by Louise Guy
Phyllie nodded. ‘Okay, well, that’s very nice of you. Although I don’t need to make a call if it is Tuesday. I’ll pop back down to the shop tomorrow for the birthday celebration. But I will go and change out of these trousers. I’ve had a silly headache all day, which I blame for all of this.’
Nat watched as she walked through to her room, Hannah’s concern about their grandmother playing on her mind. Was there something wrong with Phyllie or was it just old age? She seemed confused and was behaving entirely out of character. A headache wouldn’t usually cause that. It reminded Nat that she hadn’t mentioned the door being open.
She returned the iron and ironing board to the laundry and set about making dinner, trying to push aside Hannah’s concerns that there was something not quite right about Phyllie and she needed to be examined. Hannah overthought everything and worried unnecessarily. Irritation surged through her. Why was it that Hannah always managed to annoy her? She took the lamb cutlets from their bag, ready to crumb them. A sick feeling replaced the irritation of moments before. Hannah’s concerns weren’t so much annoying her as they were worrying her. What if her sister was right? What if there really was something wrong with Phyllie?
‘Let me get this straight.’ Phyllie pushed her knife and fork together on her empty plate. ‘Your friend wants you to invest in the company and you need five thousand dollars to do this?’
Nat crossed her fingers beneath the kitchen table. She seemed to be doing this a lot lately. She’d let Phyllie enjoy her lamb cutlets before launching into her story about the expansion of Anita’s swimwear website and how Nat had an opportunity to become a partner in the business. There was no way she could tell Phyllie the truth – that she planned to use the five thousand dollars to invest in online poker. She needed to win enough to pay off her credit card and repay Phyllie, assuming she loaned her the money. She nodded. ‘Yes, it’s not a lot, but more than I currently have. I’ll own ten percent of the business, and Anita has guaranteed me work for the foreseeable future if I’m a partner.’
Phyllie narrowed her eyes. ‘But what about your work as a community support officer? I thought you loved it and that you found it rewarding.’
‘I do enjoy it, but I’m enjoying a change too. I’ll go back to it at some stage.’ Nat did her best to plant what she hoped looked like a genuine smile on her face. ‘It’s an exciting opportunity to do something that’s mine. But I completely understand that you might not be in a position to loan me the money.’
Phyllie’s features remained set in a frown. ‘Of course I can loan you the money, that’s no problem, I’m just not sure it’s a good idea.’
Nat’s heart began to race. She needed this money. She didn’t want to ask her father. She still owed him money from other occasions, and the way he and Sue had been speaking it sounded like they were scrimping every cent for their retirement. She did her best to remain calm. She couldn’t let Phyllie see how desperate she was. ‘Why do you think it’s not a good idea?’
Phyllie pushed her plate away. ‘You’ve been living here for over three weeks, Nathalia. In that time, I’ve only seen you leave the house to get groceries and to attend Amy’s birthday celebrations. You’ve not been on any dates or out with your friends, and you don’t seem to be getting any exercise either. I seem to remember you talking about a run of some kind you were training for. Something for cancer. And what about Shared? You usually volunteer in both the gardens and soup kitchen every week. You haven’t even mentioned the place since you’ve moved in. Whatever you’re doing on that computer has become a total obsession, and it worries me.’
Nat realised her mouth had dropped open. She’d had no idea Phyllie was paying such close attention to her. She was also right. Nat had hardly left the house since she’d moved in. She swallowed. She loved playing poker, well, she loved it more when she was winning, but she did love it. There was something that drew her back to it every day and kept her up late at night. God, she’d better not mention it to Hannah, or she’d be telling her she had some kind of addiction. Nat almost laughed at the thought, but the amusement was quickly replaced with concern. She didn’t have a problem, did she? The time she’d initially dedicated to it was because she wasn’t working so didn’t have anything else to do. She’d start work again, and it would just fall back to being a hobby she spent a few hours on here and there.
Phyllie’s eyes were drilling into hers, waiting for an answer.
‘I haven’t got the money to be going out at the moment,’ Nat said. ‘Even going to Shared costs me money in petrol. And I’m not interested in dating right now.’
‘You’ve been working day and night for weeks on this website business. You’re being paid for that aren’t you?’
Nat paused. How did she talk her way around this one? ‘I’m being paid in kind initially. The hours I’ve worked so far have given me an additional ten percent ownership, so if I invest I’ll own twenty percent. Anita doesn’t take a wage at the moment either, but that will change next month as she has a large order from China to fulfil.’ Nat wasn’t sure where all this made-up information was coming from and a sick feeling expanded in her stomach. She was lying to her grandmother!
‘You’ll get paid next month?’
Nat nodded. There was no turning back now. ‘Yes. Keep in mind it’s a start-up business. Often the income received needs to be reinvested into the business rather than paid out as wages. This is why the five-thousand-dollar investment will help tide the cash flow over for another few weeks before the money from the China contract comes through. And you’re right, I’ve been a bit obsessed with it all.’ She gave a small laugh. ‘I’d better get back into my running, or I’ll be no good at all in September for Relay for Life.’
‘I’ll do you a deal. You start running and getting away from that computer, and I’ll help you invest in the swimwear business.’
‘I’ll pay you back as soon as possible. I don’t think it will take very long.’
Phyllie patted her hand. ‘No need to do that. I’m happy to help you out.’
‘That’s very kind of you, but I’ll definitely pay you back.’ There was no way Nat was going to let Phyllie help fund her poker career without paying her back. The sick feeling in her stomach expanded to a feeling of unease that settled over her. She wasn’t someone who usually lied as she’d just done. But then, it was a one-off. She’d win the money back quickly and repay Phyllie. She’d probably be able to pay her back with interest.
Chapter Thirteen
Hannah had hardly seen Damien since he’d returned from taking Nat and Phyllie home from Amy’s party. He’d been on call on Sunday and had ended up working from lunchtime until close to ten o’clock. And with him on afternoon shifts Monday and Tuesday, they’d been like ships in the night, rolling over briefly in the morning to discover they were both in the same bed, then Hannah crept out, leaving him to sleep before his next shift while she got Amy ready for school and herself for work.
Not seeing Damien had been a blessing. Zane Fox’s message had left her on edge. She hadn’t called him or replied to his text but knew that any day now he was likely to contact her again. Her stomach lurched at the thought of him. So much for signing a contract saying he wouldn’t contact her again. What could he want, other than more money? She couldn’t pay him any more, that much she knew.
‘Mum.’ Amy came bounding into the kitchen with Bear beside her. Hannah couldn’t help but smile. The two of them had become inseparable. Seeing them, she now wondered why she’d ever objected to having a pet. For an only child, it had been like providing a sibling. ‘Have you seen my school diary?’
Hannah nodded towards the kitchen bench where Amy’s lunch sat, along with her diary and music book. ‘You left them on the kitchen table last night.’
Amy grinned and scooped them up, ready to pack her school bag. ‘And you’re not changing your mind about today?’
Hannah gave a wry smile. As much as she would like to change her mind, she knew
that she couldn’t. She and Damien had agreed to give Amy a trial run of letting herself into the house after school on her own. Hannah would be home by five thirty, but it did mean Amy would be home alone for at least two hours. ‘No, I’m not changing my mind, but you have to promise to ring me if there are any problems. It doesn’t matter how big or small.’
Amy smiled. ‘You need to relax. Bear and I will be fine.’
Hannah’s phone pinged with a text message, and she slid the phone across the counter and looked at the screen. Her heartbeat quickened.
Ring me if you know what’s good for you. ZF.
She’d known ignoring him wasn’t going to achieve anything. She’d even contemplated changing her phone number, but as he knew where she worked and lived, it seemed futile.
Amy was staring at her. ‘Your hand’s trembling. Are you okay?’
Hannah shoved the phone into her pocket and smiled. ‘Of course I am. Now, go and finish getting ready. We need to leave in ten minutes.’
Amy frowned. ‘Are you sure you’re okay? You’ve gone very pale.’
‘Just a difficult client. Nothing for you to worry about, but it does mean I’m going to have a more challenging day than I’d thought.’
Amy seemed to accept this explanation and hurried off, Bear at her heels, to clean her teeth and find her shoes.
Hannah sank on to a stool at the counter. She would have to face Zane Fox. She slipped her phone from her pocket and typed a message.
Will call you from work this morning.
She hit send and sighed. How on earth had she got herself into this situation?
Hannah pulled into her driveway a little after five that afternoon. She’d managed to get away early, which was a relief. She’d spoken to Amy briefly on the phone, and while it sounded like everything was fine, she found it difficult to concentrate on her work while worrying about all the potential dangers Amy could be facing. She was being ridiculous. She knew that. Well, part of her knew that, and the other part, the part that couldn’t help but assess risk, knew otherwise. She opened her car door and was greeted by the sound of Selena Gomez blasting from the top floor of the house.
She grinned. She remembered doing precisely this when she was twelve and she and Nat would let themselves in after school and look after each other until their parents arrived home from work. Except it was the Backstreet Boys blaring from the speakers.
She pushed open the front door and walked through to the kitchen. She wasn’t going to let Amy know she was home. She was interested to see whether the music would stay on until just before five thirty, when Amy was expecting her home, or whether she would just leave it blaring.
Hannah stopped as she entered the kitchen and found Damien sitting on one of the stools sipping a glass of mineral water. He put his finger to his lips signalling for her to be quiet.
‘I want to see what she does,’ he said. ‘She’s certainly having a good time.’
They exchanged a conspiratorial smile.
Hannah kept her voice low. ‘What are you doing home? Aren’t you in the middle of a shift?’
He nodded. ‘This is my break. We were in the area, so I had Pam drop me off. She’s gone to pick something up in Doncaster and will be back to get me in about twenty minutes.’
‘So you thought you’d spy on Amy? I thought you said we should trust her and that she’d be fine?’
Damien smiled sheepishly. ‘Doesn’t mean I can’t worry about her.’
Hannah nodded, glad it wasn’t just her being overprotective. ‘She’d kill us if she knew we were both down here.’
‘I doubt she’ll have any idea with that racket going on. Although when I opened the front door Bear came straight down to see who it was. That was good at least. He went back up to Amy after sniffing around me for a couple of minutes.’ He slid from the seat. ‘Now, can I pour you a glass of wine? I assume your day has left you feeling the need for a nice Pinot Gris?’
Her workday had been relatively straightforward, but yes, the added stress of worrying about Zane Fox meant a glass of wine was in order. She nodded. ‘Thanks, that would be lovely.’
She’d called Zane when she’d arrived at work. She’d reminded him about their contract and his verbal promise not to contact her, but he’d just laughed, sending chills down her spine when she realised how worthless the contract was. He wouldn’t tell her what he wanted over the phone. Instead he insisted they meet. ‘I have a proposition for you, Hannah. Nothing to be concerned about, just something that I believe could be mutually beneficial.’
She’d reluctantly agreed to meet him at a cafe in Doncaster on Friday afternoon, figuring if she did it last thing before returning home, it would have less impact on her working day. Dread filled her every time she thought of him.
She watched as Damien poured her glass and handed it across the counter.
‘Thank you.’
He smiled, but she noticed that his smile didn’t reach his eyes. He’d been like this for the past few days. ‘Is everything okay?’
He looked surprised at the question. ‘Of course, why?’
‘You just look a bit down, that’s all. Are you thinking about your biological parents?’
Damien sighed and sat down beside her. ‘No, it’s not that, although they constantly play on my mind.’ He stared at her for a moment, as if he was carefully choosing his words. ‘A friend’s in trouble.’
‘Who? Someone from work?’
He shook his head. ‘I can’t say.’
‘Okay, well, what kind of trouble?’
‘She’s got herself into debt, and I think she might have an addiction that will make it very difficult to turn things around.’
‘An addiction? To what?’ Alcohol and drugs immediately came to mind.
‘Gambling.’ Damien’s eyes fixed on his glass of water. ‘She’s lost a lot of money in the online poker rooms.’
Hannah’s mouth dropped open. It was someone from his poker night proving precisely what she’d been worried about. ‘I thought you said it only cost a dollar to enter and would be almost impossible to lose much money.’
Damien pushed a hand through his hair. ‘It is if you’re sensible. I said the free and one-dollar tables were what I play, but if you move to the more expensive tables, then I guess you can lose a lot.’
‘And she has.’
He nodded.
‘Does she have a partner? Do they know?’
He shook his head. ‘No, she’s on her own. I’m not sure if that’s better or worse, to be honest. The problem is she seems to think she can dig herself out of the hole she’s in by spending more money.’
Hannah watched her husband as he spoke. While words were coming out of his mouth, he wasn’t making eye contact. He seemed to be deliberately avoiding it, in fact. Why wasn’t he able to look at her? Her mind snapped into analysis mode. He was hiding something, and she could only come up with one valid reason for doing this: there was no friend. He was the friend, and he was hiding behind his lies. ‘Did she say how much she’d lost? Are we talking hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands?’
‘Fifteen thousand. Although I’m not sure it’s all gambling-related, but it’s still a lot.’
Hannah sucked in a breath. If her suspicions were right and there was no friend from work, did this mean Damien had lost fifteen thousand dollars of their savings? He’d have to have transferred it from one of their accounts or cashed an investment. Surely he wouldn’t do that behind her back?
An uneasy feeling hung over her as she thought of her own recent deception. Borrowing money from Phyllie to pay off a thug was hardly something he’d be expecting her to do either.
‘Are you planning to help her?’
This time he did meet her gaze. ‘What, with money?’
She nodded.
‘God no, that would be the worst thing I could do. There’s no point handing over our money for her to lose.’
Hannah nodded. On the surface, they appeared to be having a r
easonable discussion, but everything about Damien’s body language and lack of eye contact confirmed that they weren’t. He was hiding something. Something she intended to get to the bottom of.
She lapsed into her own thoughts, the loud bass of Selena’s song abruptly coming to a halt. She glanced at the clock. Five twenty-five.
‘I guess she’s expecting you home any minute,’ Damien said. He stood and planted a kiss on Hannah’s forehead. ‘I’ll go outside and wait for Pam. Amy doesn’t need to know I was here checking up on her.’
‘Actually, I’ll come out with you and pretend I just got home too. I don’t want to spoil her first day of independence.’ She picked up the barely touched wine glass and put it in the fridge before following Damien to the front door.
They slipped outside, closing the door quietly behind them.
‘I hope your friend can work out her problems,’ Hannah blurted out. She’d said it for no other reason than to gauge his reaction.
His eyes immediately flitted to the road, as if he was watching for his ride. ‘Thanks, so do I.’
Hannah pulled the front door shut with a loud bang, ensuring that Amy would know she was home. Bear barked, and moments later was in the hallway, tail wagging. She rubbed his head, smiling as she heard Amy on the stairs.
‘Hey, Mum.’
Hannah pulled her into a hug. ‘Hi yourself. How did you go this afternoon?’
‘Good. Bear and I have been upstairs doing my homework. I’m almost done.’
Hannah opened her mouth, tempted to say that studying with loud music on would hardly be productive, but shut it again. She, of course, wasn’t supposed to know about the music. Instead, she squeezed Amy tight. ‘Well done, I’m very proud of you.’
Amy blushed and pulled away. ‘The afternoon went fine. There’s nothing to worry about. Now, I’d better finish my homework before dinner.’
Hannah watched as her daughter left the room. Nothing to worry about. How she wished this statement was true. She had plenty to worry about – Zane Fox and now Damien.
She continued down the hallway into the kitchen and opened the fridge, retrieving her wine glass and scooping up her computer from where she’d left it on the countertop, then went upstairs to her office.
