‘So are you here on vacation?’ asks Angelina as she takes the bottle opener from her apron pocket and flips the lid.
‘Kind of,’ I say, delighted with this opening that I didn’t even have to try for. ‘I’m actually trying to find a friend of a friend. Last I heard she worked here.’ I smile again at Angelina and she looks expectantly. ‘Martha Munroe. Does she still work here?’
‘Martha? Well, no. She hasn’t worked here for about a month.’
‘Oh, that’s a shame,’ I say, hoping I look disappointed. ‘You don’t know how I can get hold of her, do you?’
‘You can’t. No one can. She’s gone off travelling with her friend.’
‘Really? Who’s that?’ And then seeing Angelina look at me suspiciously, I add, ‘I wonder if it might be someone I know.’
‘Alice Kendrick. You know her?’
‘Is that the girl who Martha lived with?’
‘That’s right,’ says Angelina, and I can almost see her lower her guard again. ‘Although, it beats me why Martha would want to go travelling with Alice. Not after what happened between those two girls.’
‘Which was?’ I prompt when it appears Angelina isn’t going to continue.
‘I don’t know if I really should be talking about them,’ says Angelina. ‘It’s kinda bad to speak behind their backs.’
‘But I am a friend of Martha’s. Did they have some kind of disagreement?’ I’m hedging my bets, but I feel I can’t let this opportunity slip by.
‘You could say that.’
Chapter 20
I look expectantly at Angelina, willing her to get on with it. She settles herself into the seat opposite me and leans forward, her hands clasped together in front of her.
‘Martha has always been such a good friend to Alice, right from the very first time Alice came into the diner. Alice had that look about her, the sort that said how sad and alone she was. Martha spotted it straight away,’ says Angelina. ‘You know why?’
I shake my head. ‘No, go on.’
‘Martha had once been just like that, alone and sad. Martha didn’t tell everyone but she confided in me about the things she had to endure at home. Her mother was none too good to her; she didn’t have a father either. Martha just wasn’t loved. She was a burden to her family.’
‘And she saw this in Alice?’
‘Yep. Martha recognised that in Alice. Martha really felt for that Kendrick girl. She went and talked to her. Each time Alice came in, Martha would always make time for her. Soon they became real good friends.’
‘So what happened between them?’ I ask.
‘The stepmother. She didn’t like Martha from the word go. Thought Martha was a bad influence on Alice. She didn’t like it that Alice now had a life and was going out and meeting people her own age and all that.’ Angelina takes a furtive glance around the diner. ‘I can’t stop long or I’ll get in trouble from my manager.’
‘Okay, so just quickly, how come Martha and Alice fell out but still ended up going travelling together?’
‘Alice was a quiet girl and totally under the thumb from her dad and stepmom. Martha used to encourage Alice to stick up for herself. After Alice’s father died, she asked Martha to move in. Martha was being kicked out of her home and had nowhere to go, Alice was lonely and really relied on Martha’s friendship, so it seemed like the perfect solution. Of course, Roma wasn’t happy about it. To cut a long story short, Martha and Roma had an argument about Martha’s influence on Alice, which then put a strain on Martha and Alice.’
‘They fell out over it?’
‘Yeah. Martha was all set to move out, said she couldn’t live in the same house as Roma.’ Angelina is enjoying retelling the events.
‘So, what happened next?’ Considering Angelina is worried about her boss, she’s not exactly rushing herself.
‘Well, they argued. Alice begged Martha to stay and rowed with her stepmom, but in the end, it was Alice’s house, so evil stepmom didn’t have a choice. As it happened, she had to move back to Jacksonville and didn’t want Alice anyway.’
‘And now the girls have gone travelling?’
‘Yeah. Martha left a note on the manager’s desk that she quit. Sent me a text message to say she and Alice were travelling round Europe and that was that. I haven’t heard from her since. She never even replied to my messages.’
‘That’s a bit odd, isn’t it?’
Angelina shrugs. ‘Kind of, but Martha was like that anyway. You know, quick to move on. She never had any real roots here.’ She slides herself out of the bench seat. ‘I need to get on now. If you do catch up with Martha, tell her I was asking after her.’
‘Sure. Thanks for your time.’
After finishing my drink and leaving the diner, I find myself driving back to the Kendrick’s house. I park a little further down the road from Alice’s house this time, in the hope that I can avoid detection from Alice’s neighbour. I lock the car and walk slowly up to the house. I don’t know what has drawn me back here, but I know that the answers lie within. I have to get inside the house somehow.
The bins still stand at the end of the drive and I bypass them, heading straight for the back gate. I have another look at the windows as I go around the property. I can’t see any on the latch to let fresh air circulate through. If this were my house and I shared it with someone, I’d probably have a spare key hidden somewhere in case one of us got locked out. Would Alice do the same? It’s worth a look.
I go over to the back door and run my hand above the doorframe. Nothing. Too obvious? I lift the doormat and then the plant pot that is beside the back door. I can’t identify the plant from the withered stem and dried leaves – it’s a long time since there was any life here. I look around the back porch, trying to spot any other potential hiding places.
It’s very quiet here in this suburban part of the island. I hear the odd car drive along the road at the back of the property but apart from that, there doesn’t seem a lot going on. I catch a small movement from the corner of my eye and a little green lizard, about five inches long from head to tail, scuttles across the decking. He stops at the side of a plant pot and a pink bubble inflates from his throat. It reminds me of the time Mum had bought Hannah some old-fashioned bubble gum. Hannah had been delighted she could blow a massive bubble – that was until it popped and got stuck in her hair. The lizard is much more accomplished at blowing bubbles and does so several times as he watches me with his big goggly eyes, wondering what I’m doing there. I have to admit, I’m beginning to ask myself the same question. What am I hoping to achieve from this madcap adventure? I wanted to find out more about Alice and her life here. Perhaps I should have just taken the time to get to know her properly in person. And then, as per usual, as soon as I have this thought, I’m confronted with some deep-rooted notion that just wouldn’t happen. There’s some sort of barrier between Alice and me; something is preventing us from getting close. And for some reason, I feel the answer lies here in America. More precisely – in this house.