‘You could say that,’ he replied, a resigned edge to his voice. ‘That was the bloke who was supposed to be interviewing me for the job today. Seems he’s offered it to someone else, so that’s me fucked.’
‘Oh, no,’ Suzie murmured.
‘Ah, who cares?’ Rob shrugged. ‘To tell you the truth I didn’t fancy being stuck at sea with a load of smelly bastards anyway, so it’s probably for the best.’
‘But you’ve left your mum’s, so where are you going to stay?’
Rob exhaled loudly and ran his hands through his hair. Then, sighing, he said, ‘Don’t worry about it. I’ll figure something out.’
‘But—’
‘It’s fine,’ he insisted, smiling again. ‘I’m a big boy; I can deal with it. Now eat your breakfast before it gets cold. I didn’t slave over a hot stove all morning to have you chuck it in the bin.’
Returning his smile, Suzie picked up her fork and pushed the scrambled egg around on her plate, but her appetite was as dead as his hopes of making a fresh start seemed to be. He might now be claiming that he hadn’t fancied it, but he’d given up his home to make a go of it, and she hoped the disappointment wouldn’t send him on a downer after he’d worked so hard to get back on his feet.
28
‘Holly . . .? HOLLLYYYY . . .!’
Holly heard her name being called and jumped up off the sofa, sending her revision notes flying as she ran to her mum’s bedroom. Relieved to see that her mum was awake and looked more alert – even if she was still deathly pale beneath the livid bruises – she said, ‘Are you OK? Do you want me to get you anything? Water? Tea? Toast?’
‘Where’s my tin?’ Josie demanded, her voice as dry as her cracked lips looked.
‘Tin?’ Holly repeated innocently, mentally cursing herself for forgetting to replace it that morning.
‘Don’t play games with me,’ Josie barked. ‘I can see it’s not there, so where is it?’
Swallowing nervously when she glanced at the wardrobe and saw that the door had swung open, Holly murmured, ‘Oh, yeah, sorry. I, um . . .’
‘You, um, what?’ Josie glared at her. ‘Thought you’d sneak it out behind my back after I told you to keep your big nose out of my private things?’
‘I only wanted to see if those people who got murdered were related to us,’ Holly admitted, her voice so quiet she could barely hear herself.
‘You had no right!’ Josie spat, her bloodshot eyes blazing. ‘Did she put you up to it? Lady Muck?’
‘Suzie? No!’
‘I bet she did, nosy bitch,’ Josie muttered as she struggled to sit up. ‘Well, that’s it, we’re out of here!’
‘You’re not well,’ Holly said. ‘You need to rest.’
‘How am I supposed to rest, knowing I could get shot at any fucking minute?’ Josie bellowed. ‘’Cos that’s what’ll happen now you’ve opened your big mouth, you idiot! How many times have I told you we can’t trust anyone?’ she went on, as she shoved the dirty quilt off and dropped her bruised legs over the side of the bed.
She started muttering under her breath after that, asking what she’d ever done to deserve the shit Holly was putting her through, but Holly was still fixated on what she’d said at the start of it. If she thought she was going to get shot in her bed, then she must have known the murdered couple. But why was she scared the same was going to happen to them when so many years had passed since it had happened?
‘Who were they?’ she asked, the question slipping out before she had a chance to stop it.
Josie snapped her eyes up and Holly shivered when she saw the anger in them. But she’d started now, and she needed to know, so she pressed on: ‘Were they related to us? Was . . . was Charlotte my cousin?’
Josie’s already white face turned another shade paler at the mention of Charlotte, and she dropped her chin onto her chest and inhaled deeply through her nose, before saying, ‘Stop asking questions and bring me the tin. You’re a child; you don’t need to know the ins and outs of everything.’
Irritated that her mum was trying to shut her down, like she always did when she didn’t want to answer questions, Holly said, ‘I’m not a child. I’m nearly sixteen.’
‘I don’t care how old you are, it’s still none of your business.’
‘It is if it involves me.’
‘Well, it doesn’t, and I don’t want to talk about it any more, so stop interrogating me and fetch my fucking tin!’
‘No.’ Holly defiantly raised her chin. ‘Not until you tell me the truth.’
‘You’d better stop this right now,’ Josie warned. ‘I’m your mother, and you’ll do as I say or—’
‘Or what?’ Holly cut in, tears of frustration and defiance welling in her eyes. ‘What you gonna do, Mum? Keep me locked up for the rest of my life, not letting me talk to anyone in case they find out what an absolute fucking nutjob you are?’
Furious that Holly had cursed at her, Josie forgot her pain and, rearing up off the bed, slapped her across the face before grabbing the front of her jumper.
‘Don’t you ever dare speak to me like that again, you ungrateful little bitch!’ she yelled, her sour spittle dotting Holly’s face. ‘Everything I’ve done, I did for you, and I won’t have you talking down to me like that whore—’
She abruptly stopped speaking and clamped a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide and fearful.
‘What d’you mean?’ Holly asked, instincts prickling. ‘Who are you talking about?’
‘I wasn’t talking about anyone,’ Josie said quietly, swivelling her eyes away. ‘Forget it.’
‘You’re lying.’
‘No, I’m not. It’s the tablets; they’ve confused me. I need to think.’
Something clicked in Holly’s mind, and she gasped, ‘Oh, my God, you were talking about that woman in the paper, weren’t
