Don't Come Looking by AJ Campbell (top 100 novels of all time TXT) 📕

my imagination, or is she staggering? As we pass the lounge, Sasha calls out to the twins, who are sprawled on the sofa, glued to their phones, ‘Carry on without me, kids.’

‘No, Mum, you’ve got to see the ending,’ Hannah cries out.

‘You can update me later.’ Sasha turns to me and whispers, ‘I wasn’t watching it anyway.’

In the kitchen, a strong waft of leftover Chinese food hits me. Discarded foil cartons litter the breakfast bar along with used cups and glasses. Dirty plates and cutlery fill the sink. Such a contrast to the organised Sasha from before this saga began, but she seems oblivious to the state the place is in.

‘Can I get you a drink?’ she asks. She pulls her shoulder blades together, sighing, as she reaches her hands to rub her lower back. Her face scrunches up.

‘You sit down. I’ll make it,’ I say, collecting the dirty crockery. ‘Where’s Harry?’

‘Over at Luke’s. Art was here when he and Hannah lost it. I think Art took pity on me, so he took Harry back with him. I don’t want tea. I’m going to continue with the wine. Fancy joining me?’

‘I’d better not. I had a glass at dinner. I’ll have some tea.’

‘Do you want some birthday cake?’ she says, pointing to the remains of my effort for Harry on the counter. ‘The kids said it was delicious.’

‘What did the kids lose it about?’

‘Harry started it. He said Hannah had imagined seeing Marc. Then it all kicked off. You should have seen them. They ended up fighting.’ She drops her head in her hands, shakes it, then looks back at me with her fists supporting her chin. ‘Harry slapped her, and she punched him in the face. No word of a lie, I think he’s on for a shiner.’

‘What was Art doing here?’

She fetches a glass and fills it with the remains of a bottle of Chianti from the table. ‘He popped over to tell me about a new client he’s sending my way. And to check on me, I suppose. I don’t know what I’d do without him. He’s been such a good friend this past week, and he’s responsible for half of my client base.’

‘From his gym?’

She nods. ‘They do things they shouldn’t.’

‘What do you mean?’ I ask, sharply.

‘They can’t see that they’re wrecking their bodies. He should stick to the more structured personal training he does from his studio, but the place earns him too much.’

‘I went there today to pick Jim up from his massage.’

‘Understand what I mean?’

I pull a chair out from under the table. ‘I need to talk to you about Art.’

‘Nothing sinister, I hope.’

‘This is between you and me.’

She frowns. ‘Go on. Hit me with it. Things can’t possibly get any worse, can they?’ She takes a gulp of wine. Drops dribble down the side of her mouth. ‘Blast! How did I miss?’ She wipes them away with the palm of her hand.

‘How much do you know about what goes on in Art’s gym?’

‘In terms of what?’

I don’t hold back. ‘I think he’s dealing drugs from there.’

She lets out a shrill cackle. ‘Not Art. He’s a fittie. He wouldn’t touch the…’

The slam of the front door interrupts her, and Harry wanders in with Art behind him. ‘I’m sorry, Mum,’ Harry says and bends over to hug Sasha.

‘It’s not me you should be apologising to. Your sister’s in the lounge.’

‘I know, I know. I’ll go and apologise to her too.’

He starts to walk away, but she grabs his hand. ‘Things will be OK,’ she says in a tone suggesting she only half-believes it herself.

When Harry’s gone, Sasha gets up and pulls another bottle from the wine rack wedged between the fridge and a cupboard. She pours herself another glass as Art comments to me on his session earlier today with Jim, as if what I witnessed afterwards never happened. ‘How’s Jim after his massage?’ he asks.

‘He fell asleep straight after dinner.’

Sasha bursts out laughing. She raises her glass, slurring her words. ‘Hey, Art, guess what? Eva thinks you’re a drug dealer.’

I stare at her, incredulous at her out-of-character outburst. What’s got into her? Too much red wine, that’s what. I need to have a strict word with her in the morning.

Giggling, she takes another sip and coughs and splutters. Red wine spurts across the table.

‘Steady on, Sash,’ Art says. He slaps her on the back to quell her coughs.

‘Sorry, Eva,’ she says. ‘I shouldn’t have said that.’ She starts cackling like a hen that’s just laid its second egg of the day. I grit my teeth. No, you shouldn’t have Sasha. I want to tell her not to drink anymore. I need to end this conversation now. The mood she is in, she will blurt out what I discovered on the PNC.

Art turns to me. ‘Are you talking about this afternoon?’ he asks.

I bite my lip, unsure how to handle Sasha’s unexpected display of disloyalty. This wasn’t meant to happen.

He bellows with laughter. ‘You thought JJ was passing drugs to me?’

I bite my words to let him finish, knowing for sure whatever he’s going to come out with next is going to be a lie.

‘You couldn’t be further from the truth. JJ is a rep. He’s trying to get me to stock a protein powder new to the market.’ He continues laughing. ‘The size of him, you think he’d try taking some himself!’

Twenty-Nine

DAY 10

‘Mummy. Mummy,’ Joe cries out as he launches himself on top of me.

I sit bolt upright, disorientated. I slept fitfully, a night of twisting and turning as I tried to make sense of Art. Not to mention the added burden of Sasha blurting out things she shouldn’t have. My bucket of worry is starting to overflow. When I finally managed to drop off, Gossiping Gloria from the office admin team kept appearing in my dreams wagging a finger in my face, telling me what a naughty girl I have been. I must have a word with Sasha today.

‘You’re late, Mummy.’

Dressed