The Hidden by Melanie Golding
Author:Melanie Golding
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: CROOKED LANE BOOKS
CHAPTER
28
NOW
Joanna
Sunday, December 23
ON THE WAY to the New Park Estate, Joanna thought only of Ruby. There was so much sheâd never said to her that she thought perhaps she should have. It had never been the right moment, and now it might be too late. Rain started falling as she crossed the city, the sky blackening with her thoughts.
Jo had been so careful to avoid getting between her mother and Ruby in the early years, that for most of Rubyâs childhood sheâd absented herself, keeping herself busy at first with school and college, after hours with her sports, and in later years with her police training. Sheâd learned to live with the nagging, aching feeling that she worked hard to suppress, knowing deep down that this was the urge to be a real mother that she had not only been denied but had actively denied herself. For all those years the family went from day to day, doing their thing, ignoring the reality of the adoption, ignoring their motherâs alcoholism, ignoring Rubyâs feelings of rejection and Joannaâs of replacement. Right up until they couldnât ignore it anymore. And Ruby had left them, taking half of Joannaâs heart.
Immediately after the fight, Jo had been so angry that sheâd decided she never wanted to see her mother again either. But as the days went on, she realized the blame had to be shared. There was a kernel of truth in what had been said, as there always was in the most hurtful things: none of it would have happened if Joanna hadnât given birth to Ruby in the first place. It took a week for the worst of Joannaâs anger to subside and be replaced once more with pity. Sheâd persuaded Marianne to give Ruby the space and time she needed. Joanna was convinced that if they did that, she would come home, she would forgive Marianne the way Jo had done. But it hadnât happened in the twelve months theyâd waited patiently. Ruby had just gotten further away.
As the looming apartment blocks appeared in her eyeline, she wondered if it was too late to make any of it right. Ruby had always needed her, not just as a sister. Jo should have admitted that sooner, when her baby was still a child, when it mattered most of all. Now she felt like she was being given a chance to do something to show how much she cared. Whatever Ruby had done, whatever crime, Jo could forgive her. More than that, she knew how she could help her stay out of prison. It was her duty as a police officer to apprehend and arrest suspects, but her duty as a mother came first.
Joanna parked and approached the West Block, glancing at the entrance to the North Block only briefly. She knew that Gregorâs flat had been sealed by the CSI team, who would be back the next day to complete the work. Theyâd taken samples, fingerprints, and photographs. Tomorrow, the search would
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