Page 107 of My Mistake To Make

‘Cara, please. I promised.’

‘A dead woman. You promised her, not knowing I’d be sitting in front of you.’

She reaches for my hand.

‘Talk to your dad, honey. I’m sorry, but promises mean a lot to me.’

I try to focus on the photos, try not to sour the mood, but Lynnie can tell I’m off. As she packs up the albums into a bag for me to take away, she’s quiet, and the hug she gives me before I leave tells me how sorry she is, how worried she is that this has affected our budding relationship.

‘I understand, Lynnie. She was your friend, and this isn’t your mess to clean up.’ I smile, and she nods. Then I get in the car and drive home.

Dad doesn’t answer mycall, so I send him a text and ask him to call me as soon as he can. Then I get to work. I look through the photos Lynnie gave me, trying to piece together a timeline of Mum’s life in Forest Falls. I find some photos with Dad in, so I know they must be some of the last ones before she left. Then I look for my box.

When Dad handed me the shoebox of letters, photos, and greeting cards, I only looked at a couple of things before I slammed the lid back on, furious with him for keeping this secret from me and furious with Mum.

I look in the cabinet in the living room where I’m sure I put it, but it’s not there, so I head to the understairs cupboard where anything that doesn’t yet have a place lives.

I rifle through the boxes and shelves, but it’s not there either. ‘Where the fuck,’ I mutter to myself as I try to remember the last time I saw it.

Heading upstairs, I check under my bed, in my wardrobe, the guest rooms, the reading nook, and nothing. I know I haven’t put it in the attic because there’s nothing up there. It must be in here somewhere.

I look again, pulling out boxes stored in all the rooms, before heading back downstairs. Knowing it’s not there before I’ve even looked, I open the pantry, the laundry room, and even the kitchen cupboards—not here.

I head outside and open up my car, looking behind and under the seats and in the boot—not here.

Have I ever seen it in this house? Could I have left it in the cabin? The thought panics me, and I feel frantic. Zoe is away with Bo, so I can’t ask her. I could head down to the bar now and ask Bud, Zoe’s deputy manager, but if she’s put it somewhere safe, he wouldn’t know. She would have told me, though. She would have given it back. It’s been over a month since I left the cabin.

I’m getting frantic, remembering that I looked through it after that first night at Lynnie’s so that means it must be here. I turn to head back inside when I hear the rumble of Doug’s bike. Since he doesn’t have Bowie, he’s been using the bike to get around. He parks and climbs off, depositing his helmet before walking toward me, his smile falling when he sees my expression.

‘What’s wrong?’

I don’t want to worry him. ‘Nothing, it’s nothing.’ I chew my lip, and he tilts his head.

‘Cara, tell me.’

I take a breath, then offload. ‘I can’t find something, and it’s important. And I’ve looked everywhere, and it’s not here, and I’m panicking.’

‘Hey.’ He reaches out and grabs my arms gently, but I’m getting upset thinking about the irreplaceable contents of that box. ‘It’s okay. I’ll help you look.’

‘No, you don’t... You can’t...’ I inhale deeply. ‘I’ve looked everywhere. It’s not here.’

‘Okay, what is it?’

‘It’s a box. A shoebox of letters and things.’

And the deed to the house, I remember. I put it in there, along with the printout the bank gave me of the account Roberta left.Oh god.

‘Things somebody might want to take?’

I raise my gaze to meet his, and his sympathetic half-smile tells me everything I need to know. The break-in. Jessie. Shit.

Someone Else Entirely

Doug

I’ve never seen herthat way. The whole time I’ve known Cara, she’s had this calm about her. Even when she’s been nervous or pissed at me, she’s never been frantic like that. I don’t know what’s in that box, but I have to get it back, and that means I have to talk to Jessie.

I managed to calm her down enough to get her inside, and, Jesus, there’s shit all over the place.

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