Free S is for Stranger by Louise Stone Page A

your eyes again, Sophie. That’s really good. How did it feel? Was it warm?’
    ‘Yeah, it was pretty warm. The sun was on my face.’
    ‘OK, and then you had a call. So you got your phone out of your bag?’
    I nodded. ‘I got my phone out and I was looking over there.’ I pointed, not opening my eyes.
    ‘Right, and this woman’s voice, did you know right away that this was the same woman who spoke to Amy earlier? The same one you saw outside the hamburger joint?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘And how do you think you came to that conclusion, because I presume you had never heard her voice before?’
    I hadn’t thought about that. ‘Gut instinct, I guess.’
    I sensed Darren shuffle slightly. A couple walked past chatting, then stopped as they came up alongside us. I opened my eyes, suddenly self-conscious. Darren smiled.
    ‘Don’t worry, it’s London. They won’t have thought anything of it.’
    I nodded, closed my eyes, willed my mind to focus. ‘Yes, I knew it was her. I could just sense it, the woman’s voice sounded so familiar, like a voice you would never forget.’
    ‘OK, did you hear anything else? Maybe in the background?’
    ‘No,’ I started, and then my eyes snapped open. ‘Yes, I do remember. I thought I heard someone calling my name.’
    ‘Could it have been Amy?’
    ‘No, it was really similar to the voice on the phone.’
    ‘So this woman was speaking to you and you could hear another person calling your name? A woman or a child? Go on, try and go further with that, Sophie.’
    ‘I didn’t think anything of it, thought it was just some woman nearby, a strange coincidence, you know? But come to think of it it’s like there were two of them on the phone.’ I squinted into the sun.
    Darren came up and held my arm. ‘That was good. Really good.’ He gestured in front of him. ‘Let’s talk about Bethany. Tell me about when you first met her.’
    We walked and talked, and I felt comfortable.
    ‘As soon as I saw her, I knew it was love. Bethany was beautiful.’ I blushed. ‘I mean not in that way, but she had a magic about her.’
    He nodded and I went on.
    ‘She wasn’t beautiful in an obvious way, no. She had a slightly wonky front tooth and when she was sad,’ I paused, ‘which turned out to be quite often, it’s hard to explain but it was as if her face didn’t emanate the same glow, the same wonder.’
    ‘What did you feel about Bethany when she was sad?’ He gently kicked at some leaves as his foot hit the grass.
    ‘I loved her in those moments as much as any. Because, on those few occasions, she needed me. I always wanted her to need me because she knew I needed her.’
    ‘Why did you need her?’
    I shrugged. ‘I’m not sure, I think it was because she just got me. No one, not even my boyfriends,’ I stopped, ‘including Oliver, ever got me like she did.’
    ‘So tell me about when you first met.’
    We rounded the green now and started heading back on ourselves.
    ‘We had introduced ourselves briefly on the first day. She had been dropped off by her mother and, I could tell, her mum was relieved that Bethany had met someone who might look out for her daughter. To be honest, Bethany hadn’t struck me as the kind of girl who needed protection.’ I chuckled. ‘She had bags of confidence. Or, at least, I had thought she did. Within minutes of introductions, we were swept out the door by our other housemates and we all headed to the student union bar. I tried to talk further with her, but I was jostling for her attention. The guys couldn’t keep their eyes off her!’
    ‘Did you find her attractive?’ Darren was gazing into the distance as we spoke.
    ‘Yes, I mean she had long legs and tanned arms – she had clearly been in the sun over the summer.’ I smiled. ‘In contrast, I was pasty – I hadn’t got out much, not since the accident – choosing to spend my time in my room.’
    Darren slowed. ‘The accident?’
    I swallowed hard. ‘Yeah, I remember it had