Chapter 41
Forty-One
Morgan
Zoe has popped upstairs to get changed, leaving me alone in her snug with only the sound of the roaring fire to break the silence. She comes back down in a pair of thick joggers and a sweater. I quickly reply to Harry.
I’m at Zoe’s. Mum been rushed to hospital. Can we meet? I’ll see if Zoe can watch Cora for ten minutes?
I need to fill him in on what Zoe told me about Ray and his son wanting our house.
We now have a motive for Ray being the culprit.
I also need to come clean to Harry and tell him that I’ve seen the Klara notebook that his mum has in her bag, and that I have a notebook that is marked up with Jasmine’s name.
I’m sure Great-Aunt Dorette knew what happened to Jasmine and that drawing of the character sitting on a log ties in with the letter that Zoe received.
I wonder if I can trust Harry with this information, then I think, I don’t have a choice.
I need to trust someone or I’ll lose my mind in this sad, claustrophobic cul-de-sac.
Why isn’t he answering? I wait for my phone to beep while I smile at Zoe, hoping that she can’t see all the thoughts running through my mind.
I bite the skin on the inside of my mouth.
Zoe could get into trouble if I say too much.
She might lose her work and she cleans for Quinn.
Zoe gently tucks a blanket around Cora. I don’t know what to do.
Come on, Harry. Reply already, will you?
I turn my phone on and check for the blue ticks, but all I see is ‘message not delivered’. The Wi-Fi has gone down. I think of Harry alone in his house with his drunken mother. This is where I need to step up and be a friend.
‘Zoe, Harry just messaged me. Do you mind sitting with Cora while I pop to see him quickly?’ I watch Cora’s chest rise and fall as she sprawls on the smaller sofa. She won’t wake up for ages.
‘Of course, but be careful, okay? There are some oddballs on this lane. Go straight to Harry and Quinn’s. Here’s my front door key.’ She takes the key from the coffee table and hands it to me. ‘I don’t want to risk leaving Cora in case she falls off the sofa. Just let yourself back in.’
‘Thanks, Zoe.’
I put my coat back on and hurry along the hall and out of the front door, gripping the key between my fingers. I feel as though I need a weapon.
As I step onto the freshly fallen snow, it crunches.
I take big strides up Zoe’s long, winding drive, and I glance across at Clover House.
It looks imposing and that balcony makes me shiver.
I wish my parents had at least gathered up the police tape that has wound around some of the broken spindles.
Death happened on that balcony. I peer up at Ray’s bedroom window and for once he isn’t spying on our every move.
His house is in darkness. Halfway down Quinn’s drive, I hear shouting coming from inside.
I can’t make out what’s being said. Once I’m close enough, I open the letterbox and hope that Diggerty doesn’t give me away by barking at the door.
Is Harry crying? I go to knock, but they start talking.
‘You have to tell me, Mum,’ he says, his sentence broken by his sobs.
‘I don’t have to tell you anything.’ Quinn is slurring. There’s a bang and I think my heart stopped for a second. Diggerty barks but not at me, at them.
Harry speaks. ‘I know what I saw and I’m not stupid.’
It’s a relief that they’re both still okay.
‘You saw a stupid letter. It’s nothing.’
‘Why were you hiding it from me, Mum?’
‘I was not hiding it.’
‘You were and it mentions Jasmine. I know who Jasmine is.’
‘Why were you snooping through my things?’
‘It was the post. I was looking to see if I had anything.’
‘Who sends post to you, Harry? When have you ever had post? You were looking to see if there was a letter, weren’t you? Please don’t ever look at my things again.’
Again, silence fills the air. My hair is getting damp from the light snowflakes that keep landing in it and melting.
Someone slams a door, and I jump.
‘Mum,’ Harry calls. ‘I’m not dropping this and I want to know why you have a notebook that belonged to Dorette. Why has it got your characters in it, in her writing? Did Klara belong to Dorette? This new contract of yours, is it Dorette’s work? Did you steal it?’
I heard Mum talking to Dad about Dorette’s book series being cancelled. Mum wondered if she might have thrown herself off the balcony because she loved her work so much, but now I know: Quinn stole Great-Aunt Dorette’s work. I realise I can’t be here because Harry and Quinn will know I heard them.
Rustling comes from the other side of Quinn’s hedge.
I hold my breath for a few seconds. I’m expecting someone to jump out at any moment, so I run until I reach the end of Quinn and Harry’s drive.
I slip on the lane as I go to make the turn towards Zoe’s.
There’s a prickle at the nape of my neck.
It’s like I can feel someone’s gaze on me.
I can’t see anyone around. That’s when I look across to see that the front door to Clover House has blown wide open in the breeze.
I locked it. Zoe was with me when I locked it, so she could back me up.
I don’t want to go there on my own but it’s our house and I should at least close the door. I’m shaking and not because I’m cold.
Hurrying over, I see fresh footprints coming from Clover House to the path, then they vanish when the path meets the slushy lane.
My gaze darts everywhere. There are footprints on the path, some going up, some going down, some looking like the owner of the prints crossed the lane in three different places.
Tessa reverses her car from her drive onto the lane. I step back so I don’t get splashed with slush as she speeds past me. She was outside. It must have been her lurking around. She was probably listening to the argument at Quinn’s house.
I look up to see Ray back at his bedroom window, standing there with his main light on, and he’s wearing his coat and I wonder if he’s just come from our house.
Ruby steps out onto the road all dressed up in a long, shiny coat.
She was having a go at my mum earlier. She barely even acknowledges me as she starts walking towards the main road where the bus stop is.
Did she break into our house before heading out for the night?
As she nears the bend in the road, Ruby turns and looks over her shoulder at me.
Her stare bores into me so I turn away from her.
Come on, Detective Morgan – think. What’s going on here?
Did Quinn go to ours earlier? I picture her rummaging through Dorette’s office, trying to get rid of any trace of the character she stole. I realise I’ve been turning around in circles, gazing across at all the houses trying to figure this all out, and now I’m dizzy.
I creep towards Clover House. The main door creaks as I step into the hallway.
I go to turn the light on but then I remember, there’s no electric in the house apart from that in the apartment.
‘Who’s there? I’ve called the police.’ Fat chance.
I wish I could make a phone call. I check my phone.
I don’t even have a signal, which is super pants as I think calls to the police go through even if a person has no credit.
‘Who’s there?’ I say again, secretly hoping that maybe some kids come out.
No one answers which sends my neck prickling again.
All I see is darkness ahead. There is no end to it and I feel giddy looking into the black abyss as I visualise an axe murderer running at me.
Then a worse thought strikes. What if the axe murderer comes from behind and pushes me into the house, closing me in?
My parents might not be back for hours. Zoe would miss me but she thinks I’m at Harry’s.
I turn around and dart out of the house, slamming the door behind me. That’s when I see the note pinned to the door.
DEAREST NEIGHBOUR. NO MORE GAMES. THERE IS NO HIDING, THERE IS NO RUNNING AND THE BURDEN OF YOUR PAST WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY MURDER YOUR FUTURE, THAT’S IF IT ISN’T ALREADY DOING SO. ONLY THE TRUTH CAN SET YOU FREE. LOVE FROM JASMINE.
Jasmine isn’t missing at all, she’s alive and she’ll stop at nothing to ruin Mum and Quinn’s lives.