Chapter 67
Six months later
Juliette stared at the baby in her arms. Jordan Elliott Ansell was ten days old now.
They’d settled into a routine as if he’d been with them forever.
Danny was taking a month’s paternity leave.
He was besotted with his son, just as she was.
Like any parents, really. But Jordan was special. He felt like a gift.
She was sitting in the kitchen waiting for Danny to come in. He’d popped into the village for a few essentials. A few minutes later, she heard the car pulling up in the drive.
‘Daddy’s back,’ she said, standing up carefully. Jordan had not long woken up and was a little grumpy.
‘Hey.’ Danny greeted them both with a kiss as he joined them. ‘How’s my lad doing?’
‘Very well, thanks.’ Juliette grinned. ‘His mama is doing fine too.’
Jordan stirred and they both looked down at him.
From the moment he was born, they could see Emily in him.
Tears welled in Juliette’s eyes at the thought of them being given a chance to start another family.
Neither of them would forget Emily, but now it was time to celebrate her short life by the arrival of another.
They went out into the garden and sat on Emily’s bench.
Juliette had moved it slightly so that it wasn’t facing next door’s rear garden now.
Even so she turned her head and looked at the house.
White Oaks was up for sale, and quite frankly she was glad about that.
She didn’t want to be reminded of what happened every time she came outdoors and saw Sarah.
But at least Sarah and Daisy were free to do as they pleased. It was strange to think that little girl had lived mostly inside that house for over a year. Now, thankfully, she might be able to live a normal life.
Danny passed her a glass of champagne and fresh orange juice.
‘Thanks.’ She smiled her appreciation.
He sat down beside her. ‘To Emily.’ He raised his glass to the sky. ‘Whatever you’re doing up there, I hope you’re tidying up after yourself.’
Juliette giggled. She raised her glass too. ‘To Emily. May you make as many people happy there as you did here.’
Danny popped his arm around Juliette’s shoulders and pulled her near. She felt safe, protected, even after all they’d been through. It was over. It was time to move on.
At the cemetery, Sarah walked with Daisy’s hand firmly in her own. It was the first time she had visited her sister’s grave in a while. When Richard had been killed, the press intrusion had been enough to drive her from White Oaks. Richard, after all, was a well-known artist.
But after a month, she’d returned and started to integrate herself into village life. People must have been shocked to see Daisy, but no one had said anything. Besides, no one would ever know the real truth. Because Sarah had secrets of her own.
Postnatal depression ran in the family. It had happened to her mum as well as Louisa and, looking back, she could see it had happened to her too. Or maybe they were a family prone to mental illness.
When she’d found Poppy dead that day, she’d been in such shock that as the paramedics worked on trying to resuscitate her, she’d tried to knife Jessie. Luckily she hadn’t been able to succeed. She’d been spoken to about it but there’d been no police there to witness anything at the time.
Jessie had been jailed for two years. Sarah had moved back to her mum’s.
How she’d hated Louisa at the time. She’d wanted to find her one day and break her.
Let her see how horrible it was to be let down, left to fend for yourself.
To make mistakes with big fat consequences.
And all the time Jessie had been behind bars, it had made her think more about her sister.
If it wasn’t for her leaving, she wouldn’t have been with Jessie.
So she’d been surprised to receive the text message from Richard asking her to call and talk to him.
She hadn’t meant to fall for him, but when he killed her sister, she hated him in an instant.
Of course he hadn’t known that. With a body hidden in the woods, they’d been stuck living in the house.
She’d seen the place where her sister was buried every day and yet she couldn’t grieve for her until now.
During that time, she’d tricked Richard into thinking she was okay with what had happened to Louisa, that she would keep their secret. But when she found out he was seeing other women, well, that made her see red.
Juliette and Danny arriving next door had worked out in her favour.
She’d been able to fool Juliette into thinking her home life was worse than it was.
Her neighbour had taken her word for it that Richard was abusive to her, that Daisy was indeed kept mostly in her bedroom.
She’d set her up to find out the truth about Louisa, getting snippets of information from people, looking at the photos.
Plunging that knife into Richard hadn’t been anything to do with self-defence. Sarah had instigated it all so that she could kill him. Get away with it, just like he had when he’d shot his father, and strangled Louisa.
Luckily, during their time alone in the kitchen while they waited for the emergency services to arrive, she’d managed to get her story across, ensuring that Juliette came out in sympathy for her.
They’d changed the truth slightly, guaranteeing the police thought Richard had come at Juliette first, and that Sarah had acted bravely to save her life.
With Danny out cold and no other witnesses, the evidence couldn’t say any different.
And more importantly, Juliette sided with her.
It really had taken some planning, but she’d got there in the end.
Richard was dead. Louisa’s death was avenged.
Some of the monies raised by the sale of the house would be put in trust for Daisy until she was an adult and, once White Oaks was sold, Sarah would buy the perfect home for the two of them in Dorset by the sea.
For now she had sourced a cottage to rent.
‘This is the last time we can come and visit Mummy for a while, Daisy,’ Sarah explained as she stooped to her level by the side of Louisa’s grave. ‘She was very brave and loved you so much, and you know she had to go to live with the angels.’ She pointed up at the sky. ‘Can you see the sun?’
‘Yes.’
‘And the clouds, and the blue sky?’
Daisy nodded.
‘That’s where Mummy is. When you’re sad, wherever you are, look up and she will be with you.’ She pointed to Daisy’s heart. ‘And she will always be in there.’
‘Will you look after me now that Mummy and Daddy are gone?’
Daisy seemed a little tearful so Sarah gave her a hug.
‘You try and stop me, poppet. You’re family and we always look after our own.’
***