Sara Foster - Come Back to Me

They headed downstairs and sat with him in the large open-plan reception area.

‘He’s practically confessed,’ the detective said. ‘We’ll be able to charge him, I’m sure. I’ll take a statement from you both about what happened today, and then, further down the line, we might need you back again, Amy.’ He looked at her seriously. ‘Is that okay? Without you, if he decided to try to get off, we wouldn’t have much of a case. I’m hopeful he might spare us all and go with guilty, but we just don’t know what will happen once the lawyers have had their hands on him for a while.’

They all knew he was asking Amy if she was a flight risk.

‘I can do what you need me to,’ she answered, meeting his eyes. Alex believed her. From the look of it, the detective did too. In fact, Alex thought, it looked as though Amy believed herself as well.

‘Well, let’s go down to the station now, and do the statements, and then you’re free to go,’ Detective Thompson said. ‘No point in keeping you here longer than needed.’

The next morning, Alex woke up before Amy, and lay staring at the patch of blue sky he could see through the window. He heard her stirring sometime later, and turned around and smiled at her. She smiled briefly back, then got up, headed for the bathroom and got dressed. When they were both ready, they went down for breakfast.

‘What do you want to do today?’ Alex asked, munching on a mouthful of toast.

Amy looked at her plate, thinking.

‘I want to leave,’ she said, looking up. ‘To find a flight and go – back to England, or anywhere else, I guess; just away, for starters. Is that okay?’

Alex nodded. He knew there was no point remaining there any longer, but leaving meant taking the next step. It meant he had choices to make. And he didn’t feel ready. He didn’t think he would ever feel ready.

Early on Friday morning, Mark was on his way to see Chloe with two things on his mind. He had to make sure he collected all her Abbott notes and picked her brains. And he was also going to tell her how he felt about her.

He’d been going over and over the family meeting in his head. A number of things had unnerved him.

First, of course, his dad had Parkinson’s. He’d spent the past twenty-four hours swotting up on it when he could grab a spare moment, and none of it had made pleasant reading. He kept trying to imagine how his dad would cope when the symptoms became obvious. So far, Mark hadn’t even noticed him have a tremor; he wasn’t looking forward to the first time he did, sure that he wouldn’t know how to react.

He was discomfited by the relationships in his family. He knew Henry had always had a soft spot for Di – different things were expected and hoped for from a Jameson daughter. But he had been touched by the rough affection he had seen between his mother and father when they had thought no one was looking. And he was also surprised at how strong and unshakeable his mother was – while Henry was barking out commands, it was easy to believe he was the linchpin of the family, but, perhaps, all the time his mother had been stealthily doing that job herself.

So where did he, Mark, fit in to all this? He was an absent brother and a pretty crap son, with little idea what to say to any of them, and even less notion of how he could take charge. Out of everyone who had been involved in the family counselling session, he had been the limp lettuce. It made unpleasant thinking.

But here was one thing he could do something about. Chloe meant a lot to him, and he had to tell her before her husband came back. Alex had been gone for a while now – really, how would those two ever get back on track after this? Whereas he and Chloe might just be able to… The last time, they’d been young, inexperienced, ambitious. This time Mark felt more confident that he could settle down, and that his career wouldn’t suffer unduly.

And if she’d lost the child, as Neil had implied, he could tell her now without there being anything in the way. There could be other children for Chloe. Mark had no objections to starting a family sooner rather than later. It might be better if Chloe left the firm, anyway; there could be problems if the two of them continued to work together.

Chloe’s mother opened the door.

‘Mark, it’s been a while,’ she said, civilly holding out a hand.

‘Hello, Margaret,’ he replied, shaking it. ‘Is Chloe up and about?’

‘She’s in the sitting room.’

Mark went on ahead and rounded the doorway into the lounge. He stopped in shock. Chloe’s face was pale, her eyes had dark circles underneath them, and she was nestled under a duvet surrounded by pillows.

‘Bloody hell!’ he said.

Chloe smiled. ‘Did you just think I was skiving?’ she asked. ‘Nope, I am actually not feeling so great.’

‘I can see.’ Mark sat down opposite her. It wasn’t quite how he’d imagined pouring out his heart – he’d have preferred her well and seated opposite him in a restaurant somewhere so that it felt more romantic – but she didn’t look like she’d be going out any time soon, and this couldn’t wait.

‘I’ve put all the Abbott papers over there.’ She indicated a pile on the table nearby. ‘Do we need to go through anything?’

‘No, it’s fine. I’ll call you if I have any questions.’ Mark paused. ‘I also came to find out how you are.’ He moved closer and took her hand. ‘I’ve been really worried about you.’

‘I’m fine,’ she said. ‘Just got to take it easy.’

‘So,’ he began, nervous of the answer to the question he was about to pose. ‘Did you… are you…?’

Chloe looked puzzled.

‘I got the impression, from Neil, that you might have lost the baby,’ Mark blurted.

Chloe looked surprised. ‘No! And thank god! I don’t know where he got that from.’

As he watched her rubbing her belly, Mark tried to take in this information, and what it meant for them. What should he do now?

‘It gave me a scare, but I’ve just got to rest up a little and it should all be fine. I’m really sorry about the Abbott case, though, leaving you in the lurch,’ she said.

Mark’s mind had wandered. ‘What?… Oh, don’t worry. I can handle it.’

‘I’ve no doubt about that,’ Chloe laughed. She paused, and looked at Mark curiously as he sat awkwardly opposite her. ‘Is there something on your mind, Mark?’

Mark looked down. He still had hold of her hand. She was watching him, meekly, sweetly. She was waiting. Could it work with a baby that wasn’t his? Should he speak? He had an innate feeling that this was his one opportunity, right here and now.

‘Chloe, I’ve been thinking…’ he began. He cleared his throat. ‘About us.’ He cleared his throat again and patted his chest. Get a grip, man .

Chloe was looking a little uncomfortable, he noticed, but it was too late to back out now. He ploughed on desperately. ‘These last few weeks I’ve come to realise -’

‘Mark, don’t.’ Chloe put a hand on his arm and shook her head as she looked at him. He fell silent, appalled at how this seemed to be unfolding.

‘I have really enjoyed spending time with you recently. You have been such a good friend -’ she paused, seemingly lost for words, while Mark stared down at the slick lines ironed into his trousers.

‘Mark,’ she tried again, ‘I’m so -’

He knew for sure that he didn’t want her pity. ‘Forget it,’ he cut in, more abruptly than he intended, and waved his hand dismissively. Chloe reached across to touch his arm again, but he moved away. ‘No need to feel sorry for me, Chlo,’ he said, a slight coldness to his tone. ‘It’s not like anything has changed. Friends?’