He paces around for a moment and Tallulah has no idea whether he’s on the edge of calming down and cajoling her into a state of submission, or whether he’s about to kill her. But he does neither of these things. He draws himself up tall and straight, looks directly at her and says, ‘You know that’s it now, don’t you? You know you can’t be Noah’s mother any more. Not now. No court in the world would let a person like you raise a child.No court in the world. I’m going now, Tallulah. I’m going back to the house and I’m taking Noah, and you will never see him again. Do you hear me? You will never see him again.’
He hurls the ring box at her again and as he turns away, Tallulah feels her head fill with splintered shards of fear and rage. No, says every atom in her body; no, you do not get to take my baby;no, you do not get to take my baby. And she follows behind him, and she screams out, her arms outstretched, ready to pull him back, to stop him doing what he’s doing, going where he’s going. But as she leaves the room she sees that Scarlett is in the doorway in her wet underwear and that she is holding something in her hand, a bronze lump, carved into a shape that somehow resembles a group of people in a huddle, and that she is lifting it backwards over her head and then swinging it forwards again towards the crown of Zach’s head. She sees the bronze lump hit the back of Zach’s skull. She hears Scarlett’s scream of anger, Zach’s dull yell of pain. And she sees the blow fell him so that he lands in a perfect arc, face-first on to the white granite floor.
55
September 2018
The following morning starts early, as is always the way when Shaun has the twins. Jack is first on their bed, trying to steal Shaun’s phone off the bedside table and having a mock-battle with him. Lily follows a minute later, her fine brown hair fuzzed up into a thick knot at the back of her head that Sophie knows she will have to spend twenty minutes brushing out before they can leave the house. Over Lily’s shoulder, through a gap in the curtains, Sophie sees an inch of the grey damp day that the forecasters had predicted and she turns to Shaun and says, ‘Looks like it’s the water park today.’ And Shaun peers through the gap in the curtains and sighs and says, ‘Looks like it.’
The children are delighted and everyone runs downstairs to eat the special breakfast that Sophie got in for them: fat Americanpancakes, Nutella and Coco Pops. Sophie drinks coffee from a big mug, Shaun drinks an espresso from a tiny cup, the children chat and eat and drop Coco Pops on the floor and talk about how if they were at home their dog, Betty, would hoover up the spilled cereal. Rain splashes gently against the windowpanes and for a moment, Sophie feels at one, as though maybe this is how she’s been waiting to feel ever since they first arrived. South London seems distant, and for a moment she thinks that maybe she can do this after all. All they needed was to see the children. Shaun has already lost some of the brittleness he’s been displaying since he started his new job. The harsh haircut he had before they arrived has started to grow out and soften, and he can’t stop smiling, even when the twins are being testy.
She picks up her phone to google the opening times of the leisure centre in Manton, and as she does so, a message arrives from Kim.
They’ve got a warrant. They’re going to Dark Place. I feel sick.
Sophie takes a sharp intake of breath, before typing her reply.
Oh my God. That was quick. When will they give you more developments?
They’re just putting a team together. Maybe in a couple of hours? I can’t breathe.
Is there anything I can do?
She knows it’s the wrong thing to have said the minute she presses send.
Could you come over? Maybe. If you’re not busy?
Sophie looks up from her phone. Lily and Jack are standing over the toaster waiting for their second round of pancakes towarm up, Shaun is loading the dishwasher, everyone is still in their pyjamas and in varying degrees of unreadiness for the day, the day that was very much intended to be a day about the four of them. She sighs and types,My partner’s kids are here. We’re going to the splash pool in Manton.
She pauses. It sounds so harsh. This woman is possibly on the cusp of discovering that her daughter is dead.Splash pool. Really?
She adds another line,But we’re not going for a while, so I could come over for a little bit.
Thank you so much,Kim replies.I just can’t face being on my own right now.
Sophie gets to Kim’s half an hour later. Shaun had looked a little confused when she’d tried to explain in as few words as possible where she was going, and why.
‘I’ll be back in an hour,’ she says as she leaves. ‘Probably less.’
‘But how do you know this woman?’
‘From the ring,’ she says lightly. ‘The one I found in the woods. I guess I’ve got a little bit sucked into things with her, you know.’
‘Well, don’t be too long, will you?’
‘I promise I’ll be back in time to go swimming.’
Kim looks grey when she opens the door to Sophie. She’s not wearing make-up and her usually shiny hair is hanging in matt ropes over each shoulder.
The sound of children’s TV blares from the living room, where Sophie can see the back of Noah’s head as they pass by. Kim leads her into the kitchen and pulls out a chair for her.
‘Tea?’
‘Yes. Please.’
Kim fills the kettle from the tap and Sophie hears her sigh.
‘Any more word?’ she asks.