‘He was probably just thinking aloud and didn’t mean anything by it,’ Caroline said. ‘We could do with some extra cash,’ she added quietly.

  Max always said that they had enough money and didn’t need any more, but a windfall would be very welcome.

  Max nodded. ‘We’ll be getting some extra when the house is sold,’ he said. ‘Assuming there’s equity in it, which there surely will be. But it will need to go through probate first, and that can take ages.’ He screwed his forehead up, deep in thought. ‘Okay,’ he said, running through the steps out loud. ‘We’ll take it home with us now for safekeeping. Then we’ll tell the others and see if they know why it was there or what it was for. And then we can all decide what to do with it together.’

  ‘That sounds sensible,’ replied Caroline. ‘Let’s find Monty and then we can go home. The boys will be back from school soon.’

  And so they headed down the stairs, Max carrying the suitcase whilst Caroline called out for the elusive cat.

  19

  They drove home via Ellie and James’s place to pick up Max’s car.

  ‘Are you going in?’ Caroline asked as he got out of the car. ‘Will you say anything?’

  Max wrinkled his nose. ‘I don’t think I can face them,’ he said. ‘I’ll just take the car and run. They won’t mind. They might not even be here.’

  ‘I’ll see you back at home then?’ she said, and Max disappeared up Ellie and James’s long drive.

  Monty mewed loudly from the cardboard box on the back seat. He didn’t seem at all happy in there.

  ‘I’m sorry, Monty,’ she said. ‘It’s not too long now.’

  Caroline had no idea about cats. She hadn’t been allowed a pet as a child and so had been nervous of having any since, as if there was some kind of secret key to keeping them that everyone but her knew. Offering to rescue this one from the empty house had been more of an instinct than a thought-through decision. It just felt like the right thing to do and Caroline prided herself on always doing the right thing. And anyway, they could hardly leave him at Tony’s to fend for himself.

  What did cats need? She stopped at the garage and bought some dried cat food and a bag of cat litter, although she didn’t really know what she was supposed to do with it. Maybe someone else would be happy to take Monty when the dust had settled a little bit. That seemed doubtful. The others had looked relieved when she had offered, and clearly had no intention of stepping in to help. How long did cats live? she wondered. How old was Monty?

  As if he could read her thoughts, Monty started mewling even louder. Perhaps this was his first ride in a car? He was probably a bit frightened, poor thing. Tony dead, the house filled with strangers, and now dragged from his home to be taken who knew where. No wonder he was crying.

  She pulled up outside the house, switched the engine off and considered for a moment. The boys had heard her offer to collect the cat, so she would have to appear with him or they would ask questions. If it hadn’t been for that, she might have been tempted to just let him go so he could decide his own fate. Would he be able to make his own way home? Did cats do that, like homing pigeons? But of course, that was out of the question. They would take care of Monty as if Tony had asked them to do it.

  Having made the decision, she got out of the car and was about to retrieve the cardboard box when the front door opened and Alex and Theo burst out.

  ‘Did you get him?’ Theo asked, his eyes shining brightly. ‘Can I see?’

  ‘I did,’ she said. ‘But he’s very frightened so you need to stay calm.’

  Monty mewed louder still and the boys looked delighted.

  ‘Is he in that box?’ asked Theo, suddenly anxious. ‘Can he breathe?’

  ‘Of course he can breathe, you idiot,’ replied Alex, punching his brother lightly on the arm. ‘There’s oxygen in there. We should probably let him out though, right, Mum?’

  ‘Yes, but not here. If he runs away he won’t know where to come back to. Let’s get him inside and then we can research what to do. I’m sure I read somewhere that you put butter on their paws,’ said Caroline, her heart sinking at the thought of little buttery footprints all over her house. ‘But maybe we can just feed him and keep him inside for a few days whilst he gets himself acclimatised.’

  She slid the box across the back seat and picked it up. She could feel the cat shifting inside, his claws sliding across the cardboard as he scrabbled to get a grip. The movement altered the box’s centre of gravity and Caroline gripped it more tightly.

  ‘Can one of you grab the food and the litter from the boot and bring it inside, please? Leave the suitcase. I’ll bring that in in a minute,’ she said as she headed for the door.

  Max was already there standing in the doorway, having beaten her home.

  ‘Someone sounds upset,’ he said, standing to one side to let Caroline and her cargo inside.

  Caroline pulled a face at him. ‘I’m not sure this is the best idea I’ve ever had. What if he hates us?’

  Monty continued to mew plaintively through the box and Max put his hand out and touched her cheek. ‘He’ll be fine,’ he said softly. ‘It doesn’t have to be a permanent arrangement. Let’s just see how we go.’

  Caroline nodded at him.

  ‘Thanks for this, Caro,’ he added.

  She could see tears were not far away and she was reminded that he had lost his father only the day before. That’s why she was doing this. For Max. He wanted his dad’s cat to be safe, irrational though that might be, and if she could do this small thing for him whilst everything was going on then she would.

  ‘No worries,’ she said. ‘Can you bring the suitcase in?’ She felt her stomach turn at the thought of all that money in the house.

  Max nodded. ‘I’ll put it up in the loft. And I’ll make a plan to meet up with the others so we can tell them.’

  Caroline nodded, but something about that idea didn’t sit right with her. They all got on so well, or she and Ellie and Max and James did – Nathan was a bit of an unknown quantity – but money didn’t always bring out the best in people, particularly windfall money. And Caroline was struggling to understand why Tony would keep so much cash under a bed, unless there was something illegitimate about it. If it was all perfectly above board then surely it would have been in the bank.

  ‘Do you think we should try to find out something about what it is and where it came from before we tell the others?’ she asked. ‘It might be easier to have the conversation if we know what’s what.’

  Max pulled the corners of his mouth down and wrinkled his nose. ‘I’m not sure how we’d do that,’ he said. ‘Obviously we can’t ask Dad. I suppose there might be something about it in his papers, but I doubt it.’

  ‘Might your mum know?’ she asked.

  ‘Maybe, I suppose,’ said Max thoughtfully. ‘But it seems unlikely. And I’m not sure about involving her as well. My gut feel is to keep it between the three of us, and you and James of course, for the time being.’

  Caroline wasn’t sure. She would definitely ask Valerie if it were up to her. It felt like the obvious thing to do. But it wasn’t up to her. This was a Frost family matter and, when the chips were down, she was only a Frost by marriage.

  ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘Whatever you think’s best.’

  Monty, who had been quiet for a few moments, began to mew again and Caroline turned her attention to the box as Alex and Theo appeared.

  ‘We can use the washing-up bowl as a litter tray,’ said Theo, brandishing it above his head.

  ‘The butter thing is rubbish, Mum,’ said Alex. ‘I looked it up. We have to keep him inside for two weeks and be nice to him and then he’ll work it out for himself.’

  ‘Okay,’ replied Caroline. ‘Well done, boys. That’s very practical of you, although I think there’s an old washing-up bowl in the garage that we can use instead of that one.’ She grinned at Theo. ‘So, shall we let him out?’

  The boys started to leap up and down, and then seemed to realise that would frighten the cat so immediately stopped.

  ‘Yes,’ whispered Alex.

  Caroline peeled away the tape she’d used to seal the box and gently lifted the flaps. Monty sat there looking quite calm. For a moment he eyed them all, and then he hopped out of the box and disappeared through the open door into the kitchen.

  ‘Welcome to your new home, Monty,’ said Theo and immediately followed after him with Alex hot on his tail.

  20

  Ellie didn’t quite know what to do with herself. It had been three days since Max had found their dad lying dead on his bed, and since then time seemed to have been playing tricks on her. Sometimes it felt as if she was stuck on that day, and she kept reliving the moment she had taken Max’s phone call: the shock, the police, all of it.

  And then suddenly time would seem to be marching past too quickly. It had been three whole days and she had done nothing about the funeral or the wake or any of the things you were supposed to dive into after a death. Her heart would race at the thought of all the people she ought to be contacting, but whom she couldn’t bring herself to speak to. And that was before you got anywhere near everyone her dad knew in his official capacity. Her mum used to joke that there wasn’t a single person in the entire town who hadn’t crossed paths with Tony at some point. That could well be true. Was she supposed to contact them all? She didn’t even know who half of them were.

  So, not knowing which way to turn, she did what she always did in moments of crisis. She rang Caroline.

  ‘If I were you,’ said Caroline, her voice calm and unflustered, just as Ellie had known it would be, ‘I would put a death announcement in the paper with details of the funeral and then let the news circulate by itself.’

  ‘Of course!’ replied Ellie, mentally slapping herself on the forehead. ‘Why didn’t I think of that? It’s so obviously the thing to do.’

  ‘Because your dad just died and it’s a really difficult time,’ said Caroline.

  Her voice was so gentle that Ellie could feel the tears rising up again. She could just about hold herself together as long as no one was kind to her.

  ‘But I don’t know when the funeral is yet,’ she said, frustrated, aware that she sounded petulant, but not able to help it. ‘We’re still waiting for the post-mortem results.’

  ‘Then don’t do anything for now,’ suggested Caroline patiently. ‘No one will blame you if you don’t make the news common knowledge straight away. People just want a chance to pay their respects, but they can wait.’

  ‘Okay,’ Ellie agreed, compliant as an anxious child. ‘How’s Max coping?’

  ‘Oh, you know Max. Bottling it up. It really shook him, finding Tony like that, but obviously he’s dealing with it by pretending it didn’t happen. Why do men do that?’

  ‘He’s never been that good at showing his emotions,’ replied Ellie. ‘Something to do with being the eldest and always feeling he had to be the responsible one, I think. He does need to work through it, though. Should I get James to ring him?’

  ‘Yes, that might help. Thanks,’ said Caroline. ‘It could be that he doesn’t want to talk to me but is happy to open up to someone else. It’s so hard to tell. Have you heard from Nathan?’

  ‘No. Not a word since Monday. I texted him but he hasn’t replied.’

  ‘Men! They’re all the same,’ replied Caroline with a loud tut. ‘And how are you?’ She pressed the final word, making Ellie want to cry all over again.

  ‘Up and down,’ she said. ‘I still can’t believe it’s true. It’s hit us all quite hard. James was very fond of Dad and the girls are devastated.’

  ‘I know. It’s so hard to take in,’ said Caroline.

  Her voice was very steady, and Ellie didn’t think it sounded as if she was finding it hard at all, although maybe that was unfair. Tony hadn’t been her father, after all, and even though Caroline had known him since she was a little girl, Ellie had always had the impression that she was wary of him, a little on edge in his company, as if she was never sure what he might say next. She might have been right to be wary: Tony could be wildly unpredictable and had a habit of making gentle jokes at the expense of others, but Caroline wasn’t a nervous person generally. Quite the reverse. So now it occurred to Ellie for the first time that perhaps Caroline hadn’t actually liked Tony very much.

  She rejected the thought. It was unworthy and unfair. Caroline was just trying to be strong for her because she was her best friend. The rest of it was all in her imagination.

  ‘Would you like me to pop round later?’ Caroline asked. ‘I’ve taken a couple of days off work to support Max, but he’s gone into work today. Or if you fancied a change of scene we could meet for coffee in town before school pick-up.’

  Ellie leapt at the suggestion. ‘Yes! That would be lovely. I think I’m going mad stuck here with all this in my head, and James has just locked himself away in his office. Some big deal or other. I can’t remember if he told me about it or not. Everything’s a bit blurry to be honest. So yes. The usual place at two?’

  ‘Perfect. And it’ll be okay, Ellie. Just take it one step at a time.’

  Caroline hung up and Ellie felt ashamed that she had ever had an uncharitable thought about her. She was her best friend and she would be there for her no matter what.

  21

  Ellie made her way into town a little earlier than she needed to meet Caroline. What she required was a bit of retail therapy to make her feel better. She wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to buy, but she was firmly of the view that whatever it was would surely help.

  The obvious item would be a new dress for the funeral; something dark, classy and well-cut that she didn’t have to worry about when she wore it.

  But no. That was for another day. They didn’t even have a date yet and buying a black dress was hardly going to cheer her up. Shopping for other clothes seemed somehow frivolous and inappropriate. If she had been a Victorian she would have been in full mourning following the death of her father, and whilst she was glad she didn’t have to wear only black for the foreseeable future, it wouldn’t feel right, trying on outfits for happier times.

  She would buy something for the house. That was a good idea. It could be something they would all enjoy and it was a great way of giving her the boost that spending always provided. Ignoring the window displays in her go-to boutiques, she headed for her favourite interiors shop. It wasn’t expensive, but the stuff was always bang on trend and, if carefully chosen, could brighten a room up no end.

  As soon as she stepped through the door and her nostrils filled with the scent of whichever diffuser they were showcasing – today it was something with grapefruit that was summery and uplifting – Ellie felt herself calming, the knots in her stomach smoothing themselves out into silky skeins. This was her environment. She knew where she was with a shop. She could move purposefully between displays, always spotting the unusual and being able to picture the perfect place for an item in her mind’s eye. It was a skill, she knew. Not everyone had an eye for design like she did. You just had to look at other people’s homes to see how easy it was to get things wrong, sometimes quite horribly.

  Her attention was caught by a display of tableware, predominantly white but with silver accents. It was classy, to her mind, and spoke quietly of style without being too obvious and showy. She didn’t need to buy more white crockery, they had that in abundance, but the silver table runner, candelabra and chargers would be something new. Her existing dinner party table settings were mainly gold, which went well with the dark-red wall in the dining room, but the room had been decorated like that for a while. Maybe a spot of redecoration was in the offing. Perhaps a nice blue? That would work well with silver.

  She picked up a sparkly tea-light holder and turned it round in her hands, watching how the light hit the little cuts in the surface and made it twinkle. She saw the shop assistant coming towards her, beaming. They knew her well in here.

  ‘Hi,’ said the assistant as she approached. ‘Oh, I just adore those. They are so stylish and understated, but they bring sparkle to a table. And they work in both summer and winter, which not many things do.’

  ‘Yes,’ agreed Ellie. ‘I was just thinking that. The whole setting is lovely.’

  ‘Perfect for a midsummer’s dinner party or a New Year’s Eve buffet. Can’t go wrong really,’ said the assistant. ‘Have you seen the chargers? That silver rim really sets them off too. Your cutlery’s silver, right?’

  Ellie nodded.

  ‘Perfect,’ she continued. ‘Silver chargers, white plates, crystal glassware, and then those lovely little tea-light holders. Totally gorgeous.’

  Ellie was aware she was being sold to but she didn’t care. It was all true. The setting was breathtaking, particularly if you threw in a few strings of fairy lights and maybe even a couple of the candelabra. She was always worried that something tall on a dining table might block the line of sight, but then again, wasn’t that what side tables were for?

  ‘It is. Stunning. I think I’ll take eight each of the chargers and tea-light holders, and the runner as well, please,’ said Ellie, the familiar buzz that she always got when she bought something new making her nerve endings fizz. ‘And two of those candelabra.’

  The assistant’s eyes shone. Ellie was pretty sure they weren’t on commission in here, but who wouldn’t get excited at the thought of a purchase like that?

  ‘I’ll pay for them now, but could you parcel them up for me? I have a few other things to do. I can bring the car round on my way home.’

  When Ellie left the shop, their bank account a few hundred pounds lighter, she felt much better.

  The café where she and Caroline liked to meet was down a cobbled alleyway away from the crowds, and whilst it was a popular place, you could usually get a table. Caroline was already there, phone in hand, scrolling, and was so engrossed that she didn’t notice her come in until Ellie was hovering right over her.