Page 74 of The Half Sister

She frantically pulls at the drawers at the bottom of the wardrobe, tipping the soft embroidered blankets out onto the floor. She yanks a bedside cabinet drawer from its runners, and a jewellery box falls to the floor, its contents upending onto the spotless carpet.

Tiny human teeth lose themselves between the weave of the wool, and Kate finds herself wondering whether there’s anything to gain from taking one with her to check its DNA.That’sthe way her mind now thinks –that’swhat Jess has done to her.

It’s then she notices the little hospital tag, lying face down amongst the spilled contents of the box. Her hands are trembling as she picks it up. Feeling as if she’s handling a new-born baby, she slowly turns it over and takes a deep breath. And there, written in faded blue ink, are the numbers that are already indelibly etched on her mind

15/09/96

The date goes around and around in Kate’s head. She can hear it so clearly, as if each number is blaring out in stereo, shutting out the sound of the passing traffic and the heavy footsteps from the flat above.

The sudden heat is oppressive, holding her down, making her feel as if she can’t breathe.I need to get out of here, she says to herself as she gets up and stumbles towards the front door. She’s sure that she can feel a pain shoot across her stomach and she cradles it as she makes her way down the stairs.

Disorientated, she steps out onto the pavement, unable to remember how she got here, let alone where she parked the car. The young men, with their hoods up, eye her up and down as she falters, unsure of which way to go. She feels faint and needs to stop and take a breath, but her surroundings are unforgiving and bear no resemblance to how they looked on her way in. She walks a few metres before diving into an alleyway, the coolness of the shadows wrapping themselves around her, making her shiver.

She crouches down on bent knees, getting down low in case she passes out. It feels like she may go any second and she lets her head fall back onto the bare brick wall.

Breathe, just breathe, she says to herself, inhaling and exhaling as deeply as she can.

‘Hey lady,’ asks a hooded figure standing over her.

Fear seeps into her veins as she looks up at the face, concealed by a bandana.

The figure bears down on her and she flinches, waiting for whatever’s going to happen. A strong hand reaches under her arm, lifting her up onto her feet.

‘Bro,’ calls out the young man.

‘Please,’ says Kate. ‘I just...’

‘Where you going, lady?’

‘I...I just need to get to my car.’

‘Bro, hurry up,’ he calls up the alley again. ‘This lady needs some water.’

The boy supports her as she gingerly puts one foot in front of the other, telling her to take her time. Just before she reaches her car, another similarly dressed boy appears with a small bottle of water.

‘You sure you’re going to be all right?’ he says as Kate gets in.

She nods and smiles gratefully, feeling both relieved and guilty that she’d jumped to the wrong conclusion.

Though what shehadn’tbeen wrong about was that the hospital tag in the box she salvaged all those years agowasJess’s. Usually, she’d feel a sense of satisfaction when proved right – after all, this is the proof she’s been waiting for,wantingeven. Because this means that the box she’d held on towasworthy of the credence she’d given it, and not the disrespect Rose had showed it. As soon as she catches her breath, she thumbs through the contacts on her phone and connects the call to the loudspeaker in her car.

‘DS Labs,’ answers the woman at the other end of the line.

‘Hi, Nancy?’

‘Yes.’

‘It’s Kate from theGazette. How’s things?’

‘Oh hi, Kate. Good. You?’

‘Not bad. Listen, I’ve got a personal favour to ask.’ She explains what she needs. ‘I need this super fast,’ says Kate.

‘It’ll be a couple of days at least,’ says Nancy.

‘If you can do it any quicker than that, I’d really appreciate it. I’ll make sure to put a good word in with the editor.’

‘No worries, I’ll see what I can do.’

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