‘No, you didn’t want me to find out at all. Neither did Mum.’ I can’t look at him now. ‘I’d like you to leave, please.’
Leonard doesn’t argue. He stops in the doorway. ‘I’ve always looked out for you. Whatever I’ve done, I’ve always done it with your best interests at heart.’
My eyes remain fixed on the grey clouds outside. Only when he leaves, do I let the tears fall.
Chapter 25
It seems an age before Luke returns. I’ve been trying to take in the latest revelation. In just a matter of weeks, my world has been turned upside down and everything I thought I knew is turning out not to be so.
‘I brought your phone charger as well,’ says Luke, resting my bag on the end of my bed when he finally turns up.
‘Thanks,’ I say, grateful for his thoughtfulness. ‘How’s Hannah?’
‘Good. I’ll be taking her home soon. The doctor’s done his rounds and given her the all clear.’
‘Thank God for that.’
‘What about you?’
‘They want to keep me in for another night but, to be honest, I think I’m okay. I can’t see what good one more night will do.’
‘Always arguing the toss,’ says Luke.
I think it’s an unfair comment, but I let it go. ‘I’ll give Hannah a call later and speak to her. I don’t really want her to see me all bandaged up like this. The nurse said they’d put a smaller dressing on my head when I go home.’ I touch the bandage. ‘I look like some 1940s housewife with this on.’
‘Nothing wrong with a bit of 1940s housewife, seamed stockings and all that.’ Luke gives a small smile and for a second I see the Luke that I knew and loved before all this … this Alice business started up.
‘Luke …’ I go to speak, but my voice peters out. I want him to reassure me that this is just a blip, but I change the subject instead. ‘What have you said to Hannah about the accident? She does know I didn’t do it on purpose, doesn’t she?’
‘Of course, she bloody does.’ The moment has passed and Luke’s face returns to its more-favoured frown of late.
‘Did she say what happened? Why she and … Ma … I mean, Alice, were down at the gate.’
‘She says she was looking for Alice; she’d drawn her a picture of something. Hannah saw her from the upstairs window walking down the drive, so she ran after her.’
‘And then what?’
‘She’s not too sure, to be honest. She got upset when I tried to talk to her in too much detail. I think she must have caught up with Alice just as you came through the gates.’
‘Do you think that’s true? I mean, do you think she might be too scared to say what happened?’
‘Clare, you’re doing it again, Babe. You’re looking for the angle all the time. No, I don’t think she too scared. She’s in shock. Witnessing something like that must have been traumatic for her.’
‘I can’t get the image out of my head,’ I say. ‘I keep seeing Alice’s face, hearing the noise. And now that I know Hannah was there … what could have happened … Oh God, Luke. It doesn’t bear thinking about.’
He takes my hand. ‘I know, but Hannah is going to be okay. You can’t torture yourself about it.’ There’s a small silence before he speaks again. ‘The police want to speak to her.’
‘No! Absolutely not.’ I snatch my hand away and the tenderness between us dissolves once more. ‘I don’t want them frightening her.’
‘Come off it, Clare. You know the routine. They won’t scare her. I’ve already had this out with that detective anyway. Leonard is going to be there when they speak to her.’
I stiffen at this latest nugget of information. I’m not sure how I feel about Leonard being near my daughter. I refuse to entertain the thought that Leonard’s status with Hannah has changed. What a can of worms this all is. Right now, I can’t deal with the fact that Leonard is my father. The implications to my children are huge. I don’t feel strong enough to go through it all with Luke just yet. I need to get my head around it myself first.
Luke is talking again. ‘So, I expect the police will want to speak to you today.’
I shake my head. ‘Leonard’s managed to put them off for twenty-four hours.’
‘Good old Leonard.’ I detect a note of sarcasm in Luke’s voice, but I ignore it. ‘What is it with talking to the police? What are you scared of?’
I eye my bag at the foot of my bed and consider how much to tell Luke. ‘It’s not so much me,’ I say, stretching for the strap of my bag. Luke passes it up. ‘It’s Hannah. I don’t want her involved in all this. I don’t want to put her in any danger.’
‘In danger? What are you talking about?’
I take my phone from my bag. ‘Something’s going on. I know you don’t believe me about Alice, but I’ve had some pretty damning text messages. I’ll show you.’ I ignore the exasperated look Luke gives me and turn my attention to my phone messages. ‘That’s strange. I can’t find them now.’ I look back through my messages again, searching for the picture of Luke and Hannah outside the house and the threats that followed. They’ve disappeared.
‘What are you looking for?’ asks Luke.
‘Have you used my phone at all? Deleted anything? Messages? Photos?’
‘Are you for real?’
I go to the call section, where all calls in and out are listed. I’m looking for the one where Martha rang me late the other night. Again, there are no calls from her or any showing the calls I made.
‘I don’t understand,’ I say. ‘I had a phone call and text messages warning me off and now they’ve just disappeared. Has anyone else had access to my phone?’
‘First of all you think that Alice isn’t your sister, then you think I’m shagging her, then someone’s sending you messages and photos that now can’t be found, so someone must have tampered with your phone. None of which you have any proof of, I might add.’ He paces the room with his hands behind his head. ‘You’re going mad, I’m telling you.’
‘I am not going mad!’
Luke spins on this heel and strides over to the bed, his jaw set hard and a vein in his temple bulges ever so slightly, the way it does when he is really mad at something. He clenches his hands and pushes them onto the mattress as he leans into me, his face inches from mine. I shrink back in the pillow. His eyes narrow and I can hear his breath streaming through his nostrils as he is clearly fighting to keep his cool. ‘You need to get yourself sorted out,’ he says, his words are ice-cold. ‘I don’t want you around the kids right now. It’s not healthy for them.’
I sit bolt upright, almost head-butting Luke as I do. He doesn’t flinch. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I’m going to take the girls away for a couple of days. Away from all this tension and your crazy ideas.’
‘You can’t do that!’
‘I can. I’m their father and you’re not in a good place, mentally, right now. I don’t want to do this, but you’re leaving me no choice.’ He stands up and looks down at me. ‘It’s just for a few days.’