Forget Me Never

junction – thankfully no other cars were involved. Even though I’d not lived with Mum for several years and rarely saw her, it still made a huge impact. The best way to describe how I felt was numb. At least Dani had been going through the same thing. That shared experience gave us a bond nothing could break. Her being around made me feel better. Not only about Mum, but about a lot of things. We just ‘got’ each other.
    Perry nodded, looking sympathetic. Slightly reassured, I said, ‘Dani had got her life together. She’d finished a course in computing and got a decent job. She was proud of that – sometimes she was scatty, but never at work. Computers made more sense to her than people did, I think.’
    ‘Did you see much of her once she started work?’ Perry asked.
    ‘Sometimes when she was down I didn’t see her for a while,’ I admitted. ‘We only met when she was happy – which is why her killing herself that weekend just doesn’t make sense.’
    Perry asked about the photos and how I’d made the link to Aiden Anderson. Now that I was explaining, in this bright, serious little room, it sounded a bit daft, like something a teenager might do because she was bored and wanted attention. I could tell Julie wasn’t buying it; she wasn’t saying anything, but she’s not difficult to read.
    ‘I’m not messing about, or saying that he pushed her,’ I said when I’d finished explaining. ‘Not exactly. I’m just sure it’s worth investigating.’
    ‘Do you think whatever passed between Danielle and the man you’re calling Aiden Anderson could have left her worked up enough to take her own life? I mean, rather than her mental state?’ Grace said suddenly. I’d almost forgotten he was there; evidently he’d been listening after all.
    ‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘From what Reece says, she seemed agitated when she saw him outside the flat, and she definitely was when she saw him in town.’
    Perry stood, nodding for Grace to turn off the recording. ‘Thanks for coming to see us, Sophie – you’ve done the right thing. We’ll speak to your friend Reece and see if we can have a word with Mr Anderson. We’ll be in touch.’
    ‘OK,’ I said. I must have sounded unconvinced, because Perry said, ‘Don’t worry, Sophie. If there’s anything untoward, we’ll find it.’
    Julie and I walked home in silence. As we let ourselves into the house, I said, ‘You’re not happy.’
    ‘Can’t say I am,’ Julie said with a sigh.
    ‘It’s not like I wanted to drag you down there,’ I said stiffly. ‘Didn’t mean to cause you any trouble.’
    ‘It’s OK. Stuff happens, Sophie. If this means an extra social-worker visit, so be it – it’ll be nice to have some adult company.’ She flashed me a smile. The adult-company comment was meant to be a joke, but it had a serious layer to it too. Julie and her partner had split about a year ago, and it had been touch and go whether she’d be able to keep fostering. She must have found looking after three kids difficult without support, but I never heard her complain. Still, I hated making things harder for her. I opened my mouth to explain what I’d meant, but then Julie said, ‘Don’t let this distract you.’
    Something about the way she said it annoyed me. ‘From what? It’s summer! It’s not like I’m doing much.’
    ‘What I meant was, you’ve a bright future. I don’t want this upsetting you all over again. Talking to the police is all very well, but it’s not going to change anything. At some point you’ve got to accept what’s happened, Sophie. Even though it may be hard.’
    What was she saying – that my gut instinct that something was wrong didn’t matter? I wasn’t in denial about Dani dying – I was just trying to get to the truth. This is the problem when you’re ‘troubled’; everything you do is put under a microscope. People think they have the right to psychoanalyse you and draw conclusions.
    ‘My head’s screwed firmly on, Julie – don’t you worry about that. I’m not going to go off the rails, like my mum did – like everyone’s saying Dani did! And you know something? It’d be easier to get on with my life if people stopped bringing up my past every time I do something they don’t agree with!’
    Julie flinched. After a pause she said, ‘Noted. Calm down. I can understand that this has been a tough time. You know if you want to talk to me I’m here.’
    She went through into the kitchen, and