Cheesecake and Confusion by Agatha Frost

Author:Agatha Frost
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Pink Tree Publishing LTD
Published: 2019-09-27T04:00:00+00:00

9

Julia didn’t know what could be achieved from driving straight to Fern Moore, but she did it anyway. She tried to convince Barker to stay at the cottage to take care of his swelling, but he had insisted on going with her.

“It’s all my fault,” Julia said when the tower blocks of Fern Moore came into view. “I should never have let her leave in that storm. I should have gone after her.”

“You weren’t to know,” Barker mumbled behind the frozen bag of cauliflower he had grabbed after emptying out half the peas. “You couldn’t see into the future.”

“She was only twenty.”

“Julia, she—”

“I should have done better.”

Julia pulled into the small car park. Everything was eerily quiet and empty compared to her last visit. The new wooden play park in the middle of the courtyard was empty, and the usual loitering gangs were nowhere to be seen. The only people she could see were all gathered together with bowed heads outside one of the ground floor flats.

Julia jumped out of the car, leaving Barker in the passenger seat. She walked straight over to the small gathering, their muffled tears filling her ears the closer she got. One of the young women pulled away in floods of tears, retreating to a flat further down the row. In the gap, Julia saw dozens of flower bouquets heaped in front of the flat’s white door. A dry lump formed in her throat when she noticed a picture of Samantha had been stuck to the door with ‘R.I.P.’ written above it in marker pen.

Without knowing why she had rushed over, Julia hung back. She didn’t want to intrude. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she watched the young women mourn the loss of one of their own. She folded her arms and tucked her hands into her armpits, sure everyone could see the blood on her hands.

A hand rested on her shoulder. She jumped, turning to see Barker without the ice pack. The swelling had gone down slightly, but his shiny bottom lip was still three times bigger than his top.

“I could have stopped this from happening,” she whispered as she leaned into his chest. “This is all my fault.”

Barker wrapped his arm around her without saying a word. Hearing Barker’s assurances were usually enough to calm her, but today she was glad he had decided to remain silent. Nothing he could say would make her feel any less responsible for this young woman’s death.

Another of the women turned away from the shrine, and Julia immediately recognised her as Louise. She had blotchy red skin, and her soft hair was lank. She looked like she had been crying all morning.

“I shouldn’t have come here,” Julia whispered to Barker.

As they met Julia’s, Louise’s eyes flickered with recognition. She paused and squinted at Julia before approaching her.

“You were in the shop the other day,” Louise said. “Asking questions about my job at the manor. You’re not from ‘round here, are you?”

Julia shook her head.

“What do you want?” Louise asked, words taut with anger.

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