When her friend straightened up, April asked, ‘What are you going to do?’

‘I have to go home,’ she said, thrusting Dexter’s leash into April’s hands.

‘You can’t go now,’ April said, hurrying down the steps after Faith. ‘We need to talk. You need a plan.’

‘I have a plan,’ Faith called over her shoulder. ‘I’m going to get that bastard out of my house.’

RESPONSES

Olivia Malford @LivM584

Replying to @thewidowsclub

I’m sorry.

The Widows’ Club @thewidowsclub

Replying to @LivM584

You shouldn’t have to apologise. Your brother destroyed lives and he alone is responsible.

32

At around the time April was waiting for Tara to arrive at Pickering’s Pasture, Tara was sitting in her car outside Tee’s Cakes with the engine running. She had made an exceptionally early start so that she could hand over to Michelle when it was time to go, but as the sun rose, her confidence had dipped. She had spent the night replaying her argument with Molly and cringed at how badly she had handled it. Iain had taken the girls to school, but Tara would be waiting for her daughter at home time so she could try again. With Faith, however, there would be only one chance.

With a heavy heart, Tara put the car in reverse, but as she checked her rear-view mirror, she caught a glimpse of Faith’s car speeding towards Pickering’s Pasture. Tara needed to catch her up, but instead she drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. Would Faith think it unfair if two friends ganged up on her? Would it be better if Tara spoke to her alone, or should she let April try? Would anyone be able to convince Faith that Nick wasn’t worth the risk?

She was still of the mind that persuading Nick to disappear might be the easier option. Now that she knew for certain that Faith was out of the way, she could drive straight to Woolton. Iain had warned her to be wary, but wasn’t it possible that Nick was as weak as his sister believed? She could convince him of Faith’s likely reaction without having to rely on Faith’s actual response. He could be out of her life before she came home.

A decision was within Tara’s grasp when her phone rang. It was the school.

‘Hello?’

‘Hi there, it’s Mrs Hollande,’ said the school secretary. ‘We were wondering if we should mark Molly as absent, or are you running late?’

Tara felt a sensation akin to being punched in the stomach. ‘But Molly’s already there,’ she insisted. ‘Iain dropped the girls off at the usual time. He came into the shop afterwards. There were no problems. She has to be in the school.’

The pause made Tara’s heart stutter.

‘Lily arrived, but Molly’s been marked absent. I’ve been in her classroom. She’s not there.’

‘Have you asked Lily?’