The Secret Mother(64)

First, I call Carly again, fury building in my gut as I think about how she let herself into my house while I was at work. How many times did she go in there? What was she doing? Snooping through my stuff? Trying to find something to incriminate me for a crime I didn’t commit? Ugh, I’ll kill her when I get hold of her. But then I remember that she could be in terrible trouble right now, and I’m hit by a wave of guilt. My call goes straight through to her voicemail once more. I end the call; I’ve already left enough messages.

Okay, I really don’t have a choice: I’m going to have to risk arrest and go to Cranborne. I can’t go to the police – not yet. Not until I’ve spoken to Fisher. Angela told me he wasn’t dangerous, so I’ll try to persuade him to speak to me. If he becomes angry and refuses, I won’t run away this time; I’ll show him his wife’s letter – the one she gave to Angela. He won’t be able to fob me off once he sees it. And if he calls the police, I’ll show them the letter and then they can deal with the whole thing.

I also have another dilemma – Scott. Part of me wants to leave him out of the loop. He made his feelings perfectly clear. He thinks I’m unhinged and he wants me to leave him and Ellie to their new-found blissful love-in. But I need him to know that it really wasn’t me who took Harry. Now that Angela has admitted she did it, maybe Scott will realise he’s treated me unfairly.

Before I have the chance to talk myself out of it, I call his mobile. It rings three times and then goes to voicemail. I bet he’s seen my number and diverted the call – bastard. I’m starting to see the ex-love-of-my-life in a whole new light.

‘Hi, Scott. It’s Tessa. Just thought you should know that I finally found out who left Harry in our house last Sunday. It was Fisher’s housekeeper. She admitted it. So feel free to apologise for wrongly accusing me. Anyway, I’m going to Fisher’s place today and was hoping you might want to come with me, seeing as I’m not a crazy child abductor. I’ll text you the address in case you want to meet me there. I’m pretty convinced this has something to do with Fisher working at the Balmoral Clinic when we had Sam and Lily. I’m going to make him talk to me. If you want to help me find out what’s going on, give me a call.’

Knowing Scott, he’ll probably play the voice message to Ellie and they’ll convince themselves that I’m some kind of fantasist. But at least he can’t say I didn’t try to keep him informed. As an afterthought, I send him a photo of Elizabeth Fisher’s letter. Maybe that will help convince him I’m not making this up.



* * *



Adrenalin pumps through my body as I drive the few miles to work, tyres hissing, wipers on full speed, the black sky low enough to reach out and touch.

At Moretti’s, I find Ben at his desk, sorting through paperwork. He looks up, smiles and beckons me in. ‘How did you get on?’ he asks, removing his glasses and leaning back in his chair.

I sink into the seat opposite and tell him what I’ve learned. About Angela being responsible for bringing Harry to my house. And about Carly letting herself into my house even before this all happened.

‘Bloody hell,’ Ben says, shaking his head.

‘I know.’

‘What are you going to do?’ he asks. ‘You’ll have to tell the police now that his housekeeper’s admitted it.’

‘I don’t know, Ben. I want to tell the police, I do. But I’m still worried they won’t believe me, or Angela. To be honest, she’s a bit intense. Very religious. Thinks she’s responsible for Fisher’s wife’s soul, or something. They might dismiss her as unreliable.’

‘Why don’t you just show them the letter from Harry’s mother? Surely they’ll take your name off the list of suspects when they see that, and then you can go back to your life without worrying about it any more. Try to put it all behind you.’

With a sinking heart, it’s slowly dawning on me that Angela could very well be a nutjob. She could be making the whole thing up. Maybe she even forged the letter from Elizabeth Fisher. ‘I really think I need to speak to Fisher first,’ I explain. ‘I want to see his reaction when I tell him what his wife and Angela did. I want to see his face. See if he knows more than he’s letting on.’

‘But what about that PIN thing the police gave you? If you go back down there and they arrest you… It’s really not a great idea, Tess.’

‘I know it’s not a great idea,’ I say, my voice rising. ‘It’s a terrible idea. I’m not stupid, I’m not doing this lightly. But if I ignore my gut, I’ll end up wondering about it for the rest of my life. If there’s a chance that Fisher is responsible for Lily’s death in some way, I owe it to her to find out. I know I’m clutching at straws, making connections where there might be nothing. But if there’s even the tiniest possibility of foul play, I need to find it. I have to do this for Lily. Can you understand?’

Ben is quiet for a moment. ‘I think so,’ he finally replies. ‘Look, I don’t have children of my own, and I can’t even imagine what you’ve been through, but one thing I do know is that I admire you for pushing through when everyone’s been against you. You’re brave, Tessa. You must have been an amazing mother. Your children, they were lucky to have you.’