Little Sister by David Hewson Read Free Book Online Page B

case Simon Klerk had given her.
    ‘You put it in your pocket,’ her sister said.
    Kim found her jacket. There was nothing there. They talked about it and agreed. When they reached Vera’s house they’d found just one phone, the handset with the message from Little
Jo. The other must have fallen out somewhere along the way. Now the second one was gone and they knew: the Englishwoman must have taken it while they slept.
    ‘I’m clumsy as hell,’ Kim said, suddenly furious with herself.
    There was no need for an argument, Mia told her. No point in trying to assess blame. Things happened to them, things that required no explanation. They knew life was like this and accepted
it.
    ‘At least in Marken we could go for a walk,’ Kim grumbled.
    ‘Marken’s behind us,’ Mia insisted.
    ‘She shouldn’t take things like that. Not when they’re ours.’
    When Vera came back she had fresh orange juice, eggs and ham and cheese. She cooked them pancakes too and then the three of them sat down for lunch.
    Kim asked for her phone back. Vera grinned.
    ‘What phone? I don’t know anything about phones, sweetheart. Have you got one then?’
    ‘I had one. We both did.’
    Vera took out a plastic pill box, checked the time, fiddled with the lid, rolled a couple of white tablets onto the table and swallowed them with some juice.
    ‘You must have lost them somewhere.’
    Mia said, ‘We’d like to go for a walk soon. We always have a walk.’
    Vera laughed and shook her head.
    ‘Not yet, luvvies. I mean . . . there are people out looking for you, aren’t there? Give it a while. When I get the word . . . then it’s OK.’
    ‘Who from?’
    The smile on the Englishwoman’s face never cracked.
    ‘So you don’t know who sent you here?’
    ‘They just . . . we just got the map. And a note.’
    ‘One step at a time, eh? You just take it easy. Don’t have to worry about a thing. This is a nice house. A safe house. Enjoy yourself. Until we hear.’
    ‘Hear what?’ Kim asked.
    ‘What we have to do,’ Vera told them. ‘I mean . . . everyone’s here for a reason, aren’t they?’ She reached over and touched the sleeve of Mia’s
T-shirt. Something about the way she did this seemed . . . wrong. ‘You know that, don’t you?’
    The sisters kept quiet.
    ‘Until we’re sure where you’re going . . . until someone’s said,’ Vera added, ‘best you two keep your heads down. Watch the telly. Listen to some
music—’
    ‘Can we use the computer?’ Mia asked.
    ‘I’d let you if I could,’ the woman said with a shake of her dyed hair. ‘But it’s been playing up lately and I don’t know how to fix it. You finish your
lunch. I’ve got to go out again. Won’t be long. I’ll have you out there soon enough. It’ll be like a new world for you two, I bet. There’ll be a treat too. More than
one.’
    She got up from the table and the smile fell from her face.
    ‘You can manage the washing-up I’m sure. We’re all in this together, aren’t we? You and me.’
    They gave her ten minutes after she left just in case this was a test. Then, very gingerly, they went to the front door and tried it. Locked again. After that the two of them tested all the
windows on the ground floor. Every one was sealed shut and refused to move.
    Kim wandered back into the living room and turned on the TV. Nervous, together on the sofa, holding hands, they watched the news. There was no mention of two sisters escaped from an institution
on Marken. Or anything else about Waterland.
    They switched off the programme and sorted through the CDs by the side of the music centre. Finally Kim found something they recognized.
The Love of a Stranger.
The penultimate album by
The Cupids.
    ‘I don’t want this,’ Mia said and threw the thing into the corner.
    Her sister retrieved the disc, put the music on, and the two of them listened in a dull and angry silence.
    All they’d done was exchange one prison for another. They didn’t even need