Free Eva and the Hidden Diary by Judi Curtin Page B

hairdresser ruined your hair?’
    Then she tossed her perfect blonde curls. ‘Oh silly me,’ she said. ‘I forgot your hair always looks like that. You should try doing something different with it some time – like washing it.’
    Then she and Andrea laughed, like that was the funniest  thing they’d heard in hundreds of years.
    I tried to think of a smart reply, but looking at Kate’s sad face distracted me, and I couldn’t think of a single word to say.
    Now Andrea stepped forward. She touched Kate’s shirt – a really cool one that Zoe had bought for her a few days earlier. ‘That’s lovely, Kate,’ she said. ‘It’s amazing what a granny can do with a sewing machine and an old duvet cover.’
    Kate pulled her arm away, but she said nothing, and that made me even madder.
    I wondered if I’d get sent to jail if I punched Cathy and Andrea. For a second I wondered if it might even be worth it, just for the sensation of my knuckles crunching onto their ugly green lips.
    Unfortunately though, I don’t believe in violence, so I took Kate’s arm and dragged her away towards the shop. At the last second, I looked back. ‘Hey, girls,’ I called. ‘I like the green lips. Did you get them from snogging snails?’
    But Cathy and Andrea were laughing at something else, and they didn’t even hear me.

    When we got back home I stopped at the gate of our house.
    ‘I’ve got to bring the shopping in to Mum,’ I said. ‘Do you want to come in for a bit? Or we could go for a walk or something.’
    Kate shook her head. ‘No, thanks,’ she said. ‘I’m going to see if Zoe wants me to mind Simon for a while. I want to spend lots of time with him – so he won’t forget me when he leaves,’
    ‘If,’ I said. ‘If he leaves.’
    But Kate was already gone.

Chapter Thirteen
    A while later, Mum looked out the kitchen window towards the lane. ‘That car is there again,’ she said.
    ‘What car?’ I asked.
    ‘That fancy big blue one. That’s the third time I’ve seen it today. I’m beginning to think I should report it to Gerry the policeman. Whoever is lurking around can’t be up to any good.’
    I didn’t look up from my book. Even in Seacove, a car in a lane isn’t much to get excited about.
    ‘Is there someone in the car?’ I asked, not really caring either way.
    ‘Yes,’ said Mum, ‘There’s a woman sitting in the driver’s seat. But I don’t recognise her. I wonder if I should …’
    I knew she wasn’t going to let it go, so I put my book down and walked towards the window.
    ‘OMG,’ I said. ‘That’s ……’
    ‘That’s who?’ asked Mum, but I was too excited to answer her. I picked up my phone and texted Kate.
    Come out – NOW!!!!
    By the time I got outside, Kate was coming out of her front door. There was no time to talk. There was no time to plan what we were going to do.
    We both walked towards the car. The driver, George Eades’ granddaughter, had climbed out, and was standing staring at my house. She gave a small, embarrassed smile when she saw Kate and me.
    ‘Oh, hello, girls,’ she said.
    ‘Hi,’ said Kate and I together. I hadn’t madeup my mind yet how friendly I was going to be, so I didn’t say anything else.
    ‘Is this the house where Daisy Lavelle used to live?’ asked the woman.
    I nodded, not sure what exactly was going on. This woman had made it clear that she didn’t want to help us, so why had she suddenly shown up? Why was she poking around and asking questions about people she’d claimed to know nothing about?
    It was like she could read my mind.
    ‘Since you two girls came to see me, I’ve been thinking a lot about the Lavelle family,’ she said. ‘I can’t manage to get them out of my mind.’
    ‘You and me both,’ I muttered.
    The woman leaned against her car, almost like she needed all of her energy for what she was going to say next.
    ‘My grandfather wasn’t a bad man,’ she said. ‘But I’m afraid he did a very bad thing.’
    Now