Where the Memories Lie

 

‘We’ve got to tell Anna and Charlotte now,’ I whispered down the phone. ‘The police told me that it was definitely Katie in the garage.’

 

‘Well, they haven’t bothered to phone me and let me know!

 

What if Charlotte saw Rose in the village and she got nasty with her?’

 

‘I don’t think they planned on seeing me today, I just caught them leaving Chris’s house and they wanted to talk to me. No doubt they’ll want to speak to you again, too. There’s something else, as well, as if it isn’t already bad enough. Katie was pregnant.’

 

She was silent on the other end for so long I thought we’d been cut off.

 

‘Nadia? Are you still there?’

 

‘Um . . . yes. Um, that was a shock.’

 

‘That’s what I said. They asked Chris to do a DNA test. And they’re testing one from Tom, too.’

 

‘Chris? He can’t have kids.’

 

201

 

Sibel Hodge

 

‘I already told them that.’

 

‘It could be Jack’s baby, I suppose, if something was going on.’

 

‘The police think she would’ve terminated it if it was Jack’s, and I think they’re right. But, anyway, I agree with you about Rose. She can be pretty volatile, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she turned up here drunk and upset. Maybe we should go round to see her and apologise.’

 

‘We don’t even know that Dad did anything yet so how can we apologise?’

 

‘Even if he didn’t actually . . .’ I lowered my voice again so Anna wouldn’t hear me from downstairs, ‘. . . kill her, then he still knew something and covered it up, so, yes, I think we should go and apologise.’

 

‘I don’t know . . . What if she gets violent? Look, talk to Ethan about it.’ There was some rustling on the other end.

 

‘Who will get violent?’ Ethan asked.

 

‘I’ll explain when I come over. I’m going to bring Anna. I think it would be best if we all tell the girls together. And it would probably be better for Anna if we didn’t tell her here.’

 

‘Tell them what?’ I heard the weariness in his voice. ‘What else has happened?’

 

‘I’ll be there in ten minutes, OK?’

 

Nadia and Lucas liked everything minimalist. They’d hired Ethan to design their house on a plot of land on the other side of the village. Some of the locals had protested at the planning meeting, saying it was too modern and not in keeping with the traditional stone cottages that made up a lot of the area. This house was more a cube, made of lots of glass and white concrete. It wasn’t my thing ? I always thought it felt too sterile, like a show house ? but they loved 202

 

Where the Memories Lie it. And on the upside, at least there was lots of light. There were no photos on shelves. Actually, there weren’t any shelves anywhere, just display cabinets with closed glass doors and downlighters. Maybe they had a point about the minimalist thing. No shelves equalled no dusting, which would save time. I made a note to myself to remember that. There were photos on the walls, though, instead of paintings. In the kitchen was a black and white one of Nadia and Lucas taken years ago by Chris, probably about the time Katie went missing. Chris always preferred to be behind the camera rather than in front of it. And he took very good pictures. In this one, they were mucking around in the garden of Lucas’s parents’ house, pretending to tango, and Chris had caught them as Lucas dipped Nadia backwards, her long hair swishing to the floor, one leg bent in a sexy pose. Lucas’s arm supported her around her waist, and they were both staring into each other’s eyes with a look of pure adoration and happiness.