Louise Voss & Mark Edwards 3-Book Thriller Collection: Catch Your Death, All Fall Down, Killing Cupid. Mark Edwards
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was and asked if she’d seen Kate or knew where she was.
‘I don’t know,’ Maud replied. ‘Lil was talking about her the other day. But I wasn’t sure if she’d really been here or if she had imagined it. She doesn’t make much sense these days.’
‘I noticed.’
‘It comes to us all, dear.’
Vernon shuddered and thought, I’ll shoot myself first.
‘And you probably think you’d rather shoot yourself first, but you won’t.’
Vernon felt his temper heating up. What did this old crone know about him? Suddenly, he had to get out.
He pushed past Maud and ran down the stairs, not stopping to say goodbye to the nurse who had shown him to Lil’s room. He caught a glimpse of his reflection in the hall mirror. His face was burning. Quick to temper, that’s what his mother had said about him. It was true, but so what? He liked to think of it as passionate.
He switched on the GPS in his hire car and punched in some digits. Salisbury wasn’t too far away. Then he checked how to get to Miranda’s. He would try that first, and if Kate wasn’t there, he would head to Salisbury and find out what this Unit was and if this Leonard was still there. He vaguely remembered her wittering on about some medical trial she’d been involved in when she graduated – something to do with the common cold, but he couldn’t recall any details. But he still felt hopeful, like he was getting warm. He was going to get his son back. And if Kate stood in his way, he’d really lose his temper.
‘I don’t wanna stay at Auntie Miranda’s,’ Jack whined, halfway along the M40.
Kate twisted round in the passenger seat to see Jack’s sulky red face and downturned mouth. She and Paul had decided there was no further reason to be in Salisbury, after the visit to Sarah’s mother, and were instead heading north.
‘Oh Jack, you’ll have such a great time. Auntie Miranda told me that you’re going to go horse-riding and strawberry picking, and you can play in the sprinkler every day. Your cousins can’t wait to see you.’
‘Well, I can wait to see them,’ he huffed in reply, but Kate could tell that he was slightly mollified all the same. She shot a guilty look at Paul, who was driving. Yes, it was undoubtedly far less boring for Jack to be with his cousins than trailing round the countryside with her and Paul – but she couldn’t help feeling as if she was off-loading him for her own more selfish reasons . . . Paul smiled back at her, and she tried to dismiss the guilt. Miranda had moved house from the address that she’d been at for years – there was little chance of Vernon finding her new address; and she’d instructed Miranda not to reply to any emails from him. Jack should be perfectly safe with her.
‘Are we nearly there yet, Mummy?’
‘I think we must be, honey. We have to come off this motorway at Junction ten, and we’ve just passed Junction nine.’
‘Good. Because I’m bored and Billy’s thirsty . . . Mummy?’
‘Yes, Jack?’
‘Can I call Dad?’
Kate glanced at Paul again, in panic this time. She’d been dreading this request since they arrived in England. ‘Um, honey, I think Daddy’s on holiday too at the moment.’
‘I can call his cellphone. I know the number.’
‘I know you do, which is very clever of you. But . . . I don’t think his phone will work outside America. And anyway, it’s only ten o’clock here, which means it’s the middle of the night where Daddy is.’
‘I want to leave him a message. Why didn’t he take me on vacation? If he’s not in America it won’t be the middle of the night, will it? Where has he gone, anyway?’
Not the British Isles, please, Kate thought, although without much hope. She knew him well enough to suspect he’d jumped on the first available plane when he realised what she had done. She had texted him to say Jack was safe, and not to look for them – but it wouldn’t have made any difference. Since then she had kept her phone firmly switched off and hadn’t even turned it on to check her messages. Her fear that Vern would snatch Jack back again was so deep and overpowering that she couldn’t even allow herself to think about it. She might lose Jack for good. Hopefully, Vern would calm down, given time, and they could sort out access then. Just not now, when it was pride and spite that would be motivating his every action.
‘Oh, honey, I’m not exactly sure. And you know what? I think his cellphone is broken, because I tried to call it yesterday but it didn’t even ring.’ She winced at the blatant lie. ‘Anyhow, look, here’s the signpost for Junction Ten! We must be almost there. Let me just check the directions, so we don’t get lost on the way to the house.’
Miranda and her husband Pete’s house was a rambling, ramshackle Victorian pile on the edge of Churchill, a very picturesque Cotswolds village, with amazing views out over open countryside. Pete was a vet, and had just taken over the village practice, and Miranda was a self-confessed ‘professional home-maker’. Kate noted that her sister still appeared to live in the same old green wellies and shabby cardigan she’d had for years. Nobody would ever have guessed that they were sisters. Kate’s hair was chestnut brown and curly, and Miranda’s light brown and straight. Miranda’s eyes were brown, Kate’s blue. Kate was four inches taller and two stone slimmer. Miranda had absolutely no interest in science, but knew everything about how to grow perfect tomatoes; whereas Kate couldn’t even keep Busy Lizzies alive.
As they walked into the kitchen, Kate noticed Paul looking incredulously between her and her sister, and she grinned. Luckily she had forewarned Miranda on the telephone that she’d be turning up with Jack, and a man who was not her husband, in tow.
‘We’ve only been here four months. I’m so glad you managed to see it before we start renovating. It’s what you Yanks call a “fixer-upper”, isn’t that right?’ said Miranda, proudly gesturing to high-ceilinged rooms which flaked plaster as if suffering from psoriasis. ‘Lord knows when we’ll get around to it, with Pete working the sort of hours he is. I hope you’ll be able to stay for lunch, so you get to see him too? He said he’d try and pop back after his morning surgery.’
‘We’d love to – but we might have to make tracks soon. We’ve got a lot to do in a couple of days. Oh, and by the way, I’m not a bloody Yank!’ said Kate, jokingly. She was privately wondering how on earth Miranda could bear to bring up children in a dump like this. Yes, it would be incredible when it was finished – but it was going to take years. ‘The house is great, Manda. And thanks again so much for having Jack to stay. He’s been so excited about seeing his cousins.’
Another lie, thought Kate. All these little tiny lies knotting together in a ball. She pictured it like a ball of rubber bands, the lies getting bigger and bigger, stretching further and further around the ball. How many more times was she going to have to lie to Jack about his dad, and why he couldn’t speak to him?
‘Gosh, I haven’t been called Manda for years!’ Miranda exclaimed, smiling. ‘It’s good to see you, sis. I’m sorry I haven’t been better about keeping in touch.’
Kate felt guilty, and sad that she and her sister weren’t closer. But they had always had such different personalities, and it hadn’t helped that she didn’t really care much for her brother-in-law Pete. And Miranda couldn’t stand Vernon.
Later, Paul went out to play Swingball in the garden with Jack and his cousins, and Kate and Miranda were able to have a more private chat on the terrace, sipping Miranda’s homemade elderflower cordial; ice-cubes in the shapes of strawberries clinking around in the tall glasses. It was a beautiful summer’s morning, and the sounds of the countryside were all around – birds singing, cows mooing in a field nearby, a tractor rolling down the lane by the side of the house. For the first time, Kate envied her sister’s uncomplicated