Blink(22)

Nobody spoke.

Evie breathed out and looked down at her worksheet.

‘What about your family, Evie? Tell us a bit about them.’ Harriet smiled.

She watched as the child’s breaths grew shorter, noticing her cheeks turning pink. She didn’t speak.

‘Your grandma?’ Harriet prompted her.

‘Nanny had a cat called Timmy but he got old and then he went to live with the angels and now she has a cat called Igor.’

‘Igor,’ Thomas repeated under his breath.

‘And your mummy and daddy, what do they do?’

Evie lowered her chin and mumbled something incoherent.

‘Look up and speak clearly please, Evie, so that everyone can hear,’ Harriet said.

‘Mummy used to sell houses to people.’

‘And your daddy?’

Harriet watched, fascinated, as two dark pink patches appeared in the middle of the child’s cheeks.

‘He was a soldier.’ Her voice was barely audible.

‘He was a soldier?’

Evie fell silent.

‘Can I go to the toilet, please, miss?’ Thomas Manton asked.

Harriet glared at the boy and he shrank back down into his chair.

‘Explain to us what you mean by saying your dad was a soldier,’ Harriet said, turning to Evie again.

‘He had an accident,’ Evie said.

‘What kind of an accident?’ Jack said.

Evie looked down.

‘Jack asked you a question,’ Harriet said. ‘Again, Jack?’

‘What kind of an accident?’ Jack repeated.

‘He fell off a cliff, in Af – Af-gan-stan,’ Evie said, her voice cracking. ‘He died.’

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

‘He fell off a cliff, Jack,’ Harriet repeated.

Jack’s mouth dropped open.

‘Well, there we go. That’s Evie’s story,’ Harriet said brightly. ‘Her mummy doesn’t work anymore and her daddy used to be a soldier but he fell off a cliff and died.’

Matilda giggled.

Evie let out a sob.

‘You mustn’t blame yourself, Evie,’ Harriet said. ‘It’s unpleasant, but it’s something you must learn to face. And we are here, as your friends, to help you do that. Isn’t that right, children?’

‘Yes, Miss Watson,’ the blank faces chanted glumly and in unison.





20





Three Years Earlier





Toni





The estate agency was spacious and bright inside, and the layout was more or less exactly as I’d expected. There were four desks dotted around the large shop with an agent sitting at one of them, currently dealing with customers. I looked back at the windows and found that, just like my last office in Hemel, I could barely see out onto the street due to the property posters that were dotted over the entire glass frontage.

Not wanting to interrupt the busy agent, and having arrived ten minutes early, I pretended to be absorbed in looking through the available lettings folders. The shop was warm because of all the glass and I felt a trickle of perspiration snaking down my back.

I leafed blindly through the property details, wondering what Evie was doing in class. I hoped she was having fun making new friends and settling in well.

‘Can I help you?’

A tall, athletic-looking man in his late thirties came striding towards me. He had on a smart brown suit, cream shirt without a tie and, crowning it all, a shock of bright red and somewhat unruly hair. The result of this rather eclectic mix was unexpectedly attractive.

‘Toni Cotter.’ I held out my hand. ‘I’m here for the interview. I’m afraid I’m a bit early.’

‘Ahh yes, of course. Toni.’ He smiled and his green eyes creased up until I could barely see them. Close up, his face was a mass of freckles so dense, it looked like he had a patchy tan. ‘I’m the owner, Dale Gregory. Really pleased to meet you.’

We shook hands and I pasted on a smile, trying to remember how I used to act when I had confidence in my abilities.

‘If you’d like to come through, I’ll introduce you to Bryony James, our residential sales and lettings manager.’ He turned back and smiled at me as he walked. ‘Just the two of us interviewing you today, Toni. All very informal, so nothing to worry about.’

Did I look so obviously terrified? I actually felt slightly better. I liked Dale and the friendly atmosphere of the place was reassuring. I even dared to think that I could probably imagine myself working here.

If I could only get this job, it would be such a massive step forward for both me and Evie.



* * *



Dale led me through the shop and into a short, cooler hallway at the back that was lined with four doors. Dale pushed open the one that was already ajar.

A woman wearing an immaculate black suit and crisp white linen blouse, who I assumed was Bryony James, sat scrolling through property details on a tablet on one side of a large conference table that took up most of the space in the room.

Her jet-black hair fell in front of her face like a straight and glossy curtain. Her nails were long and oval and painted in the fashionable new slate-grey shade that I’d seen in the expensive fashion magazines I often leafed through on the shelves at the supermarket.