Dangerous Affection

Chapter Thirty-Four

The next day I wonder if, in my own mind, I exaggerated Maisie’s awkwardness and Shaun’s reluctance to discuss their outing yesterday.

Yes, Maisie is quiet during the morning, but she’s engrossed in some kind of celebrity site online. We have breakfast together and I refrain from asking anything about her outing yesterday. She doesn’t volunteer any more information but slowly becomes chattier, showing me glitzy short skirts and make-up on the website.

‘I think that stuff’s a little old for you yet, sweetie,’ I say gently, scrolling through my laptop trying to find a case reference that I need.

‘Piper gets loads of stuff from here and she’s only ten.’ She pulls a face. ‘She says all her friends at school do too.’

I look at my daughter, keen to appear reasonable.

‘Tell you what, give me half an hour and then we can take a look together. OK?’

She nods, obviously pleased with my compromise.

A few minutes later, my phone dings. Maisie grabs it and slides it across the worktop.

‘You’ve got a text from Dad.’

I tap the screen and the message content loads.

OK if I take Maisie to the cinema this afternoon? Just the two of us.

‘Yessss!’ Maisie dances around the breakfast bar after snatching the phone back and reading the message. ‘Just me and Dad… that’s awesome!’

I text back saying that it’s fine and that Maisie is very excited. When he collects her just after lunch, he comes to the door.

‘She’s so pleased it’s just the two of you,’ I say in a low voice while Maisie is getting her coat.

‘Well, I figured it’s going to take some time for everyone to feel comfortable together,’ he says sensibly. ‘It’s important I spend time alone with Maisie, too.’

I could hug him, but I don’t. In a way, it’s an admission that perhaps things didn’t quite go to plan yesterday, but I know instinctively that it’s best I don’t question either him or Maisie any further, for the time being.

There’s something else that’s piqued my interest, anyway.

‘Does Piper see her father?’

Shaun shrugs. ‘No. I mean, she can’t. Sadly, he died a few years ago.’

I feel a squeeze on my heart when I think about the casual way I asked Joanne about it. No wonder she changed the subject so quickly.

‘I didn’t know that. What happened?’

He stiffens slightly. Coughs.

‘Joanne is a private person, she wouldn’t want me discussing stuff like that.’

‘I see. Sorry I asked, then.’

It must have been pretty traumatic.

‘No worries,’ he says, brightening again.

I have to admit Shaun looks well. He’s lost a few pounds, and with his obviously new, sleek designer wardrobe, he cuts a stylish figure. It’s a long way from the well-worn tracksuits he favoured just a few weeks ago. He’s not a man who’d be intimidated by being with a woman who is far wealthier than him. He’s just not made that way.

When they’ve gone, I carry on working for a while longer. After that, I flick on the TV and, seeing there’s nothing interesting to watch, decide to pick up on the crime thriller I discarded when all the upheaval started.

As I reach over to close the lid of my laptop, a message pops up on the screen.

Joanne Dent has accepted your friend request.

I’d forgotten about Facebook! I feel a frisson of embarrassment that it’s taken Joanne this long to accept it. Perhaps she would rather not be friends online.

My logic at the time was that perhaps she might post some photographs from their day out at the bowling centre. I thought it might put my mind at rest if I could see that Maisie was relaxed and enjoying herself.

I click on the notification and the screen loads with her profile page, once sparse but now populated with a grid of photographs. Joanne smiling in selfies, Joanne with Piper at home and at various other places, and the most recent one, which makes me draw in a sharp breath, Joanne, Shaun, Maisie and Piper together.

I tap on the picture and it fills my phone screen. Shaun obviously took the selfie in front of the bowling alley before they went inside.

I stare at the four faces. Three of them happy, one… not so much.

Maisie said the outing was just ‘OK’. To anyone else, she is smiling just like the others, but I’m not fooled. Her eyes look troubled and I’d say she’s simply showing her teeth, rather than actually smiling.

But it does strike me that they look like a proper family: two sisters with their parents. Maisie is dark-haired compared to Piper’s silvery-blonde locks, but then Shaun and Joanne have opposite hair colourings too.

The four of them look like they belong together. A brand-new family, just starting out.

The photograph seems to grip me in a sort of trance. I want to close Facebook, to un-see the picture, but it’s too late for that.

My fingers tremble slightly and the bottom of my back feels damp. It’s silly I should feel so unsettled.

There’s a sharp rap at the door and I freeze. I’m not expecting anyone.

I could just ignore whoever it is. I’m not in the mood to face anyone right now.

Then I hear a key rattle in the lock and the door begins to slowly open.