‘They couldn’t breathe properly,’ Poppy said, with a shuddery sigh, causing Melissa to hesitate at the kitchen door.
Jade smiled and nodded her on. ‘I bet that made you sad, Poppy,’ she said, as Melissa, duly reassured, went to retrieve the child she’d momentarily forgotten about.
‘It did,’ Poppy said. ‘But I didn’t cry too much, because I didn’t want to make Hercules sad.’
‘Well, you’re a very considerate, grown-up little girl. I’m impressed,’ Jade said. ‘Hercules is very lucky to have you as a friend. I wish I had a friend like you.’
‘But I am your friend.’ Poppy said, her face earnest as she turned towards her.
Looking into Poppy’s huge brown eyes, framed by long, dark eyelashes – her daddy’s eyelashes – Jade felt her heart constrict inside her.
She composed herself and arranged her face into a smile. ‘Well then, I’m very lucky too. And we’ll stay friends, I promise. I’m not sure where I’ll be living, but as soon as I find somewhere, I’ll be in touch. Deal?’
Poppy knitted her forehead into a frown. ‘But why do you have to find somewhere? You can stay here,’ she said, splaying her hands to indicate the vast expanse of Melissa’s kitchen, which, tastefully decorated, with children’s paintings adorning the fridge and colourful height charts pinned to the walls, was comfortable and homey. Jade hated it.
‘What, forever?’ She chuckled indulgently. ‘I’m not sure your mummy would be very happy about that.’
‘Yes, she would,’ Poppy assured her, with an adamant nod. ‘Mummy says we should share with our friends and look after those less fortunut than ourselves.’
‘Fortunate,’ Jade corrected her. ‘I’d like to,’ she said, uncertainly. ‘We’ll see how it pans out, shall we? If Mummy says she wants me to stay, then I’ll think about it.’
‘She will,’ Poppy said confidently, stretching her arms out and leaning towards her to be helped down. ‘I’ll tell her I want you to stay because you’re my bestest friend ever.’
‘But only if Mummy suggests it first.’ Jade lifted Poppy off the stool, swung her round and planted her on her feet. ‘We don’t want Mummy to think she’s being ganged up on, do we?’ she added, in answer to Poppy’s obvious confusion.
Poppy shook her head sombrely. ‘No. Miss Winters says it’s cruel to gang up on other people at school.’
‘Exactly.’ Jade smiled. ‘She’s a wise woman, your teacher. And you’re a sensible girl for listening to her. It’s not nice being bullied, Poppy, trust me.’
Poppy scanned her face. ‘Are you being bullied?’ she asked her, her eyes clouding with concern.
‘No,’ Jade assured her. ‘I was once, though, when I was little. It made me cry.’
Poppy looked alarmed at that. ‘I won’t let anyone bully you, Jade,’ she said, sticking her chin up determinedly.
‘Nor I you.’ Jade reached out to brush her hair from her eyes. ‘We’ll look out for each other. Okay?’
‘Deal,’ Poppy said delightedly. ‘Would you like to see my room?’
Jade extended her hand. ‘I’d love to.’
Poppy slid her own small hand trustingly into Jade’s. ‘It’s a bit messy. Nemo’s water needs to be changed,’ she said, as they headed to the hall. ‘And Baby Annabell was supposed to tidy up her toys, but she forgot. You won’t tell Mummy, will you?’
‘My lips are sealed.’ Jade mimed zipping her lips.
‘And mine are sealed about your secret chocolate supply.’ Poppy smiled up at her, doing likewise.
Jade smiled conspiratorially back. ‘I think we have an understanding.’ Win the child over, win the parents over, she thought, satisfied that she’d got the child on side. She’d felt a sliver of guilt for stuffing a whole chocolate bar down in front of Poppy while Melissa had been in the baby changing room.
Four
MELISSA
With Poppy and Evie fed and settled, Melissa gave Jade the guided tour of the house, before the poor woman was driven mad by Poppy’s constant chatter and tea parties with an assortment of Peppa Pigs and scarily lifelike baby dolls. Poppy, it seemed, had taken to their guest, declaring Jade her ‘bestest friend ever’. Jade had been wonderful with her, and Melissa could see why she’d chosen childcare as a vocation. She was obviously a natural.
‘And this,’ she said, leading the way into the detached brick garage at the bottom of the back garden, ‘is what I grandly refer to as my studio. It still needs some work. The roof leaks when it rains and the window’s rattling in the frame, but it’s my sanctuary… when I can find time.’
‘Gosh, you have your own kiln?’ Jade said, obviously feeling the blast of warm air as they went in.
‘It is a bit stifling, isn’t it?’ Melissa said, as Jade fanned her face with her hand. ‘I normally have the air con on when I’m working.’ Reaching to flick the freestanding unit on, she bent to lift Poppy into her arms, lest she wander in the direction of the kiln. ‘I used to take my pieces to the art university to be fired, but they’re extremely fragile once the clay’s dried out. I did worry about the safety aspect of having my own kiln with little ones around, but at least it’s away from the house. And, as Mark said, if I’m going to be a serious sculptor…’
‘Impressive,’ Jade said, gazing around. ‘You even have a potter’s wheel.’
‘And a husband who understands my artistic temperament.’ Melissa smiled, recalling how she’d caught Mark watching her from the doorway one night, before he’d wandered in and done a fair imitation of Patrick Swayze. It had been messy – gloriously messy – but hugely satisfying.
‘Fortunately,’ Jade said, her gaze flitting over her, making Melissa immediately aware of the staple workwear she usually wore – leggings or jeans and tops that wouldn’t be ruined by clay or baby sick spatter. Was Jade being the tiniest bit facetious?
But then, seeing Jade’s warm smile, Melissa despaired of herself. It was her, feeding her own paranoia. She had wondered sometimes how Mark had stuck with her through the dark times. He’d never stopped reassuring her he loved her – down days, artistic temperament and all – but she couldn’t help thinking he might wish he was with someone more glamorous, someone who preferred to wear something slightly more alluring to bed than one of her husband’s old shirts. She was just someone who ‘scrubbed up well’ – at least according to Detective Sergeant Cummings, who’d voiced such an observation at the last social function they’d been to together.
But then, Mark had been quite into her shirt last night. Melissa smiled quietly, recalling the wicked glint in his chocolate-brown eyes as he told her that imagining her naked beneath it was a serious turn-on, how he’d pinned her to the bed, with not much protestation from her, and worked excruciatingly slowly through each button, finally asking her to keep it on while he made deliciously slow love to her.
Phew. Stop. She’d be dragging him upstairs for a repeat performance as soon as he walked through the door at this rate. Dismissing her errant thoughts – which she absolutely shouldn’t be having in company – she turned to her workbench to seat Poppy, who was growing heavy in her arms, at the end of it.
‘And this is my latest masterpiece,’ she said, indicating the sculpture on the bench. It was ceramic dipped in bronze, a kneeling, naked couple embracing, and Melissa was particularly proud of it. Still, she felt a flutter of trepidation in her tummy at showing it to Jade, which was mad considering her work was already stocking the shelves of the local craft centres and Garden & Homes store. Hopefully, the latter would stock her nationwide at some point, depending on whether she could fill the orders.
‘Wow!’ Jade looked the sculpture over and then back to Melissa in awe. ‘That’s really amazing, Melissa,’ she said, hesitantly reaching out a hand. ‘Can I touch it?’
‘Nooo,’ Poppy whispered, turning aghast eyes in Jade’s direction. ‘It’s not allowed.’
‘Not allowed with sticky fingers,’ Melissa reminded her, reaching for the tissue she kept permanen
tly up her sleeve, ready to mop the remnants of Poppy’s coconut milk ice cream from her face, which would have the child wriggling like an eel in an instant.
‘Go ahead,’ she said, nodding Jade on. ‘Sculpture is as much about tactile stimulation as visual, in my mind.’
Tentatively, Jade traced the soft curves of the figures with her fingertips. ‘It’s beautiful,’ she said, sounding genuinely impressed. ‘Nice pecs,’ she added, turning to give Melissa a mischievous smile.
‘Yes,’ said Melissa, then, noting where her hand had come to rest, she laughed. ‘And I enjoyed sculpting that bit too.’
‘Mummy, what’s pecs?’ Poppy asked, temporarily distracted from Melissa’s face-scrubbing endeavours.
‘Muscles,’ Melissa supplied. ‘Large ones.’
Poppy looked at Melissa, astonished. ‘But, Mummeee, that’s a bottom,’ she pointed out, correctly.
Melissa and Jade exchanged glances and then both laughed out loud. ‘And a very tactile one, too,’ Jade assured her.
‘What’s tactile?’ was Poppy’s inevitable next question.
‘Pleasing to the touch. Now, come on, young lady, scoot,’ Melissa said, lifting Poppy down from the workbench. ‘Go and choose a DVD. Daddy will be back soon to get you into your jim-jams. You can have one hour of TV before bed. And don’t wake Evie. She’s not due a feed yet.’
‘Yay! Beauty and the Beast.’ Poppy whooped excitedly, charging through the workshop door and up the garden path.
Five
JADE
‘Do you work in the evenings then?’ Jade asked interestedly, as Melissa checked her kiln. The temperature in the garage was now stifling. With that and all these toxic materials about, Melissa’s ‘workshop’ didn’t appear to be a very child-friendly environment.
‘To be honest, since having Evie, it’s a case of grabbing time when I can. I have the baby monitor.’ Melissa nodded towards the monitor parked on another bench, the surface of which was littered with various modelling tools – some of them quite sharp, Jade noted. There was also a dustbin, full of slip-sodden clay. Extremely dangerous, with an inquisitive seven-year-old about. ‘I don’t like to be too far away from her though,’ Melissa went on. ‘You never know, do you?’
‘No, you certainly don’t.’ Jade sighed, looking appropriately concerned. ‘You’re not that far away here, though, are you? And little Evie’s still at the sleep-and-eat stage. You might have to think about a babysitter later, of course.’
Melissa looked thoughtfully at her. ‘Yes.’
Bait taken, Jade thought, pleased. ‘So, you’ll be working tonight then?’ she asked, happy to leave the seed to germinate now it had been planted.
‘I’m off to the university art class,’ Melissa said, surveying her ‘masterpiece’ and then collecting up the workshop key from the bench. ‘They have a new life model so I thought I’d grab the opportunity to make a few more sketches.’
Pausing before heading for the door, she looked around, as if checking all was in order, although there was precious little order in here. As far as Jade could see, the place was a mess. Not somewhere she’d want to spend time hiding away from her children. Jade would have cherished every second with her baby, if only…
Dismissing that thought, she smiled and widened her eyes in pretend surprise. ‘What, as in naked life model?’
‘As the day he was born.’ Melissa smiled coyly. ‘Quite a tasty model too,’ she added, waggling her eyebrows suggestively, which was extremely irritating.
Jade smiled serenely. ‘The one you’ve modelled your sculpture on?’ she asked, nodding back to the clay monstrosity adorning the workbench.
‘The very same.’ Melissa looked pleased with herself.
‘Hmm…’ Jade cocked her head to one side, perusing the sculpture interestedly. ‘Well, I must say I wouldn’t mind measuring him up with my pencil.’
‘You might need a big one,’ Melissa quipped, and blushed. ‘But whatever you do don’t tell Mark I said that. ‘I wouldn’t want him measuring himself up and finding himself lacking.’
‘My lips are sealed,’ Jade laughed, zipping her lips. ‘It’s nice of him to help out with the kids. I mean, I know he’s their dad and everything, but…’
‘Some men wouldn’t,’ Melissa finished knowingly. ‘True, sadly. Mark can’t always, of course, but he tries, depending on his workload.’
Jade nodded. ‘Worth holding onto then?’
‘Definitely. And I intend to,’ Melissa assured her, her expression smug. Like the cat that’s got the cream – and knows it. Fittingly, she even had green eyes. They were quite nice, Jade supposed, in a beguiling, childlike way. It was no wonder Mark’s natural instinct was to look after the woman. Jade had known him to be that kind of man the first time she met him. A good man. A caring man.
‘Talk of the devil,’ Melissa said, worry creasing her brow as she checked the number on her ringing mobile.
Mark calling, Jade gathered. And what was Melissa’s reaction? Delight that he was calling? Excitement? No. She was worried, plainly only for herself. Mark didn’t need a vulnerable woman in his life. He needed someone who understood him. Someone to protect him from women like this one, who was clearly taking advantage of him.
‘Oh, Mark…’ Melissa sighed disappointedly into her phone. ‘I was just waiting for you to come…’ Trailing off, she glanced at Jade, her expression changing to one of concern as she went on, ‘No, no, it’s fine. Of course I understand.’
Of course I understand, Jade mimicked silently. The woman wasn’t capable of understanding anything but her own needs, as far as Jade could see. Presumably Mark’s workload wasn’t going to allow him to come home and babysit her children, after all. Good. That could work nicely to Jade’s advantage.
‘It’s not the end of the world,’ Melissa assured him. ‘I can always reschedule. Just concentrate on what you have to do. Those poor parents. They must be going out of their minds…’ Smiling in Jade’s direction, she turned to walk down the path a little, in search of privacy.
As if Jade wanted to listen to her false sentiment anyway. Sighing contemptuously, she turned to close the workshop door. She was about to pull it to, when the cat that Mark had rescued slinked past her into the workshop. Jade glanced behind her to see Hercules, panting and prancing on the lawn. Obviously, the dumb animal had been chasing the cat, as if it could ever catch it.
‘Scat,’ she hissed in the dog’s direction, glancing quickly over her shoulder, lest Melissa hear her. Hercules might just ruin things for her, Jade had realised. Were it not for the fact that Mark clearly doted on the dog, even talking to the flea-ridden thing when he was out walking it, Jade would have rid herself of that particular problem. She was beginning to wish she had. Rat poison would soon put a stop to it growling at her.
Stepping back into the workshop after the cat, Jade was about to call it – though she wasn’t sure by what name, as it was actually a stray – when, in one swift feral leap, it sprang from the floor up to the workbench. Whoops. Jade winced as the sculpture teetered. And then surveyed the cat thoughtfully as it padded to the end of the bench and back again to weave itself around the sculpture, which really was rather close to the edge.
Damn. Jade’s plan to close the door and let the cat do its worst was foiled as she realised that Melissa had finished her call. She couldn’t afford for her to peer back and see that she’d shut the bloody cat in with her precious works of art. However…
‘Shit!’ she said out loud, hearing Melissa coming towards her, and then moved – with the agility of the cat – across to the bench. ‘I’ve got it. Don’t panic,’ Jade said, her best relieved expression in place as Melissa followed her in. ‘I saw it teetering.’ She nodded towards the sculpture, which was now on its side, resting on her hand. ‘Hercules chased Felix in.’ She hurriedly christened the cat. ‘I’m really sorry. I moved as quickly as I—’
‘Oh God, don’t be,’ Melissa cut in, her concern only for her sculpture as she step
ped across to unburden Jade of it. ‘It was Hercules’s fault. She’s always up to mischief. It’s like having another child sometimes, I swear.’
Righting the sculpture on the bench, she turned to look at Jade. ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘Thank God you were here.’
Jade saw the woman close her eyes, clearly immensely relieved, and considered that she’d earned herself another brownie point. ‘But preferably catless?’ she asked, turning to pluck the newly christened cat up.
‘It wasn’t Felix’s fault, was it Felix?’ Melissa drew a hand down the cat’s back as Jade cuddled it. ‘It was that naughty Hercules, wasn’t it, sweetie?’
Oh no. Jade wasn’t sure she could handle this woman baby-talking to animals, but she smiled brightly anyway.
‘Bad Hercules,’ Melissa said, leading the way out again and making sure to lock the door once Jade had exited behind her. ‘Behave.’ She scowled in the dog’s direction. ‘Or you’ll be tied up.’
Jade mentally shook her head. She would swear to God the woman was waiting for the dog to acknowledge her as she wagged a finger at it.
‘Problem?’ she asked, as they headed back towards the house. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I gathered it was Mark calling.’
‘He’s been detained.’ Melissa sighed resignedly. ‘It can’t be helped,’ she added quickly. ‘It looks as if it might be a child abduction case.’
‘Oh no. How heartbreaking.’ Jade’s step slowed. She glanced at Melissa, suitably stricken, though she imagined the only people the abusive, alcoholic parents would be heartbroken for were themselves.
‘Dreadful.’ Melissa shuddered. ‘Having little ones, Mark always takes these cases to heart.’
‘You’re disappointed though, I bet,’ Jade ventured sympathetically. ‘I don’t blame you. I would be. It can’t be easy being cooped up with two little ones all day.’
The Babysitter: A gripping psychological thriller with edge-of-your-seat suspense Page 4