Chapters (81)
- Cover
- About the Author
- Dedication
- Prologue
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-one
- Twenty-two
- Twenty-three
- Twenty-four
- Twenty-five
- Twenty-six
- Twenty-seven
- Twenty-eight
- Twenty-nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-one
- Thirty-two
- Thirty-three
- Thirty-four
- Thirty-five
- Thirty-six
- Thirty-seven
- Thirty-eight
- Thirty-nine
- Forty
- Forty-one
- Forty-two
- Forty-three
- Forty-four
- Forty-five
- Forty-six
- Forty-seven
- Forty-eight
- Forty-nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-one
- Fifty-two
- Fifty-three
- Fifty-four
- Fifty-five
- Fifty-six
- Fifty-seven
- Fifty-eight
- Fifty-nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-one
- Sixty-two
- Sixty-three
- Sixty-four
- Sixty-five
- Sixty-six
- Sixty-seven
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgments
- Read More
- Prologue
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Follow Merilyn online
- Dedication
Kelly-Anne’s mascara was halfway down her face. As Nell took a seat opposite, the girl wiped half of it away with her hand. Leaning forward, Nell thought she looked smaller than she had last night; her young age more apparent. She felt herself soften slightly, tried to remind herself Kelly-Anne had lost a baby last night and even if she had killed Georgie, it didn’t mean she hadn’t loved her.
‘Kelly-Anne, do you know where Connor is?’ She made her tone soft, or as soft as she could get it.
‘I don’t think so.’ The young woman looked away, only briefly, but enough to tell Nell she was lying.
‘You said there’s a missing overnight bag? The one Connor used for when Georgie got a bit much?’
‘It’s not about Georgie,’ Kelly-Anne said, her hands shredding the tissue on her lap. ‘It’s about me. He takes off when I’ve done something to piss him off.’
‘Like what sort of stuff?’
Kelly-Anne gave an exasperated sigh. ‘I dunno, depends on his mood. Could be I’ve not cleaned the kitchen enough, or I’m wearing a dress he don’t like.’
‘Does he often leave?’
‘About twice a week, I suppose.’
‘And you were left alone with Georgie? That must have been hard.’
Kelly-Anne looked up and Nell could see she sensed a trap.
‘It was hard, but it didn’t make me hurt her, if that’s what you’re getting at.’
‘That’s not what I meant at all,’ although of course it was.
Nell changed tack. ‘How about Connor? Didn’t he ever struggle with Georgie?’
Kelly-Anne looked hesitant. ‘He …’
Nell watched her struggle for the right words.
‘He could get angry if Georgie didn’t shut up. But babies don’t, do they?’ Her tone was pleading for Nell to understand. ‘So it wasn’t my fault. Not really.’
‘Of course not. Babies cry, it’s what they do.’
Kelly-Anne looked relieved. ‘Yes. And I tried my best. I always tried my best for them both.’ Her eyes filled with tears. ‘But now they’ve both left me.’
‘Kelly-Anne,’ Nell said, shifting to unstick the fake leather sofa from her jeans, ‘why didn’t you tell us Connor was in jail for assaulting his girlfriend?’
Kelly-Anne looked surprised, then quickly angry. ‘Because she’s a lying cow. She just wanted to get him in trouble because he preferred me to her. She’s been a nightmare ever since we got together and she’s been worse since I had the baby.’
‘The report says he harmed her child. Is that true?’
‘No! She made that up so she wouldn’t lose custody of the kid.’
‘But the father knew Connor was hurting his child?’ Nell could tell from Kelly-Anne’s expression she was pushing it, so when Kelly-Anne didn’t reply, she said, ‘Kelly-Anne, did Connor hurt Georgie?’