Carla was already awake, sitting at the table with a cup of tea when Ronnie finally came in. She didn’t look up right away. She just let the silence sit there until he started shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “When did you come to bed last night?
” she asked. “Late,” he said. “Didn’t get back till late. ”
“Where were you?
”
“At the hotel. Saying goodbye. ”
“To who? ”
“To everything.
”
Carla put her cup down slowly. “I don’t understand. ”
He finally sat across from her, and the weight of it came out all at once. Carl had given him an ultimatum.
Either Ronnie signed half the hotel over to him, or he would send Ronnie to prison. The moment those words landed, Carla shook her head. “No, Debbie. No.
”
“You’re the one who put him in hospital,” Ronnie said. “What was I supposed to do? Just let him walk all over us? All over you?
”
“I asked you not to let him get in your head. I begged you. ”
“All I do, all I’ve ever tried to do, is protect you. ”
“Yeah.
Exactly. ” Her voice went sharp and quiet. “So if you go to prison, what then? ”
He looked at her, steady.
“Who do you think I want by my side, holding my hand when this beast of an illness finally comes for me? There’s only one person, Ronnie. And that’s you. ”
“Hello.
What do you think you’re doing? ”
Carl was already behind the bar at the Rovers when they walked in. He had his jacket off and his sleeves rolled up like he owned the place, which was precisely the point he was trying to make. “Get out from behind the bar,” Ronnie said.
“Whose bar? ”
“What are you talking about? ”
“Whose bar? ” Carl repeated, smiling as he poured himself a drink.
“Look at the look on your little face. That’s right, sunshine. Heard it first. Deb’s signing over half the hotel to me.
And by my reckoning, that makes this half with the bar in it mine. ”
“This is a joke, yeah? ”
“No joke. And as your new boss, I order you to clean up after me.
”
“No chance. ”
“Okay, then once you’ve done that, you can grab your coat, because you, my friend, are fired. ”
George was wiping down a table when he saw the young woman come in looking like she’d been dragged through a hedge backwards. He called her over, gave her a warm nod, and told her he wasn’t a therapist, but if she ever needed someone to talk to, he was only across the way.
“Thanks,” she said quietly. “See you later, love. ”
But George had something else on his mind. He found the person he needed and leaned in close.
“I saw Theo yesterday. He said these things, just awful things about Billy. Said I should have seen the look on Billy’s face while he begged for his own life. Said Todd is his, and if I’m not careful, he’ll bury me too.
”
“Do you know he’s nothing but a nasty, wicked piece of work, that Theo. ”
“Permission to give you a hug? ”
“Permission granted. ”
Carla ran her hands down the front of her dress, checked herself in the mirror, and turned to find Gail watching her with a proud, watery smile.
“You look beautiful,” Gail said. “No, you do. You look gorgeous. ”
“If you’re going to miss me tonight, give over.
You’ll have a whale of a time without me. ”
“I don’t know about that. Who put Sally Metcalfe in charge of my hen do? ”
“She sort of just took over.
”
“Mhm. Doesn’t sound like it suddenly, does it? ”
Carla was trying to find out where everything was happening, but nobody would give her a straight answer. It was a surprise, they said.
Somewhere quiet in town. Kit was working, so it would be her and some colleagues from BTP and one from the dog unit. She narrowed her eyes. “What?
”
“Suspicious. ”
“It isn’t. ”
“Fine. You do you.
”
Meanwhile, the hunt for Megan had reached a dead end, and the pressure was building. “Have you searched Will’s room? ” someone asked. “What for?
”
“Anything that might give an indication as to where Megan’s gone. ”
“Is that a good idea? It’s an invasion of his privacy. ”
“Yeah, for good reason.
Last time I went through his school bag, it went down like a sack of Swedes. ”
“But there’s far more important things to worry about than invading Will’s privacy. ”
“I’m not wrong, am I? ”
“No.
You’re not wrong. ”
Around the corner, Ronnie was standing alone with his thoughts when someone approached him. He still couldn’t shake the guilt of what he’d done, the fist-first moment that had started all of this. “I still shouldn’t have done what I did.
I thought I’d learned to be smarter than all that. ”
“You are. You have. ”
“I have a better idea.
I’m handing myself in to the police. ”
“No. No way. ”
“Then he’s got nothing over you.
”
“Apart from the satisfaction he’ll have for taking you away from me. ”
“They won’t put me away forever. ”
“One day without you feels like forever. ”
The argument went back and forth.
She pointed out that he had Kevin and Abby, that he wouldn’t be alone. But Ronnie insisted this was the only way to end the sick power Carl was trying to wield over her. “Before you do anything, let me talk to him,” she said. “Just let me try one more time.
”
The hen do was in full swing, and the drinks were flowing. Sally had organized everything down to the minute, which was exactly the problem. There was only one thing getting on everyone’s nerves, and it was sitting in a Tupperware container in the middle of the table. “That’s ten minutes of my life I’ll never get back,” someone muttered.
“What was? ”
“Tia’s chickpea, tofu, lentil curry. ”
“Where is it? ”
“We ate it all, obviously.
”
“Even though you didn’t like it. ”
“It wasn’t a case of us not liking it. It just wasn’t right for the Rovers. ”
“I thought Ollie did all the food here.
”
“He does. But I’m the chief taster. ”
“Tester. ”
“Do you know what it is with so many questions from you?
”
While the night carried on at the Rovers, someone else was slipping into Will’s room, moving fast and quiet. The pockets didn’t matter. It was the lining. He’d used to hide loads of stuff in his own pockets back in the day.
WKDs, knick-knacks, bits he didn’t want anyone finding. The phone was tucked away neatly, but there was only one contact on it. “Megan. ”
“So we’ll text her and arrange to meet.
Then we show up instead. ”
“Exactly. ”
And with that, the plan was set. Back at the Rovers, the bride-to-be made her entrance, and Maria didn’t miss the opportunity to get a comment in.
“Here she is. Queen of the underworld, Carla Connor herself. ”
“Hi. ”
“Soon-to-be, well, actually, you’ll still be Penelope Connor.
”
“No, I won’t. I’ll be Carla Connor Flynn. ”
“No, you can’t be. Because that’s double-barreled, isn’t it?
You, the poshest person who’s ever worked in a backstreet knicker factory. ”
“Your bum’s gone wonky. ”
“Apologies, Carla. I declined the tail, but Sally and I came to a compromise about Tia.
”
“What? ”
“Flash it, Sally. Flash it. ”
“Rise and shine, lady.
Do you love it? ”
“I love it. It’s jazzy. Well done.
”
“I just had a concern it might induce a migraine. ”
“Great. Well, I’ve got an itinerary all set up for tonight. ”
And so it went.
Guess the dress. Pin the ring on the bride. And then Mrs. and Mrs.
“She can’t do Mrs. and Mrs. ,” someone pointed out. “Why not?
”
“Lisa’s not here. ”
“Maybe next time, Maria, you could pull your finger out and come up with something. ”
“Has anyone seen Roy? ”
“He’s in the gents.
”
“Who gave him permission to do that? He’s meant to be doing the toast. ”
Roy came in, flustered, and was handed a drink he didn’t want. He asked for a ginger ale but no one was listening.
The toast needed to happen on schedule. Roy cleared his throat and raised his glass. “I’d like to take this opportunity to wish Carla every happiness. ”
“To Carla!
”
While the Rovers got louder, Liv was sitting in the kitchen with her phone in her hand, staring at the screen. The message she’d sent to her parents sat unread. She looked over at the someone else in the room. “Your parents are going to be wondering where you are, you know.
”
“Are you being serious? They love you. So much that they missed my cello recital. ”
“Cello, isn’t that that massive violin?
”
“Yeah. ”
“Right, Liv. I really do think you should be making tracks. ”
“Mom and Dad won’t even notice I’m not there.
”
“How long was our Jodie or Nanny for, then? ”
“She was the best. ”
“Hey, do you want to stay for your tea? ”
“No, no, no, no.
I don’t want your parents breathing down my neck. ”
“You won’t like our food, you know. ”
“Surely she can slum it with us for a night of turkey dinosaurs, chips, and peas? ”
“That sounds great.
Thank you so much. ”
Later, when things had settled, they got to talking. “When you’re out of this protection thing, maybe we can go shopping. Do you remember when we used to get our hair and makeup done?
”
“What protection thing? ”
“Just this safeguarding thing our parents put in place. Anyway, what can I help you with? ”
“Oh, you know what?
You go to all this trouble trying to organize something inclusive, intersectional, and non-unconsciously biased, and then you forget something as basic as the pins. ”
“Happens to the best of us. ”
Back at the Rovers, the bride-to-be’s night had taken an awkward turn. Word was getting around that the street’s own Sally Metcalfe was meant to be having a hen do of her own, but it had fallen apart.
Carla caught her at the bar. “Aren’t you meant to be at your hen do? ”
“Nothing happened. No one actually organized anything for me.
”
“No. ”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but that’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard. ”
“And what is the right way to take it? ”
“Carla said you were having one.
”
“Yeah, well, I lied. ”
“Ooh, and you’re a proponent of the law. ”
“I know. But please, whatever you do, don’t tell Carla.
”
“Well, I won’t. But you will, because you’re coming back to the Rovers with me. ”
“No, no, no. It’s Carla’s night.
I don’t want to be one of those pitiful tag-along fiancées, thank you. ”
“Don’t be daft, come on. Put that meal for one back. You’re coming with me.
”
Back in the hotel, the confrontation had reached its breaking point. Carl stood in the middle of the lobby, arrogant and patient, waiting for Ronnie to crack. “What’s all this about then? Got the paperwork drawn up and ready for me to sign, have you?
”
“How can you do this to me? ”
“Dev, we’ve been through all this. You take away the one thing that gives me purpose, makes me feel alive. ”
“And I hate to be a scumbag about it, but well, I am.
”
“Damn right you are. ”
“Well, hey, there we go. Finally, we agree on something. Anyway, this is getting boring.
Go and get a pen, quick as you can, and I’ll be on my way. ”
“There is no pen. There is no paperwork. ”
“Why not?
”
“Because I’m not signing half my hotel over to you. ”
“Ronnie is going to enjoy a nice few days at His Majesty’s pleasure, isn’t he? ”
“I’ll give you some money instead. ”
“No, I don’t want money.
I want the hotel. ”
“You sound like a spoiled child. ”
“And how would you know what a spoiled child sounds like anyway? You dumped yours first chance you got, remember?
”
“How have I upset you now? Have I disappointed you? ”
“No, you haven’t disappointed me. I’ve disappointed myself.
I thought all your behaviors were the actions of a hurt little boy. But they’re not, are they? They’re just the actions of a cruel, bad man. And I have tried.
Oh, yes, I have tried so hard to love you. But the truth is, you’re just not lovable. ”
At the Rovers, the party was still going, but the mood had shifted. Carla looked around the room and felt the heavy silence pressing in.
The games had stalled. The pins were missing. The whole night felt like it was slipping sideways. “Mom.
Hi. What are you doing here? Is everything all right? ”
“I caught this one on a long sun about to buy a microwave meal for one.
Why? ”
“All right, well, the truth is nobody at work could actually organize anything for me, so—”
“It’s fine. This isn’t really my thing, is it? And I don’t want to gatecrash yours, so I’m going.
”
“Oh, no, you don’t. You are so getting involved. ”
“Right, now that’s all been sorted by me. Sean, turn the music down and Ryan, up you jump.
We’re going to play Mr. and Mrs. ”
And somewhere outside, in the cold and the dark, a new problem was forming. A voice cut through the noise, sharp and dangerous.
“Why don’t you do us all a favor and crawl back under that revolting stone that you slithered out of? ”
“What do you want? ”
“It’s what every single person on this street wants, mate. Especially Todd.
”
“Well, I’ve got news for you fellas. That’s what you want. That’s exactly what I’m not going to do. ”
“You’re going to forget the fact that you’re not allowed near him?
”
“Yeah, looks like it. ”
“Listen, you. Go anywhere near Summer or Todd again, and I will not be responsible for my actions. ”
“It wasn’t on purpose.
What’s said is said. It was in the heat of the moment. ”
“His heart was breaking right in front of me. ”
“What?
Do you think that’s what he needed? ”
“Maybe. But that truth, I don’t know if even heartbreak changes people like him. ”
The night was far from over.
And the street was holding its breath.
