Her plan to ruin Evie might have backfired, but she had managed to create havoc and cause enormous upset and, forAmelia, that was all part of the fun. She told herself, ‘If that old bag Freya dies, I know Evie will blame herself. It’s something, I suppose, and anyway I’m not finished with her yet.’
Back at Freya’s, Evie and Ross were waiting for news. Liv had crawled back into her shell and retreated into the kitchen with Rab, trying not to stare too hard at the open bottle of whisky by the sink.
A visibly upset Kate had apologised to Evie over and over again, and had gone back to her mother’s to pick up the girls and take them home. Evie made yet another call to the hospital and was told there was no change in Freya’s condition.
She also left Maureen a message making her swear to call her the instant Freya showed any signs of waking up. Ross had been keeping busy, calling round all the hotels and boarding houses. He didn’t think Amelia would be daft enough to check into any of them, but he needed something to do. They were all going quietly round the bend.
So it was heartening to receive a phone call from Andrzej, who’d been ringing round his pals in the taxi trade and discovered a woman matching Amelia’s description had been dropped off in a cab near Hoxa.
“A lead at last,” he told Ross. He added, “She got out near Jack and Delima’s house. I have a strong feeling she’s hiding out there now. I can go and check it out.”
Ross replied, “Are you sure? There won’t be anyone at Jack’s. They’re all on Sanday right now, trying to save those poor beached whales.”
Evie looked up, “The babies will be there. Delima will have left them with that new girl, Caroline, because everyone else was at Freya’s party.
Andrzej nodded. “And that’s exactly why that snake Amelia would go there. I will take the van and head down right away.”
Ross replied, “Makes sense. But you’re not going alone. Evie and I will come too and meet you there. We’re closer. I’ll call Jack to let him know what’s been happening.”
Evie told him: “I’ll call the landline at the house and check.” She kept on trying the number but there was no answer.
When Ross called Jack he could barely hear his voice over the roar of the sea, the heartbreaking cries of the dying whales and the frantic noise of the rescuers. The line was cutting in and out, and Ross wasn’t sure how much Jack was taking in.
He tried to explain about Amelia, but the signal failed and he was talking to himself. It was getting dark. Ross put the phone down and turned to Evie. “We need to head off to meet up with Andrzej.”
On Sanday, it was getting difficult to see in the gloom. People had brought their cars to the edge of the beach and put on their full beams and there were kids with powerful torches; even fires were lit to try and help the rescuers. It was a race against time.
Jack was almost asleep on his feet. He had hardly seen Delima all day, but they were both sitting on a rock drinking hot sweet coffee when her phone rang. She was going to ignore it but saw it was Evie.
“Hi, Evie. Thanks for calling. Are the kids alright? I hope they have been behaving for you.”
Evie was totally confused. “Sorry? What do you mean? I haven’t seen them.” It took a lot to make Delima lose her cool, but she’d sat bolt upright and her voice rose to a shriek.
“Aren’t you with my babies? Caroline called me. You turned up at our door an hour ago and said you would look after them and stay overnight?”
There was silence, then Evie managed to say, “Delima. I know this will sound mad to you, but I think Amelia must have turnedup saying she was me and Caroline believed her. I’m so sorry but I think it’s more than likely Amelia is with the children.”
Delima relaxed. “Oh well, that’s all right then. The kids love Amelia. You had me so worried for a minute. But wait a minute, why would she pretend to be you? That really is mad.”
“Delima,” said Evie urgently. “Has Jack not told you what’s been going on with her?”
“No, we’ve hardly seen each other. He’s with me now but we haven’t had a chance to catch up. What’s happening? Is everyone alright?”
“I’m sorry, Delima, but I think you need to talk to Jack. I just wanted to let you know we’re heading to your place. Andrzej is already on his way, so don’t worry. The kids will be fine.”
Delima was confused and feeling panicky. “I don’t understand. Evie, what’s going on?”
“I need to go. Jack will explain.”
“No, stay on the line. Don’t hang up, please,” Delima turned to her husband.
“Jack, what’s happening over there? I thought Evie was looking after Ola and Hari. But I’ve got her on the phone now. She’s been at Freya’s and they are on their way to our house.”
Jack frowned and replied, “That doesn’t make any sense. I didn’t know anything about Evie or Amelia babysitting. You didn’t tell me.”
“I meant to, but you were so busy and this is the first time we’ve been able to talk all day.”
Jack swallowed hard, “Ross called me earlier but it was a bad line and I couldn’t really hear what he was saying, and with everything going on here, I didn’t give it enough attention.”
