Chapter 5
Five
Gemma
‘Gemma, she’ll be fine. She’s fourteen. I was always knocking about in woodland at her age. I don’t know why you’re being so paranoid about some trees.’ Ethan starts making a sandwich to take downstairs with him to work.
‘But I don’t want her to go into the woods.’
‘Why?’
I shrug. ‘Like I told you. It’s dangerous.’
He rolls his eyes.
‘And you saw that note, Ethan. I’m scared. What if someone’s out to hurt us?’
‘It’s just a note. A friendly note. You’re reading too much into it.’ He grabs the butter and starts spreading it on his bread.
I have so much to worry about but my secret will remain just that.
I can’t talk to Ethan about why I won’t allow Morgan to go into the woods, but I can talk about the use of the word fall in that note.
‘Look at it.’ I throw it onto the worktop in front of the packet of cooked chicken that he’s about to put in his sandwich.
‘You’ve already made me look at it. I don’t see anything wrong except they forgot to put their name at the end.’
‘They want me to fall like Aunt Dorette did.’ I pause. ‘I think she was pushed.’
He cuts his bread and places the knife in the sink, then he lets out a slow breath. ‘The police would have investigated. They concluded that she fell.’
‘But you don’t know that. No one knows.’ I can’t believe he keeps saying the same thing. Now Morgan has left, our voices are raised. Cora’s jaw begins to wobble and she runs to the settee and throws herself onto it. I chase after her and kneel to her level.
‘Come here, Sweetie.’
She shakes her head and ignores me for her blanket, which she snuggles into. ‘Want Mog.’
I leave Cora for a moment and hurry back to Ethan. We look at each other and he opens his arms. I hug him closely.
‘Gemma, is there something you’re not telling me?’
I stay where I am and hold him closely. ‘No, I just don’t want to be here.’
The burden of the past I’m carrying will easily contaminate what we have if I let it.
I need to rein my worries in and find out who wrote that note and sent the hamper.
At the very least it will put my mind at rest. My heart beats against Ethan’s.
As I glance over his shoulder, I catch sight of the woods through the window and I’m scared my daughter will go into them and never come back.