Where the Memories Lie

 

 

Nadia did a mock shiver. ‘Oh, by the way, I invited Anna over for dinner after school. She asked if I had any stuff for her class’s car boot sale, and I’ve got tons of junk she can go through. It’ll take her a while so I suggested she might as well stay. Is that OK?’

 

‘Yes. Fine. How’s Charlotte feeling?’

 

‘Um . . . she’s still tired. I’ve made a doctor’s appointment at the surgery for her to have a blood test.’

 

‘Good.’

 

‘Are you seeing Dad today? I’m going in tomorrow. I’m organising that charity bash for the Dorchester Children’s Charity and I’ve got heaps to do still.’

 

‘You work too hard.’

 

‘It’s the least I can do. I just think of all those kids without families, or who are vulnerable and hurt, and it breaks my heart. I’d feel guilty knowing all that and not doing anything to help.’

 

72

 

Where the Memories Lie

 

‘I’ll go after work. Let’s hope he doesn’t come out with any other bizarre statements this week.’ I laughed.

 

‘Yeah, I felt quite an idiot going to see the police. I’m sure they’ve got plenty of real work to be getting on with and don’t need people wasting their time with ludicrous wild goose chases like that.’

 

‘You see that purple flower?’ Tom pointed to a large bush on the edge of the grounds.

 

I stopped walking and he stopped, too, since my arm was linked with his.

 

‘It’s a tiger’s eye iris.’

 

‘Very pretty.’

 

‘I had one of those in . . .’ he trailed off, staring at the plant, frown pinched as if he were waiting for a memory to come flooding in. Eventually he shook his head. ‘I don’t know.’

 

We sat on a bench at the far end of the garden that looked back onto the home.

 

‘I found out who Georgia Walker is.’ I chuckled. ‘You gave me the run-around there, for a while, let me tell you.’

 

‘Georgia.’ He looked at me and frowned again for a moment, as if rolling the name around in his ravaged brain. Then he smiled and nodded, glancing off in the direction of the flowers again. ‘She was kind. Very nice. I built an extension for her, you know.’

 

‘Yes, I know.’ I didn’t tell him that I’d found that out from Sergeant Downing.

 

‘It had been a long time since Eve died and I was going through a bad patch. Things were getting on top of me. You know how it is?’

 

He glanced at me. ‘I was lonely.’

 

‘You were seeing her?’ My eyebrows shot up.

 

73

 

Sibel Hodge

 

‘Yes.’ He smiled, and for a moment he looked like the old Tom.

 

Loving, strong, kind, happy. The patriarch who had kept the family together after Eve’s death.

 

‘I never knew.’

 

‘Neither did the kids. We didn’t tell anyone.’

 

‘How long did it go on for?’

 

‘Only about six months. She . . . she didn’t want children. She was set in her ways and wasn’t maternal or interested in taking on someone else’s children.’

 

‘I’m sorry.’ I squeezed harder. ‘You deserved some happiness and love.’

 

He shifted in his seat, his eyes rheumy. ‘Oh, but I did have that, Olivia. My family gave me that. They were the most impor-tant thing in the world. I’d do anything for them.’ He squeezed my hand tighter. ‘Wouldn’t you do anything for your family?’

 

I thought about Ethan and my precious, miracle daughter.

 

‘Of course I would.’

 

‘That’s why I had to do it, you see.’

 

I nodded. ‘Of course. You had to stop seeing her. I understand.

 

Your family came first.’

 

He stared at me blankly. ‘I had to do it. She wasn’t supposed to be there. No one was.’ He gripped my hand so tight it began to hurt. Tears in his eyes glistened in the sunlight. ‘It was an accident, you see. But I buried her.’

 

I swallowed hard, kicking myself for bringing up her name again. For some reason, whenever he thought about her, he got confused and agitated again. ‘No, you’re getting mixed up, Tom.