by King, Karen
The ring of the doorbell interrupted her thoughts. ‘That will be Maria and Emma now. I’ll let them in, shall I?’ Seb got up.
‘Thanks.’ She smiled brightly at him. Best to get it over with.
Emma came charging in first, running over to Lily and giving her a big hug. ‘Can we do glitter work, Lil? Please! I’ve got some new glitter pens, and a brand new notebook. It’s got sparkly stars all over the cover. Look!’ She thrust her hand into the bag she was carrying and took out a dark blue notebook that was covered in silver stars. ‘Mummy bought it for me.’
Of course she did. ‘That’s gorgeous. Sure we can do some glitter work,’ Lily told her. ‘And I’ve got a DVD to watch, and some popcorn to eat.’
‘Toffee popcorn?’ asked Emma, hanging her head to one side, her blue eyes resting on Lily’s face.
‘Yep. And a chocolate milkshake.’
‘Hooray!’ Emma jumped up and down with excitement.
‘Spoiling her again?’ Her father appeared in the kitchen doorway. He was wearing a dinner suit and bow tie, and looked very relaxed, Lily noticed. ‘Maria’s still getting changed so I’ve left her to it and brought Emma over. Thought it might give us time for a quick catch-up too.’
‘That’d be lovely.’ Lily checked there was water in the coffee machine they’d recently bought and switched it on, dropping a coffee pod in and putting a mug underneath. She was delighted to have some time alone with her dad but wondered if Maria really was still getting changed, or if she had found out about Lily visiting the salon and was so angry that she didn’t want to see her. If she had, Lily was sure that she hadn’t mentioned it to Gareth, otherwise he would be looking annoyed and probably ask her about it.
Unless that’s why he wants a chat.
Her stomach churned. The last thing she wanted was a fallout with her father.
‘Come on, Munchkin, let’s kick a ball about in the garden and leave Lily and your dad to talk,’ Seb said. He often had a kickabout with Emma in the garden and had suggested she join the under sevens local team, but Maria had been horrified, worried that Emma might get hurt. ‘It’s a dangerous game,’ she’d pointed out. It worried Lily that Emma, normally an outgoing child, was growing more nervous under Maria’s strictly supervised care. She’d noticed Emma tapping on her wrist quite a lot too. It was as if Maria wanted to wrap Emma up in cotton wool and her anxiety was spreading to Emma.
‘You look smart,’ Lily said, desperately trying to think of some small talk. ‘I gather it’s a posh do tonight then.’
‘You could say that. And Maria seems to have got herself in a bit of a tizzy over it. She seems on edge tonight. In fact… thanks, love,’ he said as Lily put a cup of coffee in front of him. ‘She seems to have been a bit on edge since that newspaper article. It’s been great for business, but Maria is such a private person I think she’s found the public interest difficult. I would have declined tonight but it’s a great opportunity to connect, and Martin and Sylvia are good clients of mine.’
That surprised Lily; Maria had always come across as cool and confident to her, and yes, she did keep herself to herself, but she would have thought she could handle a dinner party. She was used to mixing with the rich set with her salon clientele, surely? She wondered if it was anything to do with the note she’d received yesterday. She had certainly seemed shaken up. Or maybe her staff had told her about Lily’s visit to the salon – if she was hiding something, that might worry her that Lily was onto her.
‘I’m sure she’ll start relaxing when she’s there.’ Lily sat down opposite her father and placed her mug of coffee in front of her. ‘How’s it all going? Emma seems happy. Are you?’
He nodded emphatically. ‘Yes, I am. We all are. Maria is such an oasis of calm. She never gets uptight or snappy, but I can see that she is a little anxious.’
Lily hesitated, wondering whether to tell him about the letter. It was so strange, written in red so bright that it looked like blood. She shivered at the memory.
‘What’s up?’ her father asked.
‘I wondered if Maria was upset about the letter. Someone put it through the door yesterday.’ She told her dad about it, and that Maria said it was from a client. ‘She looked pretty upset.’ Lily didn’t add that she’d visited Maria’s salon earlier today and been told that clients were never given the home addresses of the staff.
‘Really? She didn’t mention it.’
‘The thing is, Dad, when she saw the envelope she went really pale. As if she knew what was inside and had received one before.’
Her father frowned. ‘Do you think it’s an unhappy customer, complaining about something?’
She hadn’t thought of that but it could explain why Maria was so upset, and why she hadn’t mentioned it to anyone else. ‘Maybe…’ she said hesitantly.
‘That could be why she didn’t tell me and why she’s been a bit edgy. Maria prides herself on her work. She goes above and beyond with her care for her ladies. When I think of how much time she spent with Ruth…’ He paused, his eyes searching her face. ‘Sorry, is that still a touchy subject?’
His explanation made sense. She needed to let this go. Her dad and her little sister were happy and that was all that mattered. ‘No, it isn’t, Dad. All I want is for you and Emma to be happy. Mum would want that too.’
The big smile on her dad’s face was worth it. He reached over and squeezed her hand. ‘Thank you, love. That means a lot to me. I was beginning to think that you’d resent us forever.’
30
Maria
Six days before Emma disappeared
Maria couldn’t help noticing that she was getting strange glances from Sophie and Amanda at work on Monday, and had caught them whispering together a couple of times, but when she looked over they averted their eyes. Had something happened on Saturday? She hadn’t had a chance to ask them yet but she was determined to as soon as there was a lull in the appointments.
Her chance came when she headed for the loo and found Amanda already out the back making a cup of coffee. ‘Want a drink?’ Amanda asked.
‘Please.’ Maria took a breath. She had to exercise her authority here. The salon was her business; the other women worked for her. If something had happened, she needed to know. ‘I don’t want to put you on the spot, Amanda, but did something happen on Saturday when I wasn’t here? I’ve seen you and Sophie whispering and looking over at me a couple of times.’ She raised her hand as Amanda went to mouth a denial. ‘I know I’m not imagining it. And I’m not angry either. I just want you to know that whatever it is, you can tell me.’
Amanda’s cheeks flushed. ‘It’s nothing really…’
‘Then there’s no harm in telling me, is there?’
Amanda fidgeted. ‘I promised not to.’
Maria sighed. ‘Who did you promise?’
‘I didn’t promise and I think Maria should be told.’ Sophie had appeared behind them.
Amanda’s eyes shot to her face. ‘I don’t want to cause trouble.’
‘I promise you there will be no trouble caused. Now, please, one of you tell me. Olivia and Candice are in the salon alone and we have other clients due soon.’
‘Your stepdaughter was in here on Saturday. Asking questions.’
‘What? Lily?’ Maria stared at Sophie. Why would Lily come to the salon when she knew that Maria wasn’t working? Or was that why she’d chosen that day? Her hands started to feel hot and sweaty.
Sophie nodded briskly. ‘She said her name was Chloe and pretended she was asking questions about treatment for her mother who was suffering from cancer, but Amanda recognised her from your wedding photos.’
‘She didn’t mean any harm. She was crying when she left so I went after her, found her in the café around the corner,’ Amanda cut in. ‘She was upset because it was almost the second anniversary of her mother’s death and she had been thinking about her. She begged me not to tell you she’d come.’
Sophie folded her arms. ‘The thing is
, though, the questions she was asking were about you, Maria. She wanted to know all about you, what you did before you started up Daisy’s.’
Sophie and Amanda were talking over each other but it was clear that Sophie was suspicious about Lily whereas Amanda was sympathetic towards her.
Maria felt the familiar flutter of fear rising in her chest. She had worked so hard on building a new life for herself, on keeping her head down and growing her business, but now she could feel it all slipping away from her. She had hoped that she and Lily had called a truce on her wedding day, that they were on a better footing now, even though she had sensed that her older stepdaughter was still wary of her. She closed her eyes briefly, willing herself to keep calm. When she opened them again, seconds later, both Sophie and Amanda were looking at her in concern.
‘Are you feeling all right, Maria? I told Sophie we shouldn’t worry you with it. It’s nothing.’
‘I’m perfectly all right, thank you. I’m upset that Lily came here asking questions instead of coming to me personally, but she has been struggling since her mother died, and well…’ She dropped her voice a little, conspiratorially. ‘She still isn’t happy that Gareth and I got married so quickly.’
The nerve of her, coming here and pretending her mother was still alive. ‘You’ve got a serious problem with that one,’ Sophie said.
‘I don’t think she meant any harm, she was so upset…’ Amanda protested.
The bell tinkled to announce another client coming in. ‘I’d better go and help.’ Sophie walked through to the salon.
Amanda looked guiltily at Maria. ‘Please don’t tell her we told you. I promised that I wouldn’t. Sophie didn’t see how upset Lily was in the café.’
‘Of course I won’t. I wouldn’t do anything that might cause any trouble between us. I’m hoping that Lily will accept me eventually.’ She picked up the empty cups and took them over to the sink. ‘Now I think we’d better get back, we’ve got a full day.’
Amanda nodded and returned to the salon.
Maria stood alone in the kitchen for a moment, gathering her thoughts. Exactly why had Lily come to the salon to ask questions about her? Was she hoping to dig up some dirt to split up Maria and Gareth?
Then a thought flashed into her head so blinding she instinctively put her hand on her forehead.
Was Lily the one sending her the letters? Had she somehow found out about Maria’s past?
31
Lily
‘Lily Metcalfe? This is the receptionist from Stonywell Primary.’
Monday was Lily’s day off this week so she was tidying up the flower beds ready for the barbecue at the weekend when the phone rang. Her heart had flipped when she’d seen the name of Emma’s school on the screen. ‘Is Emma okay?’
‘She’s not too well, Lily. She’s got a bit of a temperature and has been sick. We haven’t been able to get hold of your father or stepmother. Would you be able to come and collect her and take her home?’
‘Of course. Luckily it’s my day off today. I’ll be there within half an hour.’ That should give her time to get out of her gardening clothes, have a quick shower and drive over.
When Lily arrived at the school, exactly twenty-eight minutes later, Emma was in the sick bay, looking very pale and tired.
Lily rushed over to her. ‘Have you been sick again, pet?’ she asked.
‘Twice,’ Emma said tearfully. ‘My tummy hurts.’
‘There is a bug going around – it’s a twenty-four-hour thing so she should feel a lot better by tomorrow but she’ll have to stay at home for forty-eight hours,’ the receptionist said.
‘Should I take her to the doctor’s, do you think?’ Lily asked, giving Emma a big cuddle and trying not to worry that she might get the bug herself.
‘If she’s still being sick tomorrow or has bad tummy pains, yes, but as I said it usually only lasts twenty-four hours. So if it is that, I’m afraid that she still shouldn’t come back to school until Wednesday.’
‘Okay, thank you. Come on, pet.’ Lily picked up Emma’s schoolbag, held her hand and led the little girl out of the school, over to the car park. She strapped Emma into the child seat in the back of her car while she considered whether she should take her little sister back to hers or to her own home.
‘Would you rather go home or back to mine, Em?’ she asked.
‘Home, please. I want to lie down and go to sleep.’ Emma’s voice was so weak that Lily could barely hear her reply.
‘Home it is then,’ she said, getting into the driver’s seat. Thank goodness she still had a key. She would text her dad once she’d got Emma home and explain what had happened. She started up the car and set off.
The house was tidy, everything in its place, Lily noticed as she carried Emma in. She settled her little sister on the sofa with a cushion behind her and a light cover over her, then placed a glass of water on the coffee table. She switched the TV on, selecting the kids’ channel. ‘Are you okay, darling? Are you nice and cosy?’
‘I’m tired.’
‘Well, you go to sleep now if you want to. I’ll put a bowl on the floor in front of you in case you feel sick.’
She took the bowl from the kitchen sink and placed it on the carpet in front of Emma. Her eyes were closing already.
Then suddenly Emma gave a little cry, her eyes flew open and she retched. Lily was on her feet and by her side in an instant, holding the bowl underneath her just in time.
‘My tummy hurts,’ Emma groaned when the sickness bout was over.
Lily grabbed a tissue off the table and wiped Emma’s mouth, then held out the glass of water for her to drink. ‘I know, darling. Drink this, you should feel better then.’
She left Emma drinking the water while she emptied and cleaned out the bowl, returning to put it back by the side of the sofa.
‘I want Twink,’ Emma said weakly. Twink was the white polar bear that she had accidentally covered in glitter and now twinkled in the light.
‘I’ll go and get him for you. Is he on your bed?’
Emma nodded, her eyes closing drowsily again.
Lily watched her for a minute, wondering whether it was safe to leave her while she ran upstairs and fetched the bear, or whether her little sister would be sick again. She decided to play it safe and keep an eye on Emma for a while. If she asked for Twink again, she’d run up and get it, otherwise she’d go when Emma was asleep and place the bear next to her so she could see it when she woke up again.
Ten minutes later, with Emma fast asleep, Lily decided it would be safe to leave her and go and get Twink. She went up the stairs and walked along the corridor to Emma’s room, noticing that the door of her father and Maria’s room was open. She hesitated. She wasn’t one to snoop but if Maria had anything to hide, such as that letter, surely this would be the place to hide it?
Feeling guilty but reminding herself that she was doing this for her father and little sister, she walked into the bedroom and looked around. The apple-green duvet that had always covered her parents’ bed had been replaced by a frilly white-and-blue floral one, with matching curtains at the window. There was a white sheepskin rug each side of the bed. She swallowed as she thought of the days her mum had lain in that bed, too ill to get up. She shut out the image of her dad and Maria sharing it. All she wanted to do was find that letter and discover what Maria was hiding.
She glanced over at the dressing table – maybe Maria had hidden the letter in one of those drawers? They looked the sort of drawers where she might put personal stuff such as underwear and make-up, and she doubted if her dad ever opened them. It would be a perfect place to hide something she didn’t want anyone else to find.
She crossed the room and pulled open the top-right drawer of the dressing table. It held tubes and bottles of make-up and a bottle of Dior perfume. The drawer on the left had some jars of skin cream whereas the bottom drawer was full of underclothes. Carefully she felt among the various satin and lace underwear sets in assorted
colours – Maria certainly liked expensive underwear – trying not to disturb them. Maria seemed the sort of woman who would remember exactly how she had put them away and would notice immediately if they had been disturbed. Nothing. She felt along the back just to be sure and her hand touched something hard. She pulled the drawer out further and moved aside the underwear. Lying on the bottom of the drawer was a photo frame, face down.
She took it out, turned it over and studied it. It was a colour photo of a dark-haired man and a blonde-haired woman, probably in their early forties, arms around each other’s shoulders, smiling at the camera. Were they Maria’s parents? She turned the frame over, intending to take the back off and see if there was anything written on the photo, when she heard Emma scream. Oh no, what if she’s been sick again? Quickly taking a photo of the picture with her phone, she put it back, covered it with the underwear again, shut the drawer and hurried out of the bedroom.
Hang on, she’d better grab Twink – he was her excuse if anyone came in and found her upstairs – before getting back down to Emma. She dashed into Emma’s room, grabbed the sparkly polar bear off her bed and hurried downstairs. Thankfully, Emma hadn’t been sick again, she noticed, as she ran into the lounge. Her sister was sitting up on the sofa, looking tearful.
‘I woke up and I was on my own and Twink wasn’t here,’ she sobbed.
‘I went up to get him for you, darling. Here he is.’
Emma’s face broke into a smile as she cuddled the bear to her. ‘My tummy doesn’t hurt as much now.’
‘That’s good. I’ll find us a film to watch together, shall I?’ Lily sat down beside her, pulling her sister closer, and picked up the remote. When Emma was engrossed in the film, Lily looked at the photo on her phone. If these were Maria’s parents, why did she keep the photo hidden away in her bottom drawer?
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