Sophie’s husband has tried to pin something on me so he looks innocent.
‘Who’s Greg? Look, I’m sorry, Kelly, but I have to follow procedure. I have to take you in, and then you’ll get a chance to tell us your side.’
‘My side of what?’ I feel like I’ve stepped into an alternate universe. And I still can’t help thinking that this is some elaborate prank. Although who on earth would think this was funny?
Ash speaks into his radio and the female officer gets out of the car. He points down the road and she starts heading in that direction.
‘What’s she doing? Why is she walking towards my children? Ash, talk to me.’
‘I’m sorry, Kelly.’ He doesn’t look me in the eye.
‘You’re my friend! And anyway, I don’t even know what I’m supposed to have done.’
‘We’ll look after the kids while you come down to the station with us.’
‘What do you mean, you’ll look after them? You mean you personally?’
‘Uh, no. We’ll place them in temporary care.’
‘What! No you will not!’ Tia would be my natural go-to person to look after the kids, but being Ash’s sister, I’m reluctant to get her involved. ‘Let me call Fiona. She’ll have them for me while I sort this out.’
Ash shakes his head. ‘You can make a call when we get to the station.’
‘Please, Ash! They’re my kids. At least let them have some normality while this is being straightened out. I don’t want them going off with some stranger.’
He sighs and nods. ‘Okay, quickly.’
With trembling fingers, I take my phone from my bag and call Fiona’s number. She answers immediately, thank goodness. ‘Fi, it’s me.’
‘Kelly, are you okay?’
‘No. I need your help.’
‘My help? Of course, what do you need?’
‘Can you come over to mine right now and pick up the boys.’
‘Uh, sure, what’s happened?’
‘I’m being arrested.’
‘Ha! For a minute, I thought you said you were being arrested.’
‘I am. I did. Ash is here to take me into custody.’
‘What?!’ Fiona’s outrage is loud enough for Ash to hear. I give him a look that says, You see? He frowns and makes a winding-up motion with his finger.
‘Fi, can you take the boys back to yours while I try to straighten this out?’
‘Shit. Are you okay? Don’t worry, I’ll pick up the kids right now. Are they at yours?’
‘Yes.’ My voice breaks. Hearing Fiona’s concern is undoing me.
‘Kelly, don’t worry. We’ll sort this out, okay? And the boys can stay with me for as long as you need.’
‘Hopefully it won’t be for long.’
‘Don’t worry about that. Why were you arrested? Surely it’s a mistake. Shall I call someone? A lawyer?’
Ash is holding his hand out for my mobile.
‘Look, Fi, I have to go.’
He finally takes my phone from me and puts it back into my bag. ‘PC Shales will stay with the boys until Fiona gets here.’
‘Thanks.’ At least that’s something, I suppose. At least I don’t have to worry about my boys for now. ‘I can’t believe you’re doing this, Ash. After what happened with Michael last year. After what the kids went through. And now you’re putting us through whatever charade this is!’ I’m not normally an angry person. I’m calm, even-natured, gentle. But right now, I want to yell at Ash and pummel his chest in frustration. This is ridiculous. Whatever I’m supposed to have done, I bloody well didn’t do it.
At that moment someone steps out from the back of the ambulance. It’s Sophie. She’s red-faced, like she’s been crying.
‘Sophie! Are you okay? What happened? Was it Greg? Did he come looking for you?’ I turn to Ash. ‘Is she under arrest too? Did Greg report her to the police, is that it? Because you should know that Sophie’s hiding from him. She’s scared. He’s been abusive—’
‘Okay,’ Ash says firmly, ‘that’s enough now. Save it for when we’re at the station.’
Sophie has stopped dead in her tracks. I notice her wrists and ankles have red welts around them, as though she’s been tied up. When she spots me, her face drains of all colour. She lifts her arms slowly and points in my direction.
‘That’s her,’ she says, her eyes sharp with fear. ‘That’s the woman who drugged me and locked me in her attic. I… I thought she was going to kill me.’ Her breathing is ragged, and she sounds like she’s about to have a panic attack.
I stare back at Sophie in mounting confusion and horror. ‘What are you talking about? Sophie, it’s me, Kelly.’