was hard seeing him like this. She blinked away her tears as Ellie gave her a quick hug. She was a tall, elegant woman with short blonde hair and impeccable dress sense. Melissa had always known Peter would marry someone like her. Sometimes, she wondered if Bill and Rosemary wished Patrick had met a girl like Ellie too.
‘Peter’s been reading the newspaper to Patrick,’ Ellie said. ‘You know how he likes his news.’
‘Yes, he does. Just don’t mention the football results,’ Melissa said, trying her best to be jovial, despite the fact that her husband was lying in front of her in a coma, tubes coming out of him.
‘Or the elections,’ Peter whispered. ‘I spoke to the team. I think their only option might be to find another candidate.’
Melissa sighed as she looked at Patrick. He would be so disappointed.
‘Hello, Grace,’ Ellie said. ‘Your dad’s going to be okay, you know.’
Grace stared at her father, eyes blinking.
Melissa went to her, taking her hand.
‘Twins not here?’ Peter asked.
‘Don’t think they’re quite ready yet,’ Melissa said.
Peter frowned. ‘Oh.’
‘Any news on who did this?’ Ellie asked.
‘Nothing,’ Melissa replied.
‘Beggars belief in a town like Forest Grove. What’s the world coming to?’ Peter said, his anger betrayed by his clenched fists. ‘Actually, I know exactly what the world’s coming to.’
Melissa knew what he meant: the local factory workers; specifically, any of them who weren’t English. Whenever Peter and Ellie came around for dinner and Peter had a few drinks, his ‘dinner party racism’ would rear its ugly head, the same as she remembered happening with his father, Tommy. Ellie always looked uncomfortable, Patrick too, but neither of them pulled Peter up on it. Once, Melissa couldn’t take hearing it any more and, in as polite a way as she could, she asked him why he seemed to have such a problem with people who weren’t English. He’d got defensive and, later that evening, Patrick had asked her why she’d made Peter feel uncomfortable.
‘He made me feel uncomfortable with what he was saying,’ she’d said.
‘You know Peter, though, he’s a good man. He’d just had a few too many drinks.’
‘Yes,’ Melissa had replied. ‘A few too many drinks, which lowered his inhibitions, made him say what he really thought. Well, hopefully he’ll know not to now.’
‘No, what will happen now is he’ll be too scared to say what he thinks around us.’
‘That’s totally fine with me!’ And Patrick was right, Peter did tone it down.
But now it looked like the attack on his best friend had made him think his veiled racism was acceptable again in front of Melissa.
‘I have to say it,’ he said. ‘This would never have happened before the factory opened. I’m all for multiculturalism, but if it means one of my friends being hurt, I refuse to hold back on my thoughts.’
‘The man was British,’ Grace said.
Melissa looked at her daughter in surprise. ‘What do you mean, darling?’
‘Yes, I thought nobody saw anything?’ Ellie added.
Grace frowned and Melissa put her hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently. ‘Grace hasn’t had much sleep. You know what her imagination is like.’
Peter and Ellie exchanged looks. Melissa knew they found Grace a bit strange. Their daughter Zoe was the same age, but she couldn’t be any more different from Grace. In fact, Melissa was pretty sure Peter had been the one to encourage Patrick to get Grace checked out for autism after comparing the two girls.
‘We really must go, Peter,’ Ellie said, getting her coat. ‘Will you be at the search tonight, Melissa?’
Melissa frowned. ‘Search?’
‘Dad arranged one for tonight,’ Peter said proudly.
‘It was just on the Facebook group,’ Ellie said.
‘What are they searching for?’ Melissa asked.
‘The knife,’ Peter replied. ‘Find the knife and you have a chance of finding the DNA of the scum that did this to Patrick,’ he said, looking forlornly down at his friend.
Melissa noticed Grace’s eyes widen and she struggled to control her own expression. He was right, of course. She really needed to find out what the hell had happened to that knife. She thought of the posters she’d found too. What if more appeared . . . what if people saw them when they walked through the forest to get to the meeting that night?
‘I see,’ she said. ‘I had no idea.’
Ellie put her hand on Melissa’s arm. ‘I’m sure someone is planning to tell you, it was only just announced.’
‘Right,’ Melissa said, brow still knitted.
Peter squeezed her arm. ‘Maybe see you there later, then? Stay strong, we’re all