Page 104 of Darling Girls

‘“Give me the tin, you bitch!” he said, pushing me again.

‘I stumbled, then flew at him in a rage, pummelling him with my free hand. “You are disgusting,” I cried. “Preying on vulnerable women and little girls while pretending to be a man of God. How can you live with yourself?”

‘After the shock of the first few punches wore off, he gripped me by the shoulders tightly enough that his nails bit into my skin. Then he held me at arm’s length, preventing any more of my pathetic punches from landing. I hadn’t noticed my mother getting out of the car. When she came to stand by my side, I thought it was a supportive gesture – until she snatched Amy from my arms.

‘“No!” I cried. But she didn’t listen. Her face was determined as she carried Amy back to the car. “Mum, plea–”

‘John slapped me so hard I saw stars, tasted blood.

‘“Mum,” I tried again, weaker now, but the next slap was harder, knocking me to the ground, stealing my breath.

‘John spat at me. “Whore.”

‘He bent over, pulling open my makeshift bag and withdrawing the tin of cash. After checking to see it was all there, he spat again, and returned to the car.

‘“Don’t hurt her,” I called after him weakly, but he wouldn’t have heard because the engine was roaring to life again. “Please! Don’t hurt Amy.”

‘He did a U-turn, then drove away back to the house. I never saw Amy again.’

54

NORAH

It was just so unexpected, so out of left field. For a moment, Norah couldn’t see how it fit. Everyone glanced at one another. Hando kept blinking, then shaking his head, then blinking again. Rhiannon and Bianca were open-mouthed. Miss Fairchild looked as if she were having a mild stroke.

It was Patel who broke the silence.

‘You have six toes?’ she said to Zara.

‘Hold up.’ Patel looked utterly lost. ‘You’re Zara, right?’

Hando stepped in. ‘I interviewed Zara. She wasn’t on our list. She read about the body in the newspaper.’

‘I didn’t know youhada list until I arrived and bumped into Rhiannon and Bianca,’ Zara chipped in.

‘But how did you know that you’d been at Wild Meadows?’ Patel asked.

‘When I was adopted, my parents were told that I’d come from a foster home in Port Agatha. When I turned eighteen, I tried to get in touch with the person who facilitated the adoption but his contact details were old. So I came to Port Agatha with my parents and we asked around. That’s where I heard Miss Fairchild’s name. But of course, you were in Melbourne by then.’ Zara looked at her. ‘I’ve tried to get in touch for years. I emailed and phoned. You never got back to me.’

Miss Fairchild had been silent through all of this. Her chest rose and fell with what looked like deep, anxious breaths.

‘I kept tabs on Port Agatha. I saw that the home had been sold. Then I saw the news about the body underneath. I decided to drive up here to see what I could find out.’

‘And you have six toes?’ Norah said, still stuck on that important fact.

‘I did have,’ she said. ‘One was removed just after my third birthday, when I’d been living with my adopted family for nearly a year. Which meant I was at Wild Meadows around the time I was two.’

As she spoke, Zara was undoing her shoelaces. It sent Norah back to the day they met Amy, on the floor of the living room at Wild Meadows when Miss Fairchild removed Amy’s little sock. Now, Zara removedhersock, showing a tiny silver scar between her pinkie toe and the next one. A tiny telltale bump, in the exact spot where Amy’s toe had been. ‘AmIAmy?’

Norah looked at her closely.

‘Do you have any pictures of yourself soon after you were adopted?’ Alicia asked.

Zara got out her phone. ‘Here’s one from my first Christmas with my family. I use it as my profile pic on Facebook. I would have been about two and a half.’

Zara thumbed her phone for a moment, then handed it to Alicia, who only looked at it for a second before lowering the phone. She closed her eyes; her hand found her heart. She lifted the phone again for another look.

‘Oh my God,’ she whispered, handing the phone to Norah. ‘Oh. My. God.’