Angel Kiss - Laura Jane Cassidy [61]
I rushed out of the funhouse and ran over to the carousel. I didn’t want Des to see me. I didn’t want to have to talk to him. Maybe there was a darker side to his personality after all. And, if he had killed Beth, then maybe he had killed again. Maybe he had killed Jane.
Chapter 19
The next day Mum was standing in the front garden in a gypsy dress and cardigan, her pink sling-back sandals hidden in the long grass. She was looking up at the house. The weather was getting cooler, the summer slipping away steadily. I was wearing my faded skinny jeans, a white T-shirt and grey waistcoat, each of its buttons encrusted with a little jewel. I stepped out of the caravan and walked across the grass. Mum didn’t budge; she just stood there, staring at the house. She’d been so upset when I’d told her about Des. At first she didn’t believe it, but then she’d found out that quite a few people in the village suspected him, so she’d decided to cool things off. She hadn’t spoken to him for a few days. I didn’t want to tell her about his angry outburst at the fête. It would only upset her more.
‘Are you all right, Mum?’ I asked, touching her arm.
‘Hmm?’ she said, looking at me. It was sad to see her like this. She’d really been into Des. I wanted the old Mum back. The one who flicked ferociously through home magazines for decorating ideas and got overly excited when kitchen units and bathroom tiles arrived.
‘Are you OK?’ I said.
‘Yes. Yes, I’m fine. I was just thinking …’ Mum shuffled her feet in the grass.
‘About what?’
‘Nothing important really … you know, just … stuff. The house looks great, doesn’t it?’
‘It’s beautiful,’ I agreed.
‘It’s exactly how I imagined it would be,’ she said, her words positive, but her tone deflated. I knew what she was thinking about. Or, rather, who she was thinking about. I wanted to say something comforting, something to make her feel better, but I just couldn’t think of anything. She probably didn’t want to talk about it anyway. I knew that’s how I’d felt, when I’d had my heart broken. I didn’t want to talk about it, because it hurt too much. I thought it best just to stand there in silence. It wasn’t awkward with Mum; it was nice. We didn’t have to talk; we could just be. She knew I felt bad for her, she knew I cared. It was kind of overwhelming when I thought about all the millions of reasons why people broke up. There were so many obstacles, so many things that could go wrong.
Suddenly, we heard a loud noise like falling stones behind the house. The sound startled me. The builders weren’t here. I wondered what it could be. I turned to Mum.
‘What was that?’ I said.
‘Sounds like something fell,’ said Mum. ‘I hope nothing’s damaged.’
We hurried round the back.
‘Maybe it was a cat or something,’ said Mum as we turned the corner. We looked around the garden. The stack of red bricks in the corner had been knocked down and strewn across the ground. But it wasn’t a cat. We just caught a glimpse of a man disappearing through a gap in the hedge.
‘Who the hell was that?’ said Mum.
I was afraid to say who I thought it was.
‘That looked a bit like Des,’ said Mum. ‘Did you see his face?’
‘No, I didn’t see his face, but it could have been him.’ I was getting worried now.
‘Why would Des climb through our hedge?’ Mum sounded more confused than frightened.
‘I don’t know … but I have a bad feeling about him.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Mum, I’m not sure he’s that innocent any more. I overheard him get really angry with someone at the fête. Maybe he’s not as nice as we think he is.’ I didn’t want to upset her, but I had to be honest.
‘Hold on … could he have been spying on us?’ Mum looked worried now.
‘I don’t know. Maybe –’
‘That’s it. We’re leaving.’
‘Mum, calm down.’
‘Jacki, I can’t deal with this any more. He was spying on us. A lot of people think he killed a woman. We need to get out of here. C’mon, let’s pack up.’
‘But –’
Mum marched towards the caravan. All I could do was follow her. She pulled her suitcase