Chapter 50

‘You could've been a bit more subtle,' I say to Tom, tone clipped, once Daisy's safely out of earshot.

‘She can't stay here forever.' Tom adjusts himself in his seat. ‘Look, we put the girl up, gave her a home, a job. We didn't know her from Adam.'

‘That's beside the point. You were rude.'

‘Rude? I'm not the one who's got the TV on all night.'

‘Stop being a child,' I hit back.

‘She charges up a billion appliances. And who has two showers a day?' I shake my head at him. I might've known it was about money. ‘Do you know how many litres of water a shower pumps out per minute?' No, but I think I'm about to find out. ‘Twenty,' he exclaims. ‘Twenty,' he repeats for emphasis, ‘per minute!' I didn't realise it was as much as that. No wonder he's in and out in two ticks. ‘She's in there for twenty minutes. That's four-hundred litres.' A pause, and then. ‘Did you know she left her hair straightener thingy on and went out?' Georgia told me about that and I made her promise not to tell her dad, but she obviously did. I wonder why.

‘Shhh,' I hiss, fishing a teabag out of a cup. ‘Being pissed off with me about Liam doesn't give you the right to take it out on our poor temp. She's not your punch bag. I explained why I had to do what Liam wanted. What was I supposed to do, let him drag Georgie through the courts?'

‘What you were supposed to do was tell me the truth.' Returning the milk to the fridge, he gives the door a hard slam. ‘It's obvious you don't trust me,' he scoffs, sitting down at the table with a bowl of cereal that has turned to mush, hair sticking up.

‘That's not fair.' Pulling out a chair, I sit down next to him, placing his T initial mug near the edge of the table. ‘I really don't understand you sometimes. If you weren't okay about it, why didn't you say so last night?' I lower my voice and look at the door, ‘Instead of wanting to have sex with me?' He doesn't answer. ‘I'm not sure what else you want me to do.' More silence. ‘Look, I thought we sorted all this out.' I lower my voice to a whisper. ‘The test proves that you're…'

‘It's not about that,' he snaps, blowing on his tea. ‘I want to know what's going on with Frank.' His words ram into me like a bulldozer and I have to hold on to the edge of the table, even though I'm sitting down. ‘Why did you tell Stanhope he was dead?'

‘What?' I do a little laugh. ‘I explained last night. I was talking about the Limes Park victim. Maybe I overreacted a bit. It's the menopause, making me all teary and emotional.' I look at his face for a reaction but he carries on eating his cereal, tapping at the screen of his iPad with his other hand. ‘I cry at everything these days.' He slides a finger along the screen. ‘So, it's the silent treatment, is it? I honestly don't know what's got into you this morning.' I take a sip of black tea. ‘You're always ratty when you haven't had enough sleep.'

Tom looks up at me from his iPad. ‘What's got into me? You're the one who's acting like the bloody gestapo.'

‘You're being ridiculous,' I cry, my limbs buzzing with nerves.

‘I'm being ridiculous now, am I?' he hisses, pinching the screen of his iPad and peering at a huge eyeball with a blister in it, which makes me recoil. ‘On top of being rude, weird and a child?' And just then his phone lights up on the table and I looked at it instinctively. He jerks his head towards his phone. ‘Pick it up,' he says through a mouthful of cereal. ‘Go on. Read it,' he dares. I roll my eyes and he snatches the phone off the table and chucks it across to me. ‘In fact, read all my texts, why don't you? Unlike you, I've got nothing to hide.'

‘Stop acting like an idiot.' I'm on my feet, looming over him, arms folded. Another message flares and this time I manage to see who it's from. Dad-I'll call you later.

Picking his phone up, Tom points it at me. ‘So, I'm an idiot now, am I? Any more insults you want to throw at me today?' he seethes, slipping his phone into the pocket of his pink shirt without reading the text. ‘I don't think you're in a position to get all sanctimonious after the web of deceit you've weaved recently. And now Frank has vanished off the face of the earth. The police are coming round to our home. I mean, really, Bella?' His eyes are bulging. ‘I'm not sure how much more I can take.'

My cheeks burn. ‘I told you; I don't know where Fra…'

‘Actually, stop.' Closing his eyes, he raises his hands, then pushes his chair back and stands up. ‘The less I know about it the better.'

‘You can't leave like this,' I cry, standing in front of him.

‘Move.' His tone chills me to the bone. I step to the side and he shoots into the hallway, thrusting a hand through his sticky up hair, all the while droning on about a busy day ahead – a staff meeting, followed by Mrs Shahid's conjunctivital cyst, won't even have time for a bloody lunch break.

‘Then stay and finish your breakfast. Tom.' I barrel after him.

Outside, he unlocks his car and throws his stuff on the back seat as I launch into a pathetic, pleading monologue – I hate it when we fight - I do trust him – why is he being so arsy with me. ‘Look, I don't know anything about Frank's disappearance,' I insist, which is true. ‘And neither does Zelda.'

‘Isn't she due round?' Tom throws a look up at the house. I tell him that's the plan. She'll be working from the garden office. ‘Right, well, make sure she's gone by the time I get home.' My hand shoots to my chest and I take a step back as he folds himself into the car. Why doesn't he want Zelda in our house? ‘Don't insult my intelligence, Bella, I know you're involved in something illegal.' A shiver rips along my spine, rendering me speechless.

‘But Zelda…' I gulp.

‘I'll talk to you tonight. I'm running late.' Revving the engine, he looks at me, chewing the inside of his bottom lip, as if he's about to say something but isn't sure. I take a step closer and curl my hands around the open window, bending slightly, but then he seems to snap out of it, flicks a glance at the house again with tired, red-rimmed eyes and puts the car into drive.

‘What time will you be…'

‘I dunno,' he cuts across me. ‘I'll message you later.' I watch from the edge of the driveway, stunned, as he speeds off, wheels screeching, brake lights flashing at the end of the road.

Suddenly aware of a cold, gritty bite beneath my bare feet, I hurry along the driveway, Tom's accusation looping in my mind. I don't know why I'm shocked. It was only a matter of time before he caught up with us. A ruckus above me snatches my attention. I look up at the house as the window closes. Daisy is standing there, staring down at me. Shit. How long has she been there? Did she hear my brawl with Tom? I give her a little wave as I hurry inside, head down, feeling her eyes burning into me.