. I was thinking Operation Poison.’
‘Operation Poison – no one has been poisoned?’
‘Let me explain. I heard people talking about the letters from behind our hedge, then I went upstairs to the top of the house so I could see over. I got totally caught up in the excitement because nothing ever happens around here.’ He pauses. ‘I’m not saying that what happened to your dad is exciting. That’s horrible and I want to help your dad. Going back to Operation Poison – the letters were poison pen letters, basically nasty letters sent to stir up trouble. Someone is sending them and whoever did it must have been thrilled to see your dad arguing with Ray. You were out there. What were Ray and the others saying about the letters?’
‘So, his name is Ray.’ I think about the name of our so-called investigation. ‘The poisoner – is that what we’ll call this person?’
Harry nods.
‘The poisoner said that Ray’s wife wanted to die so she could get away from him and they accused him of parking badly.’ I don’t mention that I’ve heard Mum and Dad moaning about Ray’s parking because it puts them in the frame.
Harry writes that down on a sheet of paper and pins it on the wall under Ray’s name and heads it up as Exhibit one. ‘I can confirm that there’s some truth in this. Ray often gets complaints because he abandons his car on the lane when he has to pop out again soon after. A few people think he shouldn’t be driving because he’s hit one of the lampposts before. I hear people talking.’
‘So, Ray blaming my parents doesn’t make sense. We’ve only just moved in. Then again, my mum shouted at him because of his parking when we arrived. Could it be that? It sounds a bit petty.’
‘Ah, but when your dad came and fixed the part of the house up that you’re living in, he spoke to some of the neighbours while he was there with his team. One of the workers couldn’t leave because Ray had left his car sticking out on the lane and they had a big van. Also, when I came back from school once, your dad was at our house doing something in the garden and talking to my mum. People talk, don’t they?’
