Chapter 57: Cora - The Foster Child

Elliot’s been a while getting the wine and the cake. I think I’d better give him a hand, he might have forgotten where I’ve put it. I leave Lori and Violet watching the film and go along the hall to the kitchen.

‘Elliot…’

I walk in and my hand flies to my mouth when I see him bent down on the floor scooping up bits of Christmas cake. So that’s why he was so long, he’s dropped the cake. I scan the bits of cake on the kitchen floor wondering if any of it is salvageable. It isn’t.

He looks up at me. ‘Oh God, Cora, I’m so so sorry. I was taking it out of the tin when it slipped out of my hands.’ He stands up, his face a picture of guilt. ‘I don’t know what to say. All the hours you spent making this and I’ve ruined it. I feel terrible.’

‘It’s okay, don’t worry,’ I tell him. I’m gutted actually but it’s only a cake and it was an accident. Elliot seems under a lot of pressure and I’m getting very concerned about him. I place my hand on his arm reassuringly. ‘I’ll get it up, you take the wine in. Luckily I’ve got a yule log too. We can have that.’

‘The least I can do is clear it up,’ he says.

I pick up all the decorative Christmas figures and put them on the worktop while Elliot gets the dustpan and brush and scoops up the cake pieces, putting them into the kitchen bin.

‘I feel terrible.’

‘It’s not a big deal. It was an accident. I’ll make another one and we can have it for New Year.’ I won’t have time for it to settle, like this one did, but I know a good recipe for a quick Christmas cake so I’ll use that.

He threads his arm around my waist and pulls me in for a hug. ‘Thank you for being so understanding.’

‘Accidents happen. Now let’s get the yule log and crack open that bottle of wine.’

Lori and Violet are sympathetic about the Christmas cake and quite happy to have a slice of chocolate yule log instead. It’s good to see Lori looking relaxed and Violet is very chatty and bubbly so it seems like they’re both getting on. I know I had my reservations about Violet and even thought she might be doing some of those creepy things but she seems so pleased to be here that I’m sure she’s not involved. I’m glad that we invited her to stay for dinner, it would have been such a shame for her to spend Christmas on her own.

‘Now you two sit down and I’ll clear away and load the dishwasher,’ Violet says, getting to her feet and loading the empty plates on the tray.

Lori stands up too. ‘I’ll help.’ She collects the empty glasses and they both go into the kitchen.

‘They seem to be getting on well,’ I say.

Elliot wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me closer to him, kissing me on the forehead. ‘Never forget that I love you.’

The way he says it makes me jerk my head to look at him. He looks pensive and is still pale. ‘Have you still got that headache?’

‘A little,’ he admits, rubbing his temples with his thumbs. ‘I think I’ll go and get some fresh air. Won’t be long.’

Elliot’s gone out into the garden for fresh air a few times today. Something is worrying him, I know it. I’ll try to get him to open up later.

‘It’s starting to rain,’ Elliot says as he comes back in. ‘It looks like it’s going to be heavy.’

‘I’d better be going then before it gets too bad, thank you for such a lovely day,’ Violet says as she and Lori come back in from the kitchen.

‘A pleasure. Let me cut you some turkey so you can have a sandwich later,’ I tell her.

‘Thanks, I’d love that. I’ll just use the bathroom first, if that’s okay?’ Violet looks enquiringly at me.

‘Of course.’ I nod.

Violet goes up to use the bathroom, and Lori follows a few minutes later to get a book to read.

Suddenly we hear shouting from upstairs.

I race up the stairs, Elliot hot on my heels. The bathroom door is wide open and Lori and Violet are both in there, yelling at each other.

‘What’s going on?’ I demand, looking from one to the other.

Then I hear Elliot demand, ‘Did you do this, Violet?’ His voice is cold with anger and he’s pointing to the bathroom mirror.

I turn to see and gasp, my hand going to my throat as I see big red letters spelling Payback scrawled on the bathroom mirror.

The same red as the lipstick Violet is holding in her hands.