Finders Keepers Edie Baylis (phonics readers .TXT) 📖

would do his utmost to get back what was rightfully theirs and would do whatever was needed to achieve that. Nothing was over until the fat lady sang and she hadn’t opened her fucking mouth yet, so there was still a chance.

TEAGAN SMILED SYMPATHETICALLY as Robert tapped away at his computer, desperately trying to override the distraction of Dulcie as she pottered around the flat’s small living room.

She caught him eyeing Dulcie with irritation as she picked up a selection of his items, inspected them and put them back down again. She knew he was trying his very hardest to bite his tongue and that working was being made increasingly difficult by both his mother’s and her presence. The flat was small – especially after the space available at Footlights, but if they hadn’t come here, she didn’t know what would have happened. No doubt Dulcie would have been placed in some kind of home – as was Helen’s intentions.

Teagan’s brows knitted together. She didn’t want to think about Helen, but hadn’t done much but think of her in the six days since it had happened. Since Helen’s horrific actions had been uncovered, Teagan had had very little sleep. This wasn’t because of the usual reason because since Helen’s despicable ploy of feeding Dulcie those prescription drugs had ended, Dulcie was no longer plagued by night terrors. In all respects, Teagan’s sleep should now be uninterrupted and peaceful, but it was far from that. Her sleep was now filled with looping dreams.

Although Robert had refrained from going into detail about James’ body in the garage of Helen’s house, Teagan had overheard the statement he’d given to the detectives and she’d been unable to get the image of the man’s caved-in skull, its contents splashed across the concrete floor of the garage, out of her mind.

It had also broken her heart to hear Dulcie speak about what had happened that night Helen had been shot. Dulcie must have been so frightened and despite Helen’s actions, she still hadn’t uttered a bad word about her only daughter.

The other thing bothering Teagan was the knowledge she had on Robert. Despite his outwardly aloof and cold manner, he did care very much about his mother and he’d also recently shown Teagan a huge amount of kindness too.

That was why Teagan felt bad that she hadn’t told him what she knew of his father. Keeping something so big from him upset her and she wasn’t comfortable with it, but she’d promised Dulcie and she had to honour that promise. It was only right Dulcie should be the one to tell her son who his real father was.

As Dulcie wandered off towards her bedroom, Teagan glanced back at Robert, his thick brows knitted as he perused his screen. ‘I’m sorry to encroach on your space so much,’ she said. ‘I wonder when the police will tell us Dulcie can return to Footlights?’

Robert looked up, his face stern. ‘I’ve already said you can stay as long as you like - although it’s different having people around.’

‘Do you think Dulcie will want to go back to Footlights? You know, after...’

‘I don’t know whether everything has hit her yet.’ Robert glanced in the direction of the hall to make sure his mother wasn’t in hearing distance. ‘It’s only been, what? Six days? Perhaps it will hit her after the funeral.’ His lips pursed. ‘She’s expecting me to go, but I’ve already told her, I have no wish to pay my respects to that woman.’

Teagan swallowed hard. Dulcie would need Robert there – he’d always been her rock, but she couldn’t say she blamed him. How could he pay his respects to someone who had let him down so horribly? Talking of funerals, it was Alan’s funeral tomorrow and she supposed she should go, but she wasn’t looking forward to that either.

Teagan smiled softly. ‘You’ve been so good making sure your mother and me are ok, but what about you? Are you alright?’

Robert sat back, surprised. He rubbed his hand over his cleanly shaven chin. ‘I haven’t really thought about how I feel.’

Teagan nodded. ‘You must get some time for yourself. If... if I can help in any way, then please say.’

Robert stared at Teagan, his cold blue eyes penetrating into hers a little too long. ‘Thanks, but I’m not much one for talking.’

As he turned back to his screen signifying the conversation was over, Teagan rose from her chair. She must remember that however close she felt to Dulcie, she mustn’t overstep the boundaries. The Adams’ were still clients, even if Dulcie and now, Robert, felt more like family.

‘WHEN ARE WE GOING TO DISCUSS the wedding?’ Lena crossed her long shapely legs, giving Jonah an eyeful up her small tight skirt.

Jonah huffed irritably at Lena’s blatant attempt to distract him. He knew exactly what was underneath Lena’s skirt – he’d been there enough times and didn’t need reminding that was what had got him into this mess in the first place. ‘I’m busy,’ he muttered, looking back down at his paperwork.

‘Why have you brought all that rubbish home?’ she whined, secretly miffed that her ability to manipulate him appeared to be waning.

Since the engagement party Jonah had been as cold as a fish. Although she’d smoothed over the fiasco of the diamonds theme and was still very much entrenched in his life and home, she wanted more than that. His reluctance to discuss their upcoming wedding, coupled by the fact that nothing had come of the atom bomb she’d lobbed in Gwen’s direction was unnerving. She’d have thought at the very least something would have been mentioned by now. It was six days since Gwen had disappeared without as much of a word, short of saying she was sick and Lena thought Jonah would have come running to her long before now for help in organising the show in Gwen’s absence, but he hadn’t said a thing.

In fact, it was worse than that – he’d