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Daniela loitered by the car. She’d removed the knife from her sleeve and tucked it into the breast pocket of her jacket, blade folded. It was heavy and warm. Unnerving. Daniela wasn’t even sure why she’d taken it, except that she didn’t like the idea of Henry having it. He’d definitely been reaching for it during the argument – hadn’t he? The whole confrontation had taken less than thirty seconds. It’d left her dizzy and sick, and not just from the bang on her chin.
Auryn rubbed the back of her neck. ‘Not that we aren’t glad to see you and all, Franklyn,’ she said, ‘but did you come home just to pick a fight?’
‘I’m hurt that you’d suggest that.’ Franklyn didn’t deny it though.
A minute later Stephanie appeared. Daniela flinched. Stephanie looked so much like their father when she was angry.
‘What did you think you were doing, Franklyn?’ she asked.
‘Nothing.’ Franklyn blew out smoke. ‘Having a discussion. That’s what Henry said too, right?’
‘How did you guess?’
‘Thought so. Are you planning to be heavy-handed about this?’
‘In what way? You mean like reporting you both?’
‘Yeah. That.’
Stephanie opened the driver’s door. ‘Get in the car.’
Franklyn winked at Dani. ‘That’s what this family’s good at,’ she said. ‘Bending the rules.’
‘You don’t even know what the rules are.’ Stephanie got into the car and slammed the door.
Franklyn climbed into the passenger seat. Stephanie was already revving the engine as Daniela took the back seat. Auryn hesitated a moment more, unsure whether to go after Leo, then joined them.
Stephanie bumped down from the kerb with more force than necessary. Daniela glanced back. Through the dusty windows of the antiques store, Henry was watching them. He was on the phone.
‘Okay,’ Auryn said, breaking the tense silence. ‘What happened, Frankie?’
Franklyn shrugged. She’d rolled down the window to let her cigarette smoke escape. The breeze tousled her dark hair. ‘It was a misunderstanding,’ she said.
‘Isn’t it always?’ Stephanie commented.
Franklyn laughed. She sank down in the seat, shoulders low, as if she wanted to hide from the world. She’d always been like that, Daniela realised. Folded inwards so no one would guess what she concealed. Her jacket smelled of smoke and diesel fumes.
‘Believe it or not, I had no intention of getting into an argument,’ Franklyn said. ‘I came home to see my loving family. But I figured you all might have better things to do on a sunny Saturday, so I called on Henry about some business.’
‘What kind of business?’
‘The private kind.’ Franklyn flashed a smile to take the edge off her words. ‘Nothing worth getting riled about. Henry takes things so seriously.’
Daniela remembered the partial conversation she’d overheard. It’d sounded like Franklyn owed Henry money … but why? If Franklyn needed cash, Dad would always put his hand in his pocket.
Daniela asked, ‘Where’re we going?’ Stephanie had spun the car around the one-way system so they were headed towards Hackett.
‘We’re taking Franklyn back to the train station,’ Stephanie said.
‘She just got here.’
‘And look how much excitement she’s caused already.’ Stephanie met Daniela’s gaze in the rear-view mirror. ‘We’ll do the family reunion some other time.’
‘Actually,’ Franklyn said, ‘I quite want to come home. Today’s not working out like I’d hoped. It’d be nice to chill for a bit, rather than rushing back to Birmingham.’
Stephanie took her eyes off the road long enough to look at her. ‘Is that a good idea?’
‘Hey, don’t make me pull rank. I’m the oldest; my word is still law.’
Stephanie’s voice was tense as she shrugged and said, ‘Whatever you say.’
‘Cool.’ Franklyn went back to staring out of the window. ‘Be nice to spend a night in the old house again. No feeling like coming home, huh?’
8 (#ulink_5f7b55bd-19c9-50f6-9f27-bed4e66f2316)
Regardless of circumstances, it felt like a celebration whenever the four sisters were together. Even though their father had retired to his study with the door firmly closed, and nothing could fully dispel the chill absence of their mother, for a short time the house felt full again. It echoed with voices and laughter and movement, and the family could pretend nothing was wrong.
It’d been a while since all four of them had hung out. A longer while since they’d been together without arguing. Franklyn brought a slab of beer in from the garage, placing half the cans in the fridge to cool. Auryn opened a bottle of wine. After some cajoling, they even persuaded Stephanie to have a drink.
Nobody mentioned the altercation between Franklyn and Henry. It wasn’t the first time Franklyn had got into trouble, and nobody thought it’d be the last. By nature, she rubbed people the wrong way. Her school record had been a history of near-disasters.
Now she was at ease, sprawled in a chair with one leg thrown over the arm, a can of beer in one hand and an unlit cigarette in the other. Their father didn’t mind them drinking or making noise, but drew the line at smoking in the house.
‘Hey,’ Auryn said, settling on the sofa, ‘I meant to ask, Franklyn. Are you really going back to university?’
Franklyn gave a careful shrug. ‘News travels fast, doesn’t it?’
Guilt needled Daniela. She hadn’t been sworn to secrecy, but still …
‘So, is it true?’ Auryn pressed. ‘Or is someone spreading mad rumours?’
‘I’ve not decided,’ Franklyn said. Her tone was more serious than Daniela had heard in years. ‘But yeah, it’s something to think about.’
‘Finishing that business course, are you?’ Stephanie asked.
‘Nah. I’m looking at theology.’
Stephanie raised her eyebrows. ‘That’s a career departure,’ she said. Unlike the others, she’d remained standing, as if even when relaxing she couldn’t lose the stiffness her job had hammered into her. A certain tightness marked her eyes. Nothing escaped her notice. It felt like Stephanie was always poised to spring into action at the first sign of anything improper. In a different life she could’ve been a superhero.
The idea made Daniela snort into her drink.
‘Maybe it’s time for a career,’ Franklyn said. ‘A proper career, I mean. No more bouncing from one rubbish job to the next. And let’s face it, I was never cut out for the business world. That’s for people like him upstairs, isn’t it?’ She smiled, but the twist to her lips made it ugly. ‘I thought you’d approve. Really, I’m just copying. You’ve got the nice, stable, legal career. What’s wrong with us wanting the same?’
Stephanie chuckled but said nothing. Daniela looked away, irrationally annoyed that everyone except her was progressing with their lives.
‘What would you do with a theology degree?’ Auryn asked. ‘I mean, what can you do? Apart from becoming a lecturer or a vicar.’
It was difficult to imagine Franklyn doing either of those. Difficult enough to picture her knuckling down to complete a university course. Franklyn had always been moody and solitary, without close friends, more content to be off on her own than hanging around at home. She’d also been closest to their mother. Being the eldest meant she’d known their mother the longest, and remembered when there’d been more smiles than silences. Franklyn was the one who’d tried hardest to make her stay. She’d encouraged their mother to make outings, to drive into Briarsfield or take the bus in a long circular journey out along the valleys and back again. Franklyn had kept up the Sunday trips to church with her long after the others lost interest.
And yet nothing Franklyn did was enough to make her stay.
One of Daniela’s clearest memories was of a fight she hadn’t been meant to witness. Aged twelve, Daniela had watched, through a crack in the door, as her father berated their mother in that whip-tongue voice until she’d pulled off the eternity rings he’d given her and flung them at him. Daniela had barely had time to get clear of the door as her mother strode out. Two days later, their mother had packed her bags, leaving Daniela with a clearer memory of her hands than her face.
She thought of the sort-of funeral they’d held, out on the fishing platform above the swollen river. None of them had spoken of it again. But a few weeks later, Daniela went back to the garage to look through their mother’s remaining possessions. At that time, she’d noticed other items conspicuously missing. Everything of value, like the jewellery, had gone. As had the crucifix from the hallway, the one with the sad Jesus, which was no longer hidden under the pile of magazines.
Franklyn didn’t answer Auryn’s question straight away. She turned the beer can with her thin fingers. ‘It’s not something that’s come out of nowhere,’ she said at last. ‘Wanting to change … wanting something different. It probably feels like I’m springing this on you, but it’s always been in my head. I want something different. I want to do something. This week was …’ She stopped. ‘Anyway, I came home to clear my head. And to get some support.’ She flashed a grin. ‘That’s what we’re here for, right? To look out for each other. I bet Auryn hasn’t been getting hassled over her academic choices.’
Auryn’s ears went pink. She hated to admit how well she’d done at school. Everyone in the family knew she was the bright one – the one with the high-flying career ahead. From a young age she’d known what she wanted to do with her life. Daniela envied that, a lot.
Stephanie was envious as well, Daniela knew, because although Stephanie had her own career – one she insisted she loved – she’d fallen into it more or less by accident, recruited straight from high school. Someone had to keep the peace in the household, and Stephanie was the only one capable. Policing had been the logical, inevitable choice. A concrete way to enforce the rules of the house.
But Auryn was still the smartest, with the best qualifications and the pick of universities.
Daniela had never considered Franklyn might be jealous too.
‘I don’t blame you for wanting to get away,’ Franklyn added to Auryn. ‘Get out, see the world. It’ll be good for you. And Leo.’
Auryn nodded. ‘I think he’s more anxious than me to get away.’
‘No surprise. If Henry McKearney was my dad, I wouldn’t stick around either.’ Franklyn made little dents in the beer can with her fingertips. ‘If he’s smart, he’ll hang on to you.’
Auryn frowned. ‘What d’you mean by that?’
‘He’s not got much to look forward to here, has he? If he can escape Stonecrop and tough it out at university, he’s smart enough to go far. But studying medicine is a long hard slog. He’ll need support.’
‘You mean financially.’ A hard edge crept into Auryn’s voice. ‘You think he’s only staying with me because our family’s got money.’
‘I never said that.’
‘You’re thinking it pretty loudly.’
Franklyn drained her beer. ‘No, I’m not. You and Leo need to support each other. That’s all I mean. It’s a big, scary, horrid world out there. Even if it is better than this fucking place.’
Stephanie raised her eyebrows. ‘That’s some fine language. Are you sure you’re cut out to be a vicar?’
Franklyn laughed and threw the empty can at her, and the tension in the room dissipated for a while.
9 (#ulink_5a7a7383-3f11-592f-8da6-3ae7c2da2c07)
Daniela went to the kitchen for another beer. Although she tried to keep pace with the others, she was still a lightweight, and if she didn’t moderate her intake, she’d be asleep in an hour. She was already pleasantly warm around the ears.
The kitchen was a large square that jutted from the rear of the house. Whoever designed the house had included a picture window, even though the kitchen faced nothing more interesting than trees and mud, and didn’t get the sun at any time of year. A rustic wooden table with matching chairs took up the centre of the room.
Daniela dropped the empty can into the recycling bin and opened the fridge. Apart from the large quantity of beer on the bottom shelf, the fridge was all but empty. Daniela’s stomach rumbled. She’d neglected to eat since lunch. She should’ve picked something up from the shop, but her mind had been elsewhere.
She still wondered what Franklyn and Henry had been arguing about.
A soft step alerted her to Auryn coming into the kitchen. ‘I’m putting the kettle on,’ Auryn said, stifling a yawn. ‘I need coffee or I’ll fall asleep. Is there anything to eat?’
‘There might be crisps.’
Together they rifled the cupboards and came up with a few packets of crisps and some chocolate biscuits. It was hardly a fitting meal for the four of them. Auryn tipped the crisps into bowls to take through to the front room.
‘Just leave them in the packets,’ Daniela said. ‘Why make the extra washing-up?’
‘You people are savages. Eat food off plates like normal people.’
‘Crisps barely count as food.’ Daniela stole a salt-and-vinegar crisp. ‘Is Leo okay? Has he called?’
‘Not yet. I phoned earlier but he said he couldn’t talk and he’d call me back.’ Auryn arranged biscuits on a plate. Daniela didn’t mock her this time. ‘I wish he’d speak to me. About his family, I mean. On other stuff I have to fight to shut him up, but as soon as anyone mentions his parents …’
‘Is he still getting grief about going to uni?’
‘I think so. His dad’s always said he wants Leo to take over the shop from him eventually. But Leo won’t talk about it.’ Auryn lowered her voice. ‘Don’t tell him I said anything, obviously, but he’s pretty stressed. It’s not just being away from home, or what his dad thinks about it. He’s worried how we’re gonna afford everything.’
‘What’s he worried for? Our dad will cover it.’
‘I know, but … he doesn’t like relying on someone. He knows what people think of him. What Franklyn was saying … he knows, Dani. It bugs the hell out of him. Leo wants to cover his own bills. At least that way he’ll know no one’s talking behind his back.’
The bitterness in Auryn’s tone was so unexpected Daniela dropped the subject.
Auryn asked, ‘So, what the heck was going on with Henry?’
Daniela glanced towards the kitchen door. The murmur of voices was audible from the front room. ‘Search me,’ she said. ‘Franklyn and him were arguing when I got there.’
‘What was Franklyn saying?’
‘I didn’t hear.’ Daniela shrugged. ‘It could’ve been anything. Those two have always had a personality clash.’
A pause, then Auryn said, ‘What did you take from the shop?’
‘What?’
‘You put something in your sleeve as you were going out.’
Daniela winced. She’d thought Auryn had missed that. ‘Yeah,’ she admitted.
‘What was it?’
Talking to Auryn felt safer than talking to the others. Growing up, she and Auryn had shared everything. There’d been no secrets between them. So, after only a brief hesitation, Daniela said, ‘Let me show you.’
She fetched her jacket from where it was hanging in the hallway and brought it into the kitchen. The weight of the knife was a heaviness she’d felt all afternoon as she carried it around. She shook the knife out of the pocket into her hand.
Auryn’s eyes went wide. ‘Dani, what—?’
‘It was on Henry’s desk. I thought … I dunno, I thought maybe he was reaching for it during the argument.’ Looking back, Daniela was no longer certain of that.
Auryn blinked several times as if trying to process this. ‘You think he would’ve hurt Franklyn?’
