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‘Connie?’ She was still on the line. ‘Thank you, thank you. I can’t tell you what this means to me.’ Lili knew she had taken a huge risk with her job. She didn’t know Maisie or her family circumstances. Despite that, Connie had done as she’d asked.
Lili stood with Maisie, watching the remaining two officers get in their car and follow the last van to leave, full of stolen artwork that Lili guessed was worth millions. Lili was still on the phone with Connie. ‘I am so sorry for going off on one over my mum,’ she said contritely.
‘There is no need to apologise, Lili. I made a mistake – a big mistake – all those years ago, which I will regret to my dying day. I should have been honest and told the Greek authorities that I knew your mother.’
‘It wouldn’t have changed anything, Connie. They’d still have been dead, whether I found this out years ago or now.’
‘Yes, but I robbed you of finding your family, grandparents, aunts and uncles. They might have brought you up.’
‘It was for the best.’
‘You don’t mean that, Lili.’
‘I do. Sometimes I feel I had a stronger start in life because of you, Connie. It was you who looked after me and gave me an excellent education. You were always in my corner.’
Lili glanced at Maisie. She didn’t want to admit it, but there had been times it had crossed her mind that Maisie would be better off without her mother. Lili’s thoughts turned to Maisie’s father, grandparents and her great-grandfather. She hadn’t known them long. What if they really had stolen that art?
Thinking of Maisie, Lili said, ‘You can’t choose your family – right? You said yourself that my mum was estranged from her parents. Perhaps she had good reason to keep me away from them.’
‘Perhaps,’ Connie replied, although she didn’t sound convinced. ‘You know, there are always two sides to every story.’
Lili thought of Joseph shouting out at the police officers,you don’t understand!
‘Are you saying that my mother was wrong to keep my existence a secret?’
‘Not necessarily. I’m just suggesting that you need to discover why they were estranged. You need to find your family and hear their side of the story.’
Lili turned towards the house to watch Maisie run inside, shouting out, ‘William! Bella!’
‘I went to Corfu,’ she said to Connie.
‘Did you find anything?’
‘I visited my mother’s grave.’
Connie fell silent.
‘There was a man whose family have been custodians of the cemetery for generations. He gave me the name of my grandparents.’
‘Well, that’s wonderful news.’
Is it?Lili felt like saying. She was still wary of the reasons why her mother had kept her away from them. She walked into the house and closed the front door.
‘Lili, I’m so glad we’re on speaking terms again.’
‘So am I,’ Lili replied, thankful Connie had answered her phone and was prepared to do this for her.
‘I’ve found William!’ Maisie shouted out.
‘Look, I have to go, Connie.’ Lili thanked her again.
‘Will you let me know how you get on with finding your family?’
‘Yes, I will,’ Lili replied, even though just at that moment, as she watched the two children run down the stairs towards her, the issue of her family wasn’t at the forefront of her mind. They would want to know why the police had taken everyone away. Lili recalled the paintings being loaded into the unmarked vans and thought,what the hell did they do?
