Page 54 of Finding Jacob
“I didn’t realise Jules had a sister,” I said, as we came to the end of our chat. “Please pass my thoughts on to her as well.”
“Sorry?” her mother replied.
“Her sister? My friend took a call yesterday from her sister. Said she was going through Jules’s phone to discuss funeral arrangements.”
“I think I’d know if my daughter had a sister, birthed by me or not. And I have her phone here. I haven’t even begun to think about a funeral just yet.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry. How very odd.”
There was silence for a moment. “Anna, something strange is happening, I think. Do you think we could meet?”
I was taken aback. I hadn’t met with Hannah for years. Not since Jules had first started to model and she’d been extremely unhappy about it. She’d accused me of sucking her into a world of eating disorders, of drugs, and damaging the future of young girls. I agreed, in part, with everything she said, which is why I vowed my agency would be different. I couldn’t stop the drugs or drink and one day I’d tell her, in very simple terms, how I knew why her daughter was an addict. That day wasn’t it, however.
“I can come over to you?” I said.
“I think I’d rather meet somewhere else. Do you remember that coffee shop I used to take you girls to? Don’t name it, but meet me there in a half hour?”
She disconnected the call before I could reply. I sat, holding my mobile and looking at it.
“How strange,” I said quietly.
Yes, I knew the coffee shop and why she didn’t just name it, I wasn’t sure. I sent a text to Nathan detailing the call and then grabbed my bag. I should have been working, but this seemed more important.
I was sat at a table in the window when I saw Hannah walk towards the door. Despite it being early summer, she had a coat on with the hood up. She wore dark glasses, and her face was pale. Her nose was red and her lips chapped. She looked like I imagined she should as a grieving mother. But there was something else. When she took her glasses off to scan the room, she looked scared.
I half rose and waved my arm; she came towards me. She didn’t smile, or remove her coat, she just sat.
“Someone killed my daughter,” she stated simply but firmly.
“Nathan thinks so, too. Why do you believe that?”
She knew who Nathan was, but not necessarily his relationship with her daughter.
“I guess every mother would say this, but she wasn’t the type. She had plans; she was getting help. We were all getting help, and we’d sat down and apologised for our part in herillness.”
I was shocked to hear her say that but kept quiet.
“Jules had gone to the police; did she tell you that? I insisted. Her uncle is still alive, and we should never have covered up what we did.”
“I thought he was long—”
“Dead? No, that’s another lie my husband weaved. She didn’t kill herself, Anna, and I’ve been getting some strange calls, as well.”
I asked her to detail the calls. She told me a woman had called her and was very vague on how she knew Jules. She wanted to know her birthdate, she said it had something to do with flowers. Hannah shook her head and frowned as she spoke. She added Jules’s phone seemed to have been cleared of most of her contacts, including me. Or there was a second phone that she didn’t have. I was chilled to the bone.
“I don’t think it had anything to do with... him. But something isn’t right. I don’t know what to do. I’ve tried telling the police, but they’re just not interested. What did Nathan say?”
“He had a call as well. From a woman, he believes with a Yorkshire accent. She wanted to talk about the funeral, and said she was Jules’s sister. Could it have been Blake’s wife?”
Hannah shook her head. “No, she’s French Canadian with a heavy accent. I doubt she’d be able to put on another. They’re on their way over now, so I will ask, but she wouldn’t have access to any of Jules’s contacts.”
We were interrupted by a server and we both placed an order for a soft drink. More so because it was quick and we wouldn’t have to spend the time detailing what, if any, milk, size, and all the other millions of questions that seemed to pop up with ordering a simple coffee.
“Why would she delete her contacts, Anna?”
The pain in Hannah’s question tore through me. I reached out to take her hand. We had been close once, and all that had been before was pushed aside. “I don’t know. Would you talk to Nathan?”
“Yes, but not at home. I can’t put my finger on it, but I don’t trust that we aren’t being listened to or spied on. I know that sounds dramatic but silly things are happening. A chair was moved in the garden overnight. A cigarette end was left on the patio. We don’t smoke and we haven’t had visitors who do. I’m scared, Anna. I can’t wait for Blake to arrive, to be honest.”
