Forget Me Never

just fine, then something happens and you realize just how fragile it all is,’ Mum carried on. ‘What if the burglars had attacked us? I can’t protect you and your sister from something like that. There’s only so much I can do – and that makes me feel I’m not enough.’
    ‘Don’t say that.’ It came out sounding awkward.
    Mum sniffed, then gave me a thin smile. ‘Listen to me. No point going on, is there? Are you home this evening, or out?’
    ‘Home.’ I hadn’t given the matter any thought, but I knew it was the answer she wanted. We ended up watching one of her costume dramas. I hated it when Mum went needy like this. It made me miss Dad. And it made me feel inadequate.
    At least this coming week I’d have something new to focus on, if the plan I’d outlined to Sophie a few hours ago had legs. When I’d explained, Sophie had cried, ‘ Undercover work experience? Are you for real?
    ‘Wouldn’t have said it if I wasn’t.’ I’d quite enjoyed the indignation in her voice.
    ‘This isn’t a detective story, Reece! And you’re not a secret agent! Those films you watch have messed with your mind. D’you seriously think you’re going to find anything?’
    ‘Might,’ I’d said. ‘You’ve got to admit, work experience there would be a good way to poke about. Vaughan-Bayard’s deffo a part of this.’
    ‘What makes you think you should do this? Danielle was my cousin.
    ‘Use your brain, thicko! Stalker Aiden works there. You want to run into him?’
    Sophie had gone silent.
    ‘Aiden would know you were up to something the moment he saw you, but he won’t know who I am,’ I’d continued, pretty confident that the man wouldn’t recognize me from the brief glimpse he’d caught of me back in Bournemouth. ‘Once I’m in I can get chatting to people. There’s got to be some trace of what they were up to.’
    ‘The company might not do work experience. They might think it’s odd.’
    ‘Most big companies are cool with it,’ I’d said, though I had no evidence to back that one up. ‘It’s free labour. Schools always encourage students to use the summer “productively”. I can just lie and say I’m thinking of doing pharmacy at uni. I go to a nice posh school and I’m taking sciences next year. They’ll swallow it.’
    ‘They’ll make you work. It’s the holiday. Isn’t there other stuff you’d rather be doing?’
    ‘Why d’you always have to look for negatives? It’ll only be for a week. It’s not like I had plans.’
    It was almost like she didn’t want my help. I’d felt a little annoyed. Wanting me around on one hand, pushing me away on the other; Sophie was so bloody inconsistent. But then she had had a shock. Never in a million years had we been expecting to stumble on to those emails on the phone. Up until now I’d not believed there had been anything unusual about Danielle’s death. But now while it still looked like a suicide, it was clear that she was up to her eyes in something dodgy. I couldn’t help feeling hyped up. I’d been expecting this to be a quiet summer holiday – lots of cricket, sun, lazing about and ignoring my school assignments. Now Soph and I were involved in espionage.
    After a moment Sophie had sighed. ‘I guess doing this just makes it seem . . . well, serious.’
    ‘That’s the way I roll, doll,’ I’d said lightly, and Sophie had laughed.
    ‘OK, fine. It’s a good idea. And I might be able to help you get a foot in the door. Dani had this mate, Cherie, from work – I met her briefly at Dani’s funeral. I could contact her and say I’ve got a friend who wants work experience. She might be able to pull a few strings.’
    Cherie had certainly done that. It turned out she was the Head of Research’s PA, so had quite a bit of power. That didn’t surprise me. Everything had been sorted out more quickly than we’d dared hope. Come next Monday, I’d be inside Vaughan-Bayard.
    I wanted to set a good impression on my first day of work experience so I made sure I arrived bang on nine thirty. Mum had been delighted when she’d heard what I was doing, especially about my ‘wanting to study pharmacy at uni’. She’d always been worried about my ambition to play cricket at county or even country level in the future, saying that it wouldn’t lead to a steady income, and how if I got injured I wouldn’t be qualified for anything else. I felt bad about drawing her into the lie but what other option was there? Running a hand