Her One Mistake(37)

“Oh, I know, but tonight she’s getting a lift with Tilly’s mum. She offered and, you know—well, to be honest, I didn’t know if you’d be going or not so I said that would be fine.” Gail flashed me a row of white teeth and took a step back, already preparing her exit.

“I’m still taking Molly,” I said. “So it’s not a problem for me to take Rosie, too. And Tilly lives on the other side of the village.”

“Oh, well, thank you, Charlotte. But I might as well let her go with Tilly, as I’ve agreed to it.”

“Right,” I said. “I see.”

“Well, I’ll see you soon,” Gail said, waving and turning on her heel.

“Gail!” I called before I had time to consider what I was about to say. “Wait a minute.” I dragged Evie across the playground. “Do you really think you can’t trust me to take your daughter to ballet? You’re worried I might come home without her?” My voice cracked as I spoke and I knew I was going too far.

“No! God no, my lovely, nothing like that,” she said, smiling that smile again that didn’t reach her eyes. “Like I said, I just didn’t know if you’d be going or not.”

“You could have asked me,” I cried. “That’s all you needed to do. You could have just asked first.”

“Yes, I know, I realize that now of course. Silly me.” She gave a small, stupid laugh and I thought if I reached out I could slap the fake smile right off her face. I whisked Evie toward my car as quickly as her little legs would take her.

? ? ?

“SHE’S A STUPID bitch!” I cried on the phone to Audrey as soon as I got home. “What are they all saying about me? And don’t say nothing, because I know they are.”

“Take no notice of Gail. She’s narrow-minded and neurotic. She’s bound to overreact.”

“You know that’s not true, she’s only saying what everyone else is thinking,” I said, telling her what Karen had reportedly said. “Does everyone think I can’t be trusted?”

“No. Of course not.”

“Then why does it feel like that?” I said. “I’ve seen the comments online, Aud. Have you read them? I have. Look at them. Read the article on the Dorset Eye website. No, better still,” I said, grabbing my phone and flicking up the internet, “I’ll send you the link.”

“Charlotte, you need to calm down. Whatever these comments are saying, they’re just trolls. They’re nasty people with small-town attitudes and nothing better to do. These are not the thoughts of anyone who matters, and you know that deep down.”

“But it’s about me. It’s personal. They’re talking about me.” I slumped into a chair. “So it doesn’t matter what I know deep down because this is my life they’re discussing.”

“I know, honey, I know,” she said calmly. “But they aren’t your friends. They aren’t anyone who knows and loves you.”

“Except they are. It’s Karen and Gail.”

“Who haven’t said anything horrible about you,” Audrey said. “They just act stupidly sometimes. They’re putting their families first and maybe they don’t even know what to do for the best, but they’ll regret it if they know they’ve hurt you.”

“Did they say anything about me before?” I asked. “Was I judged before Alice went missing?”

“Charlotte,” Audrey sighed. “No, of course not. What happened to Alice could have happened to any one of us. It is horrific, but it didn’t happen because of you or anything you did.”

“Then how come it feels like it did?” I said in a whisper.

Before hanging up, Audrey reminded me about the school social the following Wednesday. “You should come along.”

“It’s another six days away,” I said. “Anything could happen by then.” I didn’t want to think what I meant by that, but my hope was that Alice would be found. The thought of another week passing and still no news was unimaginable.

“Of course, and God hoping little Alice will be found safe and sound. But think of the social as a time for you to speak to the people you think are talking about you, and then you can put your mind at rest.”

“Maybe.”

“Seriously, Charlotte, you should.”

I promised Audrey I would think about it, but I knew I wouldn’t go. I’d rather continue hiding than face the mothers who’d be watching me with fascination. As soon as I put the phone down, it rang again. It was Captain Hayes asking if I would be in for the next hour. I told him I wasn’t going anywhere and mindlessly watched Sesame Street with Evie as I waited for him.

When he arrived I took him through to the kitchen, making small talk as I made a drink for Evie, who was demanding a snack and asking if the policeman would play with her.

“No, Evie,” I said, handing her a packet of raisins and an apple. “Go back to the playroom and I’ll be in soon.”

“Sorry,” I said to the captain, once she was gone. “Do you have kids?”

“Yes, I have two,” he said gravely. “Mrs. Reynolds, I have some news.”

“Oh?” The look on his face told me it wasn’t going to be good.