The Perfect Home by Natasha Boydell

Author:Natasha Boydell [Boydell, Natasha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-06-21T00:00:00+00:00

Secrets. Sandy had somehow managed to gain two in a day. First, the revelations about Poppy and Steve and then Bethany’s disturbing painting, which Sandy had not been able to stop thinking about. She hadn’t told anyone about it and she wasn’t sure she wanted to.

She liked Bethany. She believed that she was a good kid and she didn’t want to get her into any trouble. Lots of teenagers went through dark or gothic phases, and it didn’t have to mean anything. Except that Sandy had the nagging feeling that it did.

But, she told herself as she made her way to the clubhouse, perhaps she was putting too much weight on the painting. All the other things going on in her life had set her on edge, making her read too much into things. It was only art, it wasn’t real. Except Sandy knew more than most that art imitated life. And that, fundamentally, was what worried her.

And now she had to go to dinner with Lily and Avril and pretend that everything was okay. She had to smile, and drink wine, and not tell Lily that her daughter was hanging out with a man more than twice her age or admit to Avril that Bethany might possibly be a lot more troubled than she thought. And she was still living in a state of near-constant fear that Grant was trying to scare her. If he was, it was certainly working.

She pushed open the clubhouse door and took a deep breath. It would all be fine, she told herself, she’d relax after a glass of wine. The familiarity of the clubhouse comforted her. It was one of the many things she had grown to love about Westford Park. The friendly staff, the tasty food and the fact that she could stumble home in minutes, knowing she was safe.

‘Sandy!’ Lily stood up to greet her.

‘Lily! How are you?’

‘Furious,’ Lily spat. ‘Someone’s slashed the tyres on our Range Rover.’

Sandy was sympathetic. ‘Oh no, that’s awful.’

‘I just don’t understand what’s going on. First the tennis courts and now this. How are these nasty people getting into Westford Park undetected? Or are they living here, among us?’

‘Was anything spotted on CCTV?’

‘No. Just like the vandalism. Whoever it is doing this knows how to evade the cameras, and the security patrols.’

Grant. Sandy’s thoughts immediately turned to her ex-partner. He was cunning and he was a master at hiding undetected. Already her heart was racing and her palms were becoming clammy. Where was Micky? she thought frantically. But he was home that evening, watching a film with Clare. He was safe, she thought, as she exhaled. The windows and doors were locked; she’d checked them before she went out.

Anyway, why would Grant slash the tyres of Lily’s car? If it was Sandy he wanted to frighten, what would be the benefit of going after a stranger? Unless he knew they were friends. Was it a warning that no one in Sandy’s life was safe?

‘Are you okay, Sandy?’

Sandy started as she was pulled from her spiralling thoughts.

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