‘If they do leave us in the forest, we’ll find our way home,’ said Hansel to his sister.
Crash!
The final piece of fencing falls down and light floods into the kitchen.
Nick and I watch from the kitchen, listening to the radio play ‘It’s a Wonderful World’.
‘There it goes,’ I say. ‘Our old, safe little space. Bulldozed.’
‘The best decision you ever made, Lorna,’ says Nick. ‘It feels great. All this light.’
‘I’ll tell you a bad decision,’ I say. ‘This vegan cheese. I should have paid more for the cashew nut stuff. I mean look at this.’ I give the yellow cube a prod. ‘It feels like a pencil eraser and smells like feet.’
‘Liberty won’t mind,’ said Nick. ‘She’ll be feeling too happy about her exam results to notice the finer details of her vegan feast. Assuming she got the results she wanted.’
‘Of course she will,’ I say. ‘Neither of us need to worry about Liberty and exams.’
‘Lucky her to be born with that brain,’ says Nick. ‘My parents gave me a clip around the ear on my exam-results day.’
‘The house feels good with the fences down, doesn’t it?’ I look at the tree-lined street and blue sky. Then I see Liberty and her bandmates bounding towards the house, talking and laughing, dressed in tight jeans, oversized boots, leather and hand-printed T-shirts.
‘There they are,’ says Nick. ‘The next Oasis. I’ve never seen so much ripped denim.’
‘All change today, right?’ I say. ‘The start of something new.’
Nick starts singing the song from High School Musical, about this being the start of something new.
I cover my eyes. ‘Don’t let those guys hear you sing that.’
‘Liberty knows who I am,’ says Nick. ‘Lame and proud. And we’re getting on better for it.’
The radio music fades into the six o’clock news:
The death toll rises today as more human remains are found at Huntingdon Wood.
Nick kisses my head. ‘I know it’s horrible. But at least everything is out in the open now. The truth heals.’
‘It is horrible,’ I agree. ‘But it’s also like putting down a heavy backpack. The world knowing. And being able to talk with you about it. I thought you’d run away screaming. I have to pinch myself that you stuck around.’
‘I’d never leave you. You know that.’
‘I wish I’d told you the truth when we first met. You’re right. The truth heals. And now everything’s so much better. With Liberty. With everything. We have the family we want.’
‘We’re doing great. We’re all doing great.’
I like living with a personal trainer. It’s very motivating.
The remains, believed to be female, were discovered this afternoon in the private woodland belonging to singer Michael Reyji Ray. Two female bodies have already been identified at Ray’s Sussex home as those of Annalise Cannon, daughter of singer-songwriter Cat Cannon, and Karla Muller, a German teenager who went missing at the height of Ray’s fame.
It is thought Michael Reyji Ray killed the women, dismembered their bodies and buried them in his grounds. Annalise Cannon’s body was partially burned.
Ray died at his home earlier this year, whilst holding his daughter and ex-partner captive. He sustained fatal injuries from an exploding shotgun and a dog attack.
A video of Ray threatening his daughter with a shotgun has had over 10.6 billion views.
Michael Reyji Ray’s wife, Diane Ray, has now moved out of the singer’s former home. Mrs Ray, heard speaking here from her new home in New York, claims to have been fooled by the singer:
‘This has shattered my whole world. I was married to Michael for twenty years. He was a caring and loving partner. The man who killed those girls is a man I never met. I’m still hoping to wake up from this nightmare.’
Diane Ray faces charges of—
Nick flicks the radio off. ‘Focus on the positive, yeah?’
I nod. ‘Agreed. You know, I feel sorry for Diane. She was a victim too.’
‘She chose to look the other way, didn’t she? I mean, she must have had some idea of who Michael was.’
‘She was the sort of woman who believed in supporting her husband, no matter what. He was a god to her. Michael played on that. He played everyone.’
‘Well, I think she deserves to be locked up,’ says Nick. ‘If she hadn’t helped protect his image, Michael might have been caught a long time ago.’
‘Maybe. But I don’t think she had a choice. Michael was a predator. He preyed on weaknesses. It’s like telling someone in a prison cell they should get out. They don’t know how.’
I watch Liberty lean her bike against piled-up fencing. Her eyes are wide with wonder and she silently mouths: ‘Whoa’. Then she clatters into the house on long, teenage legs, followed by her bandmates.
‘You got rid of the gates,’ says Liberty, flicking her hair – pink and blue today.
Liberty’s bandmates congregate awkwardly behind her.
‘Hi, Abi,’ I say. ‘Hi, Freddy.’
‘Hello, Mrs Armstrong. Hello, Mr Armstrong.’
‘The garden looks good, right?’ I coax.
‘Very cool,’ says Liberty. ‘But what does Darcy think about it? It’s a big change. You know how she feels about change.’
‘You can ask her,’ says Nick, turning to the staircase. ‘She’s home already. Darcy. DARCY! Tell Bibberty what you think of the fences.’
Darcy comes carefully down the stairs one at a time, concentrating on each step. Then she lifts her head, sees Liberty and her bandmates and says, ‘You mustn’t wear double denim.’
Everyone laughs, except Freddy, who’s wearing double denim.
Liberty takes Darcy’s hand. ‘Have you seen the garden?’
Darcy squints at the sunshine, and takes a long time to scan the new, open front lawn and street.
‘Yes.’
‘Do you like the change?’
‘I can see the postbox.’
‘Yes. And you’ll be able to see me coming home,’ says Liberty. ‘So you don’t need to worry anymore.’
‘So we all like the change, right?’ I say.
‘I love it.’ Liberty gives me a hug tight enough for me to feel her bones. ‘You’re the best, Mama. Thank you.’
‘What about your exam results then, Libs?’ Nick asks. ‘Good news?’
‘I did okay,’ says Liberty. More hair flicking.
Freddy shows beautiful white teeth. ‘We all got As across the board, Mrs Armstrong.’ His smile falters. ‘Except for one C in my case. Home Economics. The teacher warned me soufflés are tricky under exam conditions. I should have listened.’
‘Well done all of you. Wow. That’s amazing.’ I grin at Liberty. ‘How did I get the honour of regular dinners with a girl genius and her genius friends, huh? Lucky me.’
‘The food looks wonderful, Mrs Armstrong,’ says Freddy. ‘Thank you for all your hard work.’
‘Yes, thank you, Mrs Armstrong and Mr Armstrong,’ says Abi.
They’re such good kids. I can’t think why I was so afraid of Liberty hanging out with them.
‘I hope you’re hungry,’ I say. ‘And everything is vegan. Plant-based. Nick and I have been obsessively checking supermarket labels.’
‘Plant-based?’ Liberty’s eyes widen. ‘As in plants cruelly ripped out of the ground? I’m not up for torturing vegetables anymore, Mum. I’ve decided to only eat foods that have fallen naturally to the ground. Fruit, basically.’
I stare at her. ‘But … I bought this vegan cheese and shredded two knuckles grating it over the salad. Do you know how hard it is to prepare rubber cheese?’
Liberty and her bandmates snigger. Nick is laughing too. Darcy watches everyone’s faces closely, completely confused.
‘Oh, right.’ I put a hand to my cheek. ‘It’s a hilarious joke. Very funny.’
Liberty throws a long arm around my shoulder. ‘I have to tease you sometimes, Mama. Or you’d take life too seriously. Thank you for the dinner. It looks amazing. And thank you for taking the fences down.’
‘It’s okay,’ I say. ‘It was hard. It’s made me realize you’ll leave me one day.’ My lip starts to wobble and I feel hot tears welling up.
‘But not today.’ Liberty squeezes my shoulder. She shakes her head at her friends. ‘Parents. They’re so emotional, aren’t they? Must be the hormones. Hey, Mum – what time is Cannon getting here?’
‘Cat?’ I check my watch. ‘You really should call her Nanna or Grandma or something … I don’t know … more respectable.’
‘She won’t let me. She says it makes her feel old.’
‘She’ll be here any minute.’
‘Cat won’t make us chant before we eat again, will she?’ asks Liberty.
‘Oh, please no,’ says Nick. ‘It took hours last time.’
‘Come on, guys,’ I say. ‘You know Cat comes from a good place. And she’s been amazing for Liberty’s band. Not many teenagers get to record at Britannia Studios.’
‘Yeah, I got lucky with one of my long-lost relatives,’ says Liberty. ‘The other one … not so much. But hey. You can’t choose your family, right?’
I think, usually you can’t.
But if I had to choose Liberty again, and everything that came with her, I’d choose her a million times over.