‘Darlin’, I’m not disagreeing with you, but people have been known to lie.’ He reclaimed the piece of paper, tucking it back into his pocket. ‘Whoever this Julie is, she’s deleted her account on Miracle-Moms.’
‘But the site checks them out. Roz told me. They do a full background search.’
‘Yes, and that was two months ago. It’s their policy to shred their users’ details the second they close their account. Even if I got a court order, they wouldn’t have a lot to give me.’
Outside, the rain slammed against the window, followed by an ominous howl of wind.
Dympna’s glance fell on the wall clock as the seconds counted down. What was Roz doing now? Was she even alive? ‘We need to go public with this,’ she said, breaking the silence. ‘We should tell Mam, and Roz’s mam, too.’
‘Aye, I suppose we owe her that,’ John said gloomily, running his fingers through his hair. ‘Why don’t you go back to your flat while I have a chat with your mam.’
Dympna hated breaking her vow of confidentiality to Roz, but there was no doubt there was something underhand going on.
Battling the wintry weather, she boarded the bus for home. She pressed her phone to her ear, listening to a voicemail that Seamus had left. He sounded low, a world away from his usual cheery self as he asked her to call him back.
Shoving her phone back into her pocket, Dympna reflected on how much things had changed in the last few months. As scary as it was, there was a side of her that enjoyed being pushed out of her comfort zone. She remembered the look on her mother’s face when she said she was joining the police, felt a tingle of excitement at the prospect of applying for the role. Perhaps this was the shove she’d needed all along. She stared out of the dirt-streaked window. Deep down, she knew that if she found Roz, she would also discover the answer to the question playing on her mind – who was the father of her baby? And by the sound of Seamus’s voice, he already knew.
CHAPTER FORTY
ROZ
I closed my eyes and inhaled the cool night air. It felt so good to be outside. Each breath revitalised my senses and I savoured every precious moment on the rooftop bench. Sheridan was away, at a business meeting with her agent in LA. Daniel had brought me up here via a private lift that came straight to the roof. I absorbed the smells and sounds of New York. Silence was a stranger to its streets. In the distance, a police siren wailed, and I was brought back to ground.
‘The depth of your religious conviction . . . It’s inspiring,’ Daniel said. ‘I wouldn’t for a second want you to give it up.’
He was responding to my request to go to church the next day. Getting a straight answer from him was tougher than I’d expected. He had changed since Sheridan had injected me, and had apologised for the situation I found myself in. Yet he was at the mercy of his wife’s decisions – for now. Slowly, I was gaining his trust, making him see things my way. We had shared several stolen kisses since he’d untied my bandages from the bed. And tonight, my compliance had been rewarded with a breath of fresh air.
I realised he was staring at me, and a flush rose to my face.
‘You look so like Sheridan when she first started out.’ His hand crept to mine and our fingers intertwined. ‘Don’t tell her, but I had a crush on her when I was a teenager. I used to watch her in It Takes All Sorts.’
I smiled in response. It felt strange that he was talking about his wife while holding my hand. ‘I don’t think I look that much like her,’ I said awkwardly.
‘But you do. The beauty is that you don’t realise it. She used to be like that. Wholesome. The girl next door. At least, her character was . . .’ His voice trailed away as he stared at the skyline, lost in thought.
I had my own priorities to worry about. What would I do when Daniel got fed up of hand-holding and wanted more? Being on the roof was a breakthrough, but did it lead me any closer to escape? Daniel had insisted I wear one of his hoodies and tuck my hair underneath my top. My eyes had roamed the hallways