That poor child. She was an innocent in all this. She had lost her mother.
Sarah couldn’t leave her in the hands of that…that monster. And how the hell did he expect her to be hidden away from everyone? Daisy was due to start at nursery soon.
As grief overtook her, Sarah’s thoughts of revenge turned darker. She would get Richard for what he’d done, even if it took forever. In a matter of hours, he had destroyed any love she had for him.
She would also have to live with the things she had done to her sister – the selfish, callous actions she had taken before she realised how evil Richard was.
And she would look after herself too, cover her back in case he tried anything similar to her.
She needed to keep Richard on side.
PART THREE
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
Juliette sat at the breakfast bar, coffee in hand, and thought about what had happened. Last night had been surreal, the conversation she’d had with Sarah shocking. Sarah was being controlled by Richard. She was scared to leave because of what he might do to her. Juliette had seen first-hand how intimidating he could be. No wonder the woman was a nervous wreck most of the time.
More importantly, therewasa child next door. She’d seen her, so there was no denying it now.
She’d thought she’d been going out of her mind. And now looking back on how Danny had been manipulated by Richard, the anger she’d wanted to keep in check began to boil over. Richard was tricking her, fooling them both. He was allowing her to doubt herself, putting it down to the grief of losing her own child by imagining another.
Locking a child in a room was barbaric. Sarah and Daisy were both in danger, which is why if Juliette was going to be of any help, it had to be over days not weeks. And if she couldn’t find anything out, she would go to the police herself.
She’d do some digging about Louisa. Maybe someone local could tell her something that would lead to discovering if she had left of her own accord. But then why wouldn’t she have taken Daisy with her?
What had been going on under everyone’s nose? And what would have happened if she and Danny hadn’t moved in when they did?
She thought back to the time when they’d had coffee in the garden and she’d been annoyed when Richard came to check up on Sarah. Had her own actions put her neighbour in danger? Had she antagonised things that time, by getting him to agree to Sarah staying for another half hour? She cursed aloud. She had to learn to play his game.
Once she’d finished her client work for that day, she walked into the village. The coffee shop where Louisa used to work was much busier than she’d expected, although it was nearing lunchtime. There were tables of elderly couples and groups of younger women. Over in the far corner, three new mums sat with their babies on their knees. Juliette couldn’t help but smile, envious but joyful of the scene. Excited that she would become a mum again soon.
She joined the small queue at the counter, smiling as Barbara noticed her.
‘Hi, Juliette. Lovely to see you. What can I get you?’
‘A regular cappuccino please. How’s business?’
‘Busy.’
Juliette laughed when Barbara rolled her eyes.
‘I was hoping to have a word with you,’ she added.
‘Sounds ominous.’
‘It’s nothing really. I?—’
‘Lots of these tables have been occupied for a while now. This place will empty soon. I’ll join you then if you can wait?’
‘Sure. Thanks.’ Juliette collected her coffee and sat in a chair by the window. After a few minutes of people watching, she took out her laptop and began to work. She was engrossed with a spreadsheet when Barbara dropped down in the seat opposite her with two slices of cake. She slid one over to her.
‘So, what is it that you want to know?’
Juliette beamed. ‘Louisa who used to work here – what was she like?’
‘She was a good worker.’ Barbara smiled. ‘She was funny too. She had a wicked sense of humour and used to make a lot of the old dears laugh.’
‘How long was she with you?’
