Page 18 of Forgive Me Not
One of the best things about recovery was realising she had skills and could use them to do good; that she could be useful; that she counted; that she could make a positive difference, however small.
And then there was Mum… and giving Andrea a break; making up for the past – that was what really mattered. She inhaled and exhaled. Surely they could find common ground again?
By the time she approached her old home, she was walking with lengthy strides. She slipped through the kissing gate and walked around to the front. Barking loudly, Dash announced her arrival. It had just gone four. Andrea and Bligh appeared carrying full baskets of strawberries. Clouds had gathered above them. Creaking loudly, the barn door blew open and shut.
Andrea placed her basket clumsily on the ground and folded her arms. ‘Where have you been?’
‘I’ve decided not to leave Healdbury after all,’ Emma said quietly.
‘Are you for real?’ Andrea shook her head. ‘After everything you did to me and Mum?’
Bligh clenched his basket’s handle tighter.
‘No one wants you here. Not me, not Bligh, not Polly and Alan, not the villagers,’ Andrea continued. ‘You’ll get Aunt Thelma’s money. What’s the point of sticking around?’
‘I want to help with the farm – with Mum,’ Emma said, in the same calm, steady voice.
‘No chance,’ said Andrea, and checked her watch. ‘Just go, please. I’ve asked you more than once now. Don’t make this harder on Mum or us.’ She glanced up at the sky and disappeared inside.
Emma stood her ground. She couldn’t quit after just twenty-four hours.
The back door flew open and her sister reappeared, chest heaving, cheeks the colour of goat’s milk.
‘What’s the matter?’ asked Bligh, striding over.
‘It’s Mum. The house is empty. I don’t know where she is.’
Chapter 7
Bligh and Andrea talked in low, urgent voices. Where to start looking? The farm buildings? The village? The neighbours? It reminded Emma of the time Joe had disappeared, when they’d been spending every minute together. Off his head like never before. She’d been worried he’d get beaten up or run over.
After checking spots where he usually met his dealers, she had eventually found him in the Northern Quarter, outside a coffee shop. He’d got to know the owner, who always gave him a free hot chocolate or sometimes a cupcake. She said his quirky humour reminded her of her son, who’d disappeared three years previously.
‘We need to think logically,’ she said now. ‘A good friend of mine called Joe went missing once. I tracked down his favourite places. Where are Mum’s?’
‘We don’t need your help.’ Andrea pursed her lips.
‘How long was she in the house on her own?’ continued Emma.
‘I don’t know… about an hour. She was tired and went for her usual afternoon nap.’
‘Was she asleep when you left her?’
‘No, but she was tucked up and quiet,’ snapped Andrea. ‘We got behind with the work, coming down to the Badger Inn after your little escapade – I didn’t have time to wait for her to drop off.’
‘I… I know how busy you are. Would you have seen her if she came out the back door, or must she have gone out the front?’
Bligh sighed. ‘She could have walked straight past without us noticing, we were so focused on picking fruit.’
‘What about the Badger Inn? It seems like her favourite place to eat. Do you think she could get that far?’
Andrea paused and then took a mobile phone out of her trouser pocket. ‘I doubt it. She walks so slowly these days and probably couldn’t find it on her own, but I’ll check with Polly.’
‘And I’ll double-check around the house, just to be sure,’ said Emma, and ran inside. She realised it was stupid to look under beds and behind curtains, but she was so worried, she couldn’t help investigating every nook and cranny. She opened the big wardrobe in Gail’s room and pulled out the clothes. Several Post-it notes fell to the floor. In passing, she noticed Mum’s private wooden chest on the bottom, behind all the shoes. As children, she and Andrea believed it was full of treasure, as Gail always kept it locked.
‘Mum! Gail! Are you there?’
Lastly she looked in the bathroom, even checking behind the shower curtain though she knew it was futile. Then she went back downstairs and out of the back door. Please let Bligh or Andrea have found her.
