Page 62 of The Temp

‘Oh, Zelda, please don’t tell me…’

Zelda holds up a hand. ‘I dumped him but he won’t take no for an answer. You’re right, Bella, he’s never going to leave his wife and family, and I was stupid to believe he would.’

‘Well, I’m glad to hear it.’ I tear off a piece of pastry.

‘Anyway, moving on, I read the article about Liam online.’

I sit in silence as Zelda tells me how the police thought Liam’s death looked suspicious but had nothing to go on, until a bat watcher came forward with new evidence – video footage of Liam running through the woods half naked, slipping and hitting his head, then getting up and staggering into the woods, where he must’ve collapsed and died.

‘Bat-Watcher left his camera on a tripod and went off to have a sandwich and a cuppa in his car. He didn’t see the recording until a few days later when he uploaded the SD card onto his computer. Police discovered Liam’s clothes scattered along a path and a skid mark, matching the tread of his shoes. There was some of his blood on a tree matching his DNA. There’s a chance he took his own life. A lot of people use drugs – even prescription ones. Liam’s poor wife, though. She must be in bits. They’ve got kids, haven’t they?’ I nod, swallowing, hold up three fingers. ‘What would drive a father of three to do something like that?’

‘Depression is a demon.’ A beat and then, ‘They weren’t his biological kids, by the way.’ I press a finger into the flakes of pastry on my plate, avoiding her gaze. Should I tell her about Georgia, how Liam harassed me, badgered me for a paternity test? Zelda will want all the details. I’m not sure I’m up for an interrogation. It’s water under the bridge, anyway. ‘His wife had them with her ex-husband. Liam adopted them. Loved them to bits. Sent me several photos of his family.’

‘Oh.’ Zelda frowns, takes a gulp of coffee. ‘Right. Well, you don’t have to share the same DNA to be a dad,’ she points out, quite rightly. ‘I wonder what pushed him over the edge. Sounds like he had it all.’

‘Who knows?’ I say, feeling sick. Surely, he didn’t kill himself because he discovered Georgia wasn’t his. No, I’m being silly. Why would he? ‘Maybe it was accidental.’

‘Yeah,’ Zelda agrees. ‘Liam was always a bit of a renegade. I often wondered what you saw in him. Apart from the obvious.’ She grins wickedly. ‘He was gorgeous.’

‘Looks aren’t everything.’ I glance at my watch and it occurs to me that I haven’t heard from Daisy. She said she’d message once she picked Mum up. Not like her. She’s usually very efficient. I hope nothing’s wrong. ‘Have you heard from Mum yet?’

Zelda shakes her head. ‘I rang just before you got here but there was no reply. They must be stuck in traffic.’

‘Right, shall we make our way round there? We can let ourselves in. Surprise her.’

‘I’ll drive. My car is parked across the road.’

We’re sitting in Zelda’s Fiat 500, a few minutes away from Mum’s when my phone starts ringing and vibrating in the breast pocket of my denim jacket. ‘It’s Georgia,’ I say, as we go over a bump in the road. ‘They must be home. Hello, darling, how…’

‘Oh, Mum, where are you? I’m at Gran’s. Please come now.’

‘We’re almost there, love. Has something happened?’

‘Mum,’ Georgia cries. ‘Please, hurry. Nan and Daisy are fighting.’

‘Fighting?’ I turn to Zelda, who is singing along to Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance on the radio. ‘Turn that bloody thing down,’ I holler. ‘I can’t hear what she’s saying.’ The music dies. ‘Say that again, darling. I didn’t hear you. I thought you said Nan and Daisy were arguing.’

‘I did,’ she cries. ‘They’re shouting.’

‘What’s wrong?’ Zelda says, eyes flitting from me to the road.

‘Georgia said Mum and Daisy are having a fight.’

‘A fight? What the fuck? Ask her what…’

‘Shhh…’ I wave a hand as we drive over a bump. ‘Georgia, do you know what they’re arguing about? Did something happen? Did Mum upset her?’ Mum isn’t the most tactful person I know, takes pride in shooting from the hip.

‘I don’t know,’ Georgia whimpers. ‘There was a bit of tension in the car. Nan started praising you for helping Daisy out, saying you’ve always had a kind heart. Daisy looked upset, put out. The flats she saw today were minging. The foyer in one of them stank of piss and the other had a filthy mattress against the wall of next door’s flat, with a syringe next to it.’ Daisy was upset because the flats weren’t suitable. So what? There’ll be other flats. ‘Oh, Mum, will you be long? I don’t know what to do.’

‘We’re almost there, Georgie.’ We turn into Mum’s tree-lined avenue.

‘I…. Oh, God, Mum.’ I hear a crash and a scream in the background, and in that moment my motherly instincts kick in and my pulse goes mental.

‘I’m here, baby.’ We pull up outside Mum’s semi, blocking in Daisy’s blue Peugeot in the driveway. ‘Can you open the door?’

‘Oh fucking hell, Mum, she’s gone berserk. Daisy, stop.’ There’s a kerfuffle. Another loud crash. A scream. ‘Put the knife down!’ And then the line goes dead.

Chapter 57

---