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With a wince, Isobel lowered the shirt and leaned forward to press her forehead against the mirror. She should have been thinking about her ribs, or about the body in her freezer, or about the slight possibility she could be carrying Callum’s child. Instead, all she could think about were ways she could possibly get the money for Eddie. Her sisters weren’t much better off than she was; none of them had the money to give her to pay off the loan shark. But somehow, someway, she had to find the cash. She swallowed a sob that threatened.
After Ray had hit her and her knees had given way, he’d held her up and whispered to her, “When Eddie’s done with you, you’re mine.” And then he’d sauntered back to the car while she leaned against the wall.
The whole thing had taken seconds. No one had witnessed the assault. No one had run to help. She was on her own, as she usually was.
“Are you going to stay in there all day?” Edna shouted as she thumped on the door. “I’m not paying you for this. You haven’t done any work today.”
Isobel blinked away her tears, splashed water on her face and opened the door. Edna had her arms folded under her bosom and was tapping the toe of her gold sequined heels.
“I’m s-sick.” Isobel couldn’t look Edna in the eye. “I’ll be out soon.”
“I heard you vomit,” Edna said. “Don’t tell me you’re pregnant again. Who does it belong to this time?”
“I ate something that disagreed with me.” Isobel wished Edna would go away. “I’ll be fine in a minute.”
“Uh huh.” Edna’s voice held a smirk, making it clear she didn’t believe a word Isobel told her.
No doubt, everyone who came through the shop would hear about how Isobel Sinclair had managed to get herself knocked up again. Isobel was past caring. On her list of worries, Edna ranked pretty low.
“I’m not paying you for the time you waste,” Edna called. “I’m keeping a record.”
Isobel sat on the toilet lid and pulled out her phone. With shaky fingers, she tapped Callum’s number. It rang twice before he answered.
“McKay,” he barked, and the antisocial tone was a strange comfort to Isobel.
“Callum, it’s me, Isobel.” She worked hard to keep her voice from giving away that she was hurt and upset. As tempting as it was to throw herself on Callum’s strength and beg him to fix everything, Isobel was beyond the age of believing in white knights.
“What’s wrong?” He sounded alert, and she could hear traffic in the background, which meant he was driving somewhere. She had a sudden moment of panic that he might be driving to get away from her and her problems. She swallowed it down.
“Edna told me that two houses on the bluff had people sneaking around them last night. One was broken into.”
“Cops called?”
“Yeah, but nothing was taken and no one was arrested. The police think it was kids messing around.” She took a deep, shaky breath and wiped away the tear that was rolling down her cheek. “They’re looking for the body, or the people who took it, aren’t they?”
“Aye.”
“Callum, is it possible we’re wrong and the guys assumed the body had been taken out to sea?”
“Your sisters’ and your footprints are all over the area. It’s clear from looking at them that you were carrying something heavy back up the bluff.”
“This is bad, isn’t it?”
“Aye.” A pause. “But I have a plan.”
Isobel swallowed hard at the utter confidence in his voice. What would it feel like to have such confidence? To not feel as though life buffeted you continuously? To feel in control of the things that were happening instead of being forced to react all the time? She couldn’t even imagine a life like that.
“I’m sorry I was forced to pull you into this,” she said. “But I’m really glad you’re here.”
There was silence for a moment.
“I’ll be at your place this evening,” Callum said.
“I’ll make dinner,” Isobel said, but he was already gone.
There was a loud smack at the door. “Are you coming out of there? Or are you talking to the father of your new bairn?”
“There’s no baby!” Isobel put her phone away and splashed water on her face. When she threw open the bathroom door, Edna was smirking at her.
