‘I’ve been with Lauren and Jess,’ she says.
Matt puts the beer down on the table and looks at her earnestly.
‘And how did that go?’
‘She wants to find her mother.’
‘I know,’ says Matt. ‘She wrote the feature I told you about.’
‘I knew it,’ says Kate. ‘As soon as you told me she had a lead on a DNA piece, I knew it was going to be her own story.’
‘Well, you had more information at your disposal than I did. I’ve only just been made aware this afternoon that it’s her own story she pitched.’
Kate’s sure her heart’s stopped beating. ‘You can’t run it!’
Matt gets up and goes towards her. ‘I realize that. It was scheduled for tomorrow, but I’ve pulled it. I noticed your scoop didn’t run today, either.’ He raises his eyebrows knowingly, but then smiles gently and takes Kate’s hands in his.
She gives an apologetic shrug. ‘I’m sorry . . .’
‘It’s okay,’ he says, pulling her into him and kissing the top of her head. ‘I understand why you did it, but I wish you’d told me the truth.’ He attempts to laugh. ‘We could have sent the entire nation out looking for Jess’s mother.’
Kate coughs as a strangled snigger catches in her throat ‘We already know who Jess’s mother is.’
Matt cocks his head back in astonishment. ‘We do?’
‘Yep,’ she says, as her phone rings in her pocket.
She sees that it’s Nancy from DS Labs and holds her hand up. ‘I’ve got to take this,’ she says to Matt.
‘Hi Kate, it’s Nancy. I’ve just got the preliminary results back in.’
Kate holds her breath, knowing from experience that preliminary will be good enough. She’d commissioned several DNA tests on behalf of women who alleged they’d had a child with a celebrity. An allegation was a good enough story, but having the proof was sensational; well, it would have been if it weren’t for the fact that, every time, the results proved otherwise.
‘O-kay,’ says Kate, hesitantly. Her heart’s pounding as the ramifications of what Nancy’s about to say reverberate around her brain.
‘So, the initial findings are . . .’
Kate wishes she’d hurry up, but at the same time doesn’t want her to say what she’s about to say.
‘. . . that there’s no match.’
The words swim as Kate tries to put them in the order she wants them. If she could lose the ‘no’ and put an ‘a’ in its place, it would make all the difference.
‘Are you . . . are you absolutely sure?’ she stutters, shocked by the strength of feeling that is pooling in her intestines and flowing through her veins – unable to comprehend how it could make such a difference to know that it’s her dad who has fathered a child, rather than her mother who has given birth to one. How had it felt easier to accept the latter?
‘99.9 per cent sure,’ says Nancy. ‘But as soon as the comprehensive results are in, I’ll send them over.’
‘Th-thanks,’ says Kate, ending the call and looking at Matt numbly.
‘What is it?’ he asks.
‘Maybe you should run Jess’s article after all.’
41
Lauren
Lauren can’t sleep. She looks at the time on her phone again, its digits goading her as they move ever closer to dawn. Her eyes are heavy, but every time they close, she pictures herself lying in Justin’s arms, wondering how on earth she could have done it. As wonderful as it was, she’s a married mother of three small children who depend on her. They deserve a mother they can rely on, not a woman who is prepared to leave them with someone she clearly knows nothing about so she can make a pathetic attempt to recapture her youth.
She feels sick as she thinks of the chaos she’s wreaked by bringing Jess into the family. She’d naively thought it would be a good thing; that finding her would bring them closer together, yet it seems it’s only torn them even further apart.
She catches her breath as she hears Simon come home from his nightshift. His heavy work boots scuff the flimsy lino as he no doubt makes himself a hot drink in the kitchen. She only saw him a few hours ago, but so much has changed in that time. She’s changed in that time.
‘What’s going on?’ he says gruffly as he walks into their dark bedroom.
Lauren’s under the duvet, pretending to be asleep, but she’s sure he must be able to hear her heart hammering.
‘Lauren!’ he barks.
‘What?’ she says croakily, her throat dry. ‘What’s the matter?’
‘What the hell went on last night?’
Every muscle in her body tenses as she wonders what part he’s talking about.
‘What do you mean?’ she says. ‘Nothing, why?’
Her mind races. He can’t possibly know.
‘Where were you?’
It’s as if she’s been hit by a stun gun, paralysing everything but her raging thoughts. ‘I was here,’ she says, with a nervous laugh. ‘Where else?’ She stays put under the duvet, not brave enough, or incapable perhaps, of coming out.
Simon snaps the light on and sits down heavily on her side of the bed.
‘What’s going on?’ she says, shielding her eyes.
He taps on his phone and holds it to her ear. The message plays out in stereo around the room.
‘Simon, it’s Kate. Is Lauren with you? I need to talk to her urgently and she’s not picking up her mobile or the landline. I’m on my way round to your place now, but if she’s with you, can you get her to call me back?’
Lauren wants to snatch the phone from him and make it stop.
‘So, I’ll ask again; where were you?’
‘I . . . I popped round to Mum’s,’ she stutters.
‘So why didn’t you answer your phone?’ he asks, staring at her intently.
She forces herself to come up with something feasible, but she can’t think quickly enough. ‘I didn’t even hear it ring. It must have
