Page 104 of The Stranger in Room Six

Belinda

The article in the next day’s newspaper is on the front page.

I feel sick to my stomach when I read it.

Everything in it – the leaflets, the parties, helping a spy to land – was given to me in good faith by Mabel.

To protect my girls, I passed it on to Mouse for her boss.

And now he must have fed it to the press.

When I force myself to think about it, I suppose I always knew this couldn’t have a good ending.

But when Mouse found me here in Sunnyside, I didn’t love Mabel in the way I do now.

Love is a strong word but it’s how I feel.

Mabel is funny, brave and courageous. She was just a teenager back then, used by Clarissa and Jonty.

Once more, I have wounded someone close to my heart.

What will Mabel say when she sees the papers? She’ll know that all the information came from me. Will she think I’m the anonymous source?

Despite these headlines, what I’m really worried about is the hate note she received. I’m still trying to contact her brother so he can protect her. But it’s not easy.

Unsurprisingly, it’s impossible to get through to the deputy PM’s office. I’ve tried phoning and emailing. Each time I receive a polite ‘we’ll get back to you’.

In desperation, I go to the manager’s office in Sunnyside but she’s on leave and her deputy is in a meeting.

‘I think Mabel is in danger,’ I tell one of the nurses. ‘She’s had a threatening note.’

‘Then perhaps she should have been more careful in the past,’ the nurse snaps back.

Judging from the rumblings amongst the residents, huddled round the newspapers, she’s not the only one to think this.

Then Elspeth calls. ‘I’ve read the news about Sunnyside. Has this got anything to do with the man who bumped into Gillian on the Tube?’

‘I can’t say,’ I whisper. I’m in the dining room when she calls and I shouldn’t even have my phone on me.

‘Are you in trouble again?’

‘I’m simply trying to protect you all.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Trust me,’ I whisper again. ‘Sorry, I have to go.’

Later, when I’m in my room, Imran rings.

(I’d followed Mabel’s earlier advice and sent him my address and phone number.) Instantly, I’d regretted it and have been ignoring his calls, just as I ignore this one.

If I needed any more proof that I shouldn’t get close to people, this is it. The sooner he sees that, the better.

Just as I decide I’ll go to the police about the note, even if it means they’ll check out my background, news arrives. Harry Marchmont is coming to visit his sister.