‘Go in the front room,’ she says. But she doesn’t follow me; instead, she takes her time closing the front door and then makes a show of sorting out the shoes that are piled up there. I don’t know what game she’s playing – Liv never tidies up anything.
Even before I open the front-room door, I know for sure it’s a trap, but I go in anyway, because I need to know Kieren is okay and his safety comes before my own.
He’s slouched on the sofa, staring at the TV, one of his legs casually crossed over the other as if he feels at home here. Richard. He doesn’t even flinch when he sees me and barely glances in my direction.
‘You’d better be here to tell me you’re putting things right,’ he says, wiping his nose with his sleeve, his eyes still fixed on the TV.
I stay in the doorway and Liv barges past me, plonking herself on the sofa next to Richard. They are too cosy, too comfortable with each other; I sense it immediately.
‘Where’s Kieren?’ I ask, unable to keep the anger from my voice. Something isn’t right here; they are too smug.
Liv snorts. ‘What’s it to you? None of your bloody business!’
‘He’s my brother, and I’m more of a mother to him than you’ve been since the second he was born, so it is my business. Where is he?’
Richard leans forward and rests his arm on Liv’s knee. ‘You don’t just get to come in here and ask all sorts of sodding questions. Now, what are you doing about the police? Because the way I see it, you’ve now got two things to tell them you were wrong about.’ He’s too calm and I don’t like it. Too in control. They know something I don’t.
‘What are you talking about? What’s the second thing?’
He leans further forward. ‘I don’t appreciate the police knocking on my door in the middle of the bloody night, asking whether I was in London that night months ago. Prying into my business. I already told you, bitch, that I have an airtight alibi. But you still thought you’d try, didn’t you?’
So they did chase it up after all. That’s something, at least. ‘Yeah, I’m not letting you get away with that, or your pathetic threats. I’m still here, aren’t I, Richard? So I guess you were full of shit.’ My words mask the fear I’m feeling inside. After all, I don’t know this man, and if he’s anything like his cousin he won’t think twice about hurting me. And what have they done with Kieren?
‘You think you’re such a tough bitch, don’t you?’ He laughs, and beside him Liv joins in. She’s being exactly how she was with Johnny and that can only mean one thing: there’s something going on with these two. ‘Well, you weren’t so tough when Johnny was beating you half to death, were you? A bit of a mess, by his account. You’re not as hard as you think you are, Josie.’ A smile spreads across his face. That night in the car I didn’t notice the thick scar under his eye, but now I see it clearly. This man is no stranger to fighting.
Ignoring my fear, and Richard’s statement, I turn to face the woman who will never be my mother. ‘Just tell me where Kieren is.’ I try to keep my voice calm, even though my panic is rising.
Liv scrunches her whole face and suddenly she looks twenty years older. ‘Who do you think you are? If you’re not going to help Johnny then you can get the fuck out. I’ve tried to warn you, but whatever happens to you now is your own fault. Just get out of my house, Josie.’ She hisses her words at me.
‘Okay,’ I say. ‘That’s fine with me.’ And when they both turn back to the television I walk away and shut the door. Then I run to the stairs and climb them two at a time. I’ve got to know if Kieren is here, and I’ll deal with whatever those two do to me after I’ve checked.
Within seconds I hear heavy footsteps following me, and Richard shouting at me to get downstairs. But I don’t listen. I fling open Kieren’s bedroom door – preparing myself to expect the worst – and I’m shocked to find him here, asleep in his bed. The commotion makes him stir and he slowly sits up, squinting into the light from the hall. ‘JoJo?’ he murmurs, his voice thick with sleep. ‘You’re here!’
But before I can ask if he’s okay, Richard grabs me by my hair and drags me backwards, throwing me towards the stairs, my head crashing into the wall. But I ignore the pain. ‘Why is Kieren in bed already? Why hasn’t he been at school?’
Liv is on the stairs now, her eyes almost popping out of her head, wild with all the hatred she has for me. ‘He’s ill, you stupid cow! Now get out of here – or this time it’ll be me calling the bloody police.’
‘I’ll see her out,’ says Richard, grabbing my arm and pulling me up.
And then I hear Kieren’s voice again and turn to see him standing behind his bedroom door, his face the only part of him visible. ‘JoJo,’ he says, his eyes filling with tears. ‘Don’t go.’
‘It’s okay, Kieren,’ I say, shrugging out of Richard’s grasp. ‘I’ll see you soon. Don’t you worry about anything, I’ll be back.’
‘No, you won’t,’ Richard says once we’re downstairs. He shoves me towards the front door, then leans down and whispers in my ear, his sticky breath hot against my skin. ‘I’ll kill you, Josie. Do you understand? Johnny should have done it in the first place, but don’t worry, I’ll make sure it happens. I won’t even have to get my hands dirty.’
And then he gives one final shove and I’m outside, the heels of my palms scraping against the pavement as I break my fall.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Mia
* * *
Alison does everything I ask of her; we visit several flats and she puts down a deposit on one in Hammersmith. It’s currently empty so is available immediately, but the letting agent tells us they need to check references and get paperwork sorted from the landlord, so it will be at least Thursday before she can move in.
It’s only Monday now, but Freya is happy to stay with Pam and Graham until then, and the extra days buy me more time.
I watch Alison whenever I can, studying her carefully, and with each passing day she seems to become more confident, moving further away from the timid woman who walked into my office on that first day we met. As far as I know, she’s had no contact with Dominic, and she’s spending less and less time on her phone, so, on the surface, at least, it appears that she’s making an effort to start her new life. But it is almost too perfect, too staged, and if it hadn’t been for her watching Will and me in bed the other night, I might have begun to trust her.
I’ve told Alison I’m going on a course today, because now I have everything in place to catch her out with her lie.
Dominic has agreed to meet me and I’ve made sure it’s somewhere public. I don’t want to be alone with him in his house and I can’t risk him finding out Alison has been staying with me. So now I’m in a coffee shop, close to where Zach used to work, and Dominic is late. I’ve considered the possibility that he might not turn up at all, but I’m willing to bet he’s so desperate for information on Alison that he’ll make sure he gets here.
Twenty minutes later he rushes through the door, scanning the room until he spots me. ‘Mia, I’m so sorry.’ He pulls out a chair and sits down. ‘I had a meeting that overran and then had to get back to Ealing. Thanks for waiting. And thanks for calling. You said you’d heard from Alison?’
‘Yes, that’s right. But there’s no way I’m telling you where she is.’ I hold my breath and wait for his reaction.
‘What? Why? What do you mean?’
‘I’ve seen her bruises, Dominic. First-hand. The bruises that you left all over her body.’
He leans forward and bangs his knuckles on the table. ‘Whoa, hold on! If you’re talking about that small bruise on her arm, that was an accident. She was hysterical and I was trying to calm her down. Maybe I grabbed her a bit too hard and it… it left a mark. But there’s no way I’d hurt her deliberately.’
‘A mark is not how I’d describe it. But I’m sure the police have already talked to you about that. Anyway, that’s not the only reason I’m here.’
‘Wait, Mia, what are you talking about? What police?’