Christian drew in a small intake of breath. ‘How insensitive of me, waffling on about myself after you losing your mum at such an early age.’
‘Don’t be daft. I don’t have the monopoly on grief,’ Jennifer said, relieved to hear the cacophony of noise float out of the building as the foreign students disappeared with their takeaway cups.
Christian gave a faint smile. ‘I can’t tell you how good it is to meet up with someone from the old days. The showbiz scene is everything I ever wanted, but some of the people I work with are very jaded. That’s what I liked about Felicity, she was so exuberant, so full of life. She loved being in the spotlight, but she never forgot her humble beginnings.’
Jennifer thought of the young girl, due to get married with her whole life ahead of her. ‘I’m sorry, Christian. You know if there was anything I could have done to have stopped this …’
‘Don’t think that for a second, and I didn’t mean what I said before about warning you something was going to happen. The only person to blame for this is my cousin. I’m convinced of it now. I haven’t had one phone call from him since Felicity died. Killing Felicity was revenge for me refusing to take him in.’ Christian paused to swallow his coffee. ‘I’ve written down some things about my cousin that I didn’t mention before; perhaps it might help with your enquiries.’
Christian spent the next twenty minutes filling Jennifer in on his cousin’s strange behaviour: what he knew about his background, what his mother had told him about Bert’s family, and his last contact. But it was nothing Jennifer had not already gleaned from Dr Carter.
Her phone began to vibrate on the table and she frowned at the unknown number. ‘Sorry, Christian, do you mind if I take this?’
‘Go ahead, I’ll get us another coffee.’
Jennifer gave him the thumbs-up sign as she pressed the answer button. She really should be heading back, but Christian had brightened so much since coming out, she didn’t have the heart to say goodbye.
‘Hello?’ Jennifer said as she answered her phone. There was silence on the other end. She strained her ears to hear breathing in the background. She was in no mood to deal with a prank caller. ‘You have three seconds to speak or I’m hanging up. One … Two …’
‘Wait, Jennifer, it’s me.’
Jennifer frowned. ‘Who?’ The answer came as soon as she had uttered the words.
‘It’s me, dad.’
Her stomach flipped. It was her turn to remain silent, and it took several hellos before she spoke.
‘How did you get my number?’ she said, a trickle of fury rising within.
‘I took it from Amy’s phone.’
‘You took it, not asked for it I presume.’
‘I don’t want to argue, Jenny, I just want to talk.’
Jennifer cringed at the sound of her name being shortened for the second time that day. It served as a reminder of a past she would rather forget. ‘It’s Jennifer. And I don’t want to talk to you.’
‘You seem to be carrying a lot of anger. I think it would be good for us to talk about things, move forward.’
You want to blame me for everything you mean, Jennifer thought. She glanced around the coffee shop. She wouldn’t put it past him to be watching her, gauging her reaction. So she did what she always did when she was trying to conceal her fury. She put on her best telephone voice and responded the same way she did to the cold callers that plagued her home number. ‘No thank you, I’m perfectly happy as I am. Now if you don’t mind I’m in the middle of something. Please don’t bother me again.’
Jennifer swiftly ended the call and switched her phone to silent. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, and opened them to find Christian sitting in front of her. His awkward smile displayed his discomfort. ‘Sorry. Private call?’
She shrugged apologetically as she accepted another coffee. ‘It’s my dad. I haven’t heard from him in a decade and suddenly he wants to be friends.’
‘I take it that you don’t want to?’ Christian said.
Jennifer tore off the strips from two sugar sachets and poured their contents into the hot, frothy liquid. The chocolate powder design sank with the brown sugar, and she watched it all dissolve as she stirred it together.
‘You don’t know my father. He can’t take responsibility for anything, including his own emotions. He’ll always look for something, or someone, to fix things, because he can’t do it himself. He tried it with the booze and now he’s trying it with me. I’m not having it.’
‘Sounds like you’ve given it a lot of thought.’
Jennifer gave a short laugh. ‘You could say that. And I know people would say that life is short, and I should make up with him, but it’s because life is short that I’m keeping well away. I don’t want to waste my time with him.’ She glanced up from her coffee, trying to read his expression. ‘You probably think I’m a real cow.’
‘Actually you’re wrong. I remember what it was like for you growing up. From what I heard, your father was no help at all.’
‘Oh yeah? You must have thought we were a right band of commoners,’ Jennifer said, remembering her old school days. The darned tights, the second-hand uniforms. Christian was right. Her father was of no help at all.
‘I wouldn’t say that. I remember my parents talking about what a great police officer your mother was. Mum used to say that she made it her business to know everyone in Haven. Of course, the place was a lot smaller back then. But they were very sad when she died. I don’t think your father was seen as a bad person, but it was no secret that he liked a drink. I think you’ve done very well with your life, considering all the upset you’ve been through.’
Jennifer may have taken offence if anyone else had dissected her home life like that, particularly people who had come from a privileged background themselves. But there was something about Christian’s honeyed tones that made her feel better. Despite what he was going through himself, he still tried to provide comfort and reassurance to others. It just seemed to come naturally to him.
‘Thanks. My days of dwelling on the past are behind me. I just want to move on,’ Jennifer said, knowing that was not strictly true.
Christian displayed a smile full of warmth and empathy. ‘I know it was the worst possible circumstances but I’m glad we were thrown together. In my line of work you just don’t know who your real friends are.’
‘I’ve enjoyed it. We’ll have to do this again.’ Jennifer looked at her watch then downed the rest of her coffee. ‘I’m afraid I have to dash, but thanks for the coffees, my treat next time.’
Christian left with Jennifer as she pulled on her jacket. ‘If you hear anything about Bert you’ll let me know, won’t you? I can’t relax at night, knowing he’s still out there. I told the kids’ mum they can’t stay over until he’s caught. I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to them.’
‘Your home is like Fort Knox, and the police are all over this. As soon as he’s apprehended I’ll let you know.’
‘He’s here somewhere,’ Christian said, as they entered the car park. ‘Haven is such a rat run of lanes and hideaways, but he can’t stay hidden forever.’
‘Exactly. And as soon as he comes out, we’ll be waiting. Just call me if you have any concerns, but in the meantime just take each day as it comes.’
Christian reached out his arms to give her a hug. It was one of the things she liked about him. He was never afraid to show his emotions.
Jennifer waved Christian off as he drove past, leaning against her car, mulling over her father’s call. She took her phone out to delete the recent call history then paused. Perhaps it’s better to keep his number, she thought, in case I need to get in touch. Her finger hovered over the delete button. Then again, I could save it under ‘Twat’ and then I’d know if he tried to call me again, she thought. She giggled to herself, and saved it under the letter ‘D’ for dad. It was as much as he deserved.