Staring askance at his mute phone for a second, Mark shook his head. Mel had chosen the house. A detached farmhouse in the peaceful countryside, but with neighbours close enough for it not to feel isolated, she’d loved it on sight, particularly the outbuilding, which was perfect for her workshop. A fantastic family home, she’d said, her glorious green eyes dancing with excitement as she’d viewed it. She’d been willing him to love it too. Mark had, but with reservations. Despite the obvious attractions – oak flooring, oak joinery, stone fireplaces and the airy feel to it, thanks to the many windows looking onto the spectacular Herefordshire countryside – it was going to need a hell of a lot of money spent on it. Even with the small trust fund Mel had been left by her mother, the renovation was going to have to be done as and when finances allowed, they’d both been aware of that. That hadn’t been a problem either. Until now, apparently.
Mark swallowed back an uneasy feeling, wondering whether her recent behaviour might be symptomatic of something more, something he hadn’t realised she might be struggling with. She hadn’t suffered postnatal depression after having Poppy, but might she be suffering with it now? Mark had no idea. He was debating whether to suggest Mel make a doctor’s appointment, which he was loath to do, recalling how hard she’d worked to be free of doctors and psychotic drugs after losing Jacob, but…
‘Hello, earth to Mark,’ Lisa said, standing next to his desk.
‘Sorry.’ Mark shook himself. ‘Miles away.’
‘I gathered. Coffee,’ she said, parking a mug next to his PC. ‘You look like shit,’ she added bluntly.
Running a hand over his unshaven cheek, Mark straightened himself up in his chair. He guessed he did, which wouldn’t go down well with Edwards. ‘Cheers, Lisa,’ he said, then feeling in need of a caffeine kick, picked up his coffee. ‘You do my ego the world of good.’
‘I’m thinking a decent night’s sleep might do you more good.’ Lisa cocked her head to one side, studying him thoughtfully. ‘I take it Evie’s disturbing your beauty sleep? Not that you need much beauty sleep, obviously.’
‘Obviously,’ Mark concurred, his mouth twitching into a smile. ‘Her routine’s gone to pot,’ he confided, glad, not for the first time, that he could talk to Lisa. It made life a whole lot easier at work, particularly now Cummings was back after his sudden mystery illness. It had been no surprise to Mark he’d gone off sick, probably hoping to avoid a confrontation with him. Mark’s anger boiled afresh as he recalled his treatment of Tanya Stevens.
Rolling her eyes, Lisa empathised. ‘Babies.’ She sighed expansively. ‘If anyone had told me what I was in for, I’d never have had sex.’
‘Still, at least it was only the twice, hey, Moyes? Brave bloke,’ Cummings commented crassly, winking over his shoulder as he swung by towards the coffee machine.
Lisa settled for giving him a finger rather than verbalising her thoughts. ‘I take it you’ve tried all the usual tricks?’ she asked Mark. ‘White noise, temperature, lighting, varying the rocking, breathing deeply if none of the above work?’
‘Yup, pretty much everything. Or rather, Jade has.’
‘Jade?’
‘The babysitter.’
‘Ah.’ Lisa nodded, but looked perplexed. ‘I didn’t know you had one.’
‘We do now,’ Mark said. ‘Live in, thank God. She’s amazing with the kids, but—’
‘Night excursions in the car not working then, sir?’ Cummings enquired sarcastically, as he sauntered back in the other direction.
‘Fuck off, Cummings,’ said Lisa, obviously noticing Mark’s agitation and answering for him.
Mark glanced disdainfully after Cummings. He really was a piece of work. ‘Do you mind if we, er…’ Looking back to Lisa, he nodded towards the door, where he could hopefully grab some advice about Mel out of earshot of the creep. Lisa had been a friend to Mel when she’d needed one, and with two kids of her own, certainly had a good perspective on that side of things.
‘With pleasure. There really is an obnoxious stench in here.’ Curling a lip in Cummings direction, Lisa about-faced and headed for the door.
‘So, what’s up?’ she asked Mark, once they were both in the corridor.
Mark started walking. The last thing he wanted was Cummings knowing any more of his business. ‘Not sure,’ he said, running a hand over his neck. ‘Maybe nothing.’
‘Which is why you’re coming in late again, not shaving…’
‘That obvious, is it?’ Mark would have to do something about that. ‘It’s Mel,’ he said. ‘I mean, it might be nothing to do with her and all to do with me, but she’s… I don’t know… tired all the time, edgy.’
‘Well, she’s bound to be tired with Evie’s feeding routine all over the place, Mark. It’s bloody hard work getting up umpteen times a night.’
‘I know, I know.’ Mark sighed and massaged his temples. ‘It’s just, she’s not getting up at night. That’s the point. She’s dead to the world. Doesn’t even hear Evie. Jade sees to her. She usually gets to her before I do. There’s plenty of milk in the freezer, so it’s not a problem, but…’ Not quite sure how to communicate what the problem really was, wondering again whether there even was one, he trailed uselessly off.
Lisa scanned his face. ‘You’re worried about her.’
‘A bit.’ Mark admitted, relieved. He felt like a traitor discussing Mel behind her back, but he really needed to know if he was being paranoid here – and Lisa would be the one to tell him if he was. ‘I might be blowing things out of proportion, but given what happened before, well, I wondered if you’d drop by on some pretext or other. Tell me what you think.’
‘Consider it done. I haven’t seen her in ages. It’ll be good to have a natter. I’m off early tonight – Anna’s got a dance class. I’ll pop by once I’ve dropped her off. And I’ll check out that babysitter while I’m at it, see if she fancies a bit of moonlighting. She sounds too good to be true.’
Nineteen
LISA
Babysitter?! Lisa gawked as a girl who looked more like she was auditioning for Baywatch than babysitting answered Mel’s door.
‘Hi.’ Arranging her face into a smile, Lisa averted her gaze from the girl’s breasts, not easily missed in the red tankini top she had on, which she’d paired with very short white shorts. Admittedly, there’d been a rare glimpse of early summer sun, but wasn’t she a little underdressed for the job?
‘Hi.’ The girl didn’t smile back.
‘Is Mel home?’ Lisa asked, feeling a bit spare on the doorstep. As if she were a ten-year-old kid calling for her mate and definitely under scrutiny from her mother.
‘She’s having a lie down.’ Waving vaguely behind her, the girl continued to look Lisa curiously over. ‘I’m not sure whether she’s sleeping.’
‘Oh. Well, I’m sure she won’t mind me going on up,’ Lisa said, nodding past her. ‘We’re old friends. I’m Lisa, Mark’s—’
‘Work colleague,’ the girl finished, clearly not about to shift her pretty little arse and allow her access anytime soon.
Smiling patiently, Lisa waited a few moments before asking, ‘And you are…?’
‘Oh God, sorry.’ The girl finally smiled back. ‘Jade. Mark’s babysitter. And Mel’s, of course. And I’ve obviously forgotten my manners.’ She moved aside at last, allowing Lisa access. ‘Come on in. I’ll go and give Mel a shout.’
‘No worries, I’ll just go on up,’ Lisa assured her, feeling uneasy as she stepped in, and not sure why – apart from the fact that Mel had obviously taken leave of her senses, dangling that sort of temptation under Mark’s nose. But Mark wasn’t like that. Lisa reminded herself of her tendency to label all men the same, having been married to the kind of abusive Neanderthal who made Cummings seem positively charming, and having more recently hooked up with a wanker who turned out to be shagging anything in a skirt, the younger the better. Mark was devoted to Mel. He’d never even looked in another woman’s direction, as far as Lisa knew. It didn’t make him a saint, but his dedication to his wife had been obvious when his life had been a complete shit fest.
‘I’ve got to go and get a jacket for Evie anyway.’ She waved at Evie, who was in her stroller, all kitted up to go out. ‘We’re off to the park while Poppy’s at her friend’s. Just wait there, won’t be a tick.’
Lisa watched her skip on up, trying hard not to judge her. She seemed friendly enough, after the initial hiccup on the doorstep. And she’d been right not to just allow anyone claiming to be a friend access to the house, Lisa supposed. She was obviously feeling the teeniest bit jealous.