DOVETAIL DIARIES ✔

Chapter Nineteen

‘I didn’t give them anything,’ she said. ‘They have no evidence at all. They just suspected me because I was there and they think I’m trouble. I think it’s maybe because of that thing that happened last year, you know, with that girl, when I got into that fight that time? I was too young to get charged for that. But they’ve had their eye on me ever since. She’s the vicar’s daughter, you know, so they didn’t like that much.’

She held her head back and laughed.

‘Ha, yeah,’ I said, remembering how Cheryl had fought with a girl called Catherine. OK, so Catherine was no angel, she was in my Science class at school. But she probably didn’t deserve what she she got.

‘Yeah, so they’ve got nothing on me and they’ve got nothing on you either,’ she said. ‘When I saw you guys in there I have to admit I got worried. At that point they were questioning me like mad and I had to hold up against all the different angles they were taking. So when I saw you two I prayed to myself that you wouldn’t get tricked into saying anything. I mean, I knew you guys wouldn’t grass. I never thought that. But I just thought they might play some dirty trick and catch us all out, you know.’

‘Yeah, we just stuck to our guns, didn’t we, sis?’ said Leo, winking at me.

‘Yeah, I didn’t like the ones that interviewed me. Not one bit,’ I said, clenching the book under my arm.

‘So did anything happen with Jez and Lambert?’ said Leo.

‘No,’ said Cheryl. ‘They didn’t even get called in. They just had me tabbed.’

‘I see,’ said Leo. ‘So they aren’t even in question. Right. Well, that’s good. I guess we can forget the whole thing happened now.’

‘Yep. That’s right,’ said Cheryl. ‘We’re safe.’

I looked at the clock on the mantelpiece. Five o’clock. I knew that if I could start on my investigation now I could do quite a few hours before bedtime. I looked at Cheryl. It didn’t look much like she wanted to leave.

‘Your last gig was coo-el, by the way,’ she said. ‘You guys are getting a name for yourselves. What happened with that big guy at the end? He was some sort of music pro wasn’t he?’

As Leo told her all about the gig and all about Tony and how excited he was for the prospect of a gig in Manchester, I listened quietly and tried to think of a way to escape to my room.

Suddenly the phone rang. It jolted me into the moment. Ring ring. Ring ring. Leo was too engrossed in talking and hardly moved. Ring ring. Ring ring. It took me a while to remember why I needed to be the one to answer it. I jumped out of my seat and ran to the kitchen.

‘Hello!’ I said, a little breathless.

‘Hello,’ said a voice that made my stomach flutter.

‘It’s Farley. Remember, the weirdo from the beach, the one with the dog?’ he said, laughter in his voice.

‘Ah, yes, how could I forget?’ I said, trying my best to sound cool.

If there were an ‘inner me’ she would have been jumping up and down, shouting oh my God! Oh my God!

‘I just wondered if you would like to meet up?’ he said.

I could hear a tiny bark in the background; it must’ve been his dog.

‘Um, yeah,’ I said, conscious of the voices in the living room.

‘I’m near Ellwood. On the Leeds and Liverpool canal.’

‘Cool,’ I said, thinking – he’s come all the way to Ellwood!

‘You know where the gates on the canal are, just outside the village, where all the oak trees are?’ he said.

‘Yes, I know that bit. We’ve been down there before,’ I said.

‘I’m parked up there,’ he said. ‘You want to come and meet me this Friday?’

‘This Friday?’ I said, lowering my voice slightly to make absolutely sure they didn’t hear me.

‘What time?’ I said.

‘One o’clock?’ he said.

‘Sure,’ I said, my hand gripping onto the phone.

I probably looked like a scared owl at that point.

‘I would be honored to have you,' he said, laughing.

‘I’ll see you then,’ I replied.

‘Bye.’

‘Goodbye,’ I said, placing the receiver back onto the phone.

I took a few seconds to gather my thoughts. I breathed in slowly, making sure I had some control.

‘Who was that?’ shouted Leo.

My heart skipped a beat.

‘Oh, no one, er, just the gasman,’ I said.

The gasman? Oh God, I thought to myself. I’m lying to my brother. My lovely brother. What am I doing?

I went to the living room door and stuck my head in.

‘Guys, I’m just going upstairs for a bit,’ I said. “I’ve got something I need to do.’

‘Are you not going to sit with us?’ said Leo, looking at me and shifting his eyes towards Cheryl as if to say – we have a guest.

‘Yes, I’ll be right back down,’ I said, before scooting up to my bedroom as fast as I could.

I threw the book onto my bed and then threw myself onto it as well. I lay there, looking at the ceiling. My head swam with thoughts of the investigation and the fact that I was going to see Farley again. This Friday. What would I wear?

After a few minutes I pulled myself up from the bed, went to the bathroom and splashed some cold water onto my face. I looked at myself in the mirror, the water droplets running down my face.

What are you up to Amber? I thought to myself. I knew I couldn’t keep on hiding the truth from Leo. I decided if anything came out of meeting him this Friday, I would need to tell him. If nothing happens and I never see Farley again then Leo doesn’t need to know I ever met him. But if something does happen, then I need to tell him.

I couldn’t help hoping that something would rise up between us. I eventually went back downstairs and sat with the two of them, chatting away, most of the time thinking to myself about everything going on.

And now here I am, in bed, ready for a good night’s sleep. I have to be up early. Goodnight diary. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.