mum is desperate to hear from him.
After deciding it might be worth going to St Albans to visit Kevin’s parents if indeed they still lived there, Rachel turned her attention to the postcards. Again she concentrated on those years she felt would most likely provide answers. By two in the morning her glass was empty, she was very tired but in front of her was a little pile of twelve picture postcards mostly of Whitby, they were all signed B. Rachel had a lot to talk to Emma about but it would have to wait until morning.
The next morning, over coffee and toast Rachel explained what she had discovered from the letters and postcards the night before and to her relief Emma did not breakdown or start to cry, instead she was upbeat and eager to make the trip to St Albans. Just after lunch they set off using the Range Rover from the stables, taking with them their overnight bags and some of the letters, postcards and diaries.
The Trip To St Albans: Part 1
More revelations:
On the way down the motorway as Emma studied the twelve postcards from B, another bit of the jigsaw fell into place. Most of what B had written was chitchat about her visits to see her elderly mother in Whitby but a simple P.S. at the bottom of one of the cards instantly answered one of the most disturbing questions of all. “PS. back in the surgery on Tuesday. Will ring if E’s test results are back.” The date of the postmark was the Friday before Kevin left for university. In that instant everything became clear to them; that very close friend of Emma’s mother must also be the administrator at the doctor’s surgery and would have had full access to all patient records. She would have known about the pregnancy test that Emma had gone for and she would have known about her miscarriage. Perhaps out of misguided friendship or for some other reason, B had abused her position and passed on very personal and confidential information to Emma’s mother.
About halfway towards St Albans Rachel drove in to one of the motorway service points. She wanted to stretch her legs, have a mug of coffee and take stock of the situation. The contents of the green suitcase had revealed many things and answered many questions; already they had a pretty good idea of what had gone on and who, as Rachel described them, were the ‘key players’ but some big questions still remained unanswered. They included , “What happened to Kevin? Where is he now? What are his feelings for Emma now? In the five years that have passed has he got back in touch with his parents?” Perhaps the biggest question of all, as they pondered everything they now knew was, “What if Kevin is there when we knock on the door in St Albans?” The very thought of that sent a nervous shiver down Emma’s spine.
With that last question in mind they drove on in relative silence. Emma was trying to think of what she would say or do if Kevin answered the door and the more she thought about it the more scared and uncertain she became. Rachel wasn’t so much concerned about who or what they might find but was instead thinking ahead as to how she might support Emma if things went drastically wrong or if she was told something that devastated her. Then, fifty or so miles further on and with her ‘sensible head’ on, Rachel determined that they had embarked on this journey knowing the outcome may not be what Emma was hoping for, but she was a grown up of twenty four living her life in distorted memories of the past. Whatever the outcome, the time had come to face reality and deal with things no matter how difficult or unpleasant they may be. It was time for Emma to live in the present. Holding that thought in her mind Rachel drove on feeling much happier about things then turned the radio on.
The Trip To St Albans: Part 2
Kevin’s mother:
By half past five they had reached the centre of St Albans. Rachel stopped when she spotted a postman busily emptying a post