Page 61 of Darling Girls

Jessica, perhaps feeling the same, slid into the driver’s seat in silence.

‘I don’t get it,’ Norah was saying. ‘Why is Miss Fairchild cooperating with police?’

‘She’s not cooperating,’ Alicia muttered. ‘She’s trying to bury us.’

Norah opened the back door of the car and the dogs leaped inside.

‘How are you doing, Alicia?’ Jessica asked, when Alicia climbed into the passenger seat. She was clearly referring to the fact that Alicia had cried.

‘I’m fine,’ she said automatically. Then she shook her head. ‘I’m not fine. The bones they found are from a child.’

‘I –’ Jessica started.

But Alicia wasn’t finished. ‘It changes everything, doesn’t it?’

Jessica, who still hadn’t started the engine, rested her head against the steering wheel. ‘I don’t know aboutthat.’

It was true that they didn’t know anything for sure. And yet, Alicia couldn’t shake the feeling that in discovering the body was that of a child, they’d discovered a missing piece to an otherwise completed puzzle. Now, they had to pull the puzzle apart and start over, putting it back together piece by piece. Only then would they figure out exactly where they’d gone wrong.

The accommodation at Driftwood Cottages was set around a central grassy car park, the units connected to each other by a pebbled walkway. The inside of their three-bedroom cottage was as you’d expect – blue-and-white 1980s bathrooms with plastic-wrapped soap and water glasses. Beds with worn, frilly linen, gauzy sheer curtains and framed prints that Alicia had seen on special at the general store.

As each cottage had its own entrance, Norah wasn’t required to give her service-dog spiel to anyone at reception – a fact that seemed to disappoint her no end.

‘Those dogs had better stay in your room,’ Jessica said when they were inside, collapsed on the couches, staring at their phones. Jessica was sitting up straight, her posture stiff. Converse tried to climb onto her lap at one point, and Alicia decided that if Jessica allowed it she’d call an ambulance, but thankfully Jessica shoved him off.

‘If I wake up with a dog beside me, Norah, I swear to God . . .’

‘Of coursethey’ll stay in my room,’ Norah said, with a notable lack of confidence. Then she chuckled a little.

Jessica looked like she was about to say more, perhaps even issue a threat, but Alicia was distracted by her ringing phone.

‘Sorry, I have to take this,’ she said. She walked to the corner of the room and lifted it to her ear. ‘Hey, Aaron. Theo giving you grief?’

‘Twenty-four hours a day.’ Alicia heard the affection in his voice. ‘One upside of ageing out will be getting a little peace and quiet.’

Alicia had received official confirmation this afternoon that Theo’s parents had relinquished their parental rights, which meant he’d soon be moved to a permanent placement – leaving Trish and Aaron, whom he clearly felt safe with. It broke Alicia’s heart.

‘By the way, Trish said I can stay with her until the end of the school year, even after I turn eighteen.’

‘That’s great,’ Alicia said.

‘Yeah,’ Aaron said. ‘I’m pretty lucky.’

Alicia felt something twist inside. ‘No you’re not.’

Aaron was quiet, likely confused by her comment.

‘Trish is a wonderful foster mother, and it’s very generous of her to keep you on, but you’re notlucky. You lost your parents. You lost your grandmother. You’ve spent the last few years living in uncertainty. Having a stable home until you finish school is actually a lot less than you deserve. I want you to remember that, okay?’

Alicia felt her sisters looking at her, which meant she’d probably been a little too strident in her delivery. But so what if she had? Love and security were the most basic of rights. Forcing these kids to believe they were lucky to have that was even more damaging than what some of them experienced in care, Alicia thought.

‘O-kay,’ Aaron said, sounding amused. ‘I’m not lucky. Poor me.’

Alicia smiled. She knew he’d understood her point.

‘So the reason I called,’ Aaron went on, ‘is that I was wondering what was going to happen to Theo after he leaves here.’

Alicia sighed. ‘I don’t know yet, mate.’