Page 45 of The Mistake

‘Did you see the doctor out there?’ Natalie asks, aware of the desperation in her voice. The police officer shakes his head and perches on the chair in the far corner of the room, as if to be as unobtrusive as possible.

‘It’s unbelievable, isn’t it?’ Eve shakes her head, tears spilling over and beginning to run down her cheeks. ‘That someone could do something so awful to a little baby like this.’

‘Yes, it is.’ Natalie wonders if she should comfort Eve, but shouldn’t it be the other way round?

‘I just honestly can’t believe it. Erin is so precious. Such a tiny, precious little thing. She’s such a good baby. The very ideasomeone could sneak into her room without being noticed and juststealher away like that …’

Natalie feels that familiar prickle, the needles that dig under her skin when Eve says things like this,hintsat things like this. ‘What are you saying, Eve?’

‘Nothing. Nothing.’ Eve shakes her head again. ‘I just find it so shocking this has even happened. When the house was full of people, someone just … Who could do something like this, something this evil, knowing they risked her life? She’s ababy, for goodness’ sakes. How did nobody see what was happening?’

‘Someone did do it, though, didn’t they?’ Natalie says.What is Eve saying? That I am a terrible mother? That I should have seen what happened? That Pete is somehow responsible, seeing as he never wanted Erin in the first place?‘And maybe that’s my fault for not charging the monitor, maybe it’s Pete’s fault for wanting to host this fucking party in the first place. Maybe …’ Her voice breaks. ‘I don’t know, Eve. I don’t know how someone could have gone upstairs and taken my baby without anyone noticing.’

‘What about Pete?’ Eve asks, her voice barely above a whisper.

‘What about him?’ Natalie snaps. She hopes Eve doesn’t know about Vanessa – not yet. Natalie isn’t ready to talk about that, and certainly not with a police officer in the room.

‘Do you know …? Do you actually know where Pete was when they found out Erin was missing?’

‘He was with me and Zadie, we had just cut Emily’s birthday cake.’

‘I mean … before. Not when they found her missing. Where was he when she actually disappeared? People were saying no one saw him for a while before they realised Erin was gone.’ Eve looks down at the bag at her feet, unwilling to meet Natalie’s eyes.

The air seems to go out of the room, and Natalie pauses, trying to draw a breath as she glances in the direction of the police officer. He is looking down at his hands, picking something out from under his nail, and doesn’t appear to be listening.

‘What the fuck is that supposed to mean?’ Natalie hisses, two angry red dots burning their way on to her cheeks. All of a sudden she feels incredibly warm, and she throws off the cardigan.

‘Nothing,’ Eve says, her voice low. ‘I didn’t mean anything by it, but they’re going to ask you that question, Nat. Whether you want to admit it or not, things have been tough at home, and having Erin has affected yours and Pete’s relationship.’ She pauses, fixing her sharp blue eyes on Natalie. ‘Natalie, you have to be honest with yourself. Pete never wanted Erin in the first place.’

The anger that washes over Natalie is almost cleansing, as it strips away any last vestiges of fuzziness from the diazepam, leaving her clear-headed and absolutely furious.

‘Are you kidding me?’ Her voice rises to a screech and the police officer looks up from his nails. ‘Are you actually going to accuse Pete? I know you hate him, but for fuck’s sake, Eve.’

‘Natalie, I’m just asking the question the police are going to want answered, that’s all.’ Eve is on her feet too, now, and for a brief dizzying moment, Natalie can picture herself wrapping her hands around Eve’s throat, choking her into silence.

‘I can’t believe you. The nerve … Theaudacityof you.’

‘Nat, I’m worried—’

‘You don’t need to be worried about me,’ Natalie snorts. ‘Thanks for bringing Erin’s things, but you didn’t need to, I could have got Stu and Mari to do that.’ She knows those words will sting Eve, wound her like tiny darts. Eve has always been jealous of Stu and Mari, of the years of shared history they all have together without Eve. ‘I think it’s time you left.’

‘Natalie, please, I want to make sure Erin is OK.’

As Natalie turns on Eve, the police officer gets to his feet, reaching out to gently tug her away from the woman she thought was her friend. ‘Erin is not your concern,’ Natalie says, her voice dangerously quiet now. ‘None of us are your concern.’

‘OK. OK, I’ll leave.’ As if sensing that Natalie is teetering on the edge, Eve gets to her feet, tucking her phone into her pocket.Natalie watches her move to the door, her heart in her mouth, half expecting Eve to refuse to leave at the last moment, half expecting her to demand to see Erin. As she reaches the door, Natalie can’t stop herself from calling out to Eve.

‘Erin doesn’t need you around, Eve. All she needs is herfamily. No one else.’ Eve’s face is blank, but as she blinks Natalie thinks she can see fresh tears in her eyes. ‘So thanks for bringing her things in, but please don’t come back to the hospital. Please respect our privacy.’

‘Of course.’ Eve bows her head in a nod, reaching for the door handle before she turns back to Natalie. ‘But I just want you to think about things, Nat, that’s all. You must know you can’t trust a word Pete says.’

Natalie feels the room spin for a moment as the force of Eve’s words hit her full on. ‘Like I can trust you? I know you’ve been cancelling your clients so you can come over to our house. Why? So I can feel in debt to you, feel guilty for pulling you away from your busy practice?’ She shakes her head. ‘Don’t you dare put this on me, or Pete. It’s like you’re obsessed with us.’

Eve pulls back as if she’s been slapped. ‘Natalie, I just wanted to help … but Pete—’

‘I don’t want any explanations from you, Eve. And as for Pete … If you’ve got something to tell me, then just say it.’

‘I’m sorry, Nat, this was a mistake. I shouldn’t have come here.’

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