Should Have Known Better

by A J McDine

  Her mum grabbed the phone. ‘But the musical director is mentioned by name. I wonder if he’s on Facebook.’

  After half a dozen false starts, they tracked him down. And as they scrolled through his list of friends, her mum had stopped at a photograph of a distinguished-looking man with silver hair wearing a dinner jacket, a violin tucked under his chin.

  ‘Why have you gone quiet?’ Chloe had demanded.

  ‘Because it’s him,’ her mum said, her voice all emotional. ‘Well, him but older.’

  Chloe’s fingers had trembled as she’d clicked first on Marcus Robinson’s profile, then on his friends list. And, towards the end, there he was. Marcus’s son. A man with broad shoulders and hair even blonder than hers, laughter lines fanning out from his denim blue eyes and a smattering of freckles across his nose. Chloe hadn’t needed to ask her mum if it was their Noah. It was like looking at a picture of herself.

  Her toast had burnt to a crisp, but she couldn’t have cared less.

  Her mum had insisted on checking out Noah’s profile before making contact.

  ‘We have to remember he might have a wife, children,’ she’d reasoned. But Noah, it turned out, lived with a fluffy tabby cat called Oscar in an apartment with a small garden in a suburb of San José and worked in Silicon Valley. According to his Facebook status, he was single.

  Her mum had sent him a message there and then.

  Hey Noah, I don’t know if you remember me? English Kate? We met in Phuket in the summer of 2001. I hope you don’t mind me contacting you out of the blue like this, but I wanted to introduce you to Chloe. My daughter. She’s just turned eighteen, in case you were wondering. Love Kate.

  She included a photo of them both that Uncle Rory had taken during a flying visit that spring. Arms around each other’s shoulders and laughing at one of his wisecracks.

  It was rash, maybe. Audacious, certainly. But it had worked. Seven hours later - at six in the morning in San José - Noah had messaged back.

  English Kate! I’m sure you won’t believe me if I said I think about you a lot. But, godammit, it’s true! I wish I had never let you slip through my fingers, and now you’ve found me. And you have a daughter. She looks a lot like you. But she also looks a lot like me. Is there something I should know?

  Her mum had taken a long time composing her next message.

  She is yours, Noah. I feel terrible I didn’t let you know at the time, but I didn’t find out I was pregnant until I’d left Thailand. And I didn’t know how to contact you. I’m so sorry to drop this bombshell, but Chloe’s had a tough time recently. She could use a dad right now. Kate x

  Noah had taken even longer to reply. When a whole day had passed, and he still hadn’t been in touch, Chloe had resigned herself to the fact that he didn’t want to know.

  And then, finally, a message.

  Wow, I can’t pretend your news hasn’t thrown me for a loop. I’ve thought about nothing else all day. I have a daughter! Can we stop with the messaging and talk properly?! I would love to meet her. Noah x

  And that evening - Noah’s morning - Chloe had FaceTimed her dad. It had been amazing, no other word for it. Discovering they had the same sense of humour, the same mannerisms. They both licked their lips when they were nervous and rested their head on their chins when they were listening to the other. Their words tumbled over themselves as they caught up on the last eighteen years. Chloe’s mum had diplomatically left them to it, pretending she had something urgent to do upstairs, but when their conversation eventually began to dry up, Noah had casually asked if she was around.

  ‘She’s upstairs. D’you want me to get her?’

  ‘Seems rude not to say hello after all this time,’ Noah had said with a grin.

  Her mum had been horrified. ‘Oh my God, he can’t see me looking like this! I need to change, wash my hair. Tell him I’ve gone out.’

  ‘Too late. He knows you’re here. And you look fine.’

  Chloe had watched in amusement as her mum had sat in front of the computer, self-consciously playing with a strand of her hair. She and Noah had chatted about inconsequential stuff, from their jobs to their mutual love of Billions. But it was blatantly apparent to Chloe there was still a spark between them.

  She was in contact with her dad every day after that, even if it was a quick text chat or an exchange of photos of things that had made them smile. And Chloe slowly began to heal, the horrors of the last few months fading like a scar. Still visible, but no longer an open wound.

  It helped that Ben’s wounds were healing, too. After finding out the truth about his mum, he’d decided to track down his maternal grandparents. With Chloe’s help, he discovered they’d retired to Hove and, contrary to the lies Adam had spun, they were elated to meet their only grandson. He moved in with them while Adam was still on remand, and he and Chloe had stayed in touch. As proper friends this time.

  After a couple of months, Noah invited Chloe and her mum to California. ‘It’s beautiful this time of year,’ he’d said. ‘You’d love it.’

  ‘We have to wait until after the trial,’ Chloe had said.

  His face had grown serious. Her mum had told him what had happened. Adam had been charged with attempted rape, sexual assault, false imprisonment, voyeurism and sending indecent images of a person under eighteen. In fact, they’d thrown the book at him. It turned out he wasn’t as well-connected as he’d liked to think. He’d denied everything, of course, which meant both Chloe and her mum would have to give evidence. The two-week trial was fixed for the end of June, after Chloe’s last A-level. She was dreading it. But if there was a trip to California to look forward to afterwards, she knew she could get through it.

  Adam was found guilty of all charges, and the judge sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment. He would probably be out in four. Chloe tried not to think about that. She wasn’t prepared to let him ruin any more of her life.

  ‘San José is beautiful this time of year,’ Taylor said, bringing her back to the present.

  ‘That’s what my dad said.’

  Taylor handed her two plastic glasses and two bottles. ‘Well, you guys have yourselves a great trip.’

  ‘Don’t worry, we intend to.’

  Chloe’s mum poured them each a glass of bog-standard dry white wine. ‘Cheers,’ she said, clinking glasses. ‘We should think of a toast.’

  Chloe’s heart felt as light as air as she clinked back. ‘To us,’ she said. ‘And to new beginnings.’

  THE END

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  Afterword

  I hope you enjoyed Should Have Known Better. It would be great if you could spare a couple of minutes to write a quick review on Amazon or Goodreads. I’d love your feedback!

  About the Author

  A J McDine lives deep in the Kent countryside with her husband and two teenage sons.

  She worked as a journalist and police press officer before becoming a full-time author in 2019.

  Endlessly fascinated by people and their fears and foibles, she loves to discover what makes them tick.

  She writes dark, domestic thrillers about ordinary people in extraordinary situations.

  When she’s not writing, playing tennis or attempting to run a 5K, she can usually be found people-watching in her favourite café.

  A J McDine is the author of two psychological thrillers: When She Finds You and Should Have Known Better.

  Also by A J McDine

  When She Finds You

  Sophie Saunders has the perfect life.

  Happily married to handsome Matt and
expecting her first baby, she is the envy of her childhood friend, Lou.

  Lou’s family has splintered. Her husband is dead and her son has left home. She would give anything to turn back the clock.

  But there’s a secret buried deep in their past that the two friends can never forget.

  And when Sophie’s world starts spiralling out of control, it’s her new friend Roz to whom she turns.

  Trouble is, secrets have a habit of unravelling. And when they do, you can kiss your perfect life goodbye.

  Sometimes, it’s better when the truth stays hidden.

  When She Finds You is the gripping debut psychological thriller by A J McDine.

  AVAILABLE IN THE AMAZON STORE

  Also by Cherry Tree Publishing

  His Wife’s Sister

  He stole her childhood. Now she wants it back.

  A woman is found wandering through woodland, confused and severely undernourished.

  Police identify her as Mara Sitwell, who was just eleven years old when she vanished from her home nineteen years earlier.

  She says she was abducted and held captive in an underground cell for all that time.

  Her escape seems to prove miracles can happen - but not everyone is convinced.

  Tortured by guilt, Mara’s sister Lucia insists on taking her in.

  But Lucia’s husband, Damian is not so sure it’s a good idea.

  He suspects Mara is hiding a terrible secret – and fears the whole family could be in danger.

  AVAILABLE IN THE AMAZON STORE

  Between the Lies

  By A J Wills

  He thought he was living the perfect life – until he discovered he was living with a perfect stranger.

  Jez believed he'd finally found happiness when he met the alluring Alice Grey.

  She's elegant, stylish and beautiful, the kind of woman he never imagined would look at him twice.

  But his life’s shattered when Alice goes missing with her young daughter– and the police accuse him their murders.

  The only way to prove his innocence is to find them alive.

  But that's not so easy when Alice is running from a dark family secret and doesn't want to be found.

  At least without any evidence he's killed them, it'll be hard for the police to charge him.

  Unless they discover the body Alice asked him to hide…

  AVAILABLE IN THE AMAZON STORE