The Sixth Window by Rachel Abbott

Author:Rachel Abbott
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Black Dot Publishing Ltd
Published: 2017-02-20T18:30:00+00:00

43

Natalie had spent the entire weekend with Scarlett, and had done her best to push thoughts of Ed and all he had said to the back of her mind. She wanted her daughter to have her undivided attention, so they went to the cinema and had a meal afterwards, although she was fairly certain that, if asked, neither of them would have been able to say what the film had been about.

Inevitably they’d had to do some shopping for groceries, but Natalie’s head was all over the place, and it was only as she was preparing the evening meal on Sunday that she realised she had forgotten to buy olive oil to make the salad dressing.

‘It’s okay, Mum,’ Scarlett said. ‘I’ll go, if you like.’

Natalie glanced out of the window. It was still light outside and only six o’clock. Surely it was safe for Scarlett to go out on her own?

‘Mum, I can see your worried frown from here. I know what you’re thinking.’

‘I’m sorry, sweetheart, but I still keep thinking about Cliff.’

Earlier that day they had met one of their neighbours for the first time. She had known Cliff for a couple of years and had been checking on his progress. He was still in a coma and the police had no idea who had mugged him.

‘He was so close to home as well,’ the neighbour – a Mrs Parker – told them. ‘And while he’s away we have to put up with that awful Martin. He was the caretaker here while the place was being renovated, but he got the sack once the tenants started moving in. He was never going to cut the mustard with the posh types in the south wing. I guess with Cliff out of action they had to bring him out of retirement, or off the dole at least, as it was an emergency. It wouldn’t surprise me if he didn’t mug Cliff himself to get his old job back.’

Natalie thought that highly unlikely now she had met Martin. He would have had to stand on a box to cosh Cliff over the head.

Cliff had been mugged late at night though, and Scarlett was right: Natalie had to let her go. She didn’t want her daughter to be scared of her own shadow.

‘Okay, but go to the shop on Deansgate. It’s main roads all the way.’

Scarlett sighed. ‘Okay,’ she said, drawing out the syllables. ‘But for the record, I did pass the Green Cross Code test when I was about eight. So, on the basis that I’ll stick to the pavements and not walk too close to the edge of the road, do we need anything else?’

As Natalie shook her head, smiling at her daughter’s sarcasm, Scarlett grabbed her bag, heading for the door before her mum could change her mind.

*

The usually busy streets of Manchester were quiet at this time on a Sunday evening. Even with Sunday opening in most of the stores, by now they were closed and it was too early for people heading into Manchester to eat.

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