Chapter 1
Dawn Dix-Beaumont dropped the Lego bricks into the large plastic bucket and leaned against the wall. The colour scheme of the playroom had been chosen to create a fun and lively space for their children, but right now, in the early October afternoon sunshine, it was giving her a headache. The yellow walls, the red and blue buckets for toys, the turquoise and purple beanbags, and the green shelves, all seemed to be growing larger as she stood there. Swaying.
Swaying?
She slid down the wall to the floor and pressed her head into her hands. It must be low blood pressure again. She’d suffered with it in both of her previous pregnancies and it had made her feel faint and lethargic. Only it hadn’t come on quite so quickly before. This time, however, even though she was only thirty-three, it seemed that her body was not going to take pregnancy lightly.
Thank goodness it was Friday and Rick would be home for the weekend. Since finding out about the pregnancy, she’d tried to rest whenever she could, but it was difficult with two children and a house to run. As well as a rabbit and a guinea pig to take care of.
Shit!
She needed to clean the hutch out before it was time to pick the children up from school. She loved the animals probably more than Laura and James did. It had been Rick’s father’s idea to get the children pets. He’d said it would encourage them to be responsible and he’d insisted on choosing the rabbit and guinea pig and paying for them. In typical Paul Beaumont fashion, he’d turned up one day with the animals, a hutch, a garden run and all the necessary paraphernalia for looking after the pets.
Dawn had agreed with the concept of pets making the children more responsible, but her initial suspicion that Laura and James would soon tire of the day-to-day care of Wallace and Lulu had been correct, and now it was all down to her. But she didn’t mind. She liked coaxing the rabbit and the guinea pig from their hutch, as it gave her a chance to cuddle them both before letting them loose in their run.
Of course, Laura and James did love Wallace and Lulu, although Laura was more interested in maintaining their social media profile than her younger brother was. She regularly took photographs of them on Dawn’s mobile phone, which Dawn then helped her to post to the Instagram page that Paul had set up. Wallace and Lulu’s Adventures was quite popular and received lots of likes, but Dawn also knew that it was a way for Paul to connect with his grandchildren. He was a busy man – even since his retirement – but the convenience of social media meant that he could check in with his grandchildren from the golf course, or the club at the docks where he kept his boat.
Dawn got up slowly, stood still for a moment to ensure that her head was clear, then went through the hallway to the kitchen. She picked up the shed keys and headed out through the back door and into the garden.
The sun was hot. Forecasters had predicted an Indian summer for England, but Dawn suspected that it would probably last a few days then they’d be plunged into Arctic conditions. The good old British weather never failed to keep people on their toes. Gone were the days where she used to pack her summer wardrobe away by September then her winter woollies by April. There was no point now; it was far more sensible to have a range of clothing to hand throughout the year.
She opened the shed and retrieved her box of hutch cleaning supplies, as well as a bag of straw, then carried them across the garden. Lulu, the two-year-old floppy-eared rabbit hopped to the front of the hutch.
“Hello, sweeting.” Dawn knelt down and opened the front of the hutch then held out her hand. Lulu’s nose twitched as Dawn smoothed her soft smoky-grey fur. “Do you want to stretch your legs?”
She lifted the rabbit carefully out then let her into the large square pen made of wood and wire netting. Lulu hopped about, clearly enjoying the freedom to nibble on the lush green grass of the lawn.
Dawn peered back into the hutch, but guinea pig Wallace had not made an appearance from the sleeping compartment, which wasn’t like him. Wallace was quite a greedy little thing and usually greeted Dawn with excited wheeking, especially if she had a carrot for him.
She lifted the latch then gently opened the front of the sleeping compartment.
And there, curled up on the straw, was Wallace.
“Hey little man, don’t you want to go for a run?”
He didn’t move.
Dawn reached out and stroked his silky white fur carefully, expecting him to jump awake and to see his little nose and whiskers twitching as he greeted her. She gently touched his small brown paws, which made him look like he was wearing socks, then his matching brown ears. There was no response.
His tiny body was cold and stiff.
“Oh no!”
She covered her mouth with her hands as tears blurred her vision.
Poor little Wallace, just two years old like his companion Lulu, had died.
And Dawn had no idea how she was going to break the news to her children.
Or how she would break the news to their grandfather and Wallace’s Instagram following.
***
Dawn opened the door to The Cosy Cottage Café and closed it behind her, making sure that her tote bag was firmly hooked over her arm.
“Hello, Dawnie!” From behind the counter, her close friend Allie Jones, smiled warmly at her.
“Hi.” Dawn gave a half-hearted wave then hurried over.
“What’s wrong? Are you still feeling queasy, love? I’m sure I have another bottle of peppermint cordial here somewhere. Let me get you a glass.”
Dawn shook her head. “No. No time. I have to pick the children up in an hour and something terrible has happened.”
“What is it?” Allie took Dawn’s hand and squeezed it. “Not the baby?”
“No. The baby’s fine. At least I think it is. I mean…” She took a deep breath as a wave of nausea washed over her. “I’m feeling really bad, so I guess that’s a sign that the pregnancy hormones are strong.”
She instinctively cupped her rounded stomach. She was around seventeen weeks along now, and she felt huge. In fact, Dawn was certain that she hadn’t been this size until she was about twenty-five weeks pregnant with her first two. It was getting harder and harder to hide her bump.
“So why are you… upset?” Allie peered at her. “Looks like you need a drink. Sit down and I’ll get you one.”
“Oh, okay then. Just a quick one. Something cold would be lovely, thanks.”
Dawn took a seat on the squishy couch in the corner by the front window and placed her bag on the seat next to her. As she sank into the soft leather, she sighed. If only she could just put her feet up and have a nap. Although it was cool inside the café, the afternoon was hot outside, and her t-shirt was clinging to her back following her short walk to the café.
Allie brought her a glass of bright green liquid.
“Peppermint cordial?”
Allie nodded. “Drink it. You look like you need it.”
Dawn nodded and accepted the tall glass. Ice cubes clinked against the side as she raised it to her lips and took a sip.
“That’s so good, thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now are you going to tell me what’s worrying you?” Allie took a seat on the sofa.
Dawn placed her glass on the coffee table in front of them and watched as a bead of condensation trickled down the side.
“I don’t know what to do, Allie.”
“About what? Is it Rick? Are you two doing okay now?”
Dawn met Allie’s bright blue eyes and a lump lodged in her throat. She shook her head.
“No, it’s not about us.”
Although, if she had the time to talk about it, she would tell Allie that, yes, there were some problems with Rick. Things had improved slightly for a while but over the past week – possibly even longer – for some reason, they seemed to have deteriorated again. But perhaps it was just her. She was, after all, pregnant and exhausted, and it was possible that her imagination was finding issues where in fact there were none.
Perhaps…
“Not really. Things are fine with Rick. I mean… well… they’re…” She bit her lip. She didn’t have time to air her marital woes right now. “There’s something more pressing to deal with.” She patted her black tote bag with the white writing #babyonboard. Her sister, Camilla, had bought it for her when she’d been pregnant with Laura and Dawn had kept it ever since, using it as a makeshift handbag when the lining of her old one was too sticky with old sweet wrappers and snotty tissues from the children. Rick had bought her new bags for birthdays and Christmases, but they were always designer labels and far too nice to fill with dummies, nappies, wet wipes and all the bits and bobs she’d acquired over the years as a mum of two.
Allie nodded. “And…” She raised her eyebrows.
Dawn opened the bag and stuck her hand inside. She pulled out a small parcel and laid it on her lap.
“You’ve brought me a gift?” Allie smiled.
“Not exactly.”
“Then what is it?”
Dawn passed the parcel to her friend. Allie touched the pink tissue paper then peeled away the Sellotape that held the wrapping together.
“Oh my god! What on earth is that?” Allie grimaced.
“It’s Wallace.”
“Wallace?”
“Our guinea pig. He’s dead.”
“I can see that. If he wasn’t, I’d be asking you why you’ve turned him into a bizarre pass-the-parcel.”
The door to the café opened and Allie quickly covered her lap with her apron.
“Good afternoon, ladies.”
It was Chris, Allie’s boyfriend. He came over to their table, pecked Allie on the lips, then sat down on the reclaimed wooden chair opposite them.
“Hi Dawn.”
“Hi, Chris.”
“You okay there, Allie?” he asked.
“What?” Allie frowned, so Chris gestured at her lap where her apron bulged over Wallace.
“Oh… no.” Allie’s cheeks flushed. “Dawn brought something to show me.”
In spite of the current circumstances, Dawn had to admit that Allie looked really well. Successful author Chris Monroe had returned to the village of Heatherlea that summer for his mother’s funeral and decided to stay. His main reason being because he was head-over-heels in love with café owner Allie Jones. Dawn was delighted to see her friend so happy. She’d known Allie for a long time but only become good friends with her in recent years after getting to know her in the café. Allie had been widowed six years ago when her husband was killed in a car accident. But she’d proved to be a strong, resilient woman and had used the life insurance money to set up The Cosy Cottage Café, which was now a very successful business in the pretty Surrey village.
“Something nice?” Chris asked.
“Oh no! Not at all.”
Sweat prickled on Dawn’s forehead.
“I see. Shall I leave you two alone for a bit?” Chris made to get up but Allie shook her head.
“No, Chris, it’s okay. Dawn’s guinea pig died and she brought it to show me. Dawn, you need to get it out of here. If anyone sees it… I mean him… I’ll have health and safety inspectors all over me.” Allie moved her apron then handed the parcel to Dawn.
“Yes, of course.”
“How did he die?” Chris asked.
“I don’t know.” Dawn’s lip wobbled.
Allie slid an arm around her and squeezed. “Come on, love, it’ll be all right.”
“But the children will be devastated. And my father-in-law will be too. I’m sure that Rick’s parents already think I don’t do a good enough job as a wife and mother and this will just be something else I’ve failed at.”
“I’m sure that’s not true, Dawn, especially not where Paul’s concerned. Although I know Fenella can be… challenging at times.”
Dawn nodded, thinking of how her mother-in-law made her feel.
“Is this the guinea pig with an Instagram page? As in Wallace and Lulu’s Adventures?” Chris pulled a face.
“Shhhh!” Dawn and Allie shook their heads at him.
“Oh dear… and Allie’s right; you can’t have a dead animal in here.” He glanced around at the customers enjoying their afternoon tea and cakes.
“I know. That’s what I just said to her.”
“What am I going to do?” Dawn stared at the bundle wrapped in pink tissue paper. “Poor Wallace.”
“I have an idea,” Allie said as she stood up and beckoned to Chris. “Put him back in your bag for now and let’s see what we can do.”
Dawn slipped Wallace gently into her tote, then leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes. She was so, so tired. If she could just have a short nap, then she was sure she’d feel better and everything would fall into place.
Then she’d know what she needed to do…
***
“Dawn?”
She floated through the warm water, weightless and completely relaxed. It was so nice to be light and free and…
“Dawn, wake up!”
“What?” She shot up through the water to the surface where bubbles popped.
“Dawn, it’s three o’clock. Don’t you need to get the children from school?”
Allie was leaning over her, with a hand on her arm, and Dawn realised where she was: on the sofa, in the café. She must have fallen asleep.
She rubbed her eyes. “How long was I out?”
“About forty minutes.”
“Wow! Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. Do you want me to go and pick Laura and James up?”
“Oh… they won’t let you.”
“Why not?”
“They’ve really clamped down on who’s allowed to collect the children and I had to list two authorised people, so I could only include me and Rick. My Mum couldn’t even be on the list unless I add her as an alternative, and for that I needed to ask special permission from the head teacher.”
“Things have really changed since Mandy and Jordan were at school.” Allie frowned. “But it’s probably a good thing. Shall I come with you, though?”
“No, you have the café to run, and it’s Friday, so you’ll probably have a teatime rush.”
“Chris will help out.”
“Where’s Jordan today?”
“He’s gone to London to spend the weekend with Mandy. She got them theatre tickets and a dinner reservation at a swanky restaurant. Max has gone too.”
“How lovely.” It would be really nice to get away for the weekend, to enjoy a show and a meal that wasn’t interrupted by a child refusing to eat their vegetables or by the other one needing a poo.
“Well as long as you’re sure you’ll be okay. Anyway, I think I’ve sorted something out regarding… Wallace.”
“Oh!” It all came flooding back then. Poor Wallace. She reached out for her bag and realised it wasn’t on the sofa next to her, so she leaned over and spotted it under the coffee table. She pulled it towards her then reached inside but couldn’t find the small parcel.
“He’s gone!”
“What?” Allie’s eyes widened. “How can he be gone?”
Dawn emptied the bag over the seat next to her: tissues, Tampax – that she currently had no need of – two lip balms, half a biscuit, her purse and an old dummy covered in fluff. But no parcel wrapped in pink tissue paper. No Wallace…
She peered under the table again.
But there was no sign of him.
“What am I going to do?”
Dawn watched as Allie tucked her blonde hair behind her ears and looked around the café. There were two customers sitting at the table by the log burner – they hadn’t been there when Dawn had arrived – and the table by the other window was now empty, so the elderly women who’d been there earlier had obviously left. But they wouldn’t have taken Wallace. Why would they?
“Oh no!” Allie smacked her forehead.
“Oh no?”
“I bet this has something to do with Luna.”
“But she moved to Chris’s with you, didn’t she?” Allie had moved in with her boyfriend recently, taking her two cats Luna and Ebony with her.
“Yes… but she keeps finding her way back here. You know I don’t let the cats into the café but Luna has followed Chris back a few times and she did sneak in earlier when the door was open. What if she—”
“Luna has stolen Wallace?” Dawn’s heart pounded against her ribs. “What will she do with him?”
Allie grimaced. “She has a strong prey drive. She even toyed with a dead frog that she found on the road once. It was completely flat. I wrestled it off her and threw it over the back fence, a bit like a Frisbee, but she went and found it. Four times. So in the end I stuffed it in the bin.”
“But this is Wallace!”
“I know. I’m so sorry. However, Chris has popped out to see a man about a guinea pig, so you go and pick the children up and I’ll meet you back at yours. And don’t say a word about Wallace passing away to Laura and James. As far as they know, he’s still alive and well.”
Dawn nodded. “Thank you.”
“Don’t be daft. What’re friends for?”
She put her belongings back in her bag, even the fluff covered dummy, then finished her drink and got up. Allie was right; she needed to head over to the school. She hated being late for the children and rarely ever was. The thought of them waiting for her as others went home with their parents and grandparents was too much to bear.
But as she stepped out into the sunshine, her heart jumped, as a piece of pink tissue paper rolled past her on the café lawn like tumbleweed in the Wild West.
Taunting her.
Reminding her that tiny Wallace was missing.
And that the weekend she’d been looking forward to, was not going to work out quite the way she’d planned.