Someone Like me (13 page)

chapter 25

After dinner I waited until Michael and Sara were safely in their room, before tapping on
Malika’s door. 

‘
Malika, are you awake?’

‘I am now,’ she said. She was wearing a long t-shirt with
pyjama bottoms and her curls cascaded over her shoulders.

‘I’m scared,’ she said. ‘Every now and then I remember the photograph of
Tante Nora that was in Papa’s wallet. It’s really hard not to say anything, you saw how Maman is about her still, after so much time. Well it’s understandable. But what if Dad did have something to do with her disappearance? Why so many secrets? He’s keeping something from us and I don’t like that.’

My eyes were becoming accustomed to the dark.
Malika pulled herself up so that she was leaning her head against the headrest. Her eyes glinted in the dark, the streetlights casting shadows across the room. Every now and then a car purred by.

‘It was him, though, wasn’t it, at St Michel? Or was I seeing things?’

I took my phone out of my dressing gown. ‘It was definitely him. I’ve got proof.’

‘What do you mean?’ Her eyes were large and round.

‘His case was in the room when I went to get the tissues. I looked inside.’

‘Jasmine!
You shouldn’t have done that.’

‘How else are we supposed to find out what’s going on?’

‘We could ask him.’

‘Yeah right, and let him know that we’re onto him. Then he’ll be extra careful. You want to prove him innocent don’t you?’

She bit down on her lip. ‘I suppose so. Let’s see then, what have you got?’

I handed her my phone and showed her the shots I’d taken of the papers. Her dark eyes scanned back and forth. She cried out, clapping her hand to her mouth.

‘What is it?’ I asked. She looked up at me, and with a shock I realised that her eyes were brimming with tears.

‘It’s Nora’s birth certificate,’ she said. ‘Why does he have this? What is he up to?’

‘What are the others?’

She didn’t move for a moment. She was still scanning the text, disbelief written across her face. She shook her head,
then clicked onto the next photo.

‘How many more are there?’

‘Two.’ Her hands were trembling slightly as she held the second up to read.

‘What is it?’

‘It’s a reference for Nora, written by…’ she squinted at the signature and swiped the screen to make it larger.

‘I can’t read the writing at all, wait…oh
it’s printed here. A Marc Dupont from the Hotel Président in Lille.’ She shrugged. ‘Then this last one is a list of job vacancies, all in the hotel trade and all in England.’ She looked up at me. ‘Nora must be in England, she has to be.’

‘Let me see that list,’ I held out my hand. An idea
was  forming.  I  scanned  the list of hotels, all of which were in towns around the south of England. I jabbed my finger at the text, there it was, what I had been looking for.

‘The Hotel
Metropole, Amersham.’ Malika was looking quizzically at me. ‘That’s where Michael stayed when he was in England. Maybe Nora is working there and he went to see her?’

Malika
was shaking her head. ‘I can’t believe he knows where she is. He knows how desperate Maman is for information. Jasmine, I think we have to tell her, speak to Papa. I don’t think I can bear keeping secrets from her.’

‘You can’t,’ I pleaded. ‘Think about it. If you tell Sara then she will insist on speaking to Michael about it. If he knows what we suspect, he can lie and cover up what he is doing. If he is guilty, and don’t forget there is the crucial problem of what his connection with Miriam is, then he can make it very difficult for us to find out the truth.’

Malika looked miserable. ‘The best thing,’ I continued, clutching at the right thing to say, ‘Is that we carry on trying to find out what happened when we get back to England.’

‘I guess so,’
Malika asked. She didn’t look too happy.

    ‘Can we visit this hotel?’

I nodded. ‘Definitely.’

Malika
yawned. ‘I need to get some sleep.’

‘First thing tomorrow I’m going to check my emails and see if Tess has got any news from back home. I haven’t seen any English newspapers, so I don’t know what’s going on with the police and Miriam. They may have found more details.’

I was up early the next morning, and after snatching a

croissant from the breakfast bar, I went straight to the public internet point. I logged straight into my email account. There was an email from Tess.

‘OMG,’ was the subject. I smiled, typical drama queen Tess.

You won’t believe what has been happening here! I have only had four hours sleep due to extensive investigations carried out last night. Josh (remember he is Sadie’s brother who has joined Mark’s band) threw a party at his place as his folks are still away. I went with Mark and the rest of the guys from the band (yes including Khaled cos I know you’re wondering.) The house is AMAZING and he had invited loads of fit boys from his college.
MORE OF THAT LATER. Melanie Moore and her stuck up friends were all there ignoring me but not being as blatant as usual because I gained a bit of street cred being with Mark and the band. Khaled was still being weird with me (Fiona wasn’t there) and he kept coming over and asking me not to say anything about Miriam. I got fed up with it in the end and suggested maybe he had something to hide. He was a bit pissed and got really angry with me and started yelling and Mark and Josh had to pull him away from me. Mark made me tell him what we were arguing over, he threatened to tell Mum I’d been at the party if I didn’t fess up. Anyhow I’m afraid Mark knows everything. Des took Khaled outside and managed to calm him down and persuaded him to leave as Josh was about to call the police. Mark is furious at what we’ve been up to and he says he’s going to speak to Khaled and find out what’s really going on.

So if that wasn’t enough excitement, Josh, who is EVER so slightly gorgeous spent the rest of the evening looking after me and…wait for it….he asked me out at the end of the evening. Oh, and he kissed me…. OMGGG!!! So that’s why I
didn’t sleep at all and I don’t think I ever will again and obviously you must be thinking that I will never wash my cheek again – but  it wasn’t a kiss on the cheek – It was a proper steamy SNOG!!

Can’t wait to chat,

Love Tess xxx

Tess was always having adventures. She hadn’t mentioned Miriam, so I googled her name to look through the latest newspaper stories. I spotted Malika heading towards me.

‘You’re keen,’ she said, ‘budge up.’ She squashed onto the seat beside me. I inhaled a citrusy perfume. Today she was wearing all black, her eyes rimmed with heavy black kohl and silver eye shadow.
So different from Sadie. I realized with a jolt that I had barely given her a thought since I arrived in Paris.

‘Read that,’ I said, finishing off my croissant while she read the article. Flakes of pastry scattered all over my
lap, and I brushed them away, listening as Malika read aloud.

There  has   been  an  overwhelming response  to  last  week’s Crimewatch appeal concerning murdered teenager Miriam Jackson, in particular regarding the missing witness who reported the finding of the body to police. Sightings have reportedly been made in York, Madrid, Edinburgh and the Isle of Wight.

She stopped reading. ‘Not Paris, then.  ‘I can’t believe nobody has recognized him. I suppose if it had happened in France…’

I nudged her. ‘Carry on.’

CCTV footage captured Miriam’s last movements at Marylebone station, but there are no cameras at
Keston. Police are  believed  to  know  the  identity  of  Miriam’s boyfriend, but his name has not been made public at present.

‘Does that mean they know about Khaled?’ Malika asked.

I shrugged. ‘Who knows? If I was him I’d hand myself in, clear my name.’

‘Unless…’ I didn’t want to go there.

‘Hi girls.’

The baritone voice made me jump and
Malika closed the web page down and logged off.

‘You don’t have to stop.’ Michael was wearing jeans and a t-shirt and his hair was damp. ‘Sara wants you to go shopping with her,
Malika, help her buy a present for your cousin. So I thought I’d take Jasmine out on the Bateaux Mouches.’

I looked up at him. ‘What’s that?’

‘The tourist boat, the one I showed you on the river,’ said Malika. ‘You’ll love it.’

‘Don’t you want to come?’

‘I promised Maman I’d help her. She has no idea what to get Chloe. You go with dad.’

‘It’s  our
  last  day,’  he  said, ‘and  we  haven’t  spent much time together have we? Malika has been keeping you all to yourself.’ He smiled, but sounded nervous.

‘OK,’ I said. The boat would be fun, and I didn’t have to talk to him.

We sat up on the deck, a breeze blowing through my hair and I breathed deeply. Michael handed me a can of coke and sat down next to me. I sat slightly at a distance from him. We opened our drinks and I took a long mouthful. The cold liquid tasted delicious.

The commentary drifted across me, I tuned into the English descriptions of ancient bridges and buildings every  
now  and  then.  I  studied  Michael,  still  feeling uncomfortable. He was in good shape for an oldie. He wasn’t bad looking and in different circumstances I would have been proud that he was my dad. He looked across at me.

‘I will make things up to you Jas.’

‘Is it true that you wanted to keep in touch with me?’

‘Honestly, Jasmine, I swear on
Malika’s life.’

‘Mum said the same thing,’ I said quietly. He reached over and took my hand. I let him. His hand felt strong and warm, protective.

‘It broke my heart to leave you, not to see you grow up, your first words, your first steps, all those important landmarks in your life that I missed out on.’

I sighed. ‘You could have stayed in touch, Christmas, birthdays.’ The boat sailed under another bridge. There
were tents on the embankment, a dog tied to a post.

‘I had little choice. My own mother was taking

Caroline’s side. The stress was making me ill; I had to

get
on with my life. I thought about you every day, Jasmine.’

He was squeezing my hand with emotion and I
realised with horror that he had tears in his eyes. ‘Could we start again do you think?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Put the past behind us. A new beginning. Now that I’ve found you again, I don’t want to lose you.’

My stomach was churning inside. His words were taking my heartstrings and twisting them, but I
couldn’t stop thinking about all that other stuff I knew about him. How could I make a fresh start when all the time I was investigating him?

‘Eh Jasmine, what do you say?’

I was glad I still had shades on to hide my eyes behind. I didn’t want him to see my dilemma. I nodded.

     The boat drifted along past more impressive buildings on the banks, and I tuned back into the commentary, Michael pointing out the odd landmark.

‘Michael,’ I said.

‘Yes?’

‘I would like to come back to Amersham with you, stay for a few days. As long as I won’t get in the way of your move.’

His mouth twitched at the corners. He didn’t need to answer.

I felt lighter as we entered the hotel. Getting to know Michael was complicating my theories. I chewed on my
lip.
Could he possibly be innocent?
I was starting to hope so. The ringtone of Michael’s phone interrupted my thoughts. He stopped to take the call.

‘Sara? Sara calm down, what is it? OK, I’m in the foyer now, I’m coming up.’

He turned to me, his face pale and etched with worry.

‘Something terrible has happened.’ Bypassing the lift, he bounded towards the staircase and hurtled through the door, leaving it swinging behind him.
Not Malika?
I thought, and charged after him.

CHAPTER 26

Sara was sobbing in her hotel room,
Malika at her side. I loitered in the doorway, my heart rate slowing down to a more normal level. She rushed over and threw her arms around Michael and spoke rapidly in French. I hovered around the doorway, feeling like a big fat gooseberry. Malika came outside and closed the door behind her.

‘What’s happened?’

The police called to tell her there had been an accident. In Lille. It’s her brother Ali. He’s been in a car crash and . . .’ she stifled a sob and wiped at her nose. ‘He’s dead. He drove into a tree. There were no witnesses, so we won’t know any more until the police have investigated.’ She sank to the floor and I sat beside her.

‘Are you close to him?’

He shook his head. ‘No, I haven’t seen him for ages, but it’s still a shock. Mum has a friend in Lille and she usually goes to see him when she’s staying with her. He lives on his own.’

‘Would you like some tea? Mum always says tea is good for shock.’

Malika managed a smile. ‘That’s very English. I’ll stay here,’ she said.

    I took the lift and went out of the hotel.  There was a McDonalds around the corner and it was easier for me
to  buy  stuff  from  there.  I  stood  outside  and gulped  down some fresh air. A feeling of aloneness had descended on me.

   
Malika was still sitting outside the room when I got back. I put the tea down next to her and took the other two cups inside. Sara was sitting with her back to the door. I pulled the door to behind me and sat down next to Malika. 

‘I’m upset for
Maman. I can’t bear to see her so sad. I think at times like this she misses Nora more than ever.’

‘Aren’t the rest of her family in Morocco?’

She nodded. ‘Nora and Ali came over here together. Nora used to live in Lille, before she went missing. Ali used to visit more often when Nora was around, but he stopped coming so much after that.’

‘He must have missed her terribly too.’

She nodded. ‘I suppose so.’

Michael came back out. ‘
Malika, can you come in here a moment? Sorry Jasmine, we won’t be long.’

‘That’s OK,’ I said. ‘I’m going downstairs for a bit.’

Sadiestyle
hadn’t been updated since I last looked. That was unusual. I logged onto my email to have a look at Sadie’s account. The password was rejected. My skin felt hot. I tried it again, making sure to correctly type the letters. A message flashed up:

Password changed two days ago

Anxiety hit me like  a  punch.  I took some  deep breaths. Had she found out I’d been hacking into her account? I clicked backed onto her fashion blog and looked  at her photograph. I thought back to what Mark and Malika had both said about my hair. Red didn’t suit me. I  wondered  if  she  was  back  from  Ibiza,  then  I stopped myself. I was supposed to be forgetting Sadie.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder. It was Michael. I minimized the screen.

‘How is Sara?’ I asked.

‘She’s OK,’ he said. ‘We’ll have to go to Lille. I’m going to drive her there in the morning. There’s not much she can do tonight. The police want her to identify the body and I think she would be better having a night’s sleep to prepare
herself.’

‘If she can sleep,’ I said. He looked at me.

‘I’m sorry your stay has been so short,’ he said. ‘We need a long while to get to know each other again but I think we had just about made a start, don’t you?’

‘Yeah.’
My voice sounded gruff. ‘What about Malika?’

He sighed. ‘Sara doesn’t want her to go to Lille. She thinks it will be too upsetting for her. I’ll be coming back to England but not for a day or so. We haven’t worked out what to do yet.’

‘She can come back with me! We can stay with Mark, he wont mind, honestly, and Mum will be back mid-week. Then we can come back to Amersham together.’ I looked at him, willing him to say yes.

‘Are you sure? That might work. We can drop you off at the station on our way to Lille. I’ll give Caroline a ring, let her
know  what’s  going on.’  He  pulled  up a chair next to me. ‘How is your mother? I know I have no right to ask, but I would like to know.’

I sighed. ‘She’s OK. She works too hard but she has friends.’

‘What about you, do you have friends?’

‘Tess  is
  my best friend, but she doesn’t live near me any more. She’s back for the summer though, which is why I wanted to stay at her brother’s. She’ll love Malika.’

It felt OK, talking to Michael, letting him take a few
steps into my life. ‘How long will you stay in Lille?’

‘I’ll get Sara settled in – she can stay with Chantal for as long as she needs. To be honest, I think it will do her good. It helps having
Malika sorted actually, it will help take her mind off everything and Sara won’t have to worry about her.’

‘So when will you be coming?’

‘I don’t know for sure. I have some business in England next Friday. I’ll let you know.’ He pushed the chair back. ‘I’d better go and see how Sara is. I need to help her pack.’

As I watched him go I felt a little warm glow inside me. Then I remembered.
Crimewatch.
That picture sprang into my mind every time I had a good thought about Michael. I was going to have to prove his innocence and the sooner I did it the better.