The Visitors(46)
She felt inordinately pleased with herself that she’d managed to create such a passable upbringing. If only it had been true, her life mightn’t have been in such a mess.
Markus returned to the room and Holly realised that she and Brendan had been chatting for about half an hour and it had all been about her childhood.
‘Well, you sound absolutely perfect for the role I have in mind, Holly.’ Brendan had smiled. ‘I’ll set up a meeting with my wife tomorrow, how’s that sound?
‘That sounds wonderful,’ she’d said, and for the first time in a while, she had spoken the truth.
* * *
The feeling of things going to plan felt incongruous now to Holly.
There had been so much disappointment, sadness and tragedy already in her life, she’d almost accepted it would always be her cross to bear.
But she hadn’t anticipated the job at Kellington’s going so well. Suddenly work felt like a massive priority to her. She thought of it as far more than a wage each month.
It was the key that would open so many doors.
If she continued with her successful sales record, she would soon have the money she desperately needed to enable her to change so much about herself and, more importantly, to fund whatever action was required to find Evan again.
It was the most effective tool in changing her world as quickly as possible.
She reached down for her laptop and opened it up on her knees, scowling at the bright screen.
The browsing history window was open on the desktop. She had a habit of closing all windows at the end of each session. Besides, she couldn’t even remember looking at the browsing history.
Still, she had to smile when she saw the list of entries.
Searching for missing persons, identity documentation and tracing information online… it made her sound like some kind of secret agent or master criminal. If only her life were that exciting.
She entered a few names into the Google search bar.
David Lewis.
Nick Brown.
Cora Barrett.
Baker Crescent.
Nothing of any significance came up. She closed the laptop again in annoyance. Why couldn’t she just get a break for once?
The people around her were keeping quiet about something that had happened to David. Nick Brown might have been involved too. And it seemed Cora knew all about it.
Holly hadn’t been living here very long, but Cora trusted her enough to invite her to move into her home and give her her own set of keys… so why didn’t she qualify to be told the big secret about David’s traumatic past?
It only served to make Holly more curious.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Holly
The following morning, Holly boarded the bus for work with a spring in her step.
After paying one of the now-familiar drivers and exchanging pleasantries, she took a seat in the middle of the half-empty vehicle.
The bus set off, lumbering past the park and the big houses that gradually got smaller and smaller towards the outskirts of the city. There, the terraces and converted Victorian villas began to morph into raw, Brutalist-style apartment blocks set on disproportionately small squares of scuffed grass edged with vandalised wooden benches that nobody ever seemed to sit on.
She felt lucky to be living with Cora in a nice spacious house in a leafy street in a good area. Not that things couldn’t change.
She’d thought herself lucky to be living in a nice place all those years ago too.
* * *
When Brendan had first opened the door to the apartment in the Salford area of Manchester, he’d stood back and allowed Holly and Markus to enter first.
‘Wow!’ she’d breathed, hardly able to believe her eyes.
They’d stepped straight into a large open-plan lounge overlooking the water. A glossy white kitchen fitted neatly into one end and a sleek beech laminate floor led to double French doors with a Juliet balcony.
The room had been fully furnished, with petrol-blue couches, a compact dining table with four chairs, a fluffy rug, a coffee table and an impressive flat-screen television fixed to the wall.
‘There are two bedrooms and a bathroom through there.’ Brendan had pointed to another door, but Holly had her face pressed up against the window, taking in the view. ‘That’s the River Irwell you can see out there. I know this place is small, but it’s just for the next couple of nights, until we get you sorted out properly.’
‘A couple of nights?’ Holly had stared at him. ‘I could seriously live here for the rest of my life.’
Brendan had laughed.
‘The business owns a few properties and we use this apartment for visiting delegates, that sort of thing. Trust me, it’s quite basic.’
‘It’s brilliant.’ Markus had nodded. ‘Thank you.’
When Brendan had left, Holly turned and looked at Markus.
‘Why did you lie to me?’ she said accusingly. ‘Why didn’t you tell me that Brendan had arranged last night as some kind of twisted test?’
‘I’m sorry,’ he sighed. ‘I didn’t know where we were stopping for sure. I thought it best to keep it to myself so you didn’t worry on the journey over.’
‘How considerate of you, and I thought we were friends.’