The Perfect Stepmother

by King, Karen

  I’m babysitting. Come here. The kids are in bed and their parents won’t be back for hours.

  She sent another text giving him the address.

  Chris replied:

  Be there in twenty minutes or so.

  Stefanie tidied herself up, touched up her make-up, went up to check on the children – they were both fast asleep. As she passed Sarah and Anthony’s bedroom she hesitated. She was sure Sarah wouldn’t mind if she used a spray of her perfume. She entered the room and picked up the bottle of perfume on Sarah’s dressing table, spraying herself liberally.

  She went back downstairs, knowing that Chris would arrive any minute. A text pinged in to say he was at the door, and she hurried to let him in, looking around carefully to make sure none of the neighbours were watching.

  ‘I’ve been longing to see you all day,’ he murmured, gathering her into his arms.

  ‘I can’t believe that you got away. I thought I wouldn’t see you until at least tomorrow,’ she replied.

  ‘I told Amy I had to go back to the office to get some urgent paperwork so I can’t stop long.’ He nestled into her. ‘I was hoping there was somewhere we could have a private cuddle. Could we go upstairs, use the parents’ bedroom?’

  She was desperate to cuddle up to him too. Anthony had said she could sleep in their bed, and Simon and Alicia were fast asleep.

  ‘Okay,’ she agreed. She led him up the stairs and into the bedroom. Then they were tearing each other’s clothes off and in the bed, wrapped around each other, kissing, caressing. They could never get enough of each other.

  Suddenly, the bedroom door opened.

  ‘Mummy?’

  50

  Stefanie

  ‘Goddammit, Stef, get her out of here, quick!’ Chris hissed, pulling the bedclothes over his head.

  ‘I will!’ Stefanie frantically looked around for her clothes, then saw a dressing gown hanging over the chair and grabbed that, slipping in her arms and pulling it around her before she got out of bed.

  ‘Mummy and Daddy are still at the hospital, love,’ she said soothingly as she walked over to the doorway where Alicia was standing. The little girl was rubbing her eyes and staring at the bed in bewilderment.

  ‘Who’s that man and why are you both in Mummy’s bed?’

  ‘There’s no man, darling, you’re dreaming. I was asleep. Mummy and Daddy told me to sleep in their bed because they will be at the hospital all night.’

  She led Alicia out of the bedroom and across the hallway into her own room, to give Chris time to get dressed and go downstairs. ‘Are you okay? Did you have a bad dream?’

  Alicia nodded. ‘I was scared and went to get Mummy. Then I saw you and that man in Mummy’s bed.’

  Somehow she had to convince Alicia that she’d been dreaming or she’d tell Sarah and Anthony. Then they’d tell Stefanie’s parents and all hell would let loose. ‘There was no man, darling. I told you it was a dream.’

  ‘I saw him. I did. He was kissing you.’

  Stefanie was mortified. How long had Alicia been standing there? How much had she actually seen?

  ‘There’s no man here, darling. Goodness, what a dream you had! It must have been all that tickling. Go back to bed and I’ll bring you a drink of milk to help you get back to sleep. Would you like that?’

  ‘Yes, please,’ Alicia mumbled.

  Stefanie tucked the little girl into bed then hurried back into Sarah and Anthony’s bedroom. Chris had disappeared. She quickly pulled on her clothes, covered up the bed and went downstairs to get the milk for Alicia.

  Chris, fully dressed now but his shirt half-buttoned, was standing by the back door. ‘Make sure she doesn’t say anything, Stef. If this gets out, it will ruin me.’

  ‘She won’t. I’ve told her she was dreaming,’ Stefanie told him.

  ‘Good. I’d better go. See you soon.’ He kissed her briefly on the cheek and was gone.

  Stefanie opened the fridge and took out a bottle of milk, pouring it into a mug then putting it in the microwave to heat, her mind racing. Had she managed to convince Alicia that she was dreaming? If ever her parents found out that she’d slept with someone while she was babysitting here, they’d be furious. And there was no way she could tell them who it was – Chris was married and a solicitor; the scandal would ruin him.

  The microwave pinged. Her hand shaking, she took out the milk, tested it to make sure it wasn’t too hot then took it up to Alicia, hoping to find the little girl asleep. But no such luck. She was sitting up in bed, looking as bright as a button.

  ‘Here you are, sweetheart.’ Stefanie passed her the mug. ‘Drink it slowly.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Alicia sipped it.

  Stefanie sat on the side of the bed, watching her.

  When she’d finished the milk, Alicia handed her the cup back. ‘Was that man your boyfriend?’ she asked.

  God, she wasn’t going to let this go, was she? Stefanie kept her voice steady. ‘What man, darling?’

  ‘The one I saw you kissing in Mummy and Daddy’s bed.’

  ‘I told you. It was a dream. It wasn’t real.’ Panic was rising in her now. If she could just get Alicia to go back to sleep, she might forget all about it in the morning and think that she really had been dreaming. ‘Lie down and go to sleep, love. It’s late,’ she said.

  Suddenly she heard the front door open. Shit! Sarah and Anthony were home.

  ‘Lie down,’ she said again. But Alicia had heard the door open too. ‘Mummy and Daddy are back,’ she said.

  ‘You’d better get to sleep quickly then. They won’t be very pleased to find that you’re still awake,’ Stefanie told her. ‘Lie down and snuggle up and I won’t tell them.’

  But Alicia threw back the bedcovers and jumped out of bed. ‘Mummy!’ she shouted and dashed out of the room.

  Stefanie ran out after her. Alicia had almost reached the top of the stairs now. Thankfully Sarah and Anthony had gone into the kitchen.

  ‘Mummy! Stefanie was kissing a man in your bed!’

  Damn! Stefanie quickened her pace, hoping to grab Alicia’s arm and pull her back before she went down the stairs. She didn’t notice the toy car on the carpet, tripped over it and toppled forward into Alicia, sending her crashing down the stairs. Alicia’s high-pitched scream rang through the house.

  Oh my God! Oh my God, what have I done? Bile churned up in her throat as she stared at Alicia’s still body at the bottom of the stairs.

  Sarah and Anthony came rushing out of the kitchen. ‘Alicia!’ Sarah screamed. She ran over to the little girl, knelt down, bent over her. ‘What happened?’ she yelled. ‘Why is she out of bed? How did she fall?’

  Anthony was already dialling for an ambulance.

  ‘She heard you come back. She was running to greet you and she fell,’ Stefanie stammered.

  ‘No, she didn’t.’

  Stefanie spun around to see Simon standing behind her, his eyes wide and accusing. ‘You pushed her!’ he shouted, tears streaming down his face as he pointed a shaking finger at her. ‘You pushed her because Alicia was going to tell Mum that she saw you kissing a man in her bed. I saw you push her!’

  Stefanie’s knees sank underneath her and she collapsed.

  Alicia died in hospital three hours later. Stefanie was arrested and charged with murder.

  51

  Lily

  Now

  ‘She’s leaving! She must know we’re onto her!’ Lily broke into a run, her feet barely touching the pavement as she raced along the street, her breath burning her throat. She hammered on the front door. Seb had reached her side by the time her father finally answered it. His face shocked her. It was almost grey.

  ‘I’ve just read your message. What do you mean that Maria murdered a little girl years ago and is connected to Emma’s disappearance?’

  ‘Her name isn’t Maria, Dad. It’s Stefanie Lawson. She changed her name by deed poll when she came out of prison,’ Lily said as she walked in, Seb right behind her.
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  ‘Where have you heard this from?’ Gareth demanded.

  ‘I read it on the internet. Twenty-two years ago, Stefanie murdered a five-year-old girl who she was babysitting. She was sent to prison but got out early on parole ten years ago. She must have given herself a new name, a new identity – she even dyed her hair black. That’s why she never talks about her life before she opened the salon. She was in prison.’

  Gareth covered his mouth with his hand and staggered backwards, reaching out to grab the radiator in the hall for support. ‘Are you sure? How do you know this?’ he stammered.

  ‘Let’s go into the lounge and I’ll explain.’ Lily put her arm around her dad’s waist to support him.

  When Gareth was sitting on the sofa, Lily and Seb either side of him, Lily told him what she had discovered. She took the newspaper article that she’d printed out of her handbag and passed it to him. ‘She’s changed her appearance a lot since this photo, but look at that photo of her parents – see how much Maria looks like her mum? They must have disowned her for what she did because later, when they were running a corner shop in Birmingham where Seb’s friend Joe lived, they said they had no children.’

  Gareth looked at her, dumbfounded. ‘Where did you get this photo?’

  ‘I found it in Maria’s underwear drawer the day Emma was sent home sick. I was trying to find more information about her. I’ve never trusted her, Dad. I always felt that she was hiding something. And I was right, wasn’t I? I just know that Emma’s disappearance has got something to do with this.’

  Gareth shook his head. ‘It must be a mistake. I’m sure that Maria can explain all this.’ He looked around. ‘Where is she?’ he asked as if he’d only just become aware that she was missing.

  ‘She’s gone, Dad. We saw her drive off when we were on the way here. I flagged her down to stop but she sped past me. I think she’s legged it, knowing the police will be onto her very soon.’

  They all looked around as the doorbell rang.

  ‘I’ll get it,’ Seb offered.

  They heard voices at the door then Seb walked back in followed by two police officers.

  ‘Has something happened? Have you found Emma?’ Gareth asked.

  The policewoman shook her head. ‘I’m afraid not. But there has been another development. We’d like to question your wife.’

  ‘She isn’t here. She’s gone,’ Lily said. ‘Have you found out who she really is?’

  ‘You know?’

  ‘I’ve just found out and came over to warn Dad but Maria was already driving off. I don’t think she intends to come back.’

  ‘Running away, knowing that we’d soon be onto her,’ the police officer said. He looked compassionately at Gareth. ‘I’m afraid that as your wife is a convicted child murderer, we are now considering her a prime suspect in Emma’s disappearance.’

  Gareth blanched and Lily rushed to support him. ‘You mean you think she’s…’

  ‘We think that it’s possible she has either murdered or kidnapped your daughter, yes. I’m sorry, this must be a shock for you, but if you could give us the registration number of Mrs Metcalfe’s car, we’ll get our officers looking for it.’

  Suddenly, Lily remembered the letter that had shaken up Maria. Did that have something to do with it? She told the police officer about it. ‘I remember thinking how strange it was that the letter was written in red. And how panicky Maria looked when she read it. I think that there might have been other letters too because she looked scared as soon as she saw the writing on the envelope. As if she knew what was in it.’

  ‘She said it was a complaint from a client and that she’d dealt with it. She never mentioned that she’d received any other letters.’ Gareth looked broken. ‘Do you think someone was blackmailing her? That this person might have taken Emma?’

  ‘It’s a possibility that someone is blackmailing your wife, but why should they kidnap your daughter? I’m sorry, sir, I know it must be difficult for you to accept, but before we look for anyone else, we need to talk to your wife. It would be handy to see this letter though. Have you any idea where she would have put it if she kept it?’

  ‘She keeps a photo of her parents in the bottom drawer of the dressing table in her bedroom – maybe she’s put the letters there too,’ Lily told them.

  ‘Then I think that’s the first place we should start. I’m afraid that we need to search the house again, sir.’

  ‘But you searched everywhere…’

  ‘We’ll do a more thorough search in light of these developments.’ The two police officers donned gloves and went upstairs.

  When they came back down, one officer had a bag with some letters in them. ‘We’ve found three letters hidden under the mattress, sir.’

  Gareth looked stunned. ‘Three? May I read them?’

  ‘I’m afraid we can’t let you handle them. The fewer fingerprints the better. But I have taken photos of them.’

  He held out his phone. Lily and Seb peered over Gareth’s shoulder as he slid his finger across the screen of the phone.

  All the letters were written in bright red capitals.

  YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR NAME BUT NOT WHAT YOU DID.

  * * *

  I KNOW WHO YOU REALLY ARE.

  * * *

  YOU DON’T DESERVE TO HAVE A DAUGHTER.

  Lily shivered. So someone had recognised Maria. Was it that woman she’d mentioned, the one who had given Emma the doll? Had she taken Emma?

  ‘Your wife was obviously being threatened – perhaps that’s what made her panic.’

  ‘But why…?’ Gareth struggled to say the words. ‘Why harm Emma?’

  ‘Maybe she was scared that she was about to be exposed. She was convicted of pushing a little girl down the stairs to stop her telling her parents that she’d seen her in bed with a man. Perhaps Emma found the letters and Maria panicked and wanted to keep her quiet so that she wouldn’t tell you. We have no idea. But we intend to find out. We’ve put a call out, and as soon as someone sees her car she’ll be arrested.’

  *

  ‘Eat up, darling,’ I coax, looking worriedly at the tearful little girl in front of me.

  ‘I’m not hungry. I want to go home.’ Her eyes are red from crying. ‘I want to see my daddy and mummy and Lily.’

  I feel the hope and strength drain from my body. I’ve looked for my Alicia for so long but now I’ve finally found her, got her back, she’s forgotten all about me. Forgotten her own mother. They’ve brainwashed her. Stefanie and that man she had fornicated with in my house. They’ve taken my darling daughter and somehow made her forget all about me.

  I wish I could take Alicia back home, back to the house she was born in, the little garden with the sandpit where she and Simon had played, the bedroom painted pink and white, the bed covered with cuddly toys. Perhaps then she might remember.

  But Anthony has sold the house. Anger surges through me again at the memory of his betrayal. He’s never loved Alicia as much as I do. Simon was always his favourite, a son to play football with, to take fishing, to go camping with. Alicia is too delicate for Anthony, always has been. She doesn’t like playing rough, loud noises, creepy-crawlies, getting dirty and wet like Simon does. She likes to play with her dolls, and to bake, to go shopping for pretty clothes. So the family is divided, and Simon has become Anthony’s and Alicia has become mine.

  When Stefanie took Alicia away, Anthony and Simon refused to look for her. They insisted she was dead. Everyone said she was dead. But I knew that she wasn’t. I knew that Stefanie had taken her. Stefanie has always wanted Alicia: she bought her pretty presents, sat colouring or dressing dolls with her. She wanted her as her own. Well, she isn’t Stefanie’s daughter, she’s mine. I close my eyes and remember how Alicia used to sit cuddled up to me as I read her a story, how she used to love licking out the bowl when we baked cakes.

  ‘Shall we do some baking?’ I ask. ‘You like baking, don’t you?’

  Alicia looks at me with big, round, i
mploring eyes. ‘I want to go home. Please,’ she says, her voice wobbling.

  Her words are like a knife in my heart. Alicia doesn’t love me any more. I’ve lost my daughter. And without my daughter I have nothing to live for.

  I’ve considered ending my life many times but the thought of finding Alicia and bringing her home has stopped me from doing it. Now, though, there is nothing to live for. The pain in my heart and in my head is too much to bear. I just want peace. Silence. An end to this eternal misery. For me and Alicia to be together forever.

  52

  Lily

  Whenever Lily shut her eyes, Emma’s face was there, tear-streaked, scared, calling for her dad and Lily, begging to go home. She didn’t dare think any further than that. She couldn’t bear to let her mind dwell on dark thoughts of Emma being injured, maybe even dead, or she would go crazy. The torment of what her little sister could be going through made her feel physically sick. And the guilt that she should have done something to prevent it gnawed away at her. She had known Maria wasn’t all that she seemed, had sensed there was something suspicious about her, but had fought down her instincts because no one had believed her. Seb had actually accused her of being miffed because her dad had got married so soon after her mother’s death. Lily was so furious with him that she could barely look at him. He should have known she wasn’t that petty, should have trusted her, helped her. Maybe she would have got to the truth sooner. Before Emma had been kidnapped. She laid her head back on the sofa and shut her eyes, fighting back the tears. She couldn’t fall apart. She had to think of a way to help Emma, to bring her back home before…