Page 10 of The Village of Lost and Found

Tom’s thoughts strayed once more to Lucy Conway. There had been a moment when she had laughed that he had found himself catching his breath. He had met beautiful women before, of course. But she really was dazzling. Not that he would ever declare any kind of romantic interest in any woman ever again after what had happened with Andrea.

It was also entirely possible that she was the airhead that Belle assumed she was. After all, from what he had discovered of her life online, it appeared to be entirely made up of dating unsuitable, rich, married men and going to nightclubs.

Besides, Lucy would probably give up once she realised the sheer amount of work that was needed to tidy up the office.

Anyway, Tom didn’t really want her digging too deep into the paperwork or anywhere else in the office. There were too many secrets in there that he was anxious to stay hidden. For everyone’s sake.

6

Lucy’s car was packed to the roof with bags and suitcases as she made her way out of London the following afternoon. She didn’t know how long she would be staying in Cranbridge so had packed nearly every item of clothing that she owned.

She glanced in her wing mirror at the skyline as she left. She thought she would be sad leaving the glamour and craziness of life in London behind for a while. But, actually, all she felt was relieved. She hadn’t been away from the city for so long and was also exhausted by the attention of the media, who were still camped outside her parents’ front gate. They seemed almost grateful that she was moving out for a while, hoping that the paparazzi would also leave at that point too.

Not that Cranbridge would be a holiday, of course. She needed to take care of Uncle Frank and she had a huge mountain of tidying up to do at the newspaper office. She still wasn’t quite sure how she’d ended up with a temporary job, but Uncle Frank appeared happy about it and that was the main thing.

She picked him up from the hospital once he had been discharged and he looked at the almost full car with a smile on his face as he manoeuvred his crutches and the support boot that would protect his foot.

‘Travelling light?’ he said, raising one eyebrow at her in question.

‘Just be grateful that you’re not squeezed into the boot,’ she said as she held the passenger door open for him.

Perhaps she did have too many clothes, she thought, glancing at the sheer number of suitcases and bags. She had always secretly despised most of her rich classmates with their snobbery about having to have the latest phone or designer clothes. But she appeared to have fallen into the same trap, although it had been quite a few years since she had bothered to wear any of it. Maybe she would have time to have a bit of a clear out before she moved on to her next destination. Wherever that would be.

They chatted all the way back from the hospital until, at last, Lucy parked up in front of Uncle Frank’s bungalow in Cranbridge.

She helped her uncle out of the car before he stopped and looked at the river beyond with a smile on his face.

‘I’m home,’ he said with a satisfied sigh.

She put her arm around his shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze as they looked along the river to the pretty village. The area around Cranbridge Stores looked busy with people, but beyond that it was quiet, even for a sunny Sunday afternoon.

She spent a couple of hours settling Uncle Frank at home, unpacking the extra food that she had bought for him from his shopping list and ensuring that he was comfortable.

‘Stop fussing,’ he told her eventually. ‘Besides, you’re only going to be living just down the lane. I might even be able to wave at you from my front window.’

‘I don’t like leaving you alone on your first night home,’ she said, putting her hands on her hips. ‘Maybe I’ll stay with you until after dinner.’

He sighed. ‘I’ll be fine. This bionic boot means I can still move about. The meal you bought me is all set to go in the microwave. And I can’t have a nap if you’re banging and crashing around the place, can I? Besides, I told Molly when she texted me that you’d be arriving around teatime, so off you go. I’ll see you tomorrow, OK?’

He had always been fiercely independent, but it didn’t stop Lucy worrying about him.

She hesitated. ‘You’ll ring me if you need anything?’

‘Yes, nurse.’

Lucy rolled her eyes. ‘You know I’m going to call you later to check up on you.’

Uncle Frank smiled as she bent down to kiss his cheek. ‘I would have been surprised if you hadn’t,’ he murmured.

He closed his eyes as if intending to go to sleep, so Lucy quietly left the bungalow and drove the short distance to the row of shops that ran along Riverside Lane. At the back of the shops was a narrow lane along which were lined the doors into the rear of the shops and which led up to the apartments above.

Lucy grabbed a couple of bags and then brought out the key that Uncle Frank had given her. She opened the door with a nudge of her shoulder and found herself in a tiny hallway. In front of her was a door, which presumably led into the newspaper office. Although it was bolted shut on her side.

It was still odd for her to think of it as the newspaper office. She remembered when it was a haberdashery shop, packed with balls of wool and rolls of pretty materials. And her aunt and uncle’s warm and happy apartment upstairs. She felt a thrill of anticipation as she headed up the familiar stairs.

‘Hello!’ she called out as she went. She wondered how much the apartment had changed in the years since Uncle Frank had moved into one of the newer bungalows on the opposite side of the river. But it was home and would always feel like that. Her heart leapt at the thought of returning to those happy memories. However, when she reached the apartment, she dropped her bags in shock. It appeared that everything had changed, and not for the better.

She stared around the large living room in horror. The whole place looked like some nightmare fusion between Aladdin’s cave and Barbie’s dream house. The black and fuchsia wallpaper either side of the fireplace was very dramatic and overwhelming, as were the matching bright pink shaggy rugs and lampshades. On every other wall, thankfully only painted in bright pink, there was a huge number of motivational sayings in large glittery writing.