Chapter Forty-Three

Lucy

After the stress and anxiety of the past week, I decided to book myself in for a yoga class. I’d gone to the local studio religiously during my pregnancy, but since Albie was born, and what with taking adequate time to recover from the C-section, my practice had completely fallen away. There didn’t seem to be a single hour in the day when I could fit it in, and in the last few days I had felt too afraid of bumping into Jason or Aisha on my short walk to the studio, to risk going there.

But knowing the results were expected to arrive imminently, I needed to do something to relax, and Oscar was around to look after Albie for a couple of hours. It gave me a perfect window.

I put on one of Oscar’s caps in an attempt to disguise myself slightly. On the short walk, I thought of Aisha again. My heart lurched as I tried to imagine the pain she must be in; the betrayal she must be feeling, not only from Jason, but me too. We had become good friends in a short space of time and I missed her in my life. I had thought about contacting her, of course. But what could I have possibly said without making the situation worse? It would all have been so much easier if I hated her, but almost from the moment I met her, that had proved impossible.

I was just about to turn a corner into the studio, when my phone vibrated. I thought about ignoring it – if it was Oscar asking something about Albie, he’d just have to cope – I really didn’t want to have to abort this mission. But when I saw who was calling, my stomach flipped and I stopped dead in my tracks.

‘Where is she? What have you done with her?’ Aisha’s voice screamed down the line, the second I answered. She sounded terror-stricken. Possessed. I wondered if she’d got the wrong number at first, she made no sense.

‘Aisha. It’s Lucy,’ I said, as calmly as possible. ‘Are you—’

‘I know who it fucking is!’ she cut me off. ‘What have you done with Joni?’ She was yelling loudly, hysterically; it was impossible not to shout back, just to be heard.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about! Where is Joni? Are you okay?’

‘Of course I’m not okay. Do I sound it? Where is she?’

‘Listen, I’m not far away – I’ll come round.’

‘I’m calling the police!’ was the last thing I heard her shriek.

Chapter Forty-Four

Aisha

Seconds after hanging up on Lucy I heard the key turn in the lock. I took the stairs two at a time and as the door opened I almost collapsed at the sight of Jason standing there with Joni in the baby carrier. I hadn’t even noticed it was missing from the coat rack on the wall.

‘Thank God!’ I screeched, distraught.

Jason seemed nonplussed, as though this should have been a perfectly normal sight for me.