I thought about the woman in the car ride from Clay Bank – stiff-backed, silent and nervy, barely sparing us a glance. Now, with her husband gone, she was warmer, her voice syrupy, her laughter just a little too loud. Only minutes ago, she’d sounded different. Sharper. Impatient. Almost … threatening.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were standing in frontof someone wearing a mask. And I didn’t trust what might be underneath.
I sat on the floor next to Beth, studying Mrs Webb. The way her long fingers hovered over the game pieces just a little too long before she set them down. The way her laughter almost felt too precise.
Our mum had laughed without thinking, on the spur of the moment. I could still hear it – warm and bubbling, the sound of home. We’d had good times, as well as bad. The memory ached inside me, sharp and sudden. I pushed it down and watched as Mrs Webb smiled again, her gaze moving towards the door, as if she was checking that we were still alone.
‘I’ll be the banker,’ she said, her voice cheerful but strained. ‘Janey, you can go first.’
I threw the dice, but couldn’t shake the unease that had settled on my chest. I thought Mr Webb might be annoyed if he was to return home now … but Mrs Webb had insisted we come downstairs with her. Her eyes were on me, watching with too much intensity. I moved my counter and handed Beth the dice.
Mrs Webb leaned back on the couch and smiled at Beth. But her gaze soon shifted back to me. ‘You two know about keeping yourselves safe, don’t you? Did they tell you how to keep safe at the children’s home?’
I shrugged. ‘We learned about stranger danger at school. Stuff like that.’
‘It’s not just strangers, though, is it? It’s easy to assume people are nice … but sometimes that’s just what they want you to see. But there are two of you and you should always stick together. Always look out for each other.’
I froze, my heart beating faster. Why would she say something weird like that?
My mind returned to what Mr Webb had told us.Don’t bother her. She’s busy. Maybe that was his way of warning us off being around her. It suddenly felt like we were playing a different game, something far more dangerous than Monopoly.
Beth, oblivious to any sinister undertones, laughed as she bought a property. ‘I’m gonna win, I’m gonna win!’
Mrs Webb chuckled at that, a low, rumbling sound. ‘I like a girl with confidence,’ she said, her eyes darting between us. Then she leaned forward slightly, lowering her voice. ‘But don’t get too cocky, Beth. Things can change very quickly in this game, and suddenly you’re way out of your depth.’
There was a glint in her eyes as she said it, something sharp and wary. Like shewantedto see Beth flinch. Her voice was smooth, but a warning wrapped in silk lay beneath it.
A door slammed, making the three of us jump. Within seconds, Mr Webb stepped inside the room clutching a full shopping bag. ‘What’s going on here? Didn’t I tell you not to bother Mrs Webb, girls?’
Mrs Webb scrambled to her feet, scattering the board. Her movements were sharp, almost frantic, and her new, easy manner had vanished, replaced by something much colder. Her fingers twitched at her sides, as if she didn’t know what to do with them. ‘It was Janey, David. She insisted I join them in the game because she was bored.’
I sat up straight. ‘What? That’s a complete lie! I never said that – I didn’t even want to play!’
Mr Webb caught my eye and shook his head, indicating I should keep quiet.
‘Go back to your room, girls,’ Mr Webb told us. ‘I’ll be up later to see that everything is tidy and put away.’
Back upstairs, my stomach churned. Were we being tested? I couldn’t work Mr and Mrs Webb out. One minute theyseemed like a regular, ordinary couple doing the right thing in fostering two orphaned sisters to keep them together, and at the next, one of them would say something that made me want to grab Beth in the middle of the night and run.
15
Thursday
Merri
The café is packed when I arrive, a low hum of conversation layered with the hiss of the coffee machine and the clatter of cutlery. The air is thick with espresso and fried food, a sharp contrast to the crisp, pine-scented breeze that drifted through the windows at Lakeview House.
I notice the light is different here, too – harsher, filtered through grimy glass rather than glinting off the water. Outside, the city churns relentlessly – cars beeping, people weaving in and out of each other’s paths. Everything urgent. Everything fast.
I spot Paige straight away, tucked into a corner by the window, her head bent over her phone. As I approach, she looks up and, for a split second, something unreadable shifts over her face. Then her expression smoothes into a smile.
‘Hey!’ she says, slipping her phone into her bag. ‘You made it.’
‘Sorry, the bus was late,’ I reply, draping my coat over the chair before we hug.
‘Bus?’ She laughs. ‘I thought you might turn up in a chauffeur-driven car.’
I grin. ‘Got to keep my feet on the ground, right? We got our old car fixed for now, but Dev is chomping at the bit to buy a new one.’
