Lisa settled for giving him a finger rather than verbalising her thoughts. ‘I take it you’ve tried all the usual tricks?’ she asked Mark. ‘White noise, temperature, lighting, varying the rocking, breathing deeply if none of the above work?’
‘Yup, pretty much everything. Or rather, Jade has.’
‘Jade?’
‘The babysitter.’
‘Ah.’ Lisa nodded, but looked perplexed. ‘I didn’t know you had one.’
‘We do now,’ Mark said. ‘Live in, thank God. She’s amazing with the kids, but—’
‘Night excursions in the car not working then, sir?’ Cummings enquired sarcastically, as he sauntered back in the other direction.
‘Fuck off, Cummings,’ said Lisa, obviously noticing Mark’s agitation and answering for him.
Mark glanced disdainfully after Cummings. He really was a piece of work. ‘Do you mind if we, er…’ Looking back to Lisa, he nodded towards the door, where he could hopefully grab some advice about Mel out of earshot of the creep. Lisa had been a friend to Mel when she’d needed one, and with two kids of her own, certainly had a good perspective on that side of things.
‘With pleasure. There really is an obnoxious stench in here.’ Curling a lip in Cummings direction, Lisa about-faced and headed for the door.
‘So, what’s up?’ she asked Mark, once they were both in the corridor.
Mark started walking. The last thing he wanted was Cummings knowing any more of his business. ‘Not sure,’ he said, running a hand over his neck. ‘Maybe nothing.’
‘Which is why you’re coming in late again, not shaving…’
‘That obvious, is it?’ Mark would have to do something about that. ‘It’s Mel,’ he said. ‘I mean, it might be nothing to do with her and all to do with me, but she’s… I don’t know… tired all the time, edgy.’
‘Well, she’s bound to be tired with Evie’s feeding routine all over the place, Mark. It’s bloody hard work getting up umpteen times a night.’
‘I know, I know.’ Mark sighed and massaged his temples. ‘It’s just, she’s not getting up at night. That’s the point. She’s dead to the world. Doesn’t even hear Evie. Jade sees to her. She usually gets to her before I do. There’s plenty of milk in the freezer, so it’s not a problem, but…’ Not quite sure how to communicate what the problem really was, wondering again whether there even was one, he trailed uselessly off.
Lisa scanned his face. ‘You’re worried about her.’
‘A bit.’ Mark admitted, relieved. He felt like a traitor discussing Mel behind her back, but he really needed to know if he was being paranoid here – and Lisa would be the one to tell him if he was. ‘I might be blowing things out of proportion, but given what happened before, well, I wondered if you’d drop by on some pretext or other. Tell me what you think.’
‘Consider it done. I haven’t seen her in ages. It’ll be good to have a natter. I’m off early tonight – Anna’s got a dance class. I’ll pop by once I’ve dropped her off. And I’ll check out that babysitter while I’m at it, see if she fancies a bit of moonlighting. She sounds too good to be true.’
Nineteen
LISA
Babysitter?! Lisa gawked as a girl who looked more like she was auditioning for Baywatch than babysitting answered Mel’s door.
‘Hi.’ Arranging her face into a smile, Lisa averted her gaze from the girl’s breasts, not easily missed in the red tankini top she had on, which she’d paired with very short white shorts. Admittedly, there’d been a rare glimpse of early summer sun, but wasn’t she a little underdressed for the job?
‘Hi.’ The girl didn’t smile back.
‘Is Mel home?’ Lisa asked, feeling a bit spare on the doorstep. As if she were a ten-year-old kid calling for her mate and definitely under scrutiny from her mother.
‘She’s having a lie down.’ Waving vaguely behind her, the girl continued to look Lisa curiously over. ‘I’m not sure whether she’s sleeping.’
‘Oh. Well, I’m sure she won’t mind me going on up,’ Lisa said, nodding past her. ‘We’re old friends. I’m Lisa, Mark’s—’
‘Work colleague,’ the girl finished, clearly not about to shift her pretty little arse and allow her access anytime soon.
Smiling patiently, Lisa waited a few moments before asking, ‘And you are…?’
‘Oh God, sorry.’ The girl finally smiled back. ‘Jade. Mark’s babysitter. And Mel’s, of course. And I’ve obviously forgotten my manners.’ She moved aside at last, allowing Lisa access. ‘Come on in. I’ll go and give Mel a shout.’
‘No worries, I’ll just go on up,’ Lisa assured her, feeling uneasy as she stepped in, and not sure why – apart from the fact that Mel had obviously taken leave of her senses, dangling that sort of temptation under Mark’s nose. But Mark wasn’t like that. Lisa reminded herself of her tendency to label all men the same, having been married to the kind of abusive Neanderthal who made Cummings seem positively charming, and having more recently hooked up with a wanker who turned out to be shagging anything in a skirt, the younger the better. Mark was devoted to Mel. He’d never even looked in another woman’s direction, as far as Lisa knew. It didn’t make him a saint, but his dedication to his wife had been obvious when his life had been a complete shit fest.
‘I’ve got to go and get a jacket for Evie anyway.’ She waved at Evie, who was in her stroller, all kitted up to go out. ‘We’re off to the park while Poppy’s at her friend’s. Just wait there, won’t be a tick.’
Lisa watched her skip on up, trying hard not to judge her. She seemed friendly enough, after the initial hiccup on the doorstep. And she’d been right not to just allow anyone claiming to be a friend access to the house, Lisa supposed. She was obviously feeling the teeniest bit jealous.
Attempting to shrug off her concerns, Lisa crouched down to Evie’s level. ‘We can’t all be beautiful as well as brainy, can we, sweetheart?’ She smiled, relieved to note that Evie looked healthy enough. The blip in the sleeping routine was clearly just that, a blip.
‘So, what have we been up to then, Little Miss Mischief?’ she asked her, crooking a finger to stroke her peachy cheek. ‘Are we keeping Mummy and Daddy awake, hmm? Would you like Auntie Lisa to come and sing you a lullaby?’ Evie’s mouth widened into a delighted, gummy smile as Lisa jiggled her caterpillar stroller toy.
‘You really are a gorgeous little girl, aren’t you?’ said Lisa, reassured by Evie’s gurgles and chuckles and flailing little hands. There was nothing wrong in the baby department. And with Mel’s sparkling green eyes and delicate features, she was going to be a knockout.
‘Lisa?’
She turned at the sound of Mel’s voice, but her smile slipped a bit when she saw her. Far from sparkling, Mel’s eyes were heavy with exhaustion. She looked more knocked out than knockout. Whatever was going on, she needed to get to the doc’s, and fast.
Twenty
MELISSA
‘I haven’t seen you in ages,’ said Mel, smiling delightedly, despite that she felt a complete mess. She’d just climbed out of the shower when Jade came in to tell her Lisa was here, joking about her being Mark’s frequent texter. Having been attempting to wash the cotton wool from her head, and failing, Mel had been ferreting through her wardrobe in hopes of finding something remotely sexy-looking to wear tonight. She’d given up when she’d seen Jade looking dazzling and thrown her leggings and old T-shirt back on. And now here was Lisa, looking trim and slim in her jeans, her short-cropped hair and huge blue eyes making her look like a little elf – a very attractive one.
Sighing inwardly, Mel brushed her damp hair from her face. She really was going to have to do something with herself. Take some vitamins, or energy pills or something. Go to the gym, or out jogging with Mark. Mel’s heart dipped in her chest as she thought of him. She’d be surprised if he wanted to do anything with her. She’d been horrible to him on the phone. She really had no idea what was wrong with her. She felt like sleeping the clock around. They hadn’
t made love since the dreadful day of Hercules’s accident, and Mark hadn’t murmured a word. It was more than he dare do, she supposed, with her so snappy. When she wasn’t sleeping or moaning or yawning, she was working. Or trying to. The blown fuse meant the kiln had stopped working, which had had her wanting to scream. She barely had time for the kids with her sculpture to remake, the casting of which still had to be done, and the orders to fill, which she hadn’t even started on. It was a wonder any of her family wanted anything to do with her. Maybe she should go to the doctor’s, Mel pondered. The thought didn’t appeal. She’d steered clear of doctors and medication, even avoiding painkillers at the worst time of the month, since coming off her medication.
‘My fault.’ Lisa moved to give her a hug as she reached the hall. ‘I’ve been so busy with work and the kids demanding my attention every two seconds. Anyway, I was passing after dropping Anna off at her dance class and I thought no time like the present. How are you?’ Stepping back, Lisa looked her over, her brow furrowed. ‘You look a bit…’
‘A mess, I know.’ Mel smiled and tried not to mind. Lisa tended to say it as it was.
‘Frazzled,’ Lisa finished diplomatically, whilst looking her worriedly over again. ‘Are you okay, lovely?’
‘Yes, fine,’ Mel lied, waving a hand dismissively. ‘It’s a virus, I think. I can’t seem to shake it off. I don’t have an ounce of energy.’
‘Unlike some,’ Lisa observed, as Jade came bounding brightly back down the stairs.
‘Got it.’ She dangled the jacket and headed for the stroller. ‘Come on, angel,’ she said, peering down at Evie and steering her towards the door. ‘Let’s go and get some fresh air and leave Mel to catch up with her friend, shall we?’
‘She’s referring to you as Mel, not Mummy?’ Lisa eyed Mel sideways as Jade tipped the stroller back and headed on out.
‘Slip of the tongue probably.’ Mel smiled in Lisa’s direction, and then scooted to catch up with Jade. ‘Hold on,’ she said, crouching to kiss Evie’s perfect little cupid lips. The baby promptly wriggled and looked fretfully upwards in search of Jade. Trying not to mind that either – she was getting things so out of proportion lately, she’d drive herself as well as everyone else mad – Mel got to her feet, allowing Jade to go on her way.
‘Have you got her water?’ she called after her.
‘Yes.’ Jade waved behind her. ‘And a spare nappy and the sunscreen. We’ll be fine. You worry too much, Mel.’
And lately she was worrying more than ever, when she wasn’t too tired to think at all. Mel really did despair of herself. She had the perfect babysitter. A beautiful house, albeit in a constant state of repair. A good husband, whom she loved, very much. Two perfect kids. Everything in her garden should be rosy. So why did she feel so… down?
‘Pretty, isn’t she?’ Lisa commented, as they watched Jade head jauntily off down the lane. ‘Slim, too. Makes me feel like a flipping heifer.’
Mel laughed at that. ‘In which case I must look like the back end of a bus.’
Lisa looked her over as they walked back in. ‘Hardly,’ she said. ‘You’ve lost weight.’
‘Have I?’ Mel looked down at herself. That was a silver lining in the gloom, she thought, and then she felt her heart sink all over again. Why was she thinking this way? Feeling this way?
‘I take it she’s the new babysitter?’ Lisa enquired, as they walked to the kitchen for coffee and a catch-up. ‘Live in, I gather?’
Information conveyed by Mark, Mel guessed. ‘That’s right. She’d bought Monk’s Cottage just up the lane – moved in with us after it caught fire. It was totally burned out. You must have noticed as you passed.’
She checked the wall clock – aware it might take some time to make herself gorgeous – and then headed for the kettle, as Lisa parked herself on a stool at the kitchen island.
‘I did,’ Lisa said. ‘She was literally on your doorstep then?’
‘Yes.’ Mel spooned coffee into the mugs – or, rather, missed, cursing silently. ‘We hadn’t had much to do with each other really, but with her house going up in flames…’
‘You got talking?’
‘Obviously.’ Coffee successfully made, Mel picked up the mugs and carried them over, without spilling any, thankfully. ‘It was awful. All her worldly goods gone up in smoke. I offered her a roof for the night and, as we’d been considering a babysitter… Well, you could say she fell into our laps. I hate to say it, but the timing couldn’t have been better, to be honest. She’s an absolute godsend.’
‘So Mark says.’ Lisa sounded sceptical. ‘And she’s qualified, presumably?’
‘Of course. She has her childcare qualifications. I wouldn’t have entertained the idea of employing her otherwise.’ Reminded that she hadn’t got around to asking Jade about her references, she dismissed a flicker of guilt. The girl had more than proved herself in Mel’s eyes.
‘Right.’ Lisa nodded. ‘But don’t you mind having another woman around?’
Mel eyed her with amusement. ‘You mean having a pretty young woman around?’
‘Just saying.’ Lisa shrugged.
‘Not all men do what Paul did, Lisa,’ Mel said, kindly, aware that Lisa’s last boyfriend had dumped her for a younger model.
Lisa gave her a look as she dipped into the biscuit barrel. Her ‘Yes, and pigs fly’ look.
Mel wasn’t sure she liked the inference. Cautioning herself not to overreact, she pulled in a breath and reminded herself she’d been doing that a lot recently, reading things into things that weren’t there. She’d even imagined that Jade had had the cat she’d supposedly loved put down. It had taken her ages to ask her. Jade had been horrified. She’d asked a friend to take it in, it turned out. Mel had felt awful.
‘So,’ she said, mustering up a smile, ‘what else have you and Mark been discussing, apart from the attributes of the babysitter?’
Lisa’s eyes flicked to hers. ‘Nothing much. This and that,’ she said vaguely.
‘Such as?’ Mel asked, watching her carefully over the rim of her mug.
Lisa put down her coffee and looked up to eye Mel levelly. ‘He’s worried about you, Mel,’ she said, searching her eyes, a curious look in her own.
‘Oh.’ Definite unease was now gnawing at Mel’s stomach. ‘I see,’ she said, taking stock. ‘So, you’ve been discussing me then, clearly.’
Lisa looked away awkwardly. ‘Well, yes, naturally you come up sometimes. But Mark was only confiding in me out of concern, Mel. He—’
‘Our intimate relationship?’ Mel felt her mouth go dry, her cheeks heat up. ‘Does that come under discussion during these cosy conversations you have?’
‘No!’ Lisa refuted. ‘Mark wouldn’t do that. You know he wouldn’t. He’s just been concerned about you—’
‘You text each other a lot, don’t you?’ Mel cut in angrily. It seemed to her that Lisa knew an awful lot about what Mark would or wouldn’t do. And, clearly, she didn’t. She’d never imagined her husband would discuss their personal details with all and sundry.
Lisa splayed her hands, looking incredulous. ‘Only on work matters. For God’s sake, Mel, you don’t honestly think that I—’
‘Or, rather, you text him.’
‘Oh, come on, Mel.’ Lisa eyed the ceiling. ‘You know very well I only ever text him about work.’
But she didn’t know, did she? She trusted Mark, implicitly. Or she had. There had been something between Lisa and him once, at least Mel had suspected there had. He’d gone out with her, Mel had been sure of it. Her mind raced back to the first time she’d met Mark, when she’d been giving her statement about her ex. ‘Thanks for last night,’ Lisa had said. She’d threaded an arm around his waist as she passed him in the corridor and given him a squeeze. Thanks for last night! Mel had heard her, loud and clear. She’d assumed they’d had a thing. She’d been wrong, or so she’d been led to believe. She’d asked Mark about it, trying to sound casual. Lisa had needed a shoulder, he’d said.
Still married to her abusive husband, she’d been having some problems. Yes, and what else had he offered her, Mel thought, fuming now at the obvious lie. Regular little white knight, wasn’t he?
She narrowed her eyes. ‘Did he ask you to come here?’
Lisa didn’t answer. Plainly not knowing how to. Plainly meaning he had.
‘Well, did he?’ Mel demanded, a distinct wobble to her voice.
‘No.’ Lisa sighed, at length. ‘As I said, I was passing. I’m concerned about you, too, you know. I am your friend. I just wanted to check—’ Lisa stopped as her phone beeped inconveniently in her pocket.
Or rather, bang on cue, Mel thought, humiliation bubbling furiously away inside her. That Mark had discussed the intimate details of their relationship at work, even with a supposed friend, was incomprehensible. Who else had he discussed it with? The entire police force? ‘Aren’t you going to check it?’ she asked Lisa, now studying her intently. ‘It might be one of the kids.’
Knowing she had no choice, Lisa reluctantly retrieved her phone.
‘Is it Mark?’ Mel asked, cold certainty gripping her insides.
Lisa checked the text. Again, she didn’t answer. Nor would she meet her gaze.
Mel tried very hard to hold onto her temper. ‘Well?’
Sighing heavily, Lisa closed her eyes and nodded.
Caught in the act. Seething inside, Mel didn’t say anything, but coldly extended her hand.
Lisa waited a beat. ‘We haven’t been discussing anything intimately, Mel,’ she said, reluctantly handing the phone over. ‘Mark was just worried, that was all.’
Ignoring her, Mel took a breath and read the damn text that she didn’t want to see, absolutely didn’t want to read anything into. And her world shifted completely off kilter.
Off to Hawthorn Farm shortly. Hope all went well with Mel. Thanks for the ear. Talk to you tomorrow, preferably in private. Promise to be clean-shaven and looking my beautiful best.
The Babysitter: A gripping psychological thriller with edge-of-your-seat suspense Page 10
