Spread from FORGET ME NOT
by Anne Cassidy
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“The police are here,” I said. “I should have told you. They’re asking all the neighbours about last night. I know you were out but . . . “
My mom’s forehead crinkled.
“I don’t suppose they’ll take long,” I said.
She looked up at me and her face had an odd expression. I couldn’t make it out. It was as if she was annoyed. She swore quietly. She grabbed up the beads and put them in the box. The earrings followed. I shrugged. I felt as if I’d done something wrong.
“I’ll be down in a minute,” she said tersely, running her fingers thorugh here hair. “Make them a cup of tea.”
I left her and went downstairs. The woman was seated at the kitchen table. The man was standing up, looking at the screen of his mobile. They both turned down the tea. They’d probably had gallons of it if they’d been doing house-to-house enquiries all day long.
“Really terrible about Jade Henderson,” I said, feeling that I should say something.
The woman nodded.
“I don’t suppose there’s any news?”
She shook her head. I heard Mum on the stairs. When the kitchen door opened Mum stood there wearing completely different clothes; a dark skirt and white shirt, as if she were going for a job interview. She had black sandals on but no tights.
“I’m Teresa Parfitt,” she said. “I understand you’d like to talk to me.”
The woman police officer stood up. She gave a crinkly smile.
“Are you the Teresa Parfitt who used to reside at Little Madden in North Yorkshire?”
I frowned. Little Madden? What did my mum’s childhood home have to do with anything?
My mum looked composed, much calmer than she had been upstairs. I noticed then that she had combed her hair flat and wasn’t wearing any jewellery.
“I wondered how long it would take you to come and find me,” she said.
From Forget Me Not. Copyright © 2008 by Anne Cassidy. All rights reserved.
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