scooped the little boy up and realised how much her arms had missed his weight.
Just as her mum got up to put the kettle on, Eleanor’s mobile rang.
Private number. ‘Did someone forget to claim their PPI?’ she murmured to Noah, and cancelled the call. Seconds later, it rang again.
‘Hello?’
‘Mrs Whitney? It’s Georgia Fenton, from Toby’s school.’
Her stomach lurched. Oh God, what’s happened?
‘What’s wrong? Is Toby okay?’
‘Yes, Toby’s fine, don’t worry.’ The school secretary’s voice was calm as always. She could be ringing to say that Toby’s leg had fallen off and she’d deliver the news in a panic-free tone. ‘It’s just that it’s the last day of term and all the children leave early today, but no one’s here to collect Toby. We sent out a newsletter weeks ago.’
Shit. How had she missed that? She always checked Toby’s bag in the evenings, after he’d gone to bed. Maybe not every night, but definitely in the last two weeks.
‘Oh God, I’m so sorry, I had no idea. I’ll be straight there for him.’
‘Great, thanks. It’s not a problem for someone to wait with him; it’s just that we have our end-of-term meeting in ten minutes …’ And you, useless mother, are an inconvenience.
‘I’m so sorry. I’ll be there as quickly as I can.’
It took her ten minutes just to collect Noah’s things and bundle him into the car. By the time she arrived at the school, out of breath and dishevelled, it had been half an hour since the call. Toby was sitting in the office looking thoroughly fed up.
‘I’m so sorry,’ she repeated, aiming her apology at both the secretary and her son. ‘Are you okay, dude?’
He glared at her. ‘Everyone left ages ago.’
‘I’m sorry, mate, really I am. I didn’t know.’ She looked up at Mrs Fenton, who tried not to look as annoyed as Toby. ‘I’m sorry about your meeting.’
‘It’s fine, Mrs Whitney, really. I bet you’ve got a lot on your plate at the moment.’ She shot a pointed look at the car seat, where Noah was cooing happily at the sight of his brother.
‘Yes, well, it won’t happen again. I’m not usually disorganised; I mean, I have a whole routine …’ It sounded pathetic even to her. Georgia Fenton might not believe her, but it was true. She ran the house with precision and had promised herself that a new baby wouldn’t change that. She was not the type of person to let things fall apart.
‘Even the best-laid plans of mice and men …’ Mrs Fenton ushered them towards the door.
‘That was so embarrassing!’ Toby hadn’t stopped glaring since she’d picked him up, and after a silent car journey home he made his announcement the minute she opened the front door. ‘I bet you wouldn’t have forgotten that thing!’ He shot a killer look at the car seat, where Noah was now sleeping soundly.
‘Tobes, come on, I didn’t forget …’ But it was no good. He’d already run upstairs and slammed his bedroom door behind him.
7
Now
What happened to the newsletter?
Which newsletter? The one from Toby’s school? I threw it away.
You put it in the bin? At home or at work?
At home, I think. Why is this relevant? It was just a newsletter. Come and visit our forest school, et cetera. I barely read it.
Did you know it was from Toby’s school?
Of course I did. He goes to our old school.
How did you think the newsletter had got into your bag?
I thought Eleanor had dropped it there at lunch.
Was it on the top of your bag?
No, it wasn’t.
What do you think now about how the letter got in there?
I know what you want me to say. That she put it in there. That she’d been planning this long before we even knew she existed. You’re right, it must have been her.
Aren’t you going to say anything?
8
Obsession. It starts slowly, like a train pulling out of a station. You can still see the houses and trees around you, you can still make out the details of people in their windows or dark green tractors in their light green fields; then it starts to gain momentum, and the houses are still there, but the people aren’t visible in the windows any more. Colours start to blur, dark green bleeds into light, and you realise that if you don’t find a way to get off now, you are going to spin off the track altogether.
That’s how it was with me, at least. I’ve been watching them for years now and