Haven't They Grown(20)

‘What do Murad and Ben think?’ I ask Zan.

‘About the Caters and the Braids?’

This throws me a little. The Caters and the Braids. As if they’re a kind of foursome.

‘About what I saw. Or what I think I saw.’

‘They both think Jeanette Cater is Flora Braid – same person, new name.’

‘Why would she change her name?’ Dom asks.

‘Dad, I’m not psychic. But it’d explain Mum being sure she saw Flora, and the old woman saying she heard the voice of Jeanette.’

‘Hold on. No.’ Dom paces up and down the room. ‘That particular neighbour hasn’t lived on Wyddial Lane for very long, but others must have been there longer. They’d have noticed if Flora Braid suddenly changed her name to Jeanette Cater.’

‘Maybe they did notice,’ I say. ‘We don’t know that they didn’t.’

‘Murad thinks it’s too much of a coincidence for both the Caters and the Braids to have kids called Thomas and Emily.’ Zannah picks up the remote control, turns on the TV and immediately mutes it. She and Ben always do this; I’ve no idea why.

‘Right,’ says Dom. ‘So, he thinks they’re the same two kids, then? Do they belong to the Caters or the Braids? If the latter, how does he explain their failure to get taller or older, despite the passing of twelve years? And the fact that they’re also teenagers living in Florida?’

‘He can’t explain any of that, and neither can you,’ Zannah fires back triumphantly.

‘I think I might be able to. We know a lot more than we did yesterday. Jeanette Cater is the same physical type as Flora Braid, with the same hair colour and style.’ Dom looks at me. ‘The car you saw her get out of is Jeanette Cater’s car, according to her neighbour. And you saw her outside a house that you believed, at the time, belonged to Flora. So … here’s my best guess: the Caters have two young children. They might be called Thomas and Emily—’

‘No,’ Zan talks over him. ‘Another huge coincidence? No way.’

‘I agree, it’s unlikely. So maybe one of them’s called Thomas and the other’s called something else.’ He’s making it up as he goes along. ‘Superficially, they look like Thomas and Emily Braid did when they were little …’

‘So did I imagine hearing Flora’s voice, then?’ I ask him. ‘Did I imagine recognising her face, and hearing her, clearly, call them Thomas and Emily? You saw and heard what happened when I asked Marilyn Oxley about the Caters’ children. How do you explain that?’

‘What happened?’ Zannah asks.

‘Her whole demeanour changed. She went from restrained and suspicious to … full-on contempt, threatening me with the police.’

‘She probably thought you were a pair of paedos,’ says Zannah. ‘Lurking outside the house, asking weird questions about little kids.’

‘Why would she think that? The natural thing for her to think at that point is that I’m having trouble accepting that I got it so wrong. I’ve already asked her if Jeanette has dark wavy hair and a silver Range Rover – two of the things I saw, two identifying details. The logical next thing for me to ask about is the only other thing I saw: the two children.’

‘But you said she also assumed, based on nothing, that Dad was a wife-beater. So she’s not logical. “Yes, great point, Zannah,” said nobody.’

I stand up and walk over to the window. Our house’s location is about as un-private as you can get: the village green – no walls or gates to protect us from prying eyes. There are always people out there walking dogs, parents pushing kids on the swings, people strolling past on their way to the village’s only pub, The Olde Jug.

‘Beth, Zan’s right. There’s no reason to think Marilyn Oxley’s capable of rational behaviour and there’s some evidence that she isn’t. All that faffing around with her front door, as if she wasn’t sure whether to open it or not. And why the hell is she staring out of the window every second of every day? If she’s normal, I’m King Harold of Wessex.’

‘It wasn’t me asking about Jeanette Cater’s children that made her turn like that.’

Dom and Zannah exchange a look.

‘Mum, you just said it was.’

‘Not at first. When I first asked her if Jeanette had kids of around five and three, she was already heading back towards her house, having decided the conversation was over. She heard my question and kept walking. It was when I said their names that she got angry and turned on me. I shouted after her, “Thomas and Emily”. It was hearing those two names that made her flip out.’

‘So what do you think that means?’ says Dom.

‘Wait. Does it mean …’ Zannah narrows her eyes. ‘This is insane, obviously, but … might it mean that the two little Cater kids are called Thomas and Emily?’

Thank goodness someone understands the way my mind works. I’m grateful for any scrap of evidence that proves I’m not losing the plot.

‘You’re going to have to fill me in,’ says Dom. ‘Why, how, could it mean that?’

‘Think about it,’ I say. ‘Marilyn Oxley moved to Wyddial Lane after the Braids left, so there’s no reason to think she knows any of their names. Let’s assume the Cater children are called Thomas and Emily – the two names I heard the dark-haired woman say. When I ask if those are their names, what’s Marilyn Oxley likely to think?’