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Penny stared at Allie as she laid her phone on the coffee table. Tears blurred her vision. She blinked them away.
“He’s busy?” she asked sadly.
“Uncle John’s taking him to play golf. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of time for a visit. He suggested we all go over on Saturday and have fish and chips. What do you think?”
“Yes, I can’t wait. This is the best thing that’s happened since I found myself here!”
“Gee, thanks!” Allie said drily.
Penny laughed. Allie joined in until they were both giggling hysterically and Penny had to clutch her stomach because it hurt so much.
They both calmed down. Allie turned a serious face to her. “Will you be all right here until Saturday?” she asked earnestly.
“Yeah, David’s been extremely kind. It is difficult for him too, I do realise that.”
“Any problems just call, d’you have my contact details?” Allie asked.
“Phone, but I don’t have your address.”
Allie immediately began to type into her phone. “There, I sent you mine and Clare’s address. I’ll call you tonight, and again tomorrow,” she promised.
As she stood at the front door and waved goodbye to her sister, she heard Honey’s distinctive bark of excitement. David was back.
She turned back into the house with a lighter step. She felt more positive now that she had her sister’s support. Recalling the fact her father was alive she gave a skip of excitement. She saw David round the bend in the hall, and then he stopped. A grin spread across his face.
“There’s my girl,” he said. She smiled tentatively at him.
“My father’s alive,” she told him.
“That’s good.” He didn’t seem to know what else to say.
“I’ll go have a shower and get dressed, if that’s all right?” she asked, feeling suddenly shy.
“Yeah, that’s fine, you go ahead,” he said.
She went to the stairs, hesitated, and looked back at him. “David?”
“Yes?”
“Would you rather that I moved in with Clare and Allie?” she asked.
He looked surprised. “Is that what you want?”
“No, I just thought you might prefer me to, since I am not actuallyyourPenny,” she explained.
“I’m sorry, I realise I shouldn’t have said that because of course, youarePenny. If you’d like to stay, I want you to. This is your home,” he said earnestly.
Penny nodded. “I’ll stay then, but if at any point you want me gone, just tell me.” She waited, giving him time to reply, but he said nothing more. She walked up the stairs.
Unpacking her case, she took note of the make. Carrying her laptop downstairs with her, she found David in the kitchen and asked if he thought she should use Penny’s computer.
“Why shouldn’t you?” he asked, looking bemused by the question.
“I had it in my case. I’m worried it might not connect to a network.”
“Let’s power it up and take a look. There might be unchanged evidence on it that will help us work out what’s going on.” He took it from her and slipped it out from its travel case. He tapped his knuckles on the granite surface impatiently as they waited for the thing to run through the opening process. She added her password and finally her working screen opened.
“Do you have any photographs saved to storage?” he asked.
