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‘Did you know there’s a storm coming, Billo?’
‘Yup. I hear it’s going to be a real monster. What they call a threat to life.’
Lucy bends double with the pain of it.
Best not to think, not to remember what was. Better, for now, to reduce herself to the basic functions necessary for life. Only when she hears the back door swing open does she raise her head.
When Noemie sees Lucy, her mouth forms an unhappy circle. She glances around, wrinkling her nose. ‘Oh, hon.’ Coming close, she enfolds Lucy into an embrace. ‘Were you sick?’
‘Just a little. I thought I … I thought I swilled it away.’
Noemie releases her and goes to the sink. She grimaces, flicks on a tap. ‘Who sent the hamper?’
‘Ed, Billie’s boyfriend. Said he wanted to do something but didn’t see the point of more flowers.’
‘I guess he had a point. What happened to the window?’
‘Herring gull. I threw a saucepan at it.’
‘Uh-huh. Did you get it?’
‘Wasn’t fast enough.’
‘Maybe next time.’
‘Maybe.’
‘Are you sure you’re up to this today?’
‘It’s all arranged. If not today, it might not be for weeks.’
‘There’s no pressure, Luce.’
‘I know. But I have to see him.’
Noemie nods. ‘Listen, I don’t want to make this any more daunting. But you should know there’s a load of journalists outside. I tried to mow down a couple on the way in, but they move pretty fast when they’re scared.’
‘A bit like herring gulls.’
‘Yeah. Or maybe vultures.’
‘The police took away Daniel’s laptop. Plus a load of his files. Billie’s Chromebook, too.’
‘You know what they were looking for?’
Lucy shrugs. ‘Is this happening, Noemie? I mean, is itreallyhappening? My mind feels like … like I’m losing my grip. Three days ago, at the beach, I was positive that girlwasn’t Billie. Even now, when I try to reach out …’ She pauses, shakes her head.
‘If you lose yourself for a while, I’d say that’s perfectly understandable. You don’t need to analyse what’s going on in your head. Right now, you’ve probably just got to roll with it. Throw saucepans at seagulls if it helps. Hell, I’ll join you. This whole thing, it’s like a tsunami – coming out of the blue and swamping everything. It’s too big to think about all at once. Maybe, for a while, it’s best to tune out.’
‘That’s what I keep telling myself,’ Lucy says. ‘Except I can’t. Ineedto think. I have to figure out what happened. I can’t just abandon them because it hurts.’
‘And that’s why you want to see Daniel?’
‘Exactly.’
2
The journalists at the foot of the drive start yelling when Lucy emerges; she’s so shocked by the white sky and cold breeze that their questions hardly register. Noemie makes no effort to avoid them as she swings her Renault on to the road. They scramble away so fast that a few of them fall over.