Page 17 of Breaking the Dark

“Yup. That word again. But Fox didn’t mention this girl at all when he got home?”

“No. Nothing. I even asked him if he’d met anyone, and he said no.”

“Well, he was quite happy to tell his friend’s mom all about her. I mean, listen, I can follow these kids around like a freak, but sooner or later they’ll notice me and wonder what the hell I’m doing. It seems to me that you need someone who can infiltrate their worlds. Someone who can be their friend.”

“I know. Exactly. I was thinking of asking one of their friends, but who could I ask who wouldn’t just immediately confess that I’d set them up and make my kids even more distrustful of me than they already are?”

“Why are they distrustful of you?”

“Oh God.” She shrugs and turns her hand up. “I don’t know. Just because. Because I’m their mother. Because I find things out about them. Because I love them, I guess. Do you have children, Jessica?”

“Oh.” Jessica flinches, as though she has been shoved in the chest. “No. No, I don’t.”

“Do you want them?”

“Er, I…”

But Amber saves her from having to answer the question by cutting in over her. “It’s complicated. Being a mother is complicated, and you have no idea how complicated it is until you’re neck-deep in it all. But yes, I’d love to be able to infiltrate their world somehow, you know, rent a teenager to hang out—”

“Hold on,” says Jessica, a thought leaping right to the top of her mind. “I might have just the answer. My…” She pauses, unsure of the correct word to describe Malcolm. “My…assistant,” she says.

“You have an assistant?”

“Yeah, he’s new. But he’s super enthusiastic, and super smart. And he’s only seventeen.”

“Right. But where does he live?”

“I have no idea.”

“How would he…fit in?”

“Well, for starters, he’s an Akinesiz fan.”

“Okay, well, that’s a start. But how would he gain their trust?”

“I’m not sure yet. Leave it with me. I’ll think of something. But in the meantime, I’m going to see what I can find out about this girl named Belle who lives in…”

“Barton Wallop.”

“Barton what now?”

“Wallop. British villages have insane names. You should google them sometime, for fun. But anyway, that is the name of Sebastian’s village. And his house is called Barton Manor. It has a moat.”

“A, like…?” Jessica draws a circle in the air.

“Yeah. That much the kids did tell me. And a drawbridge.”

“Does it have a dragon?”

Amber laughs. “No. No dragons. But it should be very easy to find on Google Earth.”

“Yes. I will get straight onto that. And…” Jessica glances down at a puddle of purplish light falling onto the cream floorboards of the room through a stained-glass fanlight. “Listen. Is there anything else I should know? About your husband? About his background? I mean…is there anything special about him? Or his family?”

“No,” Amber replies. “Nothing like that. Just totally normal.”

Jessica moves to take her leave, but Amber stops her by touching her sleeve gently.

“Jessica,” she says, her sharp eyes staring at her softly. “Are you okay?”