The Gemini Effect, page 21
It meant she’d be away for a few days, however, but actually that had worked out well for Wendy as she’d been saying she hadn’t seen enough of Jack and James recently. Partly her own fault, because Derek was on the scene now—
Derek. That was another story. She hadn’t expected to fall for someone again at her time of life, hadn’t wanted to. Who would ever compare to Stan? But Derek didn’t need to, he was very different to her late husband. Something had just clicked when she met him in that coffee shop. She’d been having a quick tea after doing the shopping, indulging in a scone as well because she thought she deserved a treat after a particularly hectic week… and he’d just been there. Standing there by her table, talking, asking her if she wouldn’t mind some company.
Wendy’s mouth had fallen open. Mind? Did she mind…? And before she could answer, Derek had been sitting down with his coffee and still talking, then asking her about herself. Ordinarily she’d have been horrified, would have told him to bugger off! There was just something about him, though (the kindly eyes, that smile) which made her listen, made her want to open up. Some might have been wary, might have called him a charmer – and indeed Deborah had issued a few warnings about strangers, like the roles of mother and daughter had been reversed or something – but it had worked out in the end.
She’d seen more of Derek, more coffee dates, the pictures when they were having seasons of old movies, dances on the pier. Gradually, before she even realised it was happening, they were together. A couple. Inseparable, actually. Not only had Wendy realised she didn’t mind the company, she’d grown attached to it. To him.
It had been one of the hardest decisions she’d ever had to make, to move out of Deborah’s place and into Derek’s. Hard to tell her daughter as well, after all this time they’d been together. Yet strangely it had been one of the easiest things in the world to do, and she’d never looked back since.
Not only had Derek taken to the grandkids like they were his own, he looked forward to their visits. Hadn’t said a word about them all coming to stay for a while because Deborah was out of town on work. Had only asked: “Is she all right?” Bless him.
It had been a good question. One that Wendy didn’t know if she could answer properly. Was her daughter all right? No, she didn’t think she was, if she was being honest. And those niggles hadn’t been helped by finding out Deborah had been drinking too much in Norchester – before she left, too, if Izzy was to be believed! Coinciding with that Rosy coming back into their lives. Moving backwards rather than forwards.
Rosy: an unwelcome reminder of a time in her life they’d all sooner forget, surely. A time that, yes, had included Jack. And while Wendy could admit, like Deborah, she wished the father of her boys was still on the scene, he wasn’t – and that was that. A sad truth, but the truth nonetheless. What Deborah needed was a ‘Derek’ of her own, someone to share the good times and the bad with. You couldn’t do that with a ghost, hanging on to the past.
And this whole Norchester thing had just set her back, as far as Wendy could discern. Might even have been one of the reasons the twins were having nightmares, before and after she left. Why Deborah and Izzy were at each other’s throats. Except there was more to all of that, as she’d found out.
Wasn’t just the past coming back to haunt her, it was replaying back in Norchester, Wendy had discovered. A Gemini copycat, so the news places were saying; three victims in Norchester alone that they knew of. She could sort of understand why Deborah hadn’t told her that was what she was doing there; indeed wasn’t there a part of Wendy that already knew? What else could it have been? But still, she couldn’t help being angry with Deborah for keeping her in the dark, particularly as there seemed to be some kind of threat to her family as well. People working for – or with – this copycat, was her understanding.
“Mum, I couldn’t… There were things I wasn’t allowed to tell you, for a kick-off. It’s an ongoing investigation, you know the score.”
“But some sort of nod would have been nice. There we were going about our lives as if—”
“Why do you think the police brought Izzy back? They’ve been keeping a watch over you since I left. It was all arranged.”
At least that was something, and Wendy had been the one who was in charge when Izzy snuck out of the house. “Who’s keeping an eye on you, though? Rosy?”
“There are… I have friends here.”
“Let me ask you this, have you been hurt yourself? Put at risk?”
The silence told her everything she needed to know. Of course she’d been at risk, this was Deborah. “I’m going to need to ask another favour,” had been the way she’d broken that silence.
“Don’t like the sound of that.” Wendy definitely hadn’t liked the sound of what came next. Dragging the twins to Norchester? What for?
“It wouldn’t have been my first choice, trust me,” Deborah had informed her. “But… There’s more, I need you to head off with Izzy. Maybe the three of you can go to Penny’s?” Penny was one of Wendy’s oldest friends; she hadn’t seen her in a while in spite of multiple invitations. She’d been talking about visiting and Deborah knew that. “Just keep it to yourself. Don’t tell anyone where you’re heading, okay?”
“Deborah, this is ludicrous.”
“Yeah, I know.” Sounded very much like she hadn’t had a say in the matter, so there really wasn’t much point in arguing the toss about it. Probably just wanted the twins with her, that was all. Nothing to do with why she’d had to hang up so suddenly and rush off the other day, or those dreams about the ‘bad man’.
Nothing whatsoever.
Same as Wendy would tell Izzy they were getting away for a while, that was all. She’d expected there to be an argument about that – but maybe the girl had thought twice about pushing it after what she’d done. Or she wanted to get away herself, seemed to love the idea of being off school for a bit. Miles from her friends, the further the better. “What about Jack and James?” she’d asked, and Wendy had told her they were going to be with her mum. Izzy had hidden it well, but there was hurt there when she’d said that. Prioritising again. Putting the twins first this time, not just the job.
There was one problem with the plan: Derek, as lovely as he was, as understanding as he was, didn’t get on well with Penny. Maybe there was a bit of jealousy on her friend’s part, Wendy figured, or just a clash of personalities, but whatever the case he would flat out say no to visiting the woman, Wendy knew that. But she also didn’t feel comfortable about leaving him alone, even if there was protection around (and unlike Deborah, she had come clean to her partner; she owed him that much and he’d never trust her again if she hadn’t). So she’d suggested he take his brother up on his invitation to go and visit. Wendy wasn’t mad on Neville, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.
Kill…
Wendy shook her head. Two birds, two boys. No, don’t even think about it!
She was desperately worried not just about Deborah now, but James and Jack – last seen heading off with Rosy, who herself had an escort of two men wearing suits in a black car. Friends from a division she’d just started working with apparently. The lads had been happy enough to go with the woman, because they were off to see their mum, but had looked back sadly to wave at Wendy. Even Izzy had given them hugs that threatened to break them in two before they left the house. The girl hadn’t been able to face waving them off.
When Wendy had returned indoors, Izzy had thrown herself into her arms in turn. Floods of tears followed, Derek heading off to make some tea. And it had all come out about the boy and what had happened when she went to that blasted party. As she’d told Wendy the story, she’d thought again that this girl was going down the same path her mother did. Being drawn to guys like Phil – which she supposed was a phase all girls went through, except it seemed to have passed Wendy by. All she wanted, really wanted, was for Deborah to meet someone nice. For her granddaughter to do the same, when the time was right. When she was old enough.
“We’ll have a lovely time away and forget about everything, just us girls together, eh?” But that was easier said than done, wasn’t it. How could Wendy forget about everything, stop worrying about things she didn’t even really know much about?
As she looked over at the passenger seat, at Izzy turned towards the window – the cars passing her by on the motorway – Wendy could see her gloomy face in the reflection. Knew that she felt the same way. Felt that even given what she’d told her, spilling the beans about the party and such, there was more the girl was itching to say.
“You all right, love?” she asked finally, echoing Derek’s question about Deborah.
Izzy faced her, mouth downturned. But it wasn’t any of the other stuff bothering her now, something had been on her mind since Deborah had sent for the boys. “I-I said some horrible things to Mum before she left. Wouldn’t even talk to her. And about Jack and James.” She hung her head. “I don’t know why.”
“It’s okay,” said Wendy. “She knows you didn’t mean them.”
“Does she?”
“I’m sure she does.”
It didn’t seem to do anything to help with her granddaughter’s distress. “I love her, you know,” she said, looking up again.
“I know.”
“I love them all, very much.”
“Yes, I know that too. Your mum knows it as well.”
Izzy nodded, but tears were forming in her eyes.
“Tell you what, when we get settled in at Penny’s we’ll see if we can get hold of your mum, eh?”
Another nod.
“And you can say all this to her yourself.”
Izzy nodded a third time, then shifted about uncomfortably in the seat. “I just… Why do I get this feeling, like I’m never going to see them again?”
Wendy drew in a sudden breath. The words had shocked her, but Izzy was only saying what she was thinking herself. “I… I really don’t know. You’ll… we’ll see them soon. I…” She was going to say ‘I promise’ but for some reason didn’t feel like she could; Wendy had always prided herself on not making promises she couldn’t keep. She shifted about herself in the driver’s seat. “I’m sure that we will. Let’s just try and enjoy ourselves, eh. We’re getting away from it all.”
Only she couldn’t help thinking now that, like her daughter Deborah, they were never going to get away from any of this. That it was tied to them, would follow them around like a bad smell for the rest of their lives. That far from getting away from it all…
It would be with them. Here forever.
Here to stay.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
She shifted about in the seat.
Couldn’t get comfortable on the couch, was wondering how long they’d have to stay. Wasn’t that this place was horrible, quite the opposite: it was lovely. For an apartment it was really, really nice; stylish whilst still being homely. Wasn’t that the sofa was hard or anything, no, it was extremely comfortable. It was more the reason she was there – and Deborah had to wonder how much of it Rosy had told Kiz, how much her partner was allowed to know. That, apart from anything else, made her feel like she was on edge. Walking, sitting, on eggshells.
Deborah had tried to time it just right. They’d sent a car for her, to take her from The Imperial to this place, around the time that the twins would be getting back from Armitage Bay with Rosy. She hadn’t gone with her because as much as she’d have loved to see her mum and Izzy, she didn’t want to flag what they were doing any more than was necessary – and she’d wanted to avoid any strained face-to-face conversations.
Which was more than she was doing right now. After passing the nearby park and the cars outside watching the building, which had armed undercover officers sitting in them trying to look inconspicuous and failing miserably (which might not have been a bad thing as far as deterrents went), Deborah had used the code she’d been given to get inside. That tripped an alarm if anyone tried to get in without it, and Deborah noted the uniformed security guard in the downstairs lobby. On Rosy’s floor she pressed the bell at the correct door, which had a peephole so you could check who was on the other side. Her friend had been right, it was pretty secure here.
“Deborah!” said the beautiful dark-skinned woman who opened the door, kissing her on both cheeks. She was wearing an oversized shirt and skinny jeans, or leggings – jeggings, they called them, didn’t they? Stupid name, like coatigans and shackets. “Come in, come in.”
She’d only met Kiz the once, but had got on fine with her. Knew her about as well as you could get to know someone passing time in a pub. Had got the sense that she was a nice person. Back then she’d been looking out for Rosy, making sure she was with someone who was worth her time – not that Deborah would be able to do anything about it if she wasn’t. But today it was because the boys would be staying here with her. “Kiz, really good to see you again.”
“Take your coat off, please. Make yourself at home.”
Kiz was already walking through the short hall into the living room, so Deborah followed after she’d taken off her coat and hung it on the peg next to the door. The tall woman looked back over her shoulder, caught Deborah eying the kitchen which was just off to the side of that room, with no door separating it. “Oh, don’t worry. We’ve put anything hazardous out of the way in the high cupboards. Bleach, knives… chainsaws, that kind of thing.” She laughed, but there was a nervous inflection to it Deborah hadn’t noticed the last time she’d met her.
“I really appreciate you doing this, Kiz. Thank you.”
The woman flapped her hand. “Happy to. Look, I had some time due off from work – if I can’t use it doing something to help out, then…”
“Still, it’s really good of you. Thanks.”
“Honestly, please. You don’t have to keep thanking me. You and Rosy are like family, so… Oh, come and have a look at this, see what you think.”
Deborah followed her through another little corridor, with two doors. Kiz opened the first one, which was clearly the spare bedroom. “Oh, wow… I…” The woman had gone out and bought a matching bedspread and pillowcases, covered in little comic book figures. In addition to that, there were toys scattered about the place: Lego bricks; a remote-controlled car; some action figures. “This is…”
“I wasn’t sure what they liked to do. I also dug out the old games console for the living room, in case they like playing stuff on those. Haven’t used it in years, so it might be a bit too old school for them, I dunno.”
“Kiz, this is amazing. You’ve gone to so much trouble, I can’t even begin to… There are some grown-ups I can think of who’d love all this.” That made her pause for a moment, thinking about Vinny and his talk of collectibles at his place. She pushed that aside and changed the subject: “It must have cost a fortune.”
She batted this comment away with a hand as well. “We want the boys to feel at home while they’re here.”
Deborah picked up one of the books on a desk nearby. It was a bit young for the twins, but she appreciated the thought that had gone into all this. Wondered if there was more to it than just looking after a friend’s children for a few days (hopefully just a few days).
“She’d probably be delighted to get to know them. Would jump at the chance of having kids around.”
Rosy’s words when they were talking about doing this back at the nick, and suddenly it clicked what was the matter with her friend. With this relationship. What Kiz said next only confirmed that suspicion. “I mean, you guys are going to have your hands full with work and everything, right?”
“I…”
“Rosy’s always working. She works so hard.” Now there was a touch of resentment in there too.
“Well, she’s taken on those extra duties with the SCI and all.”
Kiz sighed. “Yeah, I know. Doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for family stuff, though.”
Family stuff, not private stuff. Not her and Rosy time, although that was probably another bone of contention. “It can be tough juggling all that.”
“Right. Yeah. Oh, listen, do you want a tea or something?” Kiz didn’t wait for the answer, was already heading back out again towards the living room and kitchen. Was filling the kettle by the time Deborah got out there. “They shouldn’t be long before—” And right on cue, Kiz’s phone pinged. She took it out of her ‘jeggings’ pocket, though she had trouble getting her long fingers inside. “Aww, looks like they’re going to be a little late. Traffic on the motorway, apparently.”
Late? Deborah couldn’t help bristling at that, wondering if something had happened. Wondering if someone else had got hold of Rosy’s phone and—
“Sit down and relax,” said Kiz, nodding at the couch.
Yes, she did need to relax. Calm down. Traffic would be a bit of a nightmare at this time of day. Traffic was just traffic. There were more SCI people escorting Rosy, who’d gone with her to the coast to pick up the boys. It was fine. Absolutely fine.
Except it meant that it was just the two of them for a while. Having tea. Sitting there, virtual strangers, having tea. Which was why Deborah couldn’t get comfortable, which was why – even though Kiz had gone to so much trouble, making this place so nice for the boys – Deborah was thinking about how long this would all be going on for. How long they’d have to stay here. If anything, the way that spare room looked (like they’d be here for months rather than days) made her feel worse. And Kiz’s comments about working – they applied not just to Rosy, but her, too.
Ignoring the twins, neglecting them. Putting this first.
Silly really, when they were now as much a part of it all as Deborah. Being used like some kind of early warning detection system. By Glover. By her.
