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Deep in thought, Laura crossed the pedestrian plaza and stepped out onto the main road. The road appeared clear, but some sixth sense seemed to alert her to danger – a car had appeared out of nowhere and was bearing down on her at tremendous speed. Momentarily paralysed with shock, she barely made it to the pavement before the car shot past.

Shaking, Laura stared after the fast-moving vehicle, but it was too late to see the registration or make a note of any other detail. She shuddered. If she’d taken just a second longer to reach the pavement, she’d now be lying injured, or maybe even dead … Her heart was pumping frantically, and she wondered if what had just happened was simply due to her own stupidity. She’d checked the traffic before she’d stepped out, hadn’t she? The road had been clear, she was sure of it. It seemed as though the car and its driver had been waiting specifically for her … Laura desperately wanted it to be her own stupid mistake, because if not, she had to face the fact that someone had just tried to mow her down.

She shook her head. She was being paranoid. Then her heart plummeted as a picture of Jeff pushed its way into her brain. Had that been him in the car? Suddenly her peace of mind evaporated, and her eyes began to fill with tears.

Back in Bayside, Laura rang her friend’s mobile phone, not even bothering with preliminaries. ‘Kerry – are you sure you haven’t told anyone where I am?’

‘Of course not! Why do you ask? Has something happened?’

Laura bit her lip. ‘I don’t know – I’m not sure. Maybe I’m just being paranoid.’

‘For God’s sake, tell me what’s bothering you!’

‘Look, I guess I’m just on edge, and starting to imagine things. It’s probably nothing to worry about – I’m just being stupid, as usual, but I think someone tried to run me down tonight.’

She could hear the gasp at the other end of the phone.

‘Oh my God,’ Kerry whispered. ‘What happened?’

‘I was walking back from the theatre – I’d just said goodbye to some of the others from the university – and I was crossing the main road and a car came out of nowhere and headed straight towards me. I barely got out of the way, and I know I wasn’t imagining it.’

‘Did you manage to see the driver?’

‘It was dark and, anyway, I was too busy jumping to get out of the way.’

‘Was it a man? Do you think it could have been Jeff?’

‘I don’t know. It could have been. I just feel sick. I don’t know what to do any more.’

Laura’s voice was close to breaking, and Kerry hurried to reassure her. ‘Look, it was probably just an accident, and completely unconnected to Jeff.’

But Laura wouldn’t be mollified. ‘You’re trying to tell me that I came all the way to Dorrington, and the most dangerous and inconsiderate driver in the whole city just manages to find me?’

‘But there’s no way Jeff could know where you are. There just isn’t, Laura. It must have been an accident,’ Kerry replied.

By now, Laura was beginning to calm down a little. ‘Yeah, maybe you’re right,’ she said grudgingly. ‘But I got one hell of a fright.’

‘I’m sure you did, but just think about it – Jeff must know
you’ve disappeared, but he won’t have a clue where you’ve gone. Stop worrying, and enjoy your time in Dorrington.’

When Kerry had rung off, Laura threw herself down on the sofa and cried. She didn’t know if she was crying from fear or relief, or simply the stress of trying to second-guess Jeff. Kerry was right – he couldn’t possibly know where she was.

Could he?

C
HAPTER
63

‘H
appy birthday, Kerry!’ Laura said, hugging her friend as she arrived at Treetops, and handing over a prettily wrapped parcel.

‘Thanks!’

Frantically, Kerry tore off the paper to reveal a full-colour book on engineering. Her eyes sparkled with delight – there was no doubt that Mr Thornton had been the one to choose it for her – Laura wouldn’t have been capable of selecting such a detailed book on her own.

Ellie appeared from the kitchen and waved a greeting to Laura. Then she smiled fondly at her daughter. ‘Before I bring in the birthday cake, there’s an extra-special present for you,’ Ellie told her, handing Kerry the gift that Alan had chosen for his secret daughter. ‘I’m giving it to you now – before I light the candles – because you might want to use it before I start slicing the cake!’

As Kerry began ripping the paper off, Ellie urged her to slow down. ‘Please be gentle with it!’ she warned. ‘This gift is fragile!’

Thrilled, Kerry uncovered a box containing a top-of-the-range camera.

‘I thought you might like to take a picture of your birthday cake before I cut it,’ Ellie suggested to her daughter, and Kerry nodded excitedly.

‘This is brilliant! Thanks, Mum!’

Soon the camera was out of its wrapping, and Kerry was loading the roll of film that had been included.

As Ellie re-entered the room, carrying a fresh cream and sponge birthday cake lit with twelve candles, Laura reached for the camera.

‘Here, let me take a photo of you blowing out your candles,’ Laura said.

‘Come on, Kerry – it’s time to make a wish!’ Ellie said. ‘If you don’t hurry up, the candles will burn down and melt into the cake!’

As Laura and Ellie stood watching her, Kerry closed her eyes and blew hard. There was only one thing she wished for – so it was just as well that wishes were kept secret.

‘Bravo – you got them all in one go!’ said Laura. ‘That means your wish will definitely come true! And I think I got a really good photo of you, too.’

As Ellie cut up the birthday cake and put slices onto plates, Kerry was now busy taking photos of Laura, her mother, her presents, and even the view of the garden from the window.

‘Before you get cream all over your face, why don’t I take a photo of you and your mum together?’ Laura suggested.

Ellie nodded, pleased at Laura’s suggestion. Smiling happily, Kerry surrendered the camera once again and sat down beside her mother, who draped her left arm over her daughter’s shoulder.

As the two of them smiled at the camera, Laura looked through the viewfinder. ‘Got it!’ she exclaimed, after clicking the shutter. ‘Although I say it myself, that is going to be a lovely photo!’

‘Mum, would you like to see the photos taken at Treetops on Kerry’s birthday?’

Sylvia nodded, looking at the two excited faces in front of her. Both girls had grown so much in the past year, she thought, and soon they’d be on the threshold of womanhood. How had all those years gone by so quickly?

‘Of course – I’d love to see them!’ Sylvia took the proffered bundle of photos, and was immediately impressed by how sharp and well focused they were. Clearly, the Beckworths owned a high-quality camera. She was also curious to see inside Ellie’s house again – she hadn’t been there since Kerry was born, and she was keen to see any changes in décor that Ellie might have made.

Flicking through the photos, Sylvia made suitably admiring comments. There were an inordinate number of pictures of Kerry’s birthday cake, and of Laura and Kerry together.

‘I took that one,’ Laura said happily, as Sylvia found herself gazing at a picture of Kerry and Ellie together.

Instantly, Sylvia’s eyes were drawn to the hand that Ellie had draped over her daughter’s shoulder. It was her left hand, and on her third finger she was wearing the most amazing diamond and gold ring – far more spectacular than the one Janette owned. Sylvia’s heart gave a painful lurch. It couldn’t be! No, it was out of the question – her mind was going into overdrive as usual. Alan and Ellie? No, it just wasn’t possible! Her heart was thumping painfully, and she realised that she hadn’t heard a word that the children had been saying to her.

Sylvia tried to smile as she handed back the photos and rose from her chair. She had to get out of the room before the children realised that something was wrong. She knew that tears weren’t very far off, and she couldn’t let them see her weeping. Her entire world was falling apart, yet she needed to hold herself together, for everyone’s sake. If she could just get to the bathroom, then she could cry alone and in peace …

A sob rose in Sylvia’s throat. Now she realised why Ellie had always been so distant. What a fool she had been! Her stomach was churning at the thought that Alan and Ellie had been laughing at her behind her back, thinking how pathetic she was, and how easily they had managed to deceive her …

In the bathroom, Sylvia locked the door. Now that she finally knew the truth, she couldn’t let it go any more. This time, she was going to confront Alan.

C
HAPTER
64

A
s Laura set off for work, she made her usual early morning detour along the Bayside esplanade, breathing in the salty sea air and revelling in the glorious morning sunshine.

As she left the esplanade and headed up the already busy street to her bus stop, she suddenly felt as though she was being watched. Turning around quickly, she was just in time to see a quick glimpse of a man who’d been staring at her before he melted away into the crowd.

Laura felt a stab of fear in the pit of her stomach. She was positive the man was familiar to her, but her glimpse of him had been so brief, she couldn’t place him. Where had she seen him? And why was he staring at her? Had Jeff sent him? Memories of her encounter with the speeding car the previous week now assumed massive proportions in her mind again.

Despite what Kerry thought, it looked as though Jeff had found her again.

As she walked through the centre of Dorrington on her way home from the university the following evening, Laura experienced another prickly feeling running down her spine. She spun around, just in time to see the same man staring again, before he merged into the throng of people crossing the pedestrian plaza.

As she headed towards her bus stop, Laura kept checking
over her shoulder, but the man didn’t reappear. It was the second time that someone had been watching her closely, and she didn’t like it one bit. While she might have been mistaken the first time, a second time seemed to confirm her worst suspicions.

Laura was now feeling shivery and ill, and kept watching fearfully as she crossed the main road to the bus stop, conscious that this was the exact spot where she’d encountered the speeding car so recently.

She was relieved to see her bus approaching and quickly settled herself inside. She wondered if she was becoming paranoid. Yet within a short space of time, someone in a car had tried to run her down and a man had followed her from the Bayside esplanade to her bus stop. Surely, after these weird incidents, she was entitled to feel paranoid? Or maybe she was simply losing it. This was what Jeff was doing to her. He was twisting the knife, and loving every minute of it.

C
HAPTER
65

S
ylvia leaned her head out the window of the car as Kerry walked up the Greygates driveway.

‘Hello, Kerry – I’m afraid Laura won’t be able to play today. We’re off to get new school uniforms.’ Sylvia grimaced, looking at her watch. ‘At least we will be, when Laura deigns to turn up. I’ve been waiting for ages for her to appear.’

Behind his mother’s back, Pete was making funny faces at Kerry through the car window.

Ignoring Pete, Kerry smiled politely at Sylvia. ‘I think I know where she is, Mrs Thornton – shall I go and find her for you?’

Sylvia gave the child a benevolent smile. ‘Would you, Kerry? Thank you so much! We’re running late, and I really need to get going.’

Setting off at speed, Kerry ran through the woodland that made up most of the huge garden at Greygates. She knew exactly where Laura would be hiding. Since Kerry had helped her and Pete to build a platform in the chestnut tree all those years ago, Laura spent much of her free time there.

Reaching the tree, Kerry stood at the base and looked up. She could see Laura’s legs dangling over the edge.

‘Laura!’ she called up. ‘You’d better hurry up and get in the car. Pete’s already in the back, so you’ve no excuse for delaying any longer.’

‘All right, all right,’ Laura called down tersely. ‘I’m on my way. I don’t need you nagging me as well as Mum.’ Laura was annoyed with her friend. ‘Where were you yesterday evening?’ she asked angrily. ‘I needed your help to sort out my skateboard – there’s definitely something wrong with one of the wheels, and you’re so good at that kind of thing.’

Kerry kicked the base of the tree. ‘I can’t be at your beck and call all the time, you know.’

Laura was annoyed, but she said nothing.

Kerry looked up into the tree. ‘Since you’re not free to play today, I’m going home. But you’d better get a move on – your mum really needs to get going.’

‘Yeah, yeah, okay.’

Laura made a move to climb down the tree, but as soon as she saw her friend heading back to Treetops, she sat back on the platform again. She’d brought bread for the injured blackbird she’d found the previous evening – its wing was hanging limply at its side – but it didn’t seem interested in eating. Nor did its shiny orange beak look as bright as it had the day before. Laura wondered if it needed water. Why hadn’t she thought of that before? It was probably dehydrated. Climbing down the tree, she found an old bowl filled with rainwater. Carrying it up, she placed it in front of the bird, who blinked its eyes warily.