and support your mum, until they realize that they’re barking up the wrong tree.’ He offers a smile of reassurance, but Lauren gleans none.
‘Do you think they know who killed her already?’ asks Kate.
Matt looks at her. ‘I think they have someone’s DNA, other than the husband’s.’
‘What, so now all they need to do is match it up?’ asks Lauren, somewhat naively.
‘All they need is a name,’ says Kate dourly.
Lauren can’t bear to imagine it’s one they all know.
They walk from Greenwich station to their parents’ house in silence, playing out the next few minutes in their heads.
Lauren presumes it will largely fall to her to tell their mother about the secrets from the past; to destroy the love she’s held for her husband all these years. Because whichever way you look at this, the absolute best-case scenario is that their father was a serial philanderer – firstly with Helen Wilmington, then Julia Woods, and God knows how many other women. They’re the cold, hard facts that are about to crush their mother’s world. The worst case doesn’t even bear thinking about.
Lauren’s mouth instantaneously dries up as she turns into her parents’ quiet cul-de-sac, and by the time she reaches their house, it’s nigh on impossible to swallow. In the summer sunshine, with its manicured garden and flowering hanging baskets, the house looks the epitome of the suburban dream. She shudders as she imagines what’s about to go on behind its perfect facade.
49
Kate
‘Mum!’ shouts Kate as she lets herself in with her key. She can hear Noah crying, calling out for his mummy.
‘Ssh,’ says Rose. ‘Just be quiet, it’ll be all right.’
‘But I want my mummy,’ the little boy cries.
Kate looks at Lauren and in that split second, they share a look of utter confusion.
‘Noah!’ yells Lauren, as she flies into the living room.
Kate’s right behind, but it doesn’t shield her from what greets them. Her knees lock and her heart jumps into her mouth as Jess stands in front of them, holding Jude.
‘Jess!’ cries out Kate, unable to comprehend the scene that is playing out in front of her. Rose is sitting on the floor, backed up in the corner of the room, with Noah on her lap. Emmy is sat with them, looking up at Jess with fascination.
‘Mummy!’ squeaks Noah through his tears.
‘Stay here!’ says Rose abruptly, gripping his arm tightly.
‘But I want Mummy,’ he cries, trying to pull away from her.
‘Don’t come any closer,’ says Jess, as Lauren instinctively moves towards her son’s open arms.
‘What?’ manages Lauren, sounding as if someone has their hands around her throat. ‘Wh-what are you doing? Give me my baby.’
‘Stay where you are,’ says Jess, holding Jude tighter to her.
‘Jess, please!’ shrieks Lauren.
‘I mean it,’ says Jess.
Kate edges forwards, out of Matt’s cautionary grasp, with her arms aloft.
‘Jess, what’s going on?’ she says. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘I thought I’d pay your mother a visit,’ says Jess acerbically.
‘But I thought you were going to the police station?’ says Kate, choosing her words carefully. ‘I thought you were going to give a DNA sample.’
‘What, to find out if I’m my mother’s daughter?’ Jess lets out a hollow laugh that ricochets around Kate’s whole being. ‘I don’t need a DNA test to prove who I am.’
‘I-I don’t understand,’ stutters Lauren.
Kate has no idea what’s going on, but she needs to get control before this all becomes so much worse than it already is. ‘Jess, just give Jude to me,’ she says, forcing herself to sound conciliatory when all she wants to do is scream. She inches ever closer towards her precious nephew who’s gurgling away contentedly, thankfully oblivious to the hostility surrounding him.
‘I’m warning you,’ says Jess. ‘Stay where you are.’
Kate weighs up what’s the worst Jess can do if she just makes a lunge for Jude and snatches him out of her grasp. They might grapple for a few seconds and he could get pushed and pulled, but it wouldn’t take much to overwhelm Jess’s slight frame.
She leaps forward, flinching in anticipation of the resistance she’s going to come up against. Jess raises her right hand and Kate stops dead in her tracks, so close to Jess that she can feel her breath on her face. It feels like it’s all happening in slow motion as the metal blade catches the sunlight filtering through the net curtains. In that moment, Kate finds herself wondering how on earth this can be going on behind the doors of such an ordinary house.
‘Kate!’ barks Matt, bringing