He took her by the arm and led her toward the double swing doors. She stopped and turned to him, pleading. “Please?”
He was surprised by the emotion in her voice. “Okay. Now go home and get some rest. You look exhausted.”
Laura left, and on her way home, she found herself shaking. She was so thankful, so grateful, that she was on speaking terms with her son again; it brought home to her how much she’d missed him. And Wendy had been in touch. She was apprehensive about what she’d said, but Daniel didn’t seem angry with her anymore, so perhaps some good had come out of her disastrous visit. The problem of Cherry was still very much present, but she blocked that out for now and concentrated on small mercies. Daniel was willing to meet up. Maybe he’d start to believe her.
53
Saturday, November 7, 10:39 p.m.
“HEY, MUM, I’M JUST GOING HOME TO CHANGE. IF YOU STILL WANTto talk, I’ll come over. If you’re asleep, though, don’t worry, as I’m pretty tired too. We can always do it tomorrow. I’ll give it half an hour or so, and if you haven’t called me back, I’ll assume you’ve gone to bed.”
“To hear the message again, press two, to save, press—”
She’d missed his call. Furious with herself, Laura checked when the message had arrived. Only twenty minutes ago, thank God. She rang him back straightaway, cursing herself for falling asleep and not hearing the phone.
She’d come back from the hospital and tried to keep busy; then as the day wore on, she found herself getting more anxious. What if he changed his mind? What if Cherry called him about something and he had to go straight home? As the evening drew in, she’d tried to distract herself by reading, but eventually the toll of the weeks of sleepless nights had overtaken her and she’d fallen into a deep, dreamless slumber.
She got up from the sofa and paced the room, listening. With every ring, her heart sank further, and then she got the dreaded voice mail.
“Daniel, I missed your call. I still want to meet. You said you’dstill be up? Please, can you come over? Maybe you’re in the shower or something . . . let me know. I’ll wait up, so don’t worry about it being late.”
She hung up and was suddenly swamped with a sense of isolation. She looked at the clock: 10:43. There was still time. She tried to settle down in front of the TV. After ten minutes, she got up and made a cup of tea, putting her phone in her trouser pocket; she did not want to miss another call. It was while she was waiting for the kettle to boil that she realized Moses still wasn’t in. She opened the bifold doors and, standing safely in the light, still inside the kitchen, banged his food dish on the patio. He didn’t come running. Instead she heard a faint, pitiful meowing from somewhere at the bottom of the garden.
“Moses?” she called, and he answered with a mewl. Something was wrong.
She’d have to go out to get him. She looked out at the dark garden and cursed her cat. Switching on the outdoor lights, she could see the path through the middle of the lawn, the builders’ plastic barriers, the stainless-steel water feature, but nothing in the shadows at the far end. The end where Moses’s cries came from.
Laura decided to do it as quickly as possible. She stepped outside and the coolness of the night enveloped her. Forging up the garden, with more courage than she was feeling, she kept her mind focused on the job at hand, calling Moses until she could locate his mews. It wasn’t until she got right to the back, where the trees covered the fence, that she saw him, or rather his paw. It was batting through a piece of broken fence, trying to move it so he could get through.
Laura bent lower so she could see better. Somehow a piece had been dislodged, but it was swinging back over the hole every time Moses tried to move it.The foxes must have done it,thought Laura, as it was only a few inches wide and she’d seen them coming into the garden from the back.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get you out,” she said, and pushed the fencesection to one side, but for some reason he wouldn’t come through.
“Come on, hurry up.” Laura could feel the shadows start to encircle her, and she wanted to get back inside, but Moses still wouldn’t move.
“What’s the matter?” she asked, the hairs prickling on the back of her neck. She turned to look back to the house and it seemed a long distance away, all of a sudden, across a great expanse of garden that she had to cross. To the sides, beyond the reach of the lights, it was still dark and she could see nothing. She reached through the fence and tried to grab Moses by the scruff of his neck, but he was reluctant to be caught; then she finally got him. She put him on her shoulder, where he started purring uncontrollably.
Laura looked back toward the open door of the house, with the light flooding from the kitchen. The breeze picked up and the trees rustled behind her. She shivered. As soon as she ran, she felt as if someone was chasing her. She clutched Moses and heard herself whimper, didn’t dare look round. Fear pricked at her skin, escalating as she fled across the garden, until finally she leapt inside and slammed the door shut behind her. She frantically tried to turn the key, but her hands slipped. She dropped Moses; then with two hands, she wrenched the key across and heard it lock. Gasping, she peered through the window. There was no one there.
Her phone beeped in her pocket, startling her. It was from Daniel, a text: Sorry, was in the shower. Coming over now.
Oh, thank God.She almost cried with relief. “Daniel’s coming, Moses.”
Laura hated being in the house alone. It was getting late, and would be even later by the time he arrived—maybe she could even persuade him to stay the night. She sent a quick reply, then went back into the living room and sat on the edge of the sofa, waiting for him to arrive.Daniel is coming.She was suddenly swamped with a feeling that was almost euphoric. Her phone was still in her hand. Was it too late to call Izzy? She decided to give it a try.
“What’s happened?” her friend asked quickly.
“Oh, nothing, nothing. Sorry, I know it’s late, but nothing bad’s happened. In fact, the opposite. Daniel’s coming over to chat. I saw him at the hospital today and he said he’d come over after his shift.”
“Oh, darling, that’s brilliant. About time.”
“I think—I think he’s getting a little bit suspicious, or something. Realizes all’s not what it seems with Cherry.”
“Really.How do you know this?”
“Just something he hinted at in the hospital.”
Izzy took a deep breath. “Hallelujah.”
