Now Sally-Ann was fiddling with her dress, her hair, her jewellery as she prepared to meet her child. ‘I’ve found them,’ Amy had told her, without giving their identity away. ‘They’re a professional, involved in the investigation. I’ve arranged a meeting. They won’t know who you are.’ Shocked that Amy already knew them, Sally-Ann had been overcome by emotion, and grateful for any contact at all.
They were almost at the designated meeting point, and Amy reiterated her conditions. ‘Don’t mention who you are, no matter how much you want to,’ Amy warned. ‘God knows, I wouldn’t wish our bloodlines on anyone.’
‘I won’t,’ Sally-Ann said, almost breathless with nerves. ‘I wouldn’t know where to start.’
Amy gave a long, hard look at her sister. ‘I don’t know . . . You look like you’re about to jump out of your skin.’
Closing her eyes, Sally-Ann inhaled some deep breaths. ‘I’m OK. Honestly. Look . . .’ She held up her hand. ‘No movement. Ninja calm. You’ll barely know I’m here.’
They were outside McDonald’s now, and Amy had arranged to meet at the fountains across the road. The young woman was dressed in black, sitting on a bench waiting for Amy to show. There was caution in Amy’s voice as she halted her sister’s movements. ‘Wait. I need to tell you something.’ Now, Amy was the one feeling nervous. She could not put it off any more. ‘Lillian lied about your son. That’s why you couldn’t find him. It’s why you’re better off away from her.’
The blood drained from Sally-Ann’s face as she looked around. ‘He’s not here, is he?’
Amy shook her head.
‘You brought me here to teach me a lesson.’ Sally-Ann glared at her sister in a look of stunned disbelief. ‘He’s dead, isn’t he? And here was I, thinking he was part of some paedophile ring. Trying to get my head around it all. They killed him.’ Tears brimmed as her emotions swept her away. ‘Used him up and killed him before he could tell anyone.’
Amy flushed. She had been wrong to hold back the truth until now. ‘Hey, it’s OK.’ She took her sister’s hand. ‘Your child is here, and very much alive. But Lillian lied to you. I’ve got a niece . . . and you’ve got a daughter.’
Sally-Ann’s eyes shone as she took in the news. ‘No . . . that can’t be right. I . . . I had a boy.’
Amy hated her mother for what she had put Sally-Ann through. ‘Did you though? Lillian never said you had a son; you did. She just went along with it.’
‘What? Why would she do that?’
‘So you’d never find her,’ Amy said. But she took no joy in the revelation.
‘So how did you know . . .’ Sally-Ann stared at her sister as the realisation sunk in. ‘Mum told you in hospital, didn’t she?’
Amy nodded. ‘She must have been hedging her bets. Trying to keep us on side in case she took a turn.’
‘Or she could have been remorseful for what she’d done.’ Sally-Ann dabbed her eyes with a tissue before blowing her nose.
‘Why do you see the good in everyone?’ Amy felt irked. Her plan had backfired. By withholding the information, she had become the bad guy. She stepped out of the way as a family with a double buggy walked past.
‘The question is, why don’t you?’ Sally-Ann replied with sympathy in her eyes. ‘Not everyone is out to get you.’
‘Tell that to her victims.’ Amy sighed. ‘Look. I’m sorry. I should have told you sooner. I wanted you to see her for what she was. This is meant to be a happy day. So, let’s do this. Do you want to meet your daughter?’
Swallowing, Sally-Ann nodded. ‘All these years, I imagined my son growing up. I pictured him climbing trees, playing football. I can’t believe I had a little girl.’
‘Well, you have one, and she’s sitting on that bench right there. Now c’mon,’ Amy said, checking for traffic before crossing the road.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
‘Hi, sorry, do you mind if my sister joins us?’ Amy smiled. ‘She’s a health professional.’ It was stretching the truth, but the best excuse Amy could think of for bringing her sister along.
Rising from the bench, Rachel looked from Amy to Sally-Ann, seemingly at a loss for words. She was dressed in skinny black jeans, Dr. Martens and a sleeveless black shirt. Today, her hair was swept back from her face, and only now could Amy see her resemblance to Sally-Ann.
‘Well . . . I . . .’ Rachel muttered, looking Sally-Ann up and down.
Tentatively, Sally-Ann shook Rachel’s hand. ‘Nice to meet you,’ she said, breaking the ice with small talk.
Amy slipped on her sunglasses, feeling a mixture of pride and sadness envelop her. Pride for the young woman Rachel was, and sadness that they were not meeting under better circumstances. It was probably best that Rachel never knew her true parentage. She only hoped that Sally-Ann could resist blurting it out.
‘So, you weren’t tempted to join the police too?’ Rachel asked Sally-Ann as they sat together on the bench. Before them, the fountain shot spurts of water from the ground in a timed display.
‘Goodness, no.’ Sally-Ann laughed. ‘I’m not brave enough for that. I work in a private hospital.’
‘It’s pretty brave though, isn’t it? Palliative care. You must feel their loss.’
‘I suppose,’ Sally-Ann replied. ‘Much like social care, I guess. We all try to do our best.’
‘Have you had any progress with Matty?’ Amy said, steering the conversation to the case.
‘Yes, thanks to you. We know who he is.’ Rachel cast a cautious eye over Sally-Ann. ‘Life hasn’t been kind to him, but he’s still young enough to turn things around.’
‘I don’t suppose it’s been easy for any of them,’ Sally-Ann replied, the smile fading from her face. She unzipped her bag, slid out a bottle of mineral water and took a sip. The sun was high in the sky now, beating down on their backs. ‘Can I get you a drink?’ she said to Rachel, pointing to a
