The Darkest Summer

by Unknown

  ‘Hey, relax. I was only messing about,’ I said. When she didn’t look like she was going to calm down, I added. ‘You know that, surely?’

  She stared at me for a little longer. I could almost see her thoughts clambering through her mind. She glanced up at the living-room window where Leo and Dee were still ensconced with the two police officers and then back at me.

  ‘What can the police want with those two?’

  ‘I’ve no idea. I did ask Leo, but he didn’t know either.’

  I made sure Mum was settled and went back into the house, stopping in the hallway. I tried to make out what was being said in the living room, but could only pick up hushed voices.

  Impatient to discover the cause behind the visit, I checked on Katie and Ashley again.

  ‘Hey, girls.’ I opened Katie’s door to her completely pink bedroom. ‘Everything okay?’

  Katie held up a ragdoll that Mum had bought her when she was very small and said, ‘Ashley doesn’t have any dolls.’ When I looked concerned at this snippet of information, she nudged Ashley. ‘Do you, Ashley?’

  The little girl stared silently at me for a second and then shook her head slowly. She almost seemed guilty, as if she was betraying a secret.

  ‘Are the police speaking with Leo and Ashley’s mummy?’

  I crouched down next to Katie. ‘Have you been downstairs?’

  Ashley looked terrified. Sorry to have frightened her, I cupped her chin and smiled. ‘It’s okay,’ I said in what I hoped was a soothing voice. ‘I won’t tell anyone.’ I looked down at Katie. ‘You should probably keep this a secret, too. Okay?’

  She nodded her head vigorously. ‘Yes, Mummy.’ She put an arm around Ashley’s skinny shoulders. ‘Are they telling them off?’

  ‘Don’t be silly, Katie.’

  The contrast in these children was remarkable. Katie with her bubbly character, golden-tanned skin and pudgy arm, next to Ashley’s almost translucent skin. I would have hugged Ashley if I didn’t suspect doing so would terrify her. I wondered when her birthday might be, and if maybe Katie and I could buy her a doll then without offending Dee.

  Not knowing what to do with myself, I walked slowly from room to room checking all the windows were open. The lack of breeze through the house, despite the fans and all the downstairs windows being open, left the place with an oppressive air about it.

  The sun streamed into my bedroom. I ran my hand over the thick layers of white paint on the wooden shutters and pulled them closed to keep in as much shade as possible before crossing the landing to go up the stairs to the attic to Dee’s and Leo’s bedrooms.

  Entering Leo’s room at the front of the house, I opened his window and pulled the small single shutter closed. Nothing was out of place. I could see his rucksack on top of the wardrobe. There wasn’t a crease on his bed sheets or pillow. Next to his bed a single book lay beside a carafe of water, its lid a clean glass resting upside down, both of them joined by a plain lamp on the oak bedside table. I smiled at the simplicity of the room and turned to leave. Leo’s beige linen jacket was placed neatly on a wooden hanger on the back of the door. It moved slowly side to side from the jolting of me opening the door.

  Where had he been all these years? I wondered where the rest of his things must be and where his home had been. In France like Dee? He must miss his personal effects; I know I would if I had to be away from everything for long. I didn’t own much, but my photos and books were precious to me, as were an overnight case crammed with Katie’s baby clothes, and drawings she had done for me at pre-school.

  I entered the larger attic room. This was another sight entirely. Clothes were strewn on every surface, including the floor. I hadn’t realised Dee had managed to fit so many items in her bag. Ashley’s bed, on the other hand, was roughly made, but tidy. It seemed odd for such a little girl to take pride in her bed. The teddy Katie had given her was resting against her pillow. Tears welled in my eyes, blurring the vision in front of me. I wanted to look after her. Teach her to be a little girl and not spend her time worrying so much.

  Remembering what I’d come up here for, I hurried over to the two square windows and opened them, pushing them as far out as I could before closing the shutters. This room above all the others needed fresh, clean air to waft through it, blowing away the tension. Even though it wasn’t my room, I couldn’t help hanging up and folding away Dee’s T-shirts and straightening her bedclothes. I heard the front door slam.

  Leaving the bedroom, I ran down the stairs as Dee ran up them. ‘She’s in Katie’s room,’ I said before she had time to ask her daughter’s whereabouts.

  ‘Thanks,’ she said, giving me a smile. ‘I need to give her a cuddle. She always makes me feel better when she hugs me.’

  I smiled, understanding her sentiment. I followed her.

  ‘What did the police want with you both?’

  She hugged the silent child tightly without speaking for a few seconds. I was about to repeat my question, when she answered. ‘They’ve been questioning Henri, did you know that?’

  ‘I was told earlier at the shop.’ I was surprised that she seemed more self-assured after being questioned than she had before. ‘The police told you that?’

  ‘No,’ she said. ‘Leo was told by someone in the village. The police wanted to know anything he and I could tell them about the farm.’ She lowered her voice, which was pointless as she was still holding Ashley. ‘They’re trying to identify the burnt body.’

  ‘But what could you possibly tell them?’ It didn’t make sense.

  She let go of Ashley, stroked her hair and followed me downstairs. ‘That’s what Leo repeatedly said to them. We haven’t lived there for years. How the hell could we know who it was?’

  She had a point.

  I decided to spend some time by myself and met Leo in the kitchen on my way to the cellar.

  ‘How are you?’ I asked although he seemed perfectly fine as he poured himself a coffee.

  ‘Bloody cops. I don’t know why they don’t focus on the job in hand rather than picking on innocent people.’

  ‘They’re probably just following a line of enquiry,’ I said, repeating something I’d heard on one of the detective shows on television, not really sure what it meant. ‘You both did live there, so maybe they’re speaking to you to be certain they haven’t missed anything?’

  ‘It did seem that way. I heard them mention Henri on their way out.’

  I stiffened, not wishing to show him my concern. ‘What did they say?’

  ‘I have no idea, they wouldn’t elaborate when I asked them.’

  I shivered, crossing my arms in front of my chest. ‘I doubt Henri has anything to do with it.’

  He stared at me silently for a few seconds before shaking his head. ‘You don’t know that, Sera. For all you know, the three of us could be involved in some way.’

  My mouth opened as I tried to find an answer to his shocking statement.

  Leo laughed and nudged me. ‘Don’t look so horrified. I was joking. Of course none of us are involved. How could we be?’

  Leo could be bloody annoying sometimes. Irritated, I left him to go to the cellar and lose myself in my work. I reached up and, lifting the small hook I’d fixed onto the door out of Katie’s reach, went inside and turned on the Bakelite light switch. I walked into the huge cavernous room.

  I began sorting through the signs. My arms ached in the dim, room after moving so many of them into two rows. It didn’t matter how I tried to focus on what I was doing, I couldn’t stop thinking about how my small family’s lives had changed since Dee and Leo’s arrival. I rested my hands on my waist and arched my back to try and ease it. Spotting the plait of garlic hanging from the hook nearby, I was reminded of Henri. At least the police had released him. I hoped he was okay. I wasn’t sure if he avoiding me, though? And if he was, why? I realised nothing made sense any more. It hadn’t made sense for some time.

  Chapter Twenty

  1990 – London
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  Mimi

  It was hard to imagine I hadn’t known Vince two months ago and now, here I was, relaxing against red leather seats in the back of an immaculate Jaguar on my way to Scotland. The leather was cool against my skin. I could barely contain my excitement. I still couldn’t quite believe we were travelling with Gerald, Vince, and a group of their friends to a private country house party. When Vince suggested taking Hazel and me with him to Scotland two days previously, neither of us could believe our luck and had been ecstatic.

  To be attending an event such as this one was something I couldn’t have dreamt about when we had been introduced to Vince that night. So much had changed for me since meeting Hazel and Vince. I was living the life I’d imagined. Well, not quite, but I was getting there and seeing glamour and wealth that I could never have imagined before leaving home.

  I half listened to Vince chatting to Callum, our driver for the journey, about some phone calls he needed to make. I gazed out of the window as we passed vibrant fields that looked as if an artist had got carried away with the abundant greens and yellows on his palette. There were so few buildings in the Highlands, compared to driving in the lush English countryside and the tiny villages were pretty, with many of their village houses’ windowsills graced with tubs of petunias and bamboo structures supporting colourful sweet peas.

  I pushed away a guilty pang at the notion that Alice had been called back to her family’s estate in Hereford for her grandfather’s funeral. It was easy to do; I knew Vince’s glamorous girlfriend wouldn’t give me a second thought if the tables were turned and I’d been the one having to miss out on this trip.

  Gerald was travelling with his mistress and a couple of his and Vince’s other friends in the car behind us. Mistress. What would my mother think if she knew I was mixing with people who openly flaunted their lover in front of friends? The idea thrilled me. I loved my new life. I was eager to make the most of any opportunity that presented itself to me and this had to be the most exciting experience so far.

  ‘Pull over here, Callum,’ Vince said as we entered a tiny village which didn’t seem to consist of much more than a café and a tobacconist. ‘If you girls need to use the bathroom, now’s the time,’ Vince said, getting out of the car and holding the doors open for us.

  Hazel and I stepped out. I stretched, watching her staring after Vince as he walked with Gerald to the tiny shop.

  ‘We’d better get a move on,’ Hazel said. ‘We don’t want to keep him waiting.’

  I bit back a retort. I didn’t like her assumption she knew best how we should behave around Vince. He had been sitting next to me in the back of the car, insisting she sat in the front. To be seen with someone as charismatic and handsome as Vince was a dream come true, I mused as we walked towards the café and asked to use the bathroom. I loved that he made me feel like I was special to him.

  ‘You don’t know him nearly as well as you think,’ I whispered as we washed our hands in the small cracked basin fixed to the wall, studying my eyeshadow and mascara to check it still looked immaculate. I didn’t mean to sound superior, but I couldn’t help it.

  She gave me a knowing smile. ‘Maybe you’re the deluded one, Mimi. Have you ever considered that?’

  I straightened the bodice on my crimson dress that Vince had treated me to before coming away. ‘No,’ I said, simply satisfied with my reflection.

  ‘What are you both doing in there?’ Vince bellowed from outside.

  We both hurriedly retouched our lipstick and ran out to join him. ‘Sorry, Vince,’ we said in unison, glaring at each other for a split second.

  ‘Get in, and let’s go.’

  We had been driving for a few minutes when Vince’s hand moved slightly up my thigh. ‘Glad you came?’ he asked, a twinkle in his eyes.

  I giggled. ‘What do you think?’ I said, enjoying this attention and understanding why he’d insisted Hazel sat in the front with Callum. ‘I’ve never been to Scotland before. It’s very different, isn’t it?’ I asked, still amazed to have been asked to accompany him. I would have been heartbroken if he had left me behind and only taken Hazel.

  ‘Different to London?’ Hazel sniggered. ‘Er, yes.’

  I tensed, disliking the prospect of her needing to emphasise my limited geographical experience.

  ‘We’re not back in some country village now, Mimi.’

  I hoped I would have hidden my jealousy of her if she’d been the one Vince chose to sit next to. She’d never shown this side of her character before. Maybe she wasn’t the sweet, innocent girl we all took her for?

  ‘Now, that’s not very friendly, is it?’ Vince said, resting a large hand heavily on her bare tanned shoulder, while giving my thigh a little squeeze with his other hand.

  I snuggled a little closer to him, relishing the closeness between us. ‘It’s okay,’ I said, enjoying her ignorance of his flirtation. I loved it when he stood up for me. One of these days he would be telling people I was his girlfriend, if I had my way. ‘I’m sure Hazel didn’t mean to sound so nasty.’

  She laughed. I could hear the embarrassment in her voice and couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for her. ‘I wasn’t intentionally mean,’ she admitted. ‘But you forget, Mimi, it was only a few months ago that you came to London and you’ve still got a lot to learn about how everything works in the big city.’

  ‘Maybe not as much as you think,’ I said as sweetly as I could manage. Vince nudged me lightly with his elbow and mouthed, ‘Naughty girl’ to me. If only she knew about our secret meetings when she was working at the café or away at auditions. I pushed away the image of Hazel’s disappointment if she ever discovered that some of my auditions had in fact been assignations with the man who filled both of our daydreams.

  ‘I want you girls to enjoy yourselves,’ he said, his voice a little louder than usual. ‘I didn’t bring you on this trip for you to snipe at each other.’

  ‘Sorry, Vince,’ we said in unison.

  ‘Good. Now, Hazel, I want you to get a sense of how the entertainment works. Learn as much as you can from the way they conduct themselves.’

  ‘I understand,’ she said.

  ‘And me?’ I asked, unable to hide my envy. ‘Why have you brought me along?’

  He laughed a deep, sexy laugh that brightened everything around him. His beautiful lips drew back in a wide smile; he was so handsome my heart contracted painfully. ‘I brought you, beautiful Mimi, because I thought you might enjoy something like this.’

  Hazel turned and glared at me.

  ‘It’s a long drive to Scotland and we’ve got a late night ahead. I’m going to grab forty winks while I have the chance and it’ll be easier if you two stop sniping at each other and give me a bit of peace to have a kip.’ He tapped Callum on his shoulder. ‘Put on some music, will you, mate?’

  For a moment I felt disappointed, believing he meant what he’d said. I saw Hazel relax, closing her eyes, doing exactly as she was told. Callum twiddled around with the radio until he found something by Sting. As the first strains of ‘Englishman in New York’ began to play, Vince gave me a wink. He was certainly my Englishman of choice.

  He bent his head and kissed my shoulder lightly. ‘You’re so perfect,’ he whispered.

  I caught Callum’s gaze through the rear-view mirror. I could tell he was smiling. He gave me the creeps and I was relieved when he looked away and focused on the road.

  I glanced at Vince and nodded towards Callum. He shrugged. ‘Don’t worry about him.’

  He kissed the side of my neck and my resolve vanished. Vince smelt so good. He was nothing like the pasty-faced, spotty boys at home. He spoilt me by treating me like a princess and buying me unexpected gifts, my favourite being the beautiful crimson dress that I was wearing with matching shoes and bag. I smoothed the skirt down to try and eradicate the slight creases that had formed during the journey. I sighed, relieved I’d saved myself for a real man. I closed my eyes.

  * * *

  The
next thing I knew, the car was stopping.

  ‘Oh, look,’ Hazel squealed from the front seat. I woke with a start. Desperate to rub my eyes, I remembered just in time that I was wearing make-up. ‘There’s the road sign for Scotland.’

  A couple of hours later she shouted again. I wished she would calm down; she wasn’t the only excited person in the car. Typical of Hazel to demand all the attention.

  ‘Hurry up, you two,’ her sing-song voice pierced through my half-asleep brain. ‘Look at that.’

  I peered out of the window and saw two large stone pillars of what I presumed was the country house where the party was to be held. Fuelled with delight, I wound down the window.

  ‘Look, Vince,’ I said. When he didn’t reply, I turned to look at him over my shoulder. ‘If that’s the entrance, what’s the house going to be like?’ I reached back to grab his hand.

  He took my hand in one of his and gently pushed my cheek so that I was once again looking away from him out of the window. ‘We’re not going there just yet,’ he said. ‘But when we do, we’re going to have a memorable time.’

  I could feel his warm breath on my shoulders, and shivered. I sensed Hazel glaring at us. When she didn’t look away, I frowned. ‘What’s the matter with you?’

  She stared at me for a bit and then turned her attention to Vince, her face softening almost instantly as she forced a smile back onto her face. ‘Nothing,’ she said sweetly.

  Callum, satisfied we had seen the view, started the car and we drove on again. Suddenly, I couldn’t help feeling a little guilty towards Hazel. After all, she had met Vince before me and never made any secret about her crush on him. I pretended to stare at the beautiful scene in front of us, the cottages and tea rooms. The wind rushed through my sleep-mussed hair and I tried to fix everything I was feeling at that moment into my mind to remember forever. My anticipation of the next few days gave me a buzz I wanted to savour.

  Hazel had told me the night before in our tiny shared room to make the most of every experience that came our way and that’s what I intended doing. We both wanted success, and both wanted Vince. We had little money and only one chance to make our new life in London work.