Read Online Where the Memories Lie by Sibel Hodge - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Sibel Hodge
Ads: Link
rubbish bag.
51
Sibel Hodge
There. Crisis averted!
After lunch, Charlotte and Anna were back in the sea again.
They’d found a couple of kids with a Frisbee and were playing with
them in the shallows.
I sat in one of the chairs, dragging my toe through the velvety-
soft sand, not really listening to the conversation going on around me because I was worrying about what to do. I couldn’t keep it inside any longer. I didn’t want to ruin the family day. And I’d tried, really I had, not to bring it up. I’d tried to forget about it because it was so ridiculous. But, well, as family, I needed their advice on it, not just Ethan’s. I knew he wouldn’t be happy with me, but I thought it was
only fair they knew what Tom had said, as well.
‘Something really weird happened when I went to see Tom this
week.’ I sat forward in the chair and glanced around at Nadia, Lucas and Chris. I avoided Ethan’s eyes, but I could feel them burning
into me because he knew what I was going to say.
‘What, did he catch himself in the mirror again and think his
reflection was Gregory Peck?’ Chris laughed. ‘I had a nightmare trying to convince him otherwise a few weeks ago.’
‘No.’ I didn’t join in with the laughter.
Instead, I told them what Mary had told me about Tom having
fitful dreams and then becoming agitated and hard to settle after-
wards. About how he’d said Georgia Walker was haunting him.
How she was apparently missing. And that he said he’d killed her.
Nadia gasped. Lucas’s jaw dropped open. Chris’s eyebrows shot
up. Ethan glared hard.
‘What?’ Nadia asked.
‘Can you repeat that?’ Chris poked a finger in his ear. ‘I think
I must’ve heard you wrong.’ He let out a slight laugh.
‘It’s completely crazy. I’ve already told her.’ Ethan shook his
head wildly. ‘Dad’s just confused. Or delusional. There’s no way he’s talking sense.’
52
Where the Memories Lie
‘What, he actually said he’d killed her?’ Lucas whispered the word, his eyes straying to Charlotte and Anna, safely out of hearing distance as they bobbed up and down in the sea now.
‘Yes, that’s what he said.’ I repeated everything again for them
so it would sink in.
‘I don’t believe it,’ Nadia said.
‘That’s what I said.’ Ethan gave me a superior look which made
me want to smack him. ‘Dad doesn’t even know anyone called
Georgia Walker.’
‘How do you know?’ Lucas asked.
‘Well, have you ever heard him mention her?’ Ethan said.
‘No. But that doesn’t mean anything.’
‘I’m sure it can’t possibly be true,’ I said. ‘But it’s bugging me
why he keeps repeating it when he’s never mentioned anything
remotely like it before. Do any of you know anyone called Georgia
who Tom might’ve become confused about?’
One by one they shook their heads.
‘I did a search online, but I couldn’t find anyone with that
name who’s mentioned as a missing person. I searched the tele-
phone directories to see if she was in there, but again, I didn’t find anything helpful. Do you think we should go to the police and at
least ask them if someone called Georgia really is missing?’
‘The police?’ Ethan snorted. ‘Oh, don’t be ridiculous!’
‘Wait.’ Chris plonked himself down heavily on the sand next to
my chair and held up a hand. ‘How could he have killed someone?
Dad’s the nicest guy you could ever meet. It’s . . . it just doesn’t make sense. There’s no way.’
‘I agree,’ Ethan said. ‘It’s impossible. It’s just the Alzheimer’s
making him believe something he’s read or seen on the TV.’
‘But what if there really is a missing woman out there?’ I said.
‘Not that I think Tom’s killed anyone, but what if perhaps he knows something about where she is? Something that might help find her?
53
Sibel Hodge
I’ve been thinking that maybe he witnessed something that might
solve a crime. It could be something that
51
Sibel Hodge
There. Crisis averted!
After lunch, Charlotte and Anna were back in the sea again.
They’d found a couple of kids with a Frisbee and were playing with
them in the shallows.
I sat in one of the chairs, dragging my toe through the velvety-
soft sand, not really listening to the conversation going on around me because I was worrying about what to do. I couldn’t keep it inside any longer. I didn’t want to ruin the family day. And I’d tried, really I had, not to bring it up. I’d tried to forget about it because it was so ridiculous. But, well, as family, I needed their advice on it, not just Ethan’s. I knew he wouldn’t be happy with me, but I thought it was
only fair they knew what Tom had said, as well.
‘Something really weird happened when I went to see Tom this
week.’ I sat forward in the chair and glanced around at Nadia, Lucas and Chris. I avoided Ethan’s eyes, but I could feel them burning
into me because he knew what I was going to say.
‘What, did he catch himself in the mirror again and think his
reflection was Gregory Peck?’ Chris laughed. ‘I had a nightmare trying to convince him otherwise a few weeks ago.’
‘No.’ I didn’t join in with the laughter.
Instead, I told them what Mary had told me about Tom having
fitful dreams and then becoming agitated and hard to settle after-
wards. About how he’d said Georgia Walker was haunting him.
How she was apparently missing. And that he said he’d killed her.
Nadia gasped. Lucas’s jaw dropped open. Chris’s eyebrows shot
up. Ethan glared hard.
‘What?’ Nadia asked.
‘Can you repeat that?’ Chris poked a finger in his ear. ‘I think
I must’ve heard you wrong.’ He let out a slight laugh.
‘It’s completely crazy. I’ve already told her.’ Ethan shook his
head wildly. ‘Dad’s just confused. Or delusional. There’s no way he’s talking sense.’
52
Where the Memories Lie
‘What, he actually said he’d killed her?’ Lucas whispered the word, his eyes straying to Charlotte and Anna, safely out of hearing distance as they bobbed up and down in the sea now.
‘Yes, that’s what he said.’ I repeated everything again for them
so it would sink in.
‘I don’t believe it,’ Nadia said.
‘That’s what I said.’ Ethan gave me a superior look which made
me want to smack him. ‘Dad doesn’t even know anyone called
Georgia Walker.’
‘How do you know?’ Lucas asked.
‘Well, have you ever heard him mention her?’ Ethan said.
‘No. But that doesn’t mean anything.’
‘I’m sure it can’t possibly be true,’ I said. ‘But it’s bugging me
why he keeps repeating it when he’s never mentioned anything
remotely like it before. Do any of you know anyone called Georgia
who Tom might’ve become confused about?’
One by one they shook their heads.
‘I did a search online, but I couldn’t find anyone with that
name who’s mentioned as a missing person. I searched the tele-
phone directories to see if she was in there, but again, I didn’t find anything helpful. Do you think we should go to the police and at
least ask them if someone called Georgia really is missing?’
‘The police?’ Ethan snorted. ‘Oh, don’t be ridiculous!’
‘Wait.’ Chris plonked himself down heavily on the sand next to
my chair and held up a hand. ‘How could he have killed someone?
Dad’s the nicest guy you could ever meet. It’s . . . it just doesn’t make sense. There’s no way.’
‘I agree,’ Ethan said. ‘It’s impossible. It’s just the Alzheimer’s
making him believe something he’s read or seen on the TV.’
‘But what if there really is a missing woman out there?’ I said.
‘Not that I think Tom’s killed anyone, but what if perhaps he knows something about where she is? Something that might help find her?
53
Sibel Hodge
I’ve been thinking that maybe he witnessed something that might
solve a crime. It could be something that
Similar Books
