CHAPTER EIGHT #2
Sadie’s eyes widened suddenly as she fixed them on Cristy. ‘I almost forgot. I’ve now shown Mia the pages of Lottie’s story, the ones we’ve already recorded.’
Cristy blinked in surprise. ‘And what did she say?’ she asked carefully.
Sadie’s smile was small and even slightly resentful. ‘The first thing she asked was if you had seen them, can you believe that? And when I told her you had, she said … Wait for this … She wants to talk to you.’
Thrown again, Cristy said, ‘I’ll be glad to talk to her, obviously, but didn’t she comment on the pages themselves, or try to explain anything?’
‘Not at all. It was … Like as if I’d made them up or something.’ She looked to Jasper for his opinion.
‘You probably already know this,’ he said to Cristy, ‘but you can never be sure what Mia’s thinking. It’s possible she didn’t even really take in what she read.’
‘I think she did,’ Sadie insisted, ‘or she wouldn’t have asked to speak to Cristy.’
‘So, does she want me to call her?’ Cristy asked.
‘She didn’t say how she wanted to communicate, and for all we know she’ll have changed her mind, or forgotten about it the next time we bring it up.
’ She frowned slightly as she thought. ‘Do you think it would be a good idea for us to record the last bit of this conversation, from me telling you that she wants to talk to you? I’m just thinking it might be harder for her to back out of it if she hears it go out on a podcast.’
‘We’re still recording,’ Cristy told her, ‘but let’s see if she’ll do it without the … persuasion. When are you going back to Guernsey?’
‘Tomorrow.’
‘Then we’ll speak over the next couple of days, and you can let me know how things develop once you’ve spoken to her again. Meantime, would you mind if I take some shots of the box and its contents for the website?’
Sadie opened her hands in a gesture to ‘go ahead’. ‘I suppose there’s an outside chance someone might recognize them,’ she ventured.
Already capturing the images, Cristy said, ‘I’m sure someone will. Our problem will be sorting out who is, and isn’t, genuine before we start following up on anything.’
*
‘Crikey, it must have been a shattering moment for Sadie when she found the actual note,’ Connor commented when Cristy rang from the car to report back on the interview.
‘I think it was,’ she agreed, trying to decide which route back to take, M4 or cross-country?
‘She didn’t say too much about it, but to be honest, I don’t think she’s even close to processing it all yet.
She might think she is, but there’s a lot to get her head around.
And those photographs! Even I still feel thrown by them, and how closely she resembles her mother – they’re so alike they could almost be the same person.
The ones of her father, presuming it was him, weren’t so easy to make out, but what struck me most about all of them was how young the couple looked, and how together and normal they seemed as a family. ’
‘Any idea where the shots were taken?’
‘It wasn’t possible to tell – on a grassy knoll somewhere, on a sunny day.
I’ll give them to Jacks to see if he can get any more detail out of them.
Anyway, the interesting – and good – news is that Mia has said she wants to talk to me.
We just have to hope she doesn’t back out before we can make it happen. ’
‘OK, that is interesting. Do we know what brought her to that decision?’
‘She knows we’ve seen the pages Sadie found, so I’m presuming she wants to … explain them? Ask us to forget all about them? Anyone’s guess until I speak to her.’
‘So does this mean you’ll be going to Guernsey?’
Speaking across the lurch in her heart, Cristy said, ‘If I do go I think you should come too. Can you get away …?’
‘No problem!’ Jodi shouted out. ‘My mum is itching to come and stay, so don’t worry about me and the baby.’
‘You’re assuming I can bear to be parted from you,’ Connor retorted.
‘You managed last night,’ Jodi reminded him.
‘Speaking of which,’ Cristy said, ‘thanks for coming to the gig. Aiden really appreciated it, and you saved me from being landed with Matthew on my own.’ Though her ex-husband had insisted on walking her home last night.
She hadn’t let him in, or accepted more than a hug goodbye, despite his best efforts.
‘It was a cool band,’ Connor declared, ‘if you’re into house, and I kind of enjoyed catching up with your ex. If nothing else, he’s always good company.’
‘And there is nothing else,’ Jodi hastily added. ‘Anyway, are you OK, babe? You haven’t seemed yourself lately, and something obviously didn’t go to plan after Con and I left Guernsey at Christmas …’
‘Stop prying,’ Connor scolded.
‘I’m just saying, if you want to chat, or come over and hang out with us, you know we’re always here for you.’
Cristy smiled past the tightness in her throat. ‘Thanks, guys. It means a lot you saying that, but you’ve got enough going on, getting used to being parents …’
‘In the bag,’ Connor insisted. ‘We’re naturals, and we love your company even more than Matthew’s. A lot more than Matthew’s, I should say. Is Aiden still with you at the flat?’
‘He’s not supposed to be, but I won’t know for certain until I get home.
’ If he was there it might make it difficult for her to ring David, if she decided to, and she really wasn’t sure she would when he still hadn’t contacted her.
‘Actually, there’s another call coming in,’ she said, realizing she ought to get off the line while tying herself in knots, ‘but I’ll send Sadie’s interview as soon as I’ve uploaded it to my laptop. ’
As she ended the call and indicated to leave the Pennsylvania Roundabout to take the A420 back to Bristol, she decided that rather than obsess over her ridiculous personal life she’d catch up on the latest edition of The News Agents.
It was one of her favourite podcasts and could generally be relied on to provide suitable distraction as well as an interesting take on the world of politics.
She’d got no further than Lewis Goodall’s intro to an interview with a recently disgraced cabinet minister when her phone actually did ring.
With an unsteadying surge of nerves she saw it was David, and had already clicked on before realizing that now, while driving country roads in the dark, might not be the best time to talk to him.
‘Hi,’ he said. ‘Can you hear me?’
‘Yes, sorry. I’m in the car. The reception might not be great … How are you?’
‘I’m good. How about you?’
‘Yeah, fine. I’ve just been with Sadie actually, at her boyfriend’s parents’ place.’
‘Anna said you were seeing her today. She also told me about the note, the one that matches the story written in the first pages, about the child’s name being Sasha and that she’s two years old. Have you seen it?’
‘I have.’
‘So is it genuine?’
‘On the balance of probabilities I’d say it is.’
‘OK. So how has Sadie taken it?’
‘It’s unsettled her, as you might expect. I think she’s still in some kind of shock over it.’
‘Has she shown it to Mia?’
‘Not yet, but she assures me she will. Actually, I can understand her reluctance. Wanting to find out the truth is one thing, dealing with it when it comes can be another altogether.’ Realizing she could be talking about herself and their relationship, she quickly added, ‘The problem at this stage is that no one is sure Mia can be trusted to give honest, or even helpful answers. There’s a chance she might speak to me, apparently. ’
‘That’s good.’ After a beat he added, ‘Isn’t it?’
‘It could be, depending on what she has to say and if she actually goes through with it. Meantime, we’re heading to Exmoor at the end of the week to talk to the sisters’ old housekeeper, and, after that, we could be back in Guernsey.
’ Her hands tightened on the wheel as she waited for his response.
When it didn’t come she realized they’d lost the connection.
‘… still there?’ he asked, coming back on the line. ‘Can you hear me?’
‘I can now,’ and deciding not to mention Guernsey again, she said, ‘So how are things with you? It seems an age since we last spoke.’
‘That’s because it is. I’ve been trying to give you some space after the onslaught of Gaudions over Christmas. I just hadn’t realized you’d need this much.’
She gave a laugh of surprise, and relief; his words were so welcome that she almost asked him to repeat them.
‘Sorry,’ she said, ‘I’ve been pretty tied up with the pod since I got back, and Matthew still seems to think it’s my place to sort out his mess.
Anyway, it doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking about you because I have, a lot. ’
‘Good to know.’
Suddenly afraid he might burst her bubble, without having any reason to think he would, she quickly said, ‘How’s everyone there? I had an email from Rosie all about the boyfriend, and from your mum saying she was thrilled to hear Aiden had tried out her spag bol recipe with great success.’
When he didn’t respond she realized the line had failed again, and, clocking where she was on her journey, she thought about pulling into the picnic area at the top of Tog Hill with its panoramic views of the lights of Bristol.
However, as there was nothing to say the reception would be any better there, and it was a well-known dogging spot after dark, she kept going.
‘Are you still there?’ he suddenly asked.
‘Yes, I am. Sorry, this isn’t great, is it? How much did you hear, or was I just rattling away to myself?’
Laughing he said, ‘The last I got was something about spag bol.’
‘OK, moving on from that …’ It was on the tip of her tongue to ask if Juliette was still in Guernsey, but she forced herself not to, worried about how it might come out. ‘Tell you what,’ she said, ‘why don’t I call when I get home, or this is going to keep happening.’
‘Great idea, because we definitely need to talk. I’m out for dinner later, so maybe tomorrow?’
‘Sure. Tomorrow’s fine. Where are you going for dinner?’