Finders Keepers by Edie Baylis (epub ebook reader txt) 📕

worn it.’ Gwen looked at the photograph again, hiding her reaction when, on closer inspection, she saw the bump under Lena’s tight dress.

She felt queasy. Lena wasn’t lying? She really was pregnant? Oh shit.... What about what she’d said to Saul?

Lena smirked. She knew if Gwen hadn’t noticed before, she had now. She may have thought she’d hidden her reaction, but she hadn’t. Far from it. She watched Gwen pretending to be interested in the picture, when really she was gutted. Back at you, bitch.

Clearing her throat, Gwen moved across to her own desk. ‘You looked great,’ she muttered through gritted teeth. Sitting down, she pulled the rota towards her, her mind whirring. ‘I’d better run though this and make sure everyone’s here who should be for tonight.’

Lena stretched theatrically, raising her arms to the ceiling. ‘Oh, I’m so stiff!’ She stood up, knowing Gwen was looking. Lowering her arms, she placed her hand on her ‘bump’. This was working just perfectly. ‘Do you mind if I go for a walk? I’ve been cramped up at my desk for hours. I’ll grab us a couple of teas from the kitchen on my way back?’

Quickly moving her eyes from Lena’s stomach, Gwen hoping her smile looked genuine. ‘Yes, thanks. That would be great!’

Slipping her jacket on, Lena left the office and closed the door behind her.

Gwen sighed heavily and stared at the desk in front of her. There was no mistaking it - Lena’s stomach was no longer perfectly flat. It may be small, but the bump was definitely there. So now what?

Although Lena had done a decent job with the function, the incentive for the VIP waiting list and was being over the top falsely nice, there was no mistaking the girl was still drinking. Despite the smell of the Polo mints, the undeniable scent of alcohol was noticeable and it was equally likely that she was shoving powder up her nose too. She had to tell Jonah – it was his child after all. At least she presumed it was...? But she also had to tell Saul she’d been mistaken and the girl was pregnant.

Picking up the phone, she dialled Saul’s number, getting more frustrated than ever when it rang out. Hanging up, she paced around the office, until hearing the ‘ding’ of a notification, she rushed back to her phone.

Seeing nothing on her screen, her eyes tracked to Lena’s phone visible in her handbag under the desk. Taking the chance, she grabbed the phone before Lena returned. Seeing a new text message, she opened it:

Nice work sweetheart. It suits you! Ha ha! Me and Noeleen aim to be over by the end of the month. Call me to arrange arrival plans.

Gwen frowned. It was from that same person. And Noeleen? Where did she know the name from? Her brow furrowing, she quickly changed the message status to unread then shoved Lena’s mobile back in her bag.

Twenty

ROBERT WATCHED HIS MOTHER still busy talking to that Darren Harding person. Shoving his hands in his suit jacket pockets, he clenched his fists, irritation mounting.

Why was his mother pushing Teagan to make another date with the man? He’d seen her face and she hadn’t looked too pleased about being put on the spot. And why had the bloke come to the funeral anyway? The man hardly knew Helen and furthermore, there was something about him that didn’t add up. He didn’t even seem to know where he went to school? Something wasn’t quite right about him. Robert admitted that none of this should bother him, so why did it? He was tying himself up in knots and that achieved nothing.

He glanced around the room, openly scowling at the ghouls from Helen’s firm. He presumed he’d be lumbered with dealing with that too now she was gone, but he didn’t want involvement in that partnership. Not even slightly. He didn’t want to be here, let alone involved in anything his sister had been part of.

Were any of the people who had instigated this nightmare here right now? The person who had shot Helen and terrified his mother could be in this very room, yet he had no way of knowing. No one looked anywhere near what his mother had described and none of them looked the ‘type’, but then sometimes it was the least expected ones...

Robert kept his hands buried in his pockets to stop himself from dragging his fingers through his hair. His brain was still reeling from what he’d read in that notebook. He’d barely had time to process any of it.

He stared at his mother, now having moved on to talk to a funny-looking woman. Someone else he didn’t know. His mother was putting on a very brave face considering she was allegedly so upset about Helen, yet here she was, nattering away, plus playing cupid for the home-help. But then again, it was now apparent he didn’t know anything about his mother or who she really was.

Since they’d had words she hadn’t divulged anything further about Michael Pointer either and he had lots of questions he wanted answers to. There was little point asking whilst she was acting as blasé as if she’d merely omitted something akin to going to Eastbourne for the weekend, rather than not mentioning that the man he'd believed to be his father for forty years, wasn’t.

And now Teagan was bulldozing his thoughts as well?

Robert sighed. He still didn’t know what had come over him. The girl had irritated him from the moment he’d set eyes on her, yet she’d now become relevant? It was stupid.

His eyes narrowed. He’d noticed how embarrassed Teagan had been when her boyfriend rocked up. At least it underlined the sort of woman she was. His jaw clenched harder. So why was it bothering him so bloody much? Aside from the whole thing being utterly illogical, allowing the girl to affect him to this extent was even more absurd.

Feeling heat rise