He deflected my question with a too-quick smile. ‘I left Nate with Mel. I promised we’d FaceTime him later.’
‘Stu -’
A wave of dizziness gripped me, and I reached for the arm of the chair beside the bed. Stuart set Immy down and was by my side in an instant.
‘Hey, are you sure you’re OK?’
‘I’m fine. Don’t fuss.’ But I let him take my hand and guide me to the chair, and even once I sat down I kept hold of his hand because it felt warm and strong and safe, and that was exactly what I needed after the nightmare of the last twenty-four hours.
We stayed like that, Stuart perched on the bed and me in the chair, our hands entwined, until there was a polite cough at the door. We drew apart as Sam appeared.
‘We could do with talking to Cleo,’ she said. ‘Is this a good time?’
‘Not really,’ Stuart said.
‘Ignore him,’ I said. ‘It’s fine.’
‘Great. I’ll fetch the DI.’
Moments later she reappeared with DI Jones. His suit looked even more crumpled than the first time we’d met, and the grooves in his forehead appeared deeper. Was it my imagination, or did he seem as if he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders?
‘There’s a place on the ward with toys and books. I’ll take Immy and leave you in peace,’ Stuart said.
‘Toys?’ Immy said, grabbing his arm. ‘Let’s go, Daddy!’
The moment they’d walked hand in hand from the room, I turned to the DI.
‘Have you arrested her?’
He glanced at Sam, and that was the moment I knew for certain. ‘You haven’t, have you?’
He lowered his gaze to the notebook resting on his knee. ‘You told the attending officers that when you left Sheila Dixon’s bungalow, she was lying unconscious in the lounge?’
‘That’s because she was,’ I said impatiently.
‘And that she didn’t follow you when you carried Immy along the track to the main road?’
I shook my head.
‘I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Mrs Cooper, but when officers searched the bungalow, it was empty. Sheila Dixon wasn’t there.’
‘But she must have been! I whacked her over the head with a carriage clock! She was out stone cold.’ I cradled my head in my hands. ‘This can’t be happening.’
Sam touched my shoulder. ‘What car does Sheila drive?’
‘A white Fiat 500. It was at the house. Why?’
‘It’s not there any more,’ DI Jones said. ‘Sam?’
‘Already on it, boss.’ Sam reached into her bag for her radio and marched out of the room.
‘What’s she doing?’
‘Putting out an alert for the car. Don’t you worry. Sheila’ll soon be under lock and key.’
‘But what if she isn’t?’ I said, my voice rising. ‘What if she comes back for Immy?’ I jerked my head at the door. ‘You can’t protect her twenty-four seven!’
‘Mrs Cooper, please, calm down.’
‘Don’t tell me to calm down!’ I clenched my jaw in frustration and stalked over to the window. It overlooked a beige brick wall and some industrial-sized wheelie bins. I needed to make DI Jones understand that Sheila’s pressed blouses, lacquered hair and polyester trousers made her invisible to most of the population, which made it easy for her to slip under the radar. It wasn’t a mistake I’d ever make again.
I breathed out slowly and said, ‘People dismiss Sheila as harmless because she’s middle-aged and a woman. But you need to know what she’s capable of.’
‘We take child abduction extremely seriously, I assure you.’
‘You don’t understand. She’s a murderer. She killed Niamh.’
Suddenly I had his full attention. ‘What makes you say that?’
‘She told me. I think she was planning to kill me, too.’ Saying the words out loud brought the horror of the last twenty-four hours home to me, and I began to tremble.
DI Jones jumped up and poured a beaker of water from the jug by the side of the bed. ‘Sit down and drink this. Small sips,’ he instructed.
I did as I was told, sipping the tepid water until my heart rate slowed and I stopped shaking. ‘Sorry.’
‘You’re in shock. It’s understandable.’ He held out a hand, and I gave him the beaker. ‘Why would Sheila kill Niamh?’ he asked.
‘Niamh was blackmailing Bill and Sheila found out. She killed Niamh to protect him.’
‘Blackmailing him about what?’
‘Sheila found out that Bill is…’ I swallowed, ‘was Immy’s biological father.’
The DI frowned. ‘Bill Harrison and your au pair were lovers?’
I hesitated. ‘They slept together once,’ I said. It may not have been the whole truth, but it wasn’t a lie, either.
‘So why was Niamh blackmailing him?’ A look of understanding crossed his face. ‘Because you and your husband didn’t know?’
‘We thought Immy’s biological father was some kid Niamh had a one-night stand with while we were all on holiday together in Corfu four years ago. I only found out she was Bill’s yesterday.’
‘I don’t understand why Sheila would go to such lengths to protect Bill?’
‘She idolised him, always has. I think she believed they had a future together.’
‘That’s why she took Immy? She wanted to play happy families?’
I’d given this a lot of thought on the ambulance ride to hospital and during the wait in A&E. ‘I think Sheila genuinely did come over to drop off the accounts on Sunday, but when she let herself in the side gate, she found Immy in tears because she’d fallen and grazed her knee. Immy told her she didn’t know where I was. Sheila already thought I was a crap mother. It was the justification she needed to take Immy. She saw an opportunity, and she took it.’
And in many respects, Sheila was right. I had been a crap mother, I could see that now. I’d put the company first, chasing success and money because I thought they were what mattered. I’d wanted to prove that I could have it all, not realising that when push came to shove, I’d been as deluded as Sheila. I couldn’t be there for Nate and Immy when I was working twelve-hour days, but I’d told myself I was building
