make an appointment to have my hair blow-dried. Sorry, I don’t know your name.’
‘Georgina. I’m the owner of this establishment.’ Her exaggerated smile is accompanied by a nod of the head.
‘Hi Georgina, pleased to meet you.’ I put my hand out to shake hers but she’s pulling out a book from under the counter and hasn’t seen it.
‘So you decided to give us a shot.’
I’m slightly confused by this comment – is she pleased or being sarcastic? I don’t know what to say, so I just nod. Lifting her face from the book she asks me when I was thinking of having it done. She tells me she has an appointment at ten thirty tomorrow morning. I take it, hoping that, come ten thirty in the morning, Shay won’t be screaming for his mammy.
Thanking her, I head for the door only to hear her call after me.
‘And don’t worry love, we’re fully qualified.’
Why did she say that? Making out I think I’m some big shot from the city who wouldn’t be bothered with their little salon. The cheek of her! I’ve a good mind not to show up in the morning. But that would only give her more reason to dislike me. No, I’ll go, build bridges. If people around here think the city girl believes she’s too good for the place, I need to let them see that’s not the case. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. The truth is, I feel lucky to be here at all, to be getting a second chance.
Chapter Eleven
Later that night when Conor is in his office off the hallway, I decide to ring Amanda and fill her in on what I’ve discovered so far. I’m surprised at how relaxed I’ve become since dragging Amanda on board.
She answers the phone after two rings. ‘Well, what did you find out?’
‘I met Ciara, one of the girls who was at the baby shower, and she told me there was no sexual crime and no burglary. That wasn’t in the paper.’
‘Did she mention anything about a suspect?’
‘She said they hadn’t got one yet, and she got her information from the detective so it’s probably true.’ Amanda remains quiet on the other end of the phone. ‘I don’t think she’d have been telling me all that if she thought Conor had something to do with it. Do you?’ Amanda doesn’t answer me. Her silence worries me. ‘Amanda, do you think Conor could have done this?’
‘No… No… I was just thinking. You need to find out more.’
‘Well I did make an appointment in the hair salon for tomorrow morning so I might find out more then.’
‘Good. I bet the woman is thrilled to be getting you as a client. Mrs Caldwell.’
I laugh at this idea, but don’t tell her what really happened. I don’t want Amanda to have any excuse to dislike the people here. This is where I live now. These are Conor’s people.
‘Maybe,’ I say.
‘Anyway, see how you get on and ring me. I’ll get back down to you as soon as I can. You can show me the card then.’
‘But I don’t have it.’
‘What do you mean, you don’t have it? Where is it?’
‘It’s gone.’
‘Gone where?’
‘I don’t know. I put it with some other cards but it’s disappeared. It’s gone.’
‘Laura…’
‘Amanda, I know what you’re thinking. Did I imagine it or dream it? I can assure you I did not. That card was in my hand. Someone took it. It’s gone.’
There’s silence at the far end of the phone. Then Amanda speaks.
‘Okay, I want you to do something for me… I want you to write a list of anyone who you think might have sent that card. Can you do that?’
Jesus, I feel like I’m in the middle of some big investigation now. Amanda is determined I find out who sent the card. She’s still trying to protect her big sister.
‘I’m not sure, Amanda. Maybe I should just forget about it. After all, I know it could not have been Conor, he was with me the night Vicky was killed. He came to bed with me that night… maybe I should let it lie. If it was someone trying to upset me, that might be the end of it.’
The sound of her dragging in a deep breath echoes down the line. ‘Laura, you have to find out who sent it, someone has it in for you… or Conor, or both. You can’t ignore this. What if something else happens? What if something happens to Shay?’