Page 22 of Her Last Walk Home

Without answering, she entered what she assumed was the main bedroom. The furnishings seemed top-of-the-range, designer stuff maybe. It all made her feel like mussing up the immaculately hotel-styled bed. Or lying on it, for a few minutes’ sleep.

‘Can you imagine having to take all those cushions off the bed every night? You’d have to stack them on the floor and then restyle them in the morning. Who has time for that? I hardly have time to hop in the shower, never mind make the fecking bed.’

‘It’s a show home, Lottie. They do these things to make it look chic.’

‘Chic? That a new word for you?’

‘Come on. Have an open mind.’

‘Oh, it’s very open. I can see only enough room for your side of the family. Where do you think Sean and Chloe would fit? Not to talk of Katie and Louis. And I’d need space for my mother to stay over occasionally.’

‘Sounds like you want a house for the Brady Bunch.’ Boyd opened a door she’d thought was a cupboard, to reveal an enormous, blindingly white and chrome en suite.

‘Wow,’ she said, genuinely stunned. ‘It’s amazing.’ And it was. The floor-to-ceiling tiles were white with grey grout. ‘The shower looks like something out of the Kennedy Space Center.’

‘You been there?’ he asked, a smile in his words.

‘You know what I mean, smart-arse.’

She edged out by him and found another bedroom. It was bright and airy and decorated for a child. She could imagine Louis in here, playing on the soft carpet without fear of getting splinters in his knees from ancient floorboards. But three bedrooms, four if you counted the office, was not enough space. Sergio needed his own room, plus her three and her grandson. And one for herself and Boyd.

‘Let’s go,’ she said, when he’d finished opening doors, salivating at the beautiful rooms.

‘I want to hear what else Charlie has to tell us.’

He bounded down the stairs.

She stood on the top step clenching her teeth.

22

Armed with a colourful brochure and a price list, Lottie eventually succeeded in dragging Boyd away from the mesmerising Charlie.

On the footpath, she said, ‘It’s too small. Too expensive. It’s not us.’

He was staring back at the house. ‘Oh, there’s a garage. I missed that when we arrived. We could convert it into an extra bedroom.’

Lottie couldn’t help the roll of her eyes. ‘Your minutes are adding up by the second, and Superintendent Farrell will be on the warpath if we don’t get back.’

‘Hey, Charlie,’ he called as the estate agent began to lock the front door. ‘Can we see the garage?’

‘I totally forgot about it. We can enter it from the utility room. I don’t have the outdoor key.’ She led them back inside. Lottie trailed behind like a reluctant, moody child.

‘Give me a minute until I find the right one.’ Charlie jangled a bunch of keys.

‘Boyd, let’s go. We’re way too busy for this and it’s not suitable.’

‘Aha! Got it.’ She waved the key and unlocked the white door. ‘It fits a family car and can hold the overflow stuff from your shed.’

‘Our shed?’ Lottie whispered in Boyd’s ear.

Charlie flicked on the light, then stumbled backwards, her hands flying to her mouth. ‘Christ Almighty!’

Lottie shoved past her to see what had made her cry out. ‘Don’t touch a thing. Go back into the kitchen, Charlie. Now.’

‘I don’t understand,’ the estate agent cried. ‘What is that?’

‘Go back!’ Lottie commanded the stunned woman. With her hand still clasped to her mouth, Charlie retreated. ‘What the hell, Boyd?’ Lottie crowded at his shoulder in the small space.

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