CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
I’d slept badly after my clash with Clare the previous night – but my body clock still woke me at seven as usual.
Not having to get up to see to Amelie – she was still at her sleep-over and Angela would be taking her to nursery – I lay there for a while thinking about what had happened.
I’d still been feeling spooked from the scary events of the other night, so it was natural that I should hear footsteps behind me and think the worst – that it was the person who’d broken in who was now following me back to the house.
But was it the same person?
Was it Clare who’d snatched the food from the fridge in a temper, in an attack on my business?
It seemed to me that whoever did it was in a proper rage at the time, flinging the cartons of curry all over the kitchen floor.
Did Clare dislike me that much? Had she been harbouring her anger all this time, pretending to be my friend but secretly hating me?
But why on earth would she then pitch up at my door and invite me for lunch today with her family?
It just didn’t make sense . . .
I hadn’t agreed to go and I was inclined to just pretend it had never happened. With the terse reception she’d received from me, she surely wouldn’t be expecting me to turn up at the Swan Hotel at twelve-thirty today?
I decided I wouldn’t go.
But as I stood in the shower, letting the hot water flow down my back and soothe me, I felt a prick of curiosity.
I’d met Clare’s parents and brother quite a few times when they came to visit her in Brighton, and I’d liked them.
Seeing them again today would be fine. And it would also give me a chance to talk to Clare again, but this time in a more balanced way now that I’d got over the shock of her following me. ..
*****
Walking into the busy bar at the Swan Hotel, I was hoping it wouldn’t be a big crowd, with the whole wedding party having lunch.
So I was relieved to see just Clare, her parents, her brother Brian and his wife-to-be sitting at a table over in the corner.
Clare waved cheerily and beckoned me over and I smiled and said a general hello to them all.
‘Let me get you a drink.’ Clare leapt to her feet, jogging the table so her mum had to steady it.
‘No, no. Don’t worry. I’ll get one. Just a softie for me.’
‘Oh, okay. Have you got the van today?’ she asked and I froze.
How did she know about my van?
I recalled the dark hooded figure trying the handle that night. Looking at her today, all welcoming cheerfulness, she didn’t seem like intruder material. But you never knew what was going on for people beneath the surface.
Then I remembered her saying she’d followed us home to find out where we lived, presumably having spotted me at the wheel of the van.
‘No van today,’ I replied. ‘I got the bus, but I’ll have to drive to pick up Amelie later, so no alcohol for me, unfortunately.’
She nodded. ‘I bet you can’t wait to catch up with Jackie.’
I stared at her. ‘Jackie? She’s here for the wedding?’
‘Yes. For the evening do. I haven’t seen her in months so it’ll be great to meet up. She’s staying at the glamping site here for a week, making a break of it, and she’s brought a few friends with her.’
‘Oh, wow. That’s amazing.’ My smile felt a little stiff.
I wasn’t quite sure how I felt on hearing this news.
I hadn’t seen Jackie myself since I’d left Brighton.
We’d been such good friends but life had taken us in different directions.
Could we just pick up where we left off? Or would it be a little awkward?
‘There’s someone else here for the wedding who you might be interested to see.’ Clare’s smiley expression had changed. She looked cagey, her eyes narrowed slightly.
I swallowed. ‘Who’s that, then?’
She gave me a tight little smile. ‘Here he is now.’ She nodded towards the door.
My heart lurched in my chest as I turned.
Oh, please no!
But yes, there he was... his tall frame filling the doorway as he scanned the room for people he recognised.
Danny.