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  Kylie clapped her hands, taking the Tiffany’s bag and pulling out the small rectangular box.

  “Oh, Tom!” she gasped, as she pulled out a delicate white-gold necklace. “It’s beautiful and it’s from Tiffany’s!”

  “Well, Clare and I wanted to show you how much we appreciated your help with Gina.”

  Gina bristled. Clare and I…! Your help with Gina!

  “Don’t look so fed up, Gina.” Tom was looking directly at her. “We’ve got a present or two in here for you.”

  Tom plonked himself down in her dad’s armchair.

  “I’ll be off,” Kylie said, blowing a communal kiss.

  “Gina, you would have loved Paris.” Her mum’s eyes sparkled. “It’s such a beautiful city.”

  “No, Disneyland was loads better,” Danny interrupted. “I wasn’t into all the Mickey Mouse stuff, but the park had brilliant rides.”

  Tom looked pleased with himself. “Well, seeing as this trip was such a success, we ought to think bigger next time.”

  Next time? He’s trying to take over our bloody lives, Gina thought.

  “I’ve been thinking about summer. I think this family deserves to go somewhere really, really special.”

  Gina was becoming more agitated. There was something in Tom’s pompous tone that unnerved her.

  “Where?” Danny asked, wide-eyed.

  “Somewhere you’ve always wanted to go, all of you,” he said teasingly. “Somewhere I know your dad was desperate to take you.”

  “Trinidad?” her mum said in disbelief.

  “Trinidad!” Danny punched the air.

  “Trinidad!” Gina said in outrage.

  “Yes, what could be better than fulfilling Marty’s ambition to take his family home?” Tom proclaimed proudly. “We can visit relatives, go to his childhood haunts, we could even scatter his ashes there…he’d have liked that, wouldn’t he?”

  Gina was flabbergasted. “You’ve got no right! There’s no way you’re taking us. Why are you doing this? Are you trying to buy yourself a family…? Because we’re not for sale!”

  Tom looked rattled. He smoothed his hair back with his hands. “I’m doing this for your dad.”

  “You weren’t even a good friend to my dad,” Gina said.

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” her mum snapped. “Tom was a good friend.”

  “Well, it seems to me that you were happy to come here and play at being ‘Uncle Tom’, but you never let my dad into your real world, did you? The world of your posh clubs and rich associates. Didn’t you think he was good enough to mix with them?”

  “You couldn’t be more wrong,” Tom said. “Years ago, before you’ll even remember, I took your dad to all my clubs; tried to introduce him to good contacts in the business world. Isn’t that right, Clare?”

  Her mum nodded.

  “But it was your dad who wasn’t interested,” Tom said.

  “Well maybe that was because of the kind of people you deal with,” Gina said accusingly.

  “No, it was because your father lacked ambition,” Tom barked back.

  Gina glared at him. Tom immediately looked remorseful.

  “I’m sorry, Gina. I shouldn’t have said that.” Tom turned to her mum. “I didn’t mean it, Clare. I thought I could handle all this abuse, but I’m beginning to wonder if I can.”

  “Gina, apologize to Tom,” her mum said angrily.

  “So you’re siding with him?” Gina said.

  “There are no sides,” her mum said wearily. “This isn’t a battle.”

  “It is, and I’m not going to let him win,” Gina said, storming from the room and grabbing a set of keys from the kitchen drawer.

  Gina ran all the way to the allotment. She unlocked the creaking wooden gate and surveyed her dad’s plot in confusion. It looked like a digger had turned over the earth. Great mounds of soil had been piled up at the sides.

  Gina’s attention was caught by the flapping doors on the shed. She looked in and found that floorboards had been ripped up, exposing the grass below. Their table, chairs and gardening equipment had been thrown into one corner like it was a scrapheap.

  “What the hell has he done to Dad’s allotment?”

  “Gina!” Mum had followed her, puffing and panting. “What’s happened here?”

  “It’s Tom! He told us he was going to look after Dad’s allotment but he’s wrecked it.”

  Her mum stumbled around for an explanation. “Tom must have some reason for this.”

  “Then you phone him now and ask him.”

  “I’ll phone if you promise that afterwards we can talk about you and Tom.”

  Her mum phoned and Gina listened in.

  “Tom, I’m with Gina at the allotment. We just wanted to know what’s going on with it. We’re a bit surprised by how it looks.”

  There was a momentary silence before he made a laughing sound. “God, I’m sorry. It must look terrible to you. Don’t worry, I had to get rid of all the bad soil. I’m going to cover it with some good quality stuff.”

  “And the shed?” her mum asked.

  “Well…the floorboards were rotting. I’m getting a new one, bigger, better. I wasn’t going to tell you until it was all done. I thought it would be a nice surprise.”

  Gina shook her head and her mum said, “It would have been good to be consulted, Tom.”

  “Yeah, sorry, Clare. I suppose that I’ve been overenthusiastic.”

  “It’s okay. You meant well. I’ll see you later,” she replied.

  “Mum, he’s lying. Our shed wasn’t rotting.”

  Her mum put a hand up to silence her. “Tom’s explained things and I’m happy with that. Now forget the allotment. We need to talk about you and him. This appalling behaviour towards him has got to stop. I understand about Trinidad, but Tom’s heart is in the right place.”

  Gina looked gravely at her mother. “We’ve got to get him out of our lives, Mum. You don’t really know him.”

  “For God’s sake, I’ve known Tom for years.”

  “He’s up to something,” Gina blurted out. “At the warehouse…there’s something going on.”

  “What are you talking about?” Her mum sighed.

  “We saw him…me and Declan. In the middle of the night. Tom came back to the warehouse, slashed open a sack and got something out.”

  She saw her mum’s face cloud over. “What the hell were you doing in the warehouse in the middle of the night!?”

  “We were trying to find the sack. Tom had this code, you see, written on a piece of paper, and Declan sussed out that it identified a particular sack of cocoa beans. So we went looking for it, but then Tom came in and took something out of one of the sacks…we couldn’t see what it was, but it must have been something dodgy, otherwise why would he have waited to get it until night-time? Anyway, once he’d got whatever it was, Tom left and we were locked in the warehouse all night,” she said breathlessly, waiting for the revelation to hit her mother.

  “Was this the other night, when you told me you were at Becky’s sleepover?” Her mum’s hackles were rising.

  “Yes,” Gina replied meekly.

  “So, let me get this straight.” Her mum crossed her arms, her voice irate. “You lied to me and then sneaked off and spent the night with Declan in Tom’s warehouse, where you spied on him, because you thought you’d found a secret code that meant he was coming back to his warehouse to get something out of a sack, is that right?”

  “You make it sound bad when you say it like that, but yeah.”

  “And do tell me again, what exactly was in the sack?”

  “Well…we couldn’t see, could we, but he definitely took something out of it,” Gina said with conviction.

  “So, in fact, it could have been a handful of cocoa beans, for all you know?”

  Gina hesitated. “Well yeah…but…no! Why would he come back at night to get some beans?” she said triumphantly.

  “Why the hell shouldn’t he?
Maybe he had to check them urgently. Maybe he was worried that they were damaged cargo he had to do something about.”

  “But the next day, when I asked him what he’d done that night, he said that he’d just gone home.” Surely this was the winning blow?

  “So what? Maybe he didn’t think it was even worth mentioning that he’d gone to his own warehouse before going home. He’s not answerable to you, young lady. You and Declan have either got two of the most fertile imaginations or you’re just being unbelievably malicious, coming up with this ridiculous story to try and turn me against Tom.”

  “No, it’s true, Mum, honest!”

  She watched tears prick her mother’s eyes. “For God’s sake, Gina, your mind’s so twisted against Tom that I bet you jumped at the chance to believe some rubbish that Declan told you. I’ve a good mind to tell Tom that you broke into his warehouse.”

  “No! Please, you mustn’t tell him!” she panicked. “I didn’t break in anyway, Declan just stayed in there after work. We didn’t do any damage.”

  Her mum’s lips pursed. “So, what did you and Declan do all night, locked up in there?”

  Gina couldn’t meet her mother’s stare. “Nothing, Mum, honest. Nothing happened.”

  “I thought Declan was good for you but it sounds like he’s just winding you up even more than before.”

  “He’s not.”

  “Maybe I should stop you seeing him.”

  “You can’t! It’s not his fault. I made him spy on Tom. He didn’t want to,” she said protectively. “He’s done it for me. Please don’t stop me hanging around with him. I like being with him.”

  “Yeah and I like having Tom around and so does Danny. Tom cares about us. He’s been a great support to me.”

  “Is there something going on between you and him?” Gina asked in trepidation.

  “No, it’s too soon for me, but who knows what will happen in the future.”

  “But what about Dad?” Gina’s lips trembled.

  “Can’t you understand? I will never forget your father. I will always love him, but he’s dead, Gina and I’m still alive.” She struck her chest. “So let me have a life!”

  “But please, Mum, not with Tom. He’s involved in something illegal. He knows what happened to Dad. Dad didn’t kill himself!” she said fervently.

  Clare threw her arms up in the air, and looked to the sky. “Enough, Gina! I can’t go on like this. Your dad sent you a text, for God’s sake. He was saying sorry to you for what he was about to do. What else do you need? Wouldn’t it be simpler for all of us if we could believe that it was just a terrible accident? That your dad didn’t kill himself and leave me with the guilt of thinking that I failed him? Do you have any idea how that makes me feel, Gina? And, all this time having to cope with you and your relentless denial and your paranoia about Tom.”

  “But—”

  “But nothing! You’ve got to stop it, Gina,” her mum shouted in despair. “Wake up now and accept what happened. It’s time to move on, look to the future, and if I want Tom around, then he will be, and you’ll just have to get used to it!”

  Clare had just laid her exhausted head on the pillow when her mobile rang.

  “Hi, Clare,” Tom said. “Sorry to ring you so late but I just wanted to know if Gina had settled down. I stayed with Danny as long as I could, but I thought it’d be better if I was out of the way when you got back. She really upset him.”

  “I know and after he’d had such a great weekend too. He’s fast asleep now. I had it out with Gina and when we got home she went straight to her room. I let her cry herself to sleep. Listening to her nearly killed me but I’ve decided that I’ve got to try a bit of ‘tough love’. If she won’t go back to see Dr. Havers then I have to think of my own strategies to bring her out of this.”

  “You’re doing the right thing, Clare. I’m sorry that my Trinidad idea upset her. I really wanted to make her happy.”

  “It’s a lovely suggestion, Tom, but you know how Gina’s been about you since the inquest. She’s focusing all her anger on you. It’s out of hand. She’s even been making Declan spy on you.”

  “What? Why?” Tom sounded alarmed.

  “She’s just determined for Declan to dig up something dodgy about you, about the business, any excuse to get rid of you.”

  “And what’s the little toerag come up with?” His voice had stiffened.

  Clare immediately regretted mentioning it. She didn’t want to get Declan into trouble. He was a good lad really, even if he did have an overactive imagination. She suddenly felt the need to protect him.

  “Oh, forget it, Tom. Declan hasn’t said anything,” she lied. “I think the poor lad’s been caught in the middle. I know he loves working for you, but he’d also do anything to make Gina happy.”

  “So, he’s been digging for dirt and come up with nothing?”

  Clare heard the anger in Tom’s voice.

  “Yes, nothing,” she said emphatically.

  “I’ve got a good mind to sack him! Is this how he repays me for giving him a job?”

  “Please, Tom, don’t do that. He’s just a teenager trying to impress a girl. Despite this, Declan’s good for her. She’s been so much better since she met him, and healthier – she’s eating properly again and she’s stopped touching the urn every time she comes into the room.”

  “Yeah, but that’s thanks to me,” Tom boasted.

  “Maybe, but one thing’s for sure, Declan makes her happy, so promise me you won’t sack him.”

  There was a long pause.

  “Promise, Tom!” Clare said earnestly.

  “Okay, anything for you.”

  “And you won’t hold a grudge against the boy, will you?” she asked nervously.

  “No, of course not. I’ve forgotten about it already,” he answered with an icy breeziness.

  Henri Sissouma had hardly paused for breath and they were already onto dessert. He’d spent the last hour and a half quaffing numerous glasses of champagne and regaling Kylie with details of his many assets.

  His London apartment overlooked the Thames; his Italian leather sofas were the best money could buy; his home cinema system was the same one all top Hollywood stars insisted on having; and he invited Kylie to feel his biceps as testament to the quality of the gym in his spare room.

  Kylie shovelled in another spoonful of tiramisu in order to stifle a yawn. The string quartet struck up again in the corner of the candlelit room.

  Kylie tried to interrupt his flow. “This is a lovely restaurant, very classy. My last date took me to Pizza Hut.”

  Henri Sissouma tutted. His chunky rings clinked against the champagne bottle as he refilled her glass. “How dare he? A woman of your refinement deserves the finer things in life, Karen.”

  “Oh, you’ve done it again.” She wagged a manicured nail at him. “It’s Kylie, not Karen.”

  “Of course, forgive me. Such a beautiful name, how could I forget it?”

  “So, Henri,” she said, deciding it was time to make her move, “I’ve heard all about your fast car and your swish apartment but what you haven’t told me is what you do. You must have a great job. What are you? One of those entrepreneurs?”

  He nodded approvingly. “As people say here, I have my fingers in lots of pies. I manage the business concerns in this country for a very wealthy and important man back home in the Côte d’Ivoire.”

  “And you do business with Tom?”

  “Yes, we’ve been doing business together for a number of years.”

  “So, you deal in cocoa beans? Of course you do, our shipments are from the Ivory Coast.”

  The big man threw his head back, letting out a booming laugh that strained the buttons on his waistcoat. “My dear Karen, my boss doesn’t supply beans.”

  “Oh,” she said, stifling her annoyance. “What does he supply, then?”

  “I don’t wish to talk about business when I have such beautiful company.” He reached across the table and took her h
and.

  “Henri,” Kylie said, giving him her sweetest smile, “I bet a man as impressive as you supplies something very special.” She placed her other hand on top of his.

  There was a twinkle in his champagne-blurred eyes as he replied, “Let me just say this; the chocolate made from the cocoa bean is said to induce a feeling of great happiness. Well, what my boss supplies also induces great happiness but it costs much, much more.”

  Kylie slapped his hand, playfully. “Henri, stop talking in riddles and tell me what it is.”

  “I’ve said too much already, ma petite cherie.”

  “Oh, go on,” Kylie pouted. “I’m intrigued.”

  He smiled broadly and beckoned her to him. Kylie leaned across the table and Henri Sissouma whispered in her ear, his voice deadly serious. “If I told you, I’d have to kill you.”

  Kylie shot away from him, but her shocked expression only made Henri Sissouma roar with laughter.

  “Oh forgive me,” he spluttered, patting tears of laughter from his cheeks. “I am joking, of course, but the business between myself and Mr. Cotter is a private matter, you do understand, don’t you?”

  “Yes, of course,” she said through gritted teeth.

  Henri Sissouma pulled the chain of his gold fob watch, lifting it out of his waistcoat pocket. He flicked open the cover and tried to focus on telling the time.

  “It’s getting late, Karen, and I’m staying in a lovely hotel. I have a suite with a balcony. Would you like to come and see the view?”

  Kylie rose from her chair, scraping it across the marble floor. “Sorry, Henri, but I make a rule of only going back to hotel rooms with men who can remember my name. Thanks for dinner though.” With that, Kylie flounced out of the restaurant, leaving Henri Sissouma open-mouthed.

  Danny bounced up and down, the wind whipping him into a frenzy.

  “After three,” Danny shouted, his eyes wild. “One, two, three – GO!”

  Danny, Gina and Declan took a running jump off the top of the towering sand dune. Declan flew through the air, landing on the beach, Gina collapsed in a heap at the foot of the dune and Danny remained near the top, entangled in the tall spiky grass that bound together the shifting sands with its roots.