The line crackles a little and I go to stand near the balcony doors. ‘He went to see Heather. And the …’ Her voice cuts out, then comes back in again, like a radio being tuned. ‘I think he’s at his mum’s with Ethan.’ She sounds very far away.

‘Margot,’ I shout, so that she can hear me. ‘Can I come over?’ It will only take twenty minutes to get there at this time of night.

‘Now?’ More static. ‘Are you sure?’

I’ve never been more sure of anything. My own mother might not have time for me, but Margot always has. ‘I’ll see you soon.’ I abort the call, then scribble a note for Rory telling him where I am, grab my keys and rush out of the door.

I take the lift down to the basement and dart to my Renault. The car park is small and well-lit and there are other vehicles, although no people. I can’t help but feel a little unnerved as I unlock the door and slide behind the wheel. I immediately click on the central locking and start the engine. It’s not until I drive out of the exit that I notice it in my rear-view mirror, and I know that this time it’s not my imagination. There’s definitely someone standing by my building, watching as I pull away.

Chapter 23

23

It’s funny what you dream about in this state of not-quite-here. I’m not dead but at this moment I’m not living. I’m in limbo. Waiting to wake up, in and out of consciousness, with images from my past drifting through the fog, like a surreal version of This Is Your Life. I don’t like to think of my long-ago dead father, but I hope that if I end up joining him, if there is an after-life, then he’ll forgive us.

He wasn’t always a nice man. He bullied the two of us for years, didn’t he? Even Mum. We were better off without him in so many ways. But if he’d lived, if we hadn’t had to leave him behind in Kent, then what followed might never have taken place.

I would never have ended up hurting you.

Mum. She needs to know the truth. If I die now, my story will disappear with me.

I can’t allow that to happen.

Chapter 24

24

Margot

The police had revealed something else to Margot on the phone. Something she’s desperate to tell someone about. That was one of the reasons she’d called Jessica. In that moment she felt Jess would understand, knowing Heather as she had.