Page 36 of The Guilty Girl

‘Were you working late?’ Sharon knew the hotel bar officially closed at 11.30, and even though it sometimes took another hour or two to clear up, there was no way her mother was there all night.

‘I had to help Gino do a stock-take. Went on for hours. I’m gasping for a cup of tea.’

As her mother passed her on the landing, Sharon said, ‘Jake isn’t home, Mam.’

‘What do you mean, he isn’t home? He was minding you last night.’

She didn’t want to rat out her brother, but she was worried. Was he with the toxic people? She bit the corner of her thumb.

‘Well, he went out.’ Once she started talking, she couldn’t stop. ‘I woke up and thought he was in bed, but I think he took your car and he didn’t come home. He promised me a bag of chips and chicken nuggets. Where is he, Mam?’

‘What are you talking about? Took my car? Shaz, don’t be silly, my car is outside.’

Liz Flood hurried down the stairs and out the front door, but before she reached the front path, she turned and ran back inside, banging the door.

‘I’ll ground the little shit for life.’

Following her into the kitchen, Sharon said, ‘Will we call the guards?’

‘They’d throw his thieving arse in jail.’ Liz filled and flicked on the kettle. ‘Did he say where he was going?’

Sharon shook her head. ‘He said he’d bring me back chips and—’

‘I’ll give him chips and bloody chicken nuggets!’ Liz shouted, and Sharon nearly had to put her hands over her ears. ‘What time did he go out?’

‘Don’t know.’

‘He knows he isn’t supposed to leave you on your own.’ Liz marched up and down the narrow kitchen. ‘Did anyone call for him or ring him before he went out?’

Sharon felt dizzy watching her mother. ‘Mam, I don’t know. I went to bed when he went out. I dreamt about chicken nuggets and Jake wasn’t here when I woke up this morning, and that’s all I know.’ She stopped to catch her breath as Liz phoned Jake. She should have thought of doing that.

‘Little fecker has his phone switched off.’ Liz took a mug from the cupboard, ran a tea towel around the rim and dropped a used tea bag into it. She stood with her hands flat on the countertop. Deep breaths. ‘This is my own fault for trusting him.’

‘Maybe he crashed the car. He might be in hospital. The guards—’

‘Shush, Shaz. I need to think. Get dressed, then go knock on his friends’ doors. If he was out drinking, I’ll kill him. He’s probably somewhere sleeping off a hangover. I’ll tell you this for nothing, Jake Flood won’t sleep for a month when I get my hands on him.’

‘Maybe the car was stolen. He might be afraid to come home, or—’

‘Are you still here? I told you to get dressed! Does no one in this house listen to me any more?’

Sharon slunk out of the kitchen as her mother poured partially boiled water from the kettle into the mug. She was acting weirder than normal, Sharon thought. Where had she been last night, anyway?

And where the hell was Jake?

The doorbell blared just as Sharon came back down the stairs in her ripped blue jeans, black tee and stained pink runners. Only one runner had a lace in it. Jake must have swiped the other lace, as well as taking their mother’s car. He was so stupid.

Maybe it was Jake at the door. But he’d have a key, wouldn’t he? Unless he’d lost it. Maybe he’d lost the car too. Yeah, Jake wasn’t so clever after all.

As her mother opened the door, Sharon stalled on the curve of the narrow stairs. Hunkering down, she gripped her knees and peered under the handrail through two posts that needed a fresh coat of paint. Mam had bought the paint and given Jake the job, but he still hadn’t done it. If Daddy was here, Sharon thought, the stairs would be painted by now. A lump formed in her throat and she tried desperately not to cry. Crying set Mam off, and Sharon knew she wouldn’t be able to cope with that on top of everything else this morning.

Two people stood on the step. A man and a woman. They looked like guards. If Jake was here, he’d know who they were. He was good at figuring out what people worked at. And then she did let out a cry. Were they here to tell them Jake was dead? No!

She watched as her mother stood back to bring them inside. The woman, wearing a grubby-looking T-shirt and holding a folded-up jacket and a creased leather bag under her arm, smiled. Sharon raised her hand to wave, but stalled it mid-air as her mother shot her a warning look.

Definitely the guards.

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