Give Me Tomorrow.

Jeanne Whitmee.

Chapter One.

'Excuse me, madam, I must ask you to accompany me to the manager's office.'

Karen stared in amazement at the dark-suited man standing at her elbow. 'Why? I don't understand,' she said.

The man put his hand on her arm. 'If you'd just come back into the store with me ...'

Karen shook the hand off indignantly. 'Just tell me what the problem is.' She felt her cheeks warming and her heartbeat quickened as the curious eyes of other shoppers turned towards her. 'What do you want? Who are you?'

The man leaned towards her and lowered his voice. 'Come along now, madam. We don't want to make a scene, do we?'

'I'm not making a scene.' Karen could hear the rising note of alarm in her voice. 'I just want to know why you're asking me to go to the manager's office with you.'

The store detective glanced round him. 'Very well. If you insist, I have reason to believe you are concealing goods for which you have not paid.'

'What?' Karen caught her breath. 'You're accusing me of shoplifting?' She thrust her handbag into his hands. 'Here, look for yourself. My sister will tell you ...'

She turned around to Louise, who had been following her out of the store, only to find that her sister was nowhere to be seen. Bemused, she looked around her. Where on earth had she gone? Turning back to the detective, she saw that he had unzipped her bag and to her horror, the hand he dipped inside emerged holding a fragment of black lace with a store label attached to it. He looked at her triumphantly.

'I think you had better accompany me at once,' he said. 'If you refuse I shall be obliged to call security.'

Karen stared at the man. 'But that's not mine! I've never even seen it before. I didn't ...' Panic-stricken, she looked around again for Louise, who seemed to have vanished into thin air. Acutely aware of the eyes of other shoppers boring into her back, she followed the detective back into the store. As they walked through the ground-floor departments and through a door into a corridor, he was speaking on his mobile phone.

Neville Smith, the store manager, was a small man with an inflated awareness of his important position as manager of Hayward's department store. He wore a baggy grey suit and rimless gla.s.ses, and his thinning hair was carefully combed over his bald patch. He looked up sternly as Karen was presented to him.

'I must inform you here and now that it is the policy of Hayward's to prosecute shoplifters,' he said without preamble. 'We have suffered so much loss over recent months that we have to be stringent.'

'There is some mistake,' Karen said shakily. 'Those things in my bag I didn't take them. Perhaps you should look at your CCTV footage.'

The manager gave a sardonic little smile and pushed his gla.s.ses further up the bridge of his nose. 'May I point out that the fact that they are in your possession is more than enough to prove your guilt.' He glanced at the store detective. 'Did you witness the theft, Marshall?'

The store detective cleared his throat. 'A member of the public alerted me,' he replied.

Karen turned to him. 'Then whoever that was has made a grave mistake.'

Neville Smith treated her to another of his scornful little smiles. 'I'm afraid that's an all too familiar line, madam.'

Karen turned to the store detective. 'So where is this member of the public?'

Smith looked at the store detective. 'I take it you asked her to wait?'

Marshall looked a little fl.u.s.tered. 'I er no.'

Smith sighed. 'How many times must I tell you that any witnesses should be asked to wait?'

'She may still be in the store,' Marshall said quickly. 'I think she was on her way to the coffee lounge. I could probably find her.'

'Then I suggest you do so immediately.' As the detective left the room, the manager turned his attention to Karen. 'In the meantime, madam, would you be good enough to empty your handbag onto the desk?'

'No. I would not be good enough to empty my bag,' Karen said stubbornly. 'Not until you have proved that I am guilty. As I suggested before, surely you only need to view the tape in your CCTV to clear this whole thing up.' She opened her bag and pulled out what she now saw was a set of black lace designer lingerie which she laid on the manager's desk. 'These items are not mine but I did not steal them. Anything else in my bag is private.'

'I must warn you that once we have verified that the witness actually saw you conceal the goods, I shall be obliged to send for the police.'

Karen sighed. Her heart was hammering in her chest but she was determined not to let it show. 'Perhaps I can be permitted to sit down,' she said. If this woman insisted that she saw her take the goods what was she to do? Louise. This was Louise's doing. It had to be. She'd caused plenty of problems in the past but this was the last straw. Where on earth was she? How dare she land her in a mess like this and then just disappear?

'You may be seated,' the manager conceded pompously.

Karen sat down gratefully and an uncomfortable five minutes pa.s.sed as they waited. Then the office door opened to admit Marshall and a flashily dressed woman with magenta hair. Karen stood up and moved aside. Marshall introduced the woman.

'This is Mrs Jones, sir. She is a regular customer here at Hayward's.'

'Quite so.' Smith's beady eyes a.s.sessed the woman's appearance. 'I understand that you witnessed an act of theft this afternoon, Mrs Jones.'

'That's right,' the woman said self-righteously. 'I hate to see a lovely store like Hayward's being taken advantage of. When I saw it I felt I had to report it at once.'

'Very public-spirited, I'm sure.'

'But I don't really want to be involved in any legal action,' she added guardedly. 'I don't want to be called to give evidence in court nor nothing.'

'All I need you to do for now is to identify this person as the one you saw taking the articles.' The manager glowered at the store detective. 'Marshall would you be good enough to step aside and allow Mrs Jones to see the accused?'

Marshall stepped smartly to one side and Karen and the woman came face to face. Karen looked directly into the other woman's eyes and immediately saw her confidence fade.

Mrs Jones bit her lip. 'Ah well she was certainly wearing a red coat like this person's got on,' she said. 'And I'm fairly sure that was the bag she stuffed them into or one like it. But the woman I saw take the knickers was a blonde.'

The manager looked irritated. 'Are you now saying that you are unsure?'

'Well, I definitely saw someone take the knick er undies and stuff them into a bag,' she said. 'But I'm sorry but I can't say for sure that it was this person, just someone in a red coat. Unless er ...'

'Unless what, Mrs Jones?'

'I suppose she could be wearing a wig,' she said.

Karen looked round at the other three people in the office. 'Perhaps one of you would like to try to test my hair,' she suggested, leaning forward.

'That will not be necessary.' The little man at the desk seemed to have diminished in size. His face flushed an unbecoming beetroot shade as he glared at the store detective. 'Thank you, Mrs Jones,' he said through clenched teeth. 'Perhaps next time you could make sure you are reporting the right person.'

The woman looked apologetically at Karen. 'I'm sorry if I caused you any bother,' she muttered.

'Oh, please don't worry yourself about it,' Karen said, trying not to sound sarcastic. She resisted saying, Maybe you should have gone to Specsavers.

Mrs Jones left the room hastily and Karen turned to the manager. 'Perhaps you would like to confirm what the witness has said by viewing your CCTV tape as I suggested?'

'There will be no need,' Smith said. His colour had now faded to a sickly grey. 'It is obvious that there has been a mistake. You are free to go.'

'Thank you.' Karen stood her ground. 'But first I'd like an apology,' she said. 'It's not every day one is named as "the accused" or threatened with prosecution.'

Smith cleared his throat. 'I think you will agree that it was a natural mistake.' Karen waited, saying nothing and Smith cleared his throat again and continued, 'Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience and er embarra.s.sment caused.'

Karen picked up her handbag and as she left the office, she heard Smith upbraiding his store detective.

'Marshall! How many times must I tell you to make sure those tapes are regularly changed and running!'

In the car park Karen climbed gratefully into her car. It was only then that she realized that she was still shaking. What a horrible experience. Suppose she had been seen being apprehended by one of her pupils' parents? It would only take one! Simon was going to be furious about this. If the store had insisted on pursuing the case and the papers had got hold of it, they could both have lost their jobs. It was so irresponsible of Louise and so typical.

Louise Davies, or Louisa Delmar as her half-sister liked to call herself, was fourteen years Karen's senior. Although they shared the same father they were as different in temperament and character as it was possible to be. Louise was an actress. Touring around the country and never in the same town for more than a few months, she always turned up on her married half-sister's doorstep whenever she was between jobs. Recently, the summer show she had been appearing in down in Devon had come to a close and she was waiting for her agent to arrange a pantomime for her.

Delving into her handbag, Karen took out her phone and clicked on Louise's number. The call went straight to voicemail. Furious, she left a message: 'Louise! Where the h.e.l.l are you? What did you think you were playing at? You've just almost had me arrested for shoplifting. Please ring me as soon as you get this.'

She started the car and backed out of her s.p.a.ce. She was almost halfway home when she heard her phone ringing in her bag. Pulling over, she stopped and took the phone out. It was Louise calling.

'Louise!'

'Darling, I've just got your message. What's the matter?'

'Don't play the innocent with me. You know b.l.o.o.d.y well what's the matter. You put those things in my bag in Hayward's, didn't you?'

'Things? What things?'

'Designer lingerie ring any bells? Simon and I could have lost our jobs through this. I could be ringing you from the police station right now for all you know.'

Louise gave a maddening little giggle at the other end of the line. 'Oh, come off it, sweetie, don't exaggerate. You're not at the police station, are you?'

'No, no thanks to you. More to the point, where are you?' Karen demanded. 'And where did you disappear to? You left me to face the music on my own.'

'Look, it's all too silly for words. I can explain everything.'

'Then I think you'd better start. Where are you, Louise?'

'I'm in the park. It's such a lovely day I thought I'd have-'

'Whereabouts? I'm coming right now.'

'The little cafe by the lake. Look, there's no need to be so stuffy.'

Karen didn't reply, she just ended the call and thrust her phone back into her bag, then, turning the car, she headed back in the opposite direction.

The park was looking lovely in the autumn sunshine. The trees were turning to gold and the sky was blue and cloudless. The sound of children's voices filled the air as they played on the swings, making the most of their half-term holiday. But Karen hardly took any of it in. She had only one aim in mind: to find her half-sister and let her have both barrels. She spotted Louise as soon as she came through the yew archway at the lakeside. She was sitting on a bench, her elegant legs crossed and her short skirt pulled up, displaying several inches of thigh as she calmly nibbled at a choc-ice. Karen had never in her life wanted to hit anyone as much as she did now.

Louise looked up and gave a cheery wave. 'h.e.l.lo, darling! There you are. Would you like one of these?' She held up the half-eaten choc-ice. 'They've always been my weakness.'

'I remember,' Karen said drily, sitting down on the bench next to her. 'I don't want a choc-ice. It would probably choke me. What I want is an explanation now, please.'

'Oh, all right.' Louise sighed and popped the last of the ice cream into her mouth and s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g the wrapper into a ball, tossed it into the bushes.

'You put those things in my bag when I went to the loo, didn't you?'

Louise shrugged. 'OK yes, but why not? I'm sure Hayward's can afford to lose a few pounds a d.a.m.ned sight more than I can.' She glanced sideways at Karen. 'I couldn't resist those s.e.xy, black lace undies. Gorgeous, weren't they? What a pity you had to go and get yourself caught.'

'It's theft, Louise. Against the law, and it was despicable to involve me in it and then just disappear.'

Louise frowned. 'I knew you were going to be b.l.o.o.d.y boring about it. You're so d.a.m.ned b.u.t.toned up, Karrie.'

'I don't think you understand how serious this is. If I'd been charged, Simon and I could both have lost our jobs.'

'Oh, don't be so melodramatic!' Louise said dismissively.

'I'm not. It's true. Do you imagine that the school governors would allow either of us to continue after shoplifting charges and all the publicity that would have ensued? Why did you do it, Louise? You were seen taking the things and if it hadn't been for the difference in our hair colour, I'd be in custody right this minute.'

'But you're not. So what are you going on and on about?'

'You still haven't explained why you took these things.'

Louise shrugged. 'I fancied them simple as that.'

'You fancied them!' Karen shook her head. 'So why put them in my bag?'

Louise grinned impishly. 'I couldn't resist winding you up. You always take the bait so beautifully. Oh, come on, darling. I couldn't know you'd get nabbed, could I?'

Karen's fingers itched to smack her sister's face. It was useless arguing. They could go round and round for ever. It was obvious she was going to get no more sense out of Louise. She could be completely amoral at times. She tried a different tack. 'Have you heard from that agent of yours lately?'

Louise chuckled. 'You're not terribly subtle, are you, darling? What you're trying to say is that you've had enough of me.' She pouted. 'Don't tell me I've outstayed my welcome.'

Karen shrugged. 'What do you think? After this afternoon yes, you have!'

'Pity.' Louise sighed. 'I'll call Harry tomorrow morning if you're really going to insist on punishing me.' She glanced at Karen. 'I haven't said anything but there could be something quite exciting in the pipeline.'

Karen raised a cynical eyebrow. 'Oh yes? I've heard that one before. But then I suppose there's bound to be a panto coming up in some remote corner of the country.' She looked at her sister. 'You could always get a proper job, you know. The department stores will be taking on extra staff for Christmas soon.'

'Thanks for the vote of confidence, darling. Anyway, as I told you, there's a possibility of something really big in the offing.'

'Well, let's hope it comes off this time.'

'OK, don't go on about it. I'll get on to it in the morning.'

'Good,' Karen said without conviction.

Louise looked at her half-sister sheepishly. 'Look, there's no need to mention any of this to Simon. You know what he's like. He's so po-faced. He wouldn't see the funny side.'