There’s an almighty bang and I realise with a sinking sensation that I’ve rear-ended the car in front – a newish looking Lexus. I hadn’t even noticed there was a car there; I obviously wasn’t concentrating. I turn back to where the couple were walking a second ago and catch sight of a flash of red disappearing around the corner of a side street. If that really was Dina, I can’t let her disappear. I have to go after her!
I fling open my door at exactly the same time as the guy in the Lexus exits his car.
‘I’m sorry,’ I say, barely concentrating on him. ‘I’ll be back in a minute!’ I take off down the street after the couple.
‘Hey! Where d’you think you’re going?!’ A hand grips the shoulder of my coat and yanks me backwards.
I half turn and try in vain to shake him off. The man’s face is red and he’s wearing a look of outrage.
‘Let go of me!’ I cry. ‘I have to… I said I’ll be back in a second! I just… I saw someone who I think might be my sister—’
‘You’re not going anywhere until I’ve got your details! You can’t just run off from the scene of an accident.’ The man is tall and broad shouldered, well groomed, wearing a suit. ‘This car is brand new! How the hell did you get a licence? You weren’t even looking at the road. I saw you in my mirror, staring over there at the pavement like an idiot.’
‘Honestly, I’m sorry,’ I repeat, shaking myself free of his grip and taking a step away from him in the direction of where the couple disappeared. ‘Look, please just let me quickly go and see if that’s my sister. She’s literally just gone down that road. Please. Would you mind?’
‘Would I mind?’ he says incredulously. ‘Yes, I would mind. You need to give me your details.’
‘I’ll only be a minute and then I’ll come straight back, I promise.’ If the man didn’t look like he’d tackle me to the ground, I’d run after them and deal with the consequences of the crash later.
‘If you do a runner, I’m calling the police. I just don’t bloody believe this. I wasn’t even supposed to come through Shaftesbury, but there was flooding, so the satnav brought me this way. This is all I need!’
I feel like crying, but I can’t add a police enquiry to everything else going wrong in my life. ‘I wasn’t going to run off, I just need to… oh never mind. Can we do this quickly then?’ I resign myself to the fact that I’m going to have to stay here and deal with this.
He rolls his eyes and mutters under his breath, shepherding me back down the street.
Before moving our cars to the side of the road, he takes photos of both vehicles from all angles. Then we spend a good few minutes exchanging numbers and insurance details. And all the while I’m cursing myself for not getting away from him in time to see if that really was my sister.
Finally, the man calms down somewhat and apologises. ‘I’m sorry for shouting at you and grabbing your coat. It’s just, it’s a brand new car.’ He looks genuinely miserable and I end up feeling sorry for the trouble I’ve caused him. Finally, he gets back into his Lexus and I don’t waste any more time. I dash across the road and head down the side street – a narrow residential road with a lot of parked cars – but, unsurprisingly, all this time later I can’t see the couple anywhere.
They could have gone into one of the properties or got into a car and driven away. Why did I have to crash into that stupid car? I’m such an idiot. I spend the next twenty minutes walking up and down the side street, peering down connecting roads and into people’s windows, trying not to look suspicious. The last thing I need is for someone to call the police, thinking I’m casing the area. It feels like I’m wasting my time anyway. They’re obviously long gone. I berate myself for not concentrating on the road. But it really shocked me to see Dina’s face again after so many years.
Of course, I only saw her from a distance, so I know the chance of it actually being her is slim. After all, I haven’t heard from my little sister in ten years.
Not since she went missing.
Nine
NOW
When I finally reach Celia’s bungalow, I’m properly shaking, and it’s got nothing to do with Madeline’s weird new attitude towards me. Did I really just see Dina walking along that road? Or am I losing the plot? I barely even register the fact that the front of my Corsa is all banged up. Things are so out of kilter at the moment that my car accident feels like barely more than a blip. Everything has been overshadowed by that possible sighting of my sister.
But if she’s really back, then why hasn’t she been in contact? And who was the guy she was with? I guess I should call Dad. Then again, I don’t want to get his hopes up.
Outside, the sky is so dark and heavy with rain it feels like dusk, not nine in the morning. Celia’s red Smart car is parked in the drive and her kitchen light is on. I see her at the window washing up, her head bowed over the sink. As I head towards the front door she glances up and waves, her face lighting up at the sight of me. Good. At least she’s not blanking me too.
I don’t bother knocking. Celia is at the door in seconds, wiping her wet hands on a green and white checked apron that’s tied over her jeans and grey wool jumper. ‘Hello, love, this is a nice surprise. Haven’t seen you for a few days.’
‘Hi, Celia.’ I step into the hallway with its familiar smell of freesias and Pledge furniture polish. ‘Sorry I’ve been AWOL; things have been crazy recently.’
‘You staying for a coffee?’
‘I’d love one.’
‘Come through.’
I follow Celia into the kitchen, catching wafts of her perfume, White Linen by Estee Lauder, as she walks, her neat grey-brown waves bobbing. Passing all the framed family photos on the wall, I catch sight of a familiar one taken on our wedding day. Toby and I are both smiling at the camera as though it’s the happiest day of our lives. So why does my stomach clench at the memory?
I quickly shift my gaze to one of Toby and Nick as teenagers pulling goofy faces, envying them their closeness. How did Dina and I grow so far apart? Sometimes I wish I could go back in time to see whether I could have done things any differently. To work harder at our relationship. I only have one sister, but I may as well be an only child for all the contact we have now. If she really has come back, maybe it’s not too late to rectify things. Although, once again, it will be me doing all the running because I doubt very much that Dina’s come back to make up.
‘You coming?’ Celia calls from the kitchen.
I gladly move away from the wall of photographs.
Celia’s kitchen is homely but smart, with oak cabinets and white granite worktops. More framed photos of the family adorn the wall next to the fridge, but I don’t let my gaze settle on them. Instead, I sit down at the round oak table while my mother-in-law potters about the kitchen making us both a drink.
‘Are you okay?’ she asks, her back to me as she spoons coffee into the machine. ‘You look a bit frazzled, if you don’t mind my saying.’
‘I am frazzled. I just drove into the back of someone.’
‘What?!’ Celia turns around and marches over to sit next to me. ‘Why didn’t you say anything? Are you hurt at all? Whiplash?’
‘No, I’m fine. I think I’m just in shock.’
‘I’m sure you are!’
‘Not because of the crash though.’
‘What do you mean? What’s happened?’
‘I think I just saw my sister.’ Saying the words out loud to Celia brings up all the turbulence of her disappearance. I bite my lip to contain my emotions.
‘Your sister?’
I nod.
‘But… she’s been missing for years.’
‘She has.’ I haven’t let myself dwell on her disappearance too much over the past decade. Instead, I tried to get on with my life as best I could. Throwing myself into my work and family life. But today has brought up all the old feelings and resentments – my anger with Dad for not trying harder to search for her. The fact that it was all left to me. My fury with D
ina that she thought so little of Dad and me to not even bother to keep in touch. My outrage at how she behaved the last time we spoke. And the unnamed fear that maybe something bad happened, preventing her from getting back in touch with us.
If she really is back in Shaftesbury again, I’ll have to confront all my simmering emotions. I won’t have a choice, and the thought terrifies me.
‘Are you all right?’ Celia jogs me out of my spiralling thoughts. ‘Do you want to tell me what happened?’
I hesitate and then let out a sigh. ‘It might be nothing. But as I was driving over to yours, I saw this striking couple walking down the street. They caught my eye. And the woman… she was petite. Wearing a red coat. She had this long dark hair and her face was…’ I break off, unable to continue for the moment.
‘She looked like your sister?’
I nod. ‘The spitting image.’
‘Oh, love.’ Celia comes and puts an arm around me, giving me a brief, comforting squeeze before sitting back down. ‘Did you stop the car? Speak to her?’
‘That’s the thing.’ I clasp my hands behind my head and push out a breath. ‘I wasn’t concentrating on the road, and that’s when I drove into the car in front. The driver was livid; it was a brand new car.’
‘Oh you poor thing.’ She gets up again. ‘Let me finish making us that coffee. I’ll put some sugar in yours.’
‘So by the time I’d exchanged details with the other driver, my sister had gone. I’m so annoyed with myself for not going straight after her.’
‘Did she see you?’
‘No, at least I don’t think so. Although the crash was quite loud, so I suppose she might have looked over. But even if they did see the crash, they didn’t stick around. As soon as I could get away, I scoured the roads nearby, but there was no sign of her or the man she was with.’ I let out a frustrated growl. ‘Why did I have to go into the back of that car?’
‘No good worrying about that now. What’s done is done. Have you told Toby yet?’
‘No, I came straight here. I think I should call the police, tell them there’s been a possible sighting of my sister.’
‘Good idea. But, Zoe…’
‘What?’
‘Try not to get your hopes up too much. I remember what it was like back when she went missing. I don’t want you going through that stress again.’ She brings our drinks over to the table.
‘Thanks, Celia.’
‘Do you want to give the police a ring now, while I’m with you?’
‘I could, but I think I’d rather go to the station in person. I think they might take it more seriously if they talk to me face to face.’
‘Shall I come with you?’
‘I don’t want to put you out. I think I’ll just have this coffee and then pop down there.’
‘It’s okay, I’m not working until this afternoon. I’ll come along with you. Unless you want to be on your own? Don’t want to be a pushy mother-in-law!’
‘Don’t be daft. That’s the last thing you are.’
‘Good, that’s settled then.’
We finish our drinks in record time and Celia peers out the window. ‘Looks like it’s going to pour down any minute; we should take the car. Shall I drive? You probably still feel shaky after your prang.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Wouldn’t have offered otherwise.’ She pats my arm. ‘Come on.’ I follow her into the hall, where she pulls on a pair of tan leather ankle boots and grabs her raincoat off the bannister.
We slide into her car just as the first heavy spots of rain begin to splat onto the windscreen. ‘Thanks for doing this, Celia.’
‘It’s no problem at all, love. How are the plans for the party going?’
My shoulders drop. ‘Slow. There’s so much still to organise and not much time to do it. Especially now that…’ I tail off.
‘What? What is it?’
I find myself explaining about how Madeline has been acting strange around me – cancelling my nieces coming over at the weekend and snubbing me. I was planning to tell Celia about Toby meeting up with Madeline in our house, but when it comes to it, I can’t quite find the words. At the end of the day, Celia’s his mother. And part of me feels ashamed that this has happened, even though I know it’s totally irrational to feel that way. Also, if there does turn out to be an innocent explanation, then it will look like I don’t trust my husband.
‘Are you sure you’re not reading more into this than there actually is?’ Celia glances over at me as she pulls out of the driveway. ‘You do seem quite tense lately, Zoe. Which is absolutely not surprising given the stress of Christmas and work and the party. But maybe it’s like Madeline said and she was only thinking of you – taking some of the pressure off so that you could have a clear weekend.’
‘But if that’s the case, then why hasn’t she been returning my calls?’
‘Maybe she hasn’t had the opportunity. You know it’s her busiest time of the year at the moment. She was looking forward to her birthday trip away, but at the same time she was worrying because of having to delegate. And you know how hands-on she likes to be. I told her I’d love to help out more with Beth and Freya, but I’ve too many shifts at the hospital this month. I think I might cut down on my hours next year so I can lend more of a hand with my grandchildren.’
‘That would be lovely, Celia. You should definitely take things easier.’ I’m surprised and a little hurt that Madeline hasn’t confided any of her worries to me. We normally talk to one another about these types of things. But now it seems Madeline is growing closer to Celia, talking to her rather than me.
I try to bat away an unwelcome tinge of jealousy. I’d always thought of Celia as being closer to me than Madeline. Perhaps my mother-in-law is growing weary of me. I immediately dismiss that thought as my overtiredness talking.
‘I feel for Madeline, I really do, but she’s definitely avoiding me.’ I hate how petulant I sound.
Celia doesn’t reply and I’m worried she might be upset with me for going on about Madeline. I realise it was a bad idea to talk about my sister-in-law with Celia. She isn’t one for gossip or bad-mouthing people. Maybe she thinks I’m being out of order. I need to rectify my mistake.
‘Sorry, Celia. I’m sure you’re right. I think I’m just rattled after seeing Dina. Ignore me.’ I exhale, trying to get rid of all the negative thoughts swilling around my brain.
‘Look,’ Celia glances across at me again. ‘I’m going to tell you something that might shed some light on why Madeline may have been a bit off lately.’ She turns on the wipers as rain continues to splatter the windscreen. ‘I probably shouldn’t say anything, but I’m sure you can be discreet.’
‘Of course.’ I’m more than a little intrigued.
‘Madeline and Nick are going through a few difficulties in their relationship at the moment.’
‘Oh.’ That’s the last thing I expected. ‘Poor Madeline… and Nick, of course.’
‘I don’t know the ins and outs of it – I didn’t ask – but Nick confided that they’re going through a rough patch. That’s why he took her away for her birthday – so they could have some time on their own to fix things.’
‘Well that sounds hopeful. But…’ I tail off.
‘But what?’
‘It’s just… if that’s the case, why would Madeline be sniffy with me? It’s awful that they’re going through a rocky patch, but why take it out on me? Why not confide in me instead? I thought we were close.’
‘You are. But Madeline can be insecure and, given her circumstances, I think she might be a little jealous of your marriage, what with the anniversary party and everything. Give her some time. She’ll be fine.’
I guess that makes sense, but instead of putting my mind at ease, Celia has set it racing again. Could Madeline’s so-called jealousy have driven her to do something awful, like try to get closer to Toby? Or am I letting my imagination run away with me?
‘She was fine with me at
our taster lunch last week.’
‘Yes, you’re right, she was,’ Celia muses. ‘Well, I’m sure whatever the problem is, it won’t last. You girls will make it up. After all, you’re family. And Madeline’s very fond of you, no matter how she might be acting at the moment.’
I wish I could ask Celia to have a word with her, but that doesn’t seem fair. Maybe she will anyway, without me having to ask. ‘Thanks. I hope you’re right.’
‘Of course I am,’ she replies jokily. ‘You know, maybe this isn’t anything to do with you at all. Maybe she’s just worried about the appeal to stop the redevelopment. I know she’s been worrying a lot about it recently.’
‘Maybe.’ But I sense that Madeline’s problem has nothing to do with the appeal. It’s something more. Something personal. I suppose I should be relieved that Celia doesn’t know why Madeline’s been acting strangely. It means my mother-in-law isn’t involved in whatever’s going on.
‘Here we are.’ Celia flicks on the indicator. It’s only taken a few minutes to drive to the police station. I stare out of the windscreen in dismay. It’s bucketing down outside. Grey sheets of water sluice the exterior of Celia’s Smart car, running in rivulets down the icy pavement. ‘I hope that lot doesn’t freeze later,’ she comments, eyeing the weather through narrowed eyes while she swings expertly into a narrow parking space outside the station.
‘I think this space is for police cars only. The visitor car park is over there.’ I point to a large empty lot a few yards away.
‘Yes, but it’s pouring, Zoe. We’ll get drenched if we park so far away. We won’t be long. It’ll be fine, come on.’
The Wife: An unputdownable psychological thriller with a breathtaking twist Page 6