Chapter 38

When Mum got home she came to my room, shutting the door behind her. She looked upset, but not in an angry way. “You visited Carlie today.”

I nodded.

“I suppose I should be unhappy that you went to Carlie rather than coming to me with your issues, but I’m still pleased you went to her. She’s doing a good job looking after your interests and I trust her. Having said that, she shared some concerns you have. I agree with them and I don’t know what the answer is, other than hoping time heals our family.”

“I hope so too.”

“I think it’s best if you let me talk to your dad, which I’ll do when it seems appropriate.”

“Thanks.”

“Carlie also shared some updates she’d passed on to you. I think your Dad ought to be the one to go to FreshFields with you to reclaim your possessions. As for the news about the damages claim and possible reward money, I think you should count it as a blessing if you actually get anything.”

“More like a miracle,” I joked. “The government doesn’t like giving away money.”

“Carlie also mentioned Dr Rabdoolia being released on bail. I know she thinks we shouldn’t be too concerned about him, but it would be best if we kept all doors and windows locked until after his trial. Richard Masson reckons the case against him is airtight without you having to testify, so there’s no pressing reason for him to come after you.”

“That’s a relief. You’d better warn Janey too. Although after what she threatened to do to him, he’s the one who should be scared.”

“I don’t think I want to know,” Mum laughed. Then she broke down into tears. “It kills me to think that Dr Rabdoolia was secretly hoping we’d take you home,” she sobbed.

I was totally out of my depth. Normally she’d be the one comforting me. I decided to risk a hug and enveloped her in my arms. It seemed to work: I felt the tension slowly flow out of her.

I only held her for a few minutes, but eventually she seemed to pull herself together. “Thank you,” she half-whispered. “I needed that.” She wriggled out of my grasp and grabbed a tissue to dry her eyes. “I’d better go and see to dinner.”

“Are you going to tell Dad about Carlie’s updates too? I think it would be better if he didn’t know I’d visited her.”

“I think that would be for the best,” Mum agreed.

As soon as Mum left my room, she was replaced by Janey. “Well?” she demanded. “What did Mum want?”

“Mum knows about my visit to Carlie and seems okay with it. And she knows about Carlie’s updates; she wants to be the one to pass on the details to Dad. And she wants us to keep all doors and windows locked until Dr Rabdoolia’s trial.” I decided against telling Janey about Mum crying and the hug I gave here. But I was secretly worried that even though it was entirely non-sexual, that was no guarantee that it wouldn’t come back to haunt me one night in my dreams.

Dinner started with an awkward silence. Even Janey wasn’t putting on a facade of fake ebullience. So I guessed it was up to me. “Dad, I showed Dr Wells the coins I found at the weekend.”

“What was his verdict?” Dad’s interest sounded genuine.

“The Roman coins aren’t worth much, perhaps a few quid on eBay. But he was more enthusiastic about the other two. He’s interested in buying them for the museum but they’d have to go to an expert for appraisal and that needs authorisation from a responsible adult. Would you mind going to the museum sometime to sign the authorisations and collect the receipts?”