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‘How are things with Julian? I take it he’s not coming back tonight?’ She glanced at the clock. It was nearly eleven.
‘No, he’s staying in London again. You know how it is.’ Susie shrugged. A silence followed. Clearly, Susie wasn’t going to give anything away, not yet.
Flora, suddenly made brave with the wine, sat up. ‘Actually, Tilda, I’ve got a favour to ask you. Given your second-to-none skills at stalking people online…’
Tilda did a mock bow. ‘Thank you very much.’
‘I need to know where to find a woman called Denise Hirst.’ Flora took another small sip.
‘Isn’t that…?’ Tilda looked at Flora, her forehead crumpling a little.
‘The mother? Yes.’
‘But isn’t that, well… illegal?’
‘No, not that I know of. According to my father any contact between them and us is meant to be through the Victim Liaison Officer, but the thing is, I don’t want my parents to know about it. And it’s not like I want to see him, just his mother.’
‘Are you sure that’s a good idea?’ The look on Susie’s face told Flora she quite obviously didn’t think it was.
‘I’ve seen her before, actually. In the churchyard, where Billy’s ashes are buried.’
‘What was she doing there?’ Susie sounded astonished.
‘Well, your guess is as good as mine, but she practically ran as soon as she saw me. And the thing is, I couldn’t help but feel… not sorry, but something for her. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it ever since. I know it sounds weird but I would like to talk to her.’
‘What about your parents?’
‘I’m not planning on telling them.’
‘Oh, Flo, are you absolutely sure?’ Tilda looked worried.
‘Listen, they’ve got their own stuff going on at the moment. I promise, I’ve thought about this a lot and, yes, I’m sure. She can always say no, but I thought I’d write to her, see if she’d be willing to meet me. Just for a cup of tea, perhaps.’ Flora looked from one friend to the other. ‘Please don’t look at me like that. I’m feeling much better than I did, honestly. Well, generally, anyway. I still have my moments.’ She thought of one just a few days earlier, when a song on the radio had brought back memories of Billy in such a rush, she’d had to pull the car over to the side of the road and wait until the sobs had passed.
‘It’s just that, well, she might not say what you want to hear.’ Susie spoke softly.
‘But that’s just it. I don’t know what I want to hear. I just need to ask some questions. And she can always say no or not answer them, but if I don’t ask, I’ll never know. And then I’m stuck, and I really, really don’t want to be stuck any more.’
Tilda sighed. ‘Well, I still think it’s a little insane, but, yes, give me a home town and I’ll try and find an address for you. Strictly between us.’
‘Thank you.’ Flora smiled at her friend.
Susie scooped up the empty glasses. ‘Right, come on, you two, chucking-out time.’ She looked up at the clock. ‘Do you want me to call you a cab?’
‘I ordered one earlier.’ Tilda looked at the clock, too, squinting to make it come into focus. ‘Shit, how did that happen?’ Just then her phone rang. ‘Yes, we’ll be out in a minute, thanks.’
‘Thank you, as ever, for your wonderful company. It was just what I needed.’ Susie hugged each of them in turn.
‘Take care.’ Flora hugged her back, feeling the bones of Susie’s shoulder blades through her jumper.
‘I’m properly worried about her,’ Flora said urgently to Tilda as they sat in the back of the taxi on the short drive home.
‘I know. Me, too. He’s obviously an arsehole. But hopefully she’ll wake up one day and realise life doesn’t have to be like that.’ The taxi pulled up outside Tilda’s too soon for them to continue their character takedown on Julian.
‘If only it were that easy.’ Flora kissed her friend. ‘See you tomorrow.’
She watched Tilda wobble up the path to her door, fake leopard-fur coat swinging off her shoulders, red platform boots proving quite the challenge after all that wine. Tilda fumbled in her bag, holding her key up in triumph after a moment, grinning back at Flora.
‘Looks like you ladies had a good evening,’ the taxi driver said, looking into his rear-view mirror.
