Read Online Someone Else's Skin by Sarah Hilary - Free Book Online Page A

he looked whipped.
    ‘Ayana helped Noah with the first aid,’ Marnie said. ‘She was a star. The others . . . seemed calm, at the time.’
    ‘I can imagine. So . . . where’re you up to with witness statements?’
    ‘The witness statements can wait a while. We wanted to make this place feel safe again first, before we asked too many questions.’
    Ed nodded, looking relieved. ‘Thanks for that.’
    ‘Tell me about the set-up here,’ Marnie said. ‘Resources are stretched?’
    ‘Not just here.’ Ed propped himself on the edge of the desk, crossing his feet at the ankle. He was wearing odd socks, one brown, the other blue. ‘Right across the board. Funding cuts really hurt us. I hate to say it, but domestic violence victims are easy targets. They don’t complain and they don’t have the power to lobby. That makes them invisible.’
    ‘You said you hadn’t met Hope. She wasn’t in our database either. I’m wondering how she got a place here.’
    ‘She probably called the domestic violence helpline and got a referral that way. Is she local, do you know?’
    ‘Very local. From Finchley. Is that usual?’
    ‘Sometimes. Depends how anxious she was about her husband tracing her.’ Ed scratched his knee. ‘Did she say how that happened? The tracing, I mean.’
    ‘She called him.’
    ‘Ah.’ He didn’t look surprised, just sad. ‘It happens.’
    ‘The knife,’ Marnie said. ‘Simone and the others are calling it self-defence. I suppose that makes most sense to them.’
    ‘Knives . . . are scary.’
    Marnie glanced at the wall calendar, then away. Ed was watching her with a tender vigilance that made Noah wonder how close they really were. He played Belloc’s statement back in his head, the careful space he had placed around the words: Knives are scary.
    ‘Simone is more vocal than the others, convinced Leo got what he deserved, but it was self-defence. Panic.’ Marnie said it as if she was testing the theory for soundness.
    ‘Simone . . .’ Ed hesitated. ‘Has more reason than most to be scared of knives.’
    Marnie quizzed him with a look, but he shook his head. ‘It’s not my story to tell, but . . . Go easy on her. Simone. She’s not as strong as she looks.’
    ‘She wants to see Hope,’ Noah said. ‘At the hospital.’
    Ed looked surprised. ‘Simone said that?’
    ‘They’re close,’ Marnie said. ‘She’s been protective of Hope since we got here.’
    ‘And she’s ready to leave the refuge?’ Ed thumbed a streak of rain from his cheek. ‘D’you mind if I come with you?’
    ‘To the hospital? I was going to ask if you’d stay here . . .’
    ‘If that’s where you need me, but I’d like to speak with Simone first, if that’s okay.’
    ‘Of course. Hope’s sedated, in any case. I’m hoping they’ll have a bed for her over the weekend. She’s booked for a CT scan; from a couple of things Simone said, we should probably check for worse damage than they’ve found so far.’
    Marnie straightened up, moving towards the door. ‘I know it’s getting late, and you’re tired. I don’t expect you to stay long.’
    Ed said simply, ‘I’ll stay as long as I’m needed.’
    ‘Thanks. Noah . . . you should go home. There’s no need for all of us to be here.’
    ‘Are you sure?’
    ‘Go have a social life. I’ll call you when there’s news.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘I won’t be around tomorrow, unless something happens at the hospital.’
    ‘Okay.’ Tomorrow was Saturday; Noah hadn’t expected to see her. Unless, as she said, something happened at the hospital.
     
    ‘Plans for the weekend?’ Ed asked, after Noah had left the refuge.
    Marnie went to the window, drawing back the corner of the heavy curtain. The sky had dried to scars and neon light; it never really got dark in London.
    ‘I’m visiting Stephen.’ She let the curtain fall back into place, turning to face Ed.
    He ducked his head, fumbling for something in his pocket, conjuring the