Page 61 of Don't Believe A Word

Cristy was still mulling it as a video call came up on her screen. ‘What timing,’ she murmured. Clicking straight to speaker so the others could hear while remaining out of shot, she said, ‘Sadie. How are things there?’

‘Sorry, I meant to call earlier,’ Sadie replied breathlessly, ‘it’s been a horrible day, the worst. I crashed my car first thing – nothing serious – then I got to the villa and Mia bloody well locked me in Lottie’s rooms. Can you believe it? She’s only just let me out.’

Clocking everyone’s astonishment, Cristy simply allowed the girl to run on.

‘She’s trying to say it was a mistake, that she had no idea I was in there, but she knew. If I hadn’t left my phone in the kitchen I could have rung Anna or Jasper to come and get me out, but I didn’t have it with me. Then it turned out the WiFi was down in the whole house, including Lottie’s office, so I couldn’t reach anyone that way either.’

‘Has your aunt ever done anything like that before?’ Cristy asked, recalling what a steep and treacherous drop it was from Lottie’s balconies, so no escape route there.

‘I’m afraid so. It’s her thing, locking people up. She used to do it to Lottie if she was angry with her, or wanted to be the one in control. She’s nuts at times, honestly. Harmless, but definitely nuts. Anyway, I’m back at the lodge now and I wanted to let you know that she’s heard the first episode. It’ll be why she locked me up, as a punishment, I’m sure of it …’

‘She rang me last night,’ Cristy interrupted, ‘so I know she’s heard it. We’ll get into the details of the call in a minute, but I think you should know that she’s accused you of writing the extracts …’

‘What!You can’t be serious. She is so … I swear Ididnotwrite them. I found them, like I told you, in amongst Lottie’s other stories and travel pieces … Oh my God! She thinks it’ll make you stop helping me, that’s why she said it. She comes out with such horrible lies sometimes. She’s done it all my life. Please tell me you don’t believe her.’

‘I don’t,’ Cristy admitted, ‘but there is something I’d like you to clear up.’

‘Yes, of course. Anything.’

Sadie looked so eager to comply and fearful of not being believed that Cristy could feel herself starting to soften. ‘The extracts you’ve given us so far seem to be telling the story in order, so am I right in thinking you found them all before you and Anna approached me with the first one?’

The girl’s dismay was so apparent that it was admission enough.

‘Talk me through it,’ Cristy encouraged.

Sadie took a breath, lowered her head and looked so guilty and ashamed as she met the camera lens again that it was hard not to feel sorry for her. Depending, of course, on what she had to say next.

‘I came across the third one first, during the pandemic,’ she said quietly. ‘That’s the single page where the envelope turns up and they get all worried about what’s inside. I found it a bit weird that Lottie had used our names for a story like that, but it was so short and seemed to go nowhere that I decided it was just an idea that she’d jotted down to work on later and never went back to. I forgot about it even, until I found the box with the toys anda note. Seeing that note –Her name is Sasha, she will be two years old …Well, you know what it said, and I … I felt sick inside, because I just knew that it was about me, and whoever had written it had meant to come back for me but somehow, for some reason, they hadn’t.’

‘Did you find the photographs of your mother and uncle at the same time as the note?’ Cristy prompted, recalling that they’d been in the box Sadie had brought to Bradford-on-Avon.

‘No, they came later … I can’t remember now if it was before, or after, the chapter where Edwin turns up at the house, I only knew that when I saw them I felt certain I was looking at my parents. I swear I wasn’t making it up when I said I remembered a man in a hat … I know we think now that he was my uncle, but at the time I was sure he must be my father.’

‘So exactly how long have you had everything you’ve shown us so far?’

Sadie was shamefaced all over again. ‘I found the latest extract, the one that ends with Lottie having an idea, a few months ago.’

Recalling how shaken she’d appeared after reading it aloud, and her initial claim that she’d only come across it four days before, Cristy said, ‘I’m not sure whether to admire your acting skills or simply to call this all to a halt right now …’

‘No, no, please don’t do that,’ Sadie jumped in. ‘I’m sorry, I really am.’

‘But how can we trust you, Sadie, when you’ve misled us …’

‘But only about when I found things. Everything else is true, and please remember that when I read out the last one I’d only just heard Robert and Gita Brinkley’s interviews. That’s why I was so emotional …’

‘But why the hell didn’t you hand it all over as soon as we met?’

Colouring, Sadie said, ‘I was afraid you might just dismiss it, or think I was some sort of fantasist. And as the pages don’t prove anything, I thought … Oh God, I thought if I drew it out, gave them to you bit by bit, it would give me some time to find more, if there is more, but I still don’t know if there is.’

As a tear dropped onto her cheek, Cristy sighed and said, ‘I want you to know, Sadie, that if we hadn’t already posted the firstepisode I really would be calling everything off right now. This level of duplicity and manipulation is unforgivable, and not one of us sitting in this room now takes kindly to being made a fool of …’

‘That wasn’t my intention,’ Sadie cried desperately, ‘and I’m sorry, I really am …’

‘How long were you intending to continue with the charade?’

‘I – I didn’t have a plan, exactly, but I knew I’d have to tell you if I didn’t find any more …’

‘And apparently you haven’t. So what now?’