by Ashley Croft
‘I hung on as long as I could but this guy really wanted it. He’s a stained-glass artist.’ He pulled a face.
‘Oh, well. Good. I mean I’m happy you let it because I was bothered that you’d turned other people down while I was dithering.’
‘It’s fine. You got to keep the Kabin and that’s what you wanted, wasn’t it?’
‘Yes. Yes, of course.’
He picked up his keys. ‘In that case, I’ll go. I’ll just pop to the loo, if that’s OK. It’s quite a drive to the meeting.’
Sarah waited in the kitchen while Liam used the cloakroom. It was all she could do not to tell him that her reconciliation with Niall was all a sham and that she didn’t love Niall anymore but she owed it to him to stay. She had never felt so low in her life – not even when Niall first left – and it was all her own doing. Liam was so kind and gorgeous, she felt worse than ever.
She heard the loo flush and walked into the hall to meet him. He twisted the catch on the front door.
‘Oh, by the way,’ he said with a grimace, ‘I know this may sound a bit silly but you didn’t find a comb of mine in your cloakroom, did you? It’s only cheap but Hayley gave it to me one Christmas. It’s silly and old but she bought it with her own pocket money and I’ve kept it ever since.’
‘No, I don’t think so …’
‘OK. No worries. I thought I’d used it to comb my hair the last time I was here. I had a meeting after I left, you see …’ He looked sheepish as if he was embarrassed about revealing a rare moment of personal vanity but Sarah felt a prickling sensation on the back of her neck. The baby kicked her hard and she let out a little “ooof” and clutched her bump.
Liam was instantly at her side. ‘Are you all right?’
Sarah straightened up, slowly. ‘Yes. Yes … just the baby letting me know she’s here … Did you say the comb was blue?’
‘What?’ Liam looked puzzled that she was interested. ‘Yes. Light blue and I think it had more than a few broken teeth. Bit embarrassing really and I should have chucked it out years ago. Why?’
Goose bumps popped out over every inch of Sarah’s skin. Her hands started to shake.
‘Are you sure you feel OK? Because I’ll cancel my meeting if I need to. I’m not leaving until I know you’re all right.’
‘Yes. I’m fine. I’m really fine.’ She couldn’t stop a grin spreading over her face. ‘I think I may have thrown your comb away. I’m sorry …’
‘No problem. I can afford a new one. In fact, I already invested.’ With a smile he drew a tortoiseshell comb from his pocket, the bog-standard type every man has one of somewhere.
‘I’ll be going then.’ He brushed Sarah’s cheek with his lips and her skin tingled. ‘Have a good life, Sarah, you deserve it.’
Sarah’s brief bubble of elation had burst. What if her theory was wrong? And if it was right, it meant she had to hurt someone badly.
She shut the door, her pulse skipping madly. The baby pummelled her and she looked down at her stomach. ‘It can’t be true, can it?’ she said to her bump. ‘It can’t be possible? I daren’t even hope that’s the answer …’
Trembling, she rushed into the sitting room and dug her phone from her bag.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Molly peeled off her lab gloves and chucked them in the bin. Her back ached and her eyes were gritty and sore from lack of sleep. She’d just caught sight of the clock on the lab wall. How could it be eleven-thirty already?
Ewan was next to her, hunched over his microscope. ‘I think we’ll have to call it a day. Or night,’ she said.
Without taking his eyes from the scope, Ewan waved a hand. ‘Not yet. I think I might be onto something.’
‘Really?’ said Molly wearily, having heard Ewan – and herself – say that at least half a dozen times over the past week. All of their conversations had been confined to work or their attempts to find a solution to the “current situation” as Ewan had codenamed her monumental cock-up. When it came to trying to find a solution, he’d have moved heaven and earth for her but outside of the lab, they might as well have been on different planets. She wasn’t surprised he’d been angry and upset but she hadn’t expected him to completely blank her. He seemed to have returned to previous frostiness and then some.
‘I have to get something to eat and drink or I’ll drop,’ she said. ‘I also need the loo. We’ve been in here for the past four hours. Do you want me to make you a coffee while I’m in the canteen?’
‘No. Yes. I’ll come and get a drink in a minute.’
‘OK.’
Molly hung up her lab coat and walked past the canteen to get her Coke and a Mars bar from the machine. The doors were locked and all but one of the other labs and offices were in darkness. It was hard to imagine that night when she’d first danced with Ewan at the party. He’d blown her off then, now she’d scuppered her own chances but her own problems were nothing compared to Sarah’s. All she knew was, having seen the man he could be, it was far harder to take the cold Ewan now.
She retrieved the can and trudged back to the lab. Food and drink weren’t allowed but she couldn’t care less. As she walked in Ewan was cursing.
‘Sod you!’ He aimed a kick at the dry ice chest.
Molly also smiled, then remembered why they were in the lab at nearly midnight.
‘What’s up?’
‘Bloody thing’s stopped working again and unbelievably, we’ve run out of gloves. Gloves! The one thing no lab can function without. It’s ridiculous.’
Molly stood by, taking the rant like a tree in a storm.
‘OK. One, the technicians will be in at eight and they’ll take a look at the ice machine. Two, I think there’s s secret stash of gloves in the store cupboard in our office and three, we’re both totally knackered. Let’s call it a night for now.’
Ewan stiffened, obviously embarrassed at letting his temper get the better of him. He pulled off his lab coat. ‘I suppose I’m not functioning well and I don’t want to make any more mistakes.’
Molly decided to overlook the dig, if it was one. They were both tired. ‘Go home. I’ll tidy up here and follow you out.’
‘Are you sure you’ll be OK?’
‘Ewan. There are still a couple of people next door. And I’ve cycled home on my own hundreds of times.’
He rubbed his eyes. ‘OK. I do need to go home.’
After Ewan had left, she cleared away some of the evidence of their tests and locked the door of her office. She picked up her bag and coat, and walked out of the office and straight into Pete.
He steadied her. Molly scooted back. ‘God, Pete, you scared me. What are you doing here at this time of night?’
‘I’m studying the DNA of a new species of South American deer tick. The sequencer was out of action earlier and I need the results for a paper I’m presenting on Friday.’ He smirked. ‘What about you? Rumour has it you and Ewan have been camped out in the lab together for the past week.’
‘Um … we’re close to what could be a major breakthrough on our project,’ said Molly.
Pete raised his eyebrows. ‘Is it the mysterious super aphrodisiac that no one’s supposed to know about?’
She winked. ‘I could tell you, Pete, but then I’d have to kill you.’
He grinned. ‘Well, I hope you haven’t resorted to testing it on each other.’
‘Of course not!’
‘I bet Ewan’s wife isn’t too happy about him spending so much time here. That’s what split them up in the first place.’
‘What do you mean? His wife. They’ve been divorced for years.’
‘She’s back with him, apparently. Hasn’t Ewan told you?’
Molly floundered. She was exhausted and frazzled and not thinking straight. ‘Oh. He might have mentioned her but why would he? It’s none of my business,’ said Molly haughtily, telling herself not to take Pete’s comment too seriously. He was probably only trying to stir things up.
‘I only mentione
d it because I thought you two had been an item and that you’d know all about it.’
‘Then you thought wrong,’ she snapped, then flashed him a smile, with murder in her heart. ‘I have to go home. Hope your tests go well.’ And you can shove your ticks where the sun doesn’t shine.
Head held high, Molly marched on until she was sure Pete couldn’t see her. Wearily, she collected her bike from the rack and cycled home, turning over Pete’s revelation. Was Pete lying or embroidering rumours out of spite? Or was Anna really back with Ewan?
Maybe he’d decided to give his marriage another go since he’d found out about the Love Bug and ranted about Molly not trusting him. And yet, he hadn’t mentioned Anna being back in his house. Even if she was at his house, did that mean she was back in his life?
Molly tossed her keys on the chest of drawers and flopped onto her bed, still in her clothes. Jesus, what a mess. What a monumental fuck-up …
She woke up, still in her clothes. The clock showed four a.m. and her phone was beeping pathetically to tell her to recharge it.
Molly plugged it in and it let out a series of buzzes and beeps. Rubbing her eyes, she peered at the screen and saw the missed calls and a text from Sarah.
Its nOT Niall!!!!
She sat bolt upright, blinking at the text. What did she mean, it’s not Niall? Not Niall’s what?
A new text came through.
*Think* it was Liamshair on comb. HOPE so. Don’t call. I call u.
Molly was still confused but light was beginning to dawn on her. She started to text Ewan then realised he would be at home with Anna. Then she started to text Molly then realised she’d be asleep with Niall. Shit. She sent an email instead.
Sarah – need items in question asap. Call me first thing.
Then she got out her phone and WhatsApped Ewan.
Ewan, re issues with latest project. Think may have found solution – poss rogue DNA. Need to confirm asap.
Would Ewan still be awake? Would he hear the message come through or would she have an agonising wait until morning? Molly stared at her phone, willing it to ping.
*
Molly woke at dawn. Ewan hadn’t replied but Sarah had messaged her to say Niall had gone to work. Molly called her with instructions on how to collect the samples and shortly afterwards, she arrived at the flat, her face flushed with excitement.
‘Have you got it?’ Molly asked, hardly able to believe that the way out of this mess could be within touching distance. They’d had so many false dawns, she didn’t want to get too excited but it was impossible to stop her heart from beating faster as Sarah pulled two plastic bags from her handbag.
‘Yes. I picked a hair from his collar when he said goodbye so unless it’s someone else’s, I’m pretty sure. I also brought this to double-check.’ She handed over the sandwich bags. One contained a couple of hairs and the larger one held a mug.
‘Thanks. These should do the trick. If I need a bigger sample, I’ll let you know.’
Molly gave a huge sigh of relief. Normally only a police forensic lab would work with so little DNA but she was sure that she and Ewan could manage.
‘I’m sorry for causing all this trouble,’ Sarah said for the umpteenth time.
‘Me too. Forget it now. I’ll go into the lab and check it straightaway.’
‘If it’s right, if the DNA you used is Liam’s, that means it couldn’t possibly work on Niall?’ Sarah said hopefully.
‘Yes.’
‘So his feelings are genuine after all?’
Molly nodded. ‘There’s no other explanation.’
‘What about … what about Liam?’ said Sarah. ‘Could he have been affected?’
‘As long as he hasn’t been near the atomiser, then any feelings he has for you are genuine too,’ Molly said.
Sarah heaved a sigh. ‘This is going to get complicated.’
Molly hugged her and smiled. ‘Hon, I think it already is. Stay and have a cup of tea if you want, but I have to go to the office.’
As she cycled to the office, whizzing past two guys on racing bikes, Molly felt as if she had wings. They weren’t out of trouble yet, but she was hopeful. The optimism was tinged with dread. If this avenue met a dead end, she didn’t know what she would do next.
She arrived at the lab and went straight inside, hoping to see Ewan before her colleagues arrived. However, at the very moment when she was desperate to see him, he was late. Molly decided to test the samples herself and the minutes and hours ticked by and it was almost ten o’clock. People were heading to the canteen for coffee but Ewan still hadn’t rocked up, which was unheard of unless he had an off-site meeting or conference.
Molly had sent him three messages, all unanswered, and she was beginning to worry that something terrible had happened to him. No one seemed to know where he was and Molly didn’t want to ask too many people, too often, or they’d start to think she was paranoid or become suspicious of her motives.
Pete’s comments about Anna being back haunted her, although her main focus was on sorting out the Love Bug issue. Surely her messages ought to have brought Ewan racing to the lab?
She paced the office, unable to settle to anything while the computer sequenced the tests on Liam’s samples. She sat next to it, watching the robotic arm whirr back and forth.
The door opened and a familiar figure walked in. He looked like the living dead and obviously hadn’t shaved.
‘Ewan!’
‘What’s up?’ he growled.
‘Did you get my WhatsApp messages?’
‘No, I haven’t even looked at my phone yet.’
Squashing down her frustration, Molly almost danced around him. ‘I think I know what’s happened. Sarah thinks that she gave me Liam’s hair, not Niall’s. So that’s why it didn’t work.’
‘You are joking?’
‘No. I’m running checks on hair and saliva samples now to see if they’re the ones I used for the Bug.’
‘Oh God, I hope so,’ he said gloomily.
‘Aren’t you pleased?’ she asked.
‘Yes. Of course. Let me know if you want me to cross-check.’
‘I will. When I’ve got the results I’ll have to go out and break the news to Sarah.’
‘Yes, of course …’ Ewan seemed like a zombie. Molly suspected he’d had even less sleep than her. ‘But that’s a good thing, isn’t it? Now she knows Niall’s feelings are real. She’ll be ecstatic, won’t she?’
‘Yes. Yes, I guess so …’
‘If it is true and I’m pretty sure that’s what happened, something else is driving me insane. How did I mix the placebo and the real Bug up?’
Ewan sat down heavily in his office chair. ‘I don’t know … you’ll probably never know and it doesn’t matter now.’
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Sarah paced up and down the riverbank by Jesus Green pool. They’d arranged to meet in Molly’s lunch break so Molly could break the news in person. Sarah had found it nigh on impossible to concentrate on the beginners’ workshop she’d been running, wondering what the results of Molly’s tests would reveal.
Spring was bursting into life all over the city. Pots of primroses bloomed on the narrowboats moored by the river. A cat dozed on the roof in a pool of sunshine while moorhens pootled about by the banks. Sarah rested her hands on her stomach and felt the baby kick. In the summer she would wheel the buggy down here and show the little one the ducks, and when she was old enough, they would feed them together.
But would Niall be with them? Whatever news Molly had, he would have to be part of the baby’s life. He was her dad, and it was important he played a role. Sarah would never deny him that, no matter what had passed between them.
She scanned the grassy open space next to the river, looking for Molly. She must have trodden the same short stretch of towpath at least six times already … Her heart pounded as she spotted her sister cycling towards her.
The river path was busy with workers and students so Mol
ly had to dismount and wheel her bike through the crowds. In the last few seconds before Molly reached her, Sarah’s stomach turned over. Was Molly smiling and happy? Sarah couldn’t tell, as Molly wove in and out of the walkers.
Finally, Molly reached her. She had a smile on her face. Sarah almost passed out with the tension.
‘Relax. It’s definitely Liam’s DNA,’ she said.
Sarah let out a huge sigh. ‘Oh My God. Are you sure?’
Molly undid her cycle helmet and hung it on the handlebars. ‘One hundred per cent. Ewan checked my results. The Bug couldn’t possibly have worked on Niall.’
Sarah gasped. ‘Ewan knows about this? Oh no!’
‘I had no choice. I had to ask for his help to find an inhibitor, though in the end we didn’t need one.’
Sarah let out a squeak of horror. ‘So, you didn’t need to tell him after all? You’re in awful trouble with him and it was all my fault, giving you the wrong sample in the first place.’
Molly soothed her. ‘Actually, I should have double-checked, not simply assumed it was Niall’s DNA.’
Sarah was done in so Molly rested her bike by a bench and they sat down.
‘What’s Ewan said? Is he going to sack you or report us?’ Sarah said.
‘He isn’t going to do anything. Technically, we haven’t actually done anything wrong. Not now.’
‘But he must be furious that we even thought of doing it and got into this situation?’
Molly nibbled her lower lip. ‘He’s not a happy bunny, I must admit.’
Sarah sighed. ‘Oh, Mol, I hope this hasn’t ruined things between you and Ewan.’
‘It hasn’t helped. He’s hardly spoken to me since and we certainly haven’t … you know – but I don’t think it’s only this business with the Love Bug. I think his wife may be back in his life.’
‘What?’
‘One of the guys from the lab told me he’d heard Anna was staying with Ewan. He’s acting weird again so I think there’s something wrong that has nothing to do with the Love Bug. I haven’t asked him while all this has been going on.’
Sarah hugged her. ‘I’m so sorry, Molly. You two seemed made for each other.’