And give Mike my best.’ I smiled at him.
‘Oh, Jess. Now I feel shit. I am going to the nets, but if I see him, I will have a drink with him.’
‘And I don’t mind. I get that it’s difficult. Just don’t hide it from me.’
He had the grace to look a little sheepish. ‘I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.’
‘They’re a bit tougher than that,’ I lied and kissed him again.
Once he’d gone, I picked up the phone and called Mum.
‘Jess. How are you?’
‘I’m good, thanks. I wondered if you were around and I could pop over.’ I was hoping that now we’d reset things I might be able to steer the conversation around to Dad and what had happened when he’d left.
‘Oh. Is anything wrong?’
‘No, I just…’
‘The thing is … well, I’ve sort of … I’m going out with Douglas for lunch.’ The latter was said in a rush of words as if she’d finally decided to confess.
‘Oh, lovely.’ I downplayed my delight, I didn’t want my skittish mum getting defensive. This was a major step forward and inside I felt thrilled that she was finally making changes in her life. ‘Are you going somewhere nice?’
‘Yes. We are. He’s taking me to a restaurant on the riverside in Wallingford.’
‘Nice. Well, it’s a lovely day for it.’ I felt a touch of envy that she could enjoy the day without any of the complications Sam and I faced. ‘Enjoy.’
After another minute of general chat, I hung up, deciding that I’d give Shelley a text and perhaps invite myself over to Pettyfeather Lane to sunbathe in the garden.
But as soon I finished the call my phone rang.
‘Hi Holly,’ I said. ‘Everything OK?’
‘No, it bloody isn’t. That ex-girlfriend, she’s only gone and posted pictures of the refuge on her flaming Instagram account, and posted a piece on her stupid bloody vlog-thing, and announced the sodding address online.’
‘What?’ My brain couldn’t seem compute the information. ‘Hang on. Victoria? Gimme a sec.’ I put the phone on speaker and went into the Instagram app, needing to see it before my brain could process it.
‘Holy shit!’ I said when the picture came up, confirming Holly’s words. ‘I don’t believe it.’ I stared at the pictures scarcely able to believe my eyes. Why would she do this? Did she even know what she’d done?
‘You’d better believe it. All hell is breaking loose here. You need to get her to take it down. George wants to know how it happened. He’s breathing smoke and fire like you wouldn’t believe. Talking internal enquiries and God-knows-what.’
The trustees ran the charity that funded the refuge. George Renshaw was the head of the trustees and my boss.
‘I’ll get Sam to call her straightaway. What the…? How the hell did she get that picture?’
‘No idea. I take it you didn’t tell her.’
‘God no!’ I didn’t feel quite so cocky now at thwarting her nosiness. This was retaliation for not telling her what I did. And suddenly I realised why she’d followed me to work that day.
‘Oh shit! I know how she found it. She followed me. In the car. One morning. I thought I’d lost her. But she must have parked up and doubled back and followed me on foot.’
‘I’m sorry, Jess, but it’s bad. Shit is hitting the fan in major bloody gob-loads. Can you be here in two hours’ time for a meeting? And for God’s sake, whatever you do, don’t tell George that you think she followed you.’
‘Who lives here?’ In the video, Victoria posed the question with an artful tilt of her head, tucking her thumbs in her stylish trench coat. Oh yes, she was rocking the chic lady-detective-circa-1940 look, along with the scarlet Veronica Lake lips, and I wanted to rip her stupid head off. ‘Today I’ve turned detective and it’s a mystery I’m asking you to help me solve. Our very own Through The Keyhole. This unassuming house, number…’ Despite the fact this was the second time I’d watched the bloody vlog, I shuddered as she reeled off the address and held up her phone to focus on the unremarkable brown pebble-dashed house with bars at the window and the steps up to the porch with its heavy-duty front door.
I’d already phoned Sam and asked him to call her, and tell her to take it down. He’d come home from the cricket club immediately and was now sitting beside me as I watched the video again. I knew it wasn’t his fault but I could