Chapter 69
Chapter Sixty-Nine
Judith and Geoff had met a few times since the first phone call.
It felt like they were getting to know each other all over again, almost as if they were meeting for the very first time.
Geoff took her for a meal and then a drive along the coast. They even went to the cinema to see a film they both wanted to see, that Lisa wasn’t interested in.
When news broke of Malcolm Ripley pleading guilty to killing their daughter, Judith ran to the nearest phone and dialled her ex-husband.
‘They’ve got him, Geoff. They’ve finally got him,’ she’d cried down the phone.
He left work early and was by her side within two hours.
That night, sitting on Judith’s sofa, all the tears and resentment and bad feeling came out into the open.
Judith said she felt she could finally lay Alice to rest and begin to move on.
She looked to Geoff, and he kissed her firmly on the lips.
She didn’t stop him. She took his hand and led him into the bedroom.
The following morning, he told Judith he loved her, that he’d never stopped loving her. He went back to South Shields and broke up with Lisa, returning that night to cement a new relationship with his ex-wife.
On the day of Malcolm’s sentencing, Judith and Geoff went to the court.
They sat in the public gallery, holding hands to support each other, and listened intently as the judge passed down a minimum jail term of twenty-seven years.
As relieved as Judith felt, she couldn’t hold back the tears and, once more, Geoff was by her side to protect her.
A few journalists outside the court asked for a response to the sentence, but they ignored the questions, climbed into a nearby taxi, and headed for Judith’s flat.
Once inside, they raised their mugs of tea to the memory of their only child and told her to rest in peace.
‘Mrs Clover’s retiring next year,’ Judith said.
‘Who’s Mrs Clover?’
‘She owns The Rushes, one of the bed-and-breakfasts I clean for.’
‘Oh.’
‘I haven’t touched any of the money I got for my share of the house,’ Judith said, looking at Geoff out of the corner of her eye. ‘Mrs Clover said she’d give me first refusal before putting it on the market.’
‘Are you serious?’
‘It’s a fresh start of sorts.’
‘You and me? Running a B and B together?’
‘What do you think?’
Geoff let the silence grow.
‘I think it sounds amazing,’ he smiled.
She smiled back and fell into his arms.