The two women led her back through the hallway, into the large open-plan dining room and kitchen. It served as a great play area for the kids and went into the garden too. Ava was sitting at a highchair, enjoying a second breakfast by the look of things.
‘Mama!’ she said, clear as day.
‘Oh my God!’ the women behind her said together. They held each other, jumping on the spot.
‘Has she said that before?’ Hannah asked, desperate for the answer to be no.
‘No! I swear, that was the first time! Clever girl, Ava!’ Hannah gave Ava a huge hug, Ruby holding her fist out. Ava formed a podgy fist and touched it to Ruby’s. Ruby turned round and beamed.
‘I DID teach her that though. She said mama! That’s amazing.’ Her face frowned a little. ‘Oh damn, we didn’t get to video it.’ She looked at Hannah who was looking at Ava with tears streaming down her face. ‘Oh love, bless ya!’ She reached for a hankie from the dispenser on the sideboard, and Hannah took it.
‘She said mama, not dada. I thought babies usually said dada first.’ He’d gloated when she’d told him that from the pregnancy books. She shouldn’t have told him, of course. She learnt what to hide eventually. He was so excited to be a father to everyone on the outside, looking in. He made all the right noises, but barely bothered in reality. When the novelty was bright and shiny. Since Ava had started babbling and trying to make sounds, Hannah realised now she’d been dreading the word the whole time.
‘Well,’ Ruby said, moving to sit both of them down. Hannah sat down without complaint, and Ruby put her arm around her. Ava was busy spooning porridge into her mouth, with mixed success. ‘Not always. My first word was “bubble”, apparently.’ She grinned when Hannah laughed. ‘I know, I was ahead of the curve, even then. She saw you, and the word came to her. It’s as simple as that.’ She pointed at Ava, who was now repeating her new word and showing her teeth as she laughed at herself. ‘Look at her, Hannah. She’s thriving, she’s happy. You’re her world, and that’s why she said mama. Now.’ Hannah felt Ruby’s fingers on her arm. ‘Are you going to tell us what’s going on?’
Hannah looked at her daughter, laughing and enjoying the moment, safe and happy. This is who she was in Leadsham. She was mama, and she was here to stay.
‘I need your help,’ Hannah said. ‘I have things to tell you, things you might not like. If you don’t want to get involved, I won’t say a word against you. I just think it’s time you knew.’
Ruby shook her head, and Hannah’s heart dropped into her boots.
But Ruby said, ‘You’re a friend, this is what friends do. Tell us.’
Reaching into her bag for the item she’d gone home for before bringing Ava here, Hannah passed it to Ruby.
‘This is mine. Was mine. In another life.’
Ruby opened the purse and saw the driving licence registered to Erin Nuffield. With Hannah White’s face. At the side of her, Martine didn’t look shocked. ‘Fuck. I knew it,’ she muttered. ‘You really are one of us.’
When Hannah looked at Martine, the look between the two women before her made everything click. Martine wasn’t surprised; she was remembering. Ruby pulled her close.
‘I got away too,’ Martine said. ‘Before Ruby, I was with a man.’ She clenched her fist over her heart. ‘You won’t have to do this alone. Not on our watch.’
The three women embraced, and Hannah wondered just how many people had their own pain, behind the smiles. She hated Victor all the more for being part of the problem.
‘Thank you,’ Hannah said, and held her friends tight.
At six o’clock that night, Hannah walked into Leadsham Police Station, Ava in her pram. She pushed it right up to the desk, grateful that the small waiting room was empty. It wasn’t the biggest police station, and she felt a little less intimidated. She waited until the female officer behind the counter had finished typing on her computer screen before speaking.
‘How can I help you?’ The officer smiled, and it gave Hannah the impetus to speak.
‘I need to report my husband,’ she said, as clear as a bell. She clenched her fist and pulled the flyer out of her pocket. ‘I left my husband due to him beating me, controlling me, not allowing me to work, and threatening our child.’ She put the flyer down in front of the officer. ‘I ran away from him, and I took my daughter. I have evidence to prove my story.’ The officer didn’t say anything, and Hannah could barely catch her breath. Her heart felt like it was trying to bounce out of her body, and her head was full of screaming voices, all telling her different things. Run.
Leave and run. Don’t ever stop.
She won’t help me.
Please help me. I deserve my own life.
‘He’s after me,’ she pushed out of her mouth. ‘The flyer is from him. He hasn’t been to the police, because he knows that I already did. Before.’ She had records on him after all, from reporting him in the past. ‘I ran away. It was wrong, but I don’t deserve this.’ She pulled her daughter back, so the officer could see her. ‘I did this for her. So I know you asked if you could help me, but was that just what they teach you to trot out?’ She could feel her fear turning into anger now, her past visits to other officers coming to mind. They had tried to help, she supposed, but the law was the law. ‘Or can you actually help us to get out of all this?’
The officer licked her lips, rubbing them against each other before replying.
‘Yes, I can help you. Come through.’ She buzzed the door next to her, and they opened automatically. The officer was standing there, and she held up a finger as she spoke into the radio.
She asked for another officer to return to base, and then turned back to Hannah.
‘Let’s go find a room. Are you safe right now?’ she asked.
Hannah looked her over before answering. ‘For now.’ She nodded, and the officer nodded back, a determined look on her face.
‘Good, my colleague is something of an expert in these cases. He’s on his way back in now.’ She looked down at Ava and opened a door behind her. Inside was a comfortable-looking family room. Couches and a small toy area. Secluded from view, with tempered glass and low blinds.
‘In here?’ Hannah asked. She had been thinking of some grotty interview room.
‘Yes. You’ll be fine here.’ The officer showed her where everything was. ‘Right, drink?’
Hannah nodded. ‘Er, yes. Please.’
‘We have some juice for the little one, in the fridge over there. Won’t be long.’ She closed the door after her, and Hannah felt herself relax a little. She wasn’t in handcuffs quite yet then, for kidnapping her own child and living under a fake name. That might still come, she knew. She’d read enough news stories to know that the abused didn’t always have the law on their side. The kidnapping was true anyway. She’d not given a false name on anything official. She’d been careful. He’d told her enough times what he’d do if she tried to get away. He’d get her sectioned, or declared unfit, then take her daughter. She would rather die than let him take Ava. He would rather kill her than let her live without him. Then what would happen to Ava? It would be too much to ask of Kate, and so his parents would raise her. They saw no wrong in him, or if they did, they never acknowledged it. If Victor even went to prison. If not, it would probably end up being him bringing Ava up …
Forty long minutes later, the officer returned with a colleague, and coffee. They all sat down, and Hannah started to tell her story.
It was late when she finally returned home. Ava was fast asleep in her car seat. Brody had driven to pick them up. He pulled straight up to his house, and she let him take them and their gear inside. She felt like she was on autopilot. Her legs worked, but she was bone-tired, and she had spoken so much that she felt like she didn’t have any words left. She felt dirty and cleansed at the same time.
Ava was changed and settled straight back to sleep. As soon as her eyes closed, Brody took Hannah straight to the en suite.
‘Ruby and Martine got some of your stuff from your house. I thought it would be better than me going through your knicker drawer. I put some bits in here for you, something to wear.’ She nodded at him dumbly, and he leaned in. Lifting his hand, he hooked his finger and put it under her chin. Tilting her to meet his eyes. ‘What can I do?’
He sounded so earnest, so desperate, she kissed him. He stilled, pulling back. ‘Hannah?’
‘You’re already doing everything. Just hold me.’
He held her tight, and when she kissed him again, he didn’t pull back.
When they were showered, fed, and lying in bed, she told him about what had happened. The police had been helpful, and would be on the lookout for any suspicious activity. They’d verified her ID, and advised her to seek legal advice when she could, to start divorce proceedings and custody agreements. They’d spoken with her new GP, who had verified the child’s reason for visiting, and the healthy wellbeing of the child and mother. With the fact that Brody had told his chief about their relationship the same day, telling them of their intention to live together, they seemingly had nothing to worry about with his job either. The fact of their relationship would be kept from Victor, and Brody would be firmly off the case.
They seemed far more concerned with finding Victor on their patch than dealing with Hannah, or Erin as she was. After all, no charges had been filed by Victor. The flyer was with them now, and Hannah felt better not having it with her. She’d been surprised it hadn’t burnt through the cheap lining of her bag.
Brody listened without speaking, just holding her as the little spoon as they lay under the covers. It was easy to tell him things without looking at him, and not seeing his reactions. When she was finished, he turned her to him.
‘Well, tomorrow morning the four of us can get away if you like. I have some time off work arranged, and Lola’s mother is going to be in town for a while, so she is going to help in the shop. No pressure, but I have already done a little bit of packing. Don’t freak out on me, okay? It’s not set in stone.’
She didn’t speak for a full minute, and he didn’t flinch.
‘How much packing?’ she asked with an arched brow. She caught his smile, pulling him in for a kiss. ‘Where are we going to go?’
The relief on his face was obvious. ‘The beach. I have a friend with good contacts too. Private. We don’t have to go, but I did have leave. I thought it would be a good time to get out of Leadsham for a while. Nothing’s booked that can’t be cancelled. A mate owed me a favour.’
Hannah did what she relied on. She answered with her gut. ‘The beach sounds good right about now. A trial extension, eh? A holiday, with a one-year-old? Good luck,’ she teased.
Brody grinned. ‘No freak-outs. That’s a good sign. It’s going to be just the ticket. Trust me.’
‘I do.’ She pulled him close once more. ‘I really do.’