Where the Memories Lie

 

 

‘Maybe.’ I shrugged. ‘Did Nadia confront her about it?’

 

‘Yeah, but Katie denied it. Then Chris finished with her a few days later, which I was glad about.’

 

‘Well, people change, don’t they? We all do things when we’re younger that we regret. Are you saying you were the model child?’

 

I snorted.

 

‘No, of course not, but she was a thief and a liar and a troublemaker.’

 

‘Well, whether she was a thief or liar is not the point.’

 

‘What is the point, then? That you’d rather believe Dad is a murderer than that Katie didn’t just run away? She could’ve changed her name.’ He gave me a knowing smirk. ‘That’s why there are no medical records. Did you think about that?’

 

I hadn’t thought of that. It was possible, I supposed, but in my heart I knew that wasn’t right.

 

‘Or she could’ve moved abroad.’

 

128

 

Where the Memories Lie

 

‘No, I remember asking Mr Cook that almost a year after she’d gone and he said she’d never applied for a passport. And anyway, why would Tom tell me he’d buried her under the garage?’

 

‘He told you he’d killed Georgia, for God’s sake, and she’s perfectly fine!’

 

‘Like I said, he’s mixing up the stories. I could understand him getting confused about Georgia, but Katie’s different. She really did go missing and hasn’t been heard from again.’

 

‘We are not digging up the garage because Dad’s mixing up stories.’ He opened the fridge door, pulled out a beer without offering me one and unscrewed the cap. He took a big swig, his eyes angry narrow slits.

 

‘Look, I know how this sounds, but—’

 

‘I don’t think you do. Are you actually listening to what you’re saying?’

 

I stood up, poured a glass of chilled white wine from the fridge and slumped back down on the stool. Sod the headache. I needed to feel the warmth of alcohol as it broke through the cold, hard horror and softened everything around the edges, making it all fuzzy and less real, less horrific.

 

‘We’re not going to the police. If we do, we’ll have forensics and officers swarming around. We live in a village! Everyone will find out about this. Imagine how they’ll react! This is going to affect all the family, and the ones who will suffer the most of all will be Anna and Charlotte, so you need to think very carefully before you carry on with your crusade.’

 

‘I’ve thought about that. Of course I have. I’ve been plagued with thoughts about what this could mean for all of us. The damage it will do to the whole family. But how can we ignore it? Just because he’s got Alzheimer’s doesn’t mean he’s not telling the truth.

 

We have to tell the police! How can we suspect she’s under there and not do anything?’

 

129

 

Sibel Hodge

 

‘ We don’t suspect anything. You do.’

 

‘So, you’re perfectly happy with walking over a skeleton, if she’s down there, are you?’ I challenged him with a tilt of my head.

 

‘You’re perfectly happy with Anna and us living in this house with the possibility there’s a fucking body out there? ’ I knocked back a third of my wine.

 

He blew out an angry sigh, hand on hip.

 

‘You should’ve heard him. He was scared and upset and he kept saying it was an accident.’

 

Ethan clamped his jaw shut tight, the muscles working under the skin.

 

‘I think that she was seeing him secretly. I think she wanted him to get her away from Jack and Rose because—’

 

‘Why would she want that? It’s insane!’

 

‘Because Tom had money. She’d set her sights on Chris – don’t you remember? How she kept pressuring him to get a place together and settle down?’