‘Not that long,’ Owen said, raising a dark eyebrow. ‘You’d think we needed to start building an ark the way he carried on.’
She laughed. ‘Luke being overly dramatic? Doesn’t sound like him.’
Owen tipped his head in agreement. ‘Speaking of being dramatic, I saw something curious on the drive home. Is it Gabe’s day off today?’
‘Yes, it is. Why?’
‘I think he and Ruby are taking a trip somewhere. They were in his car, heading for the main road pretty early this morning.’
Nessie frowned. Ruby wasn’t famed for being an early riser and she never left the house without a full face of make-up, so if she was going somewhere early enough to pass Owen on the school run, there had to be a good reason. ‘No Micky?’
‘Just Ruby and Gabe,’ Owen replied. ‘I half-wondered if it was a hospital appointment, but surely she’d have asked you.’
‘She has in the past,’ Nessie agreed, her frown deepening. ‘She didn’t mention a trip, either. Not that she tells me everything.’
Owen shrugged. ‘I thought it was odd, that’s all. I’m sure there’s a perfectly simple explanation.’
But Nessie didn’t get the opportunity to ask. Laurie went down with flu, which left them short-staffed now that Joss had gone back to Chester. And since she refused to allow Sam to cover any of his shifts, Nessie was left with no option but to work the extra hours herself. Although she saw both Gabe and Ruby over the days that followed, there never seemed to be time to manoeuvre the conversation around to their unmentioned trip.
Gabe took a very dim view of Laurie’s continued absence. ‘Flu? In July?’
‘You can catch flu at any time,’ Sam pointed out. ‘And I definitely don’t want it, so in some ways I’d rather he stayed away.’
Gabe’s dark eyebrows drew together in a severe line. ‘If he actually has the flu.’
The thought had crossed Nessie’s mind too; there’d been something just a tiny bit insincere about Laurie’s croaky apologies down the phone. But it felt disloyal to admit that to Gabe. ‘I’m sure he does.’
Gabe threw her an enigmatic look. ‘I wouldn’t be so quick to trust him, Nessie.’
Nessie stared at him, while Sam didn’t even try to hide her confusion. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘My lips are sealed,’ Gabe said, with a resolute shake of his head. ‘For now, at least.’
He refused to be drawn further, leaving Nessie to spend yet another sleepless night, this time wondering just what it was Gabe knew that she didn’t.
*
‘If Gabe doesn’t intend to explain himself, why say anything at all?’ Sam grumbled on Saturday morning, when Laurie texted to say he wouldn’t be in for his lunchtime shift. ‘It’s not exactly helpful.’
Nessie sighed as she looked at the rota again. ‘We can just about manage over the weekend, if we pull Luiz from Gabe’s waiting staff.’
Luiz was a young man from Brazil, who’d followed the girl he’d met while travelling back to the UK and had somehow ended up in Little Monkham. His light brown curls and forget-me-not eyes made him popular with the pub’s female patrons, but he was also one of the few waiters who had experience of working a bar.
‘Gabe won’t be happy about that,’ Sam said.
‘He’ll cope,’ Nessie said stoutly. ‘And in the meantime, I’m starting to feel guilty about Laurie. What if he’s much worse than we think? What if it’s more than just flu?’
Sam gave the idea some thought. ‘Do you think one of us should go over to see him?’
‘Maybe,’ Nessie said. ‘We could take him some meals, make sure he’s eating properly.’
Sam pulled a hesitant face. ‘I don’t mean to suggest that you’re more expendable than me, but it’s probably not a good idea for me to go. It isn’t very caring to drop a food parcel on someone’s doorstep and run away in case they infect you, is it?’
Nessie threw her an affectionate smile. ‘No, Sam. It’s not exactly sisterly, either.’
‘Ah, sisterliness,’ Sam repeated with a solemn nod. ‘You’re much better at that than me. Just don’t bring any germs back with you, okay?’
*
It was midway through Monday morning before Nessie found the time to drive over to the address she had for Laurie. The curtains were drawn at the windows of the little cottage and that morning’s milk was still on the doorstep. Nessie felt a pang of sympathy; just how sick was he?
She had her answer a few minutes later when he opened the door, yawning and bare-chested. His sleep-filled eyes widened when he saw her.
‘Nessie!’ he said, clutching at the door and pulling it almost closed behind him. ‘What are you doing here?’
There was a noticeable lack of croak in his voice, and his cheeks were pink and healthy-looking. Nessie felt some of her sympathy ebb away. ‘You sounded so poorly that Sam and I thought we should check you were okay.’ She lifted up the insulated bag she carried. ‘We brought you some meals in case you weren’t well enough to cook.’
Laurie had the grace to look guilty. ‘Oh. Well, thanks.’ He cleared his throat. ‘I’m actually feeling a bit better today.’
Nessie did her best to squash her rising sense of outrage. Had Gabe been right – had Laurie been feigning illness? ‘So I see,’ she said. ‘These need to go in the freezer. Can I come in?’
A momentary flash of panic crossed Laurie’s face. ‘I can take care of that. I’m sure you’re keen to get back to the pub.’
He wasn’t alone, Nessie realised with a sinking heart. And, sure enough, a female voice called out, ‘Hurry up, Laurie. I’m getting bored in here.’
‘I didn’t realise you had a girlfriend,’ Nessie said, her tone cool to the point of iciness. ‘Has she been taking good care of you?’
‘Something like that,’ he said evasively. ‘Look, this isn’t a great time.’
‘It’s not, is it?’ Nessie said, wondering how she could have been so gullible. ‘Why don’t you come to the pub tomorrow – say two o’clock in the afternoon? I’m sure Sam will want to be there and we can discuss your behaviour then.’
His head jerked up. ‘Discuss my behaviour?’ he repeated, his eyes hardening. ‘I’ve been ill, Nessie. That’s not a disciplinary offence.’
She thrust the freezer bag at him. ‘Enjoy your meals. See you tomorrow – don’t be late.’
She felt him watching her all the way back to her car, but it wasn’t until she’d started the engine and driven away that she called Sam on the hands-free.
‘Everything okay?’ Sam asked the moment she answered. ‘How is he?’
Nessie pictured Laurie’s healthy glow and sighed. ‘Well, on the plus side, I don’t think you need to worry about catching the flu.
There was a short pause. ‘Ah.’
‘And on the down side, we might need to look up how to handle things when an employee who is also your brother lies about being ill.’
Nessie heard a low mumbling, as though Sam was relaying what she’d heard to someone else in the room.
‘Gabe says he’s dealt with something like this before.’
‘Really?’ Nessie asked as she negotiated a corner.
‘Not exactly like this, obviously,’ Sam said. ‘But he’s had employees lie about being ill in order to get time off. It’s not the most original work-related crime, after all. Anyway, he says he’ll help us work out how to handle things with Laurie.’
‘Great,’ Nessie said, recalling the hard look Laurie had given her as she’d left. ‘I think we’re going to need all the support we can get.’
*
They decided to hold the meeting with Laurie in the upstairs kitchen, out of earshot of Tilly and Connor, who were running the bar.
‘It’ll be cosy with four of us in here,’ Nessie said. ‘But the office feels too formal.’
Gabe grunted. ‘I think formality is exactly what you need.’
Nessie gave a small shake of her head. ‘Maybe, but this is Lauri
e we’re talking about. Different rules apply for family.’
‘And, actually, it’s four and a bit,’ Sam said, easing down onto one of the chairs with a sigh.
‘Or five and a bit,’ a clear smooth voice added.
Nessie whirled around to see Ruby standing in the doorway, a manila folder in her arms. ‘Ruby! What are you doing here?’
‘I’ve come to add my two penn’orth,’ the older woman said, as though it was the most reasonable thing in the world. ‘What else?’
Nessie glanced at Sam, who looked equally confused. ‘But—’
‘I have evidence to present,’ Ruby said, her eyes gleaming. ‘Gabe and I have been doing some detective work.’
‘Detective work?’ Sam said. ‘What are you talking about?’
Ruby tapped her nose. ‘Don’t worry, darling, you’ll understand later.’
Laurie’s expression was incredulous when he arrived at 2.15 p.m. ‘What, no Henry?’ he said, his voice thick with sarcasm. ‘Maybe we could hold a séance and channel Franny.’
‘Would you like a tea or a coffee?’ Nessie offered, determined not to be side-tracked. Gabe was right; a little formality might help focus Laurie’s mind on the consequences of his actions.
‘No, I don’t want a cup of tea,’ Laurie said, his lip curling as he sat down. ‘Let’s just get this over with.’
Sam fixed him with a level stare. ‘I must say, you don’t look like someone who has dragged themselves off their sickbed to be here.’
He shrugged. ‘What can I say? The meals Nessie delivered have worked miracles – I’m feeling better.’
‘You’ve been off for over a week,’ Sam went on, as though she hadn’t heard. ‘We’re going to need a doctor’s certificate to confirm your illness.’
‘Seriously?’ Laurie said, with an incredulous-sounding laugh. ‘You can’t just take it on trust? I’m your brother, for god’s sake.’
Leaning against the kitchen counter, Gabe muttered under his breath.
Laurie turned to glare at him. ‘Got something to say? Or are you just sticking your nose into family business again?’
Gabe glowered at him. ‘Okay, Laurie, let’s talk about family, shall we?’
Nessie blinked, nonplussed, and Sam didn’t seem to understand the conversational switch either.
Laurie went still. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘I’d like to tell you a little story,’ Ruby cut in, causing Laurie’s gaze to swivel her way. ‘It’s about a man called Andrew, who had his faults but was still trusting and good at heart. He always tried to do the right thing, even though there were many times when he didn’t quite manage it.’
Now it was Laurie’s turn to mutter, although Nessie thought she detected a hint of pallor beneath his rosy complexion now.
‘Andrew liked to believe the best of people,’ Ruby went on. ‘So when a woman he’d become romantically involved with assured him the baby she was carrying was his, he took her at her word.’
‘I wondered when this would come up again,’ Laurie said scornfully. ‘I’ve shown Sam and Nessie my birth certificate. Andrew Chapman is clearly listed under Father.’
‘I don’t doubt that he is,’ Ruby said, and Nessie had the sense that the older woman was starting to enjoy herself. ‘As I said, Andrew wouldn’t have questioned such a colossal statement. But just because he believed it to be true does not make it so.’ The last few words came out whip-fast.
Laurie shook his head. ‘You’re crazy.’
‘We took a trip to the place where you grew up,’ Gabe said. ‘Had a very nice chat with a man called Peter Henderson. He remembered you and your mum very well.’
Ruby leaned forwards. ‘As you’d expect, considering they were married. Peter seemed to think the wrong paternal name had been recorded on your birth certificate, Laurie. He seemed to think it should have been him.’
Nessie gasped. ‘Is that true?’ she asked, turning to stare at Laurie.
There was a hunted look in his eyes and a sheen of sweat glistened on his forehead. ‘Nice try. But, legally, Andrew Chapman is my father.’
‘Legally?’ Sam echoed in disbelief. ‘What about biologically? Are you actually related to us at all?’
Laurie didn’t meet her gaze. ‘He treated me like his own son. What does it matter if I wasn’t biologically his child?’
Nessie felt as though she’d been punched in the chest. ‘Bloody hell, Laurie. How could you lie about something like that? What else have you lied about?’
‘Nothing,’ he insisted. ‘Everything else is true, I swear.’
Gabe folded his arms. ‘Except even that is a lie. Tell them about the duplicate brewery order you placed using Nessie’s log-in so she’d think she’d made a mistake. Tell them about the rat catcher you know in Purdon who gave you a live rat to plant in my kitchen so the restaurant would have to close down.’
‘Tell them about switching off the fuses so that the cellar temperature would fail and Joss would look bad,’ Ruby went on, her voice as hard as diamond. ‘And how you stole some steak from Gabe’s kitchen and covered it in rat poison to kill Bucky.’
‘No!’ Nessie exclaimed, utterly aghast. ‘Oh, Laurie, you didn’t!’
He looked a little like a rat now, cornered and snarling. ‘Oh, grow up. No one got hurt, did they?’
‘Only by sheer luck,’ Sam blazed furiously. ‘What the hell were you thinking?’
‘None of you would give me a chance to prove what I could do,’ Laurie snapped, scowling. ‘You held every little mistake over my head. So I thought it wouldn’t do you any harm to realise that you weren’t so perfect yourselves.’
It was almost too much for Nessie to take in. She slumped back in her seat, horrified. ‘But Luke might have touched that meat. What if he’d somehow ingested some of the poison? I can’t believe you could be so reckless.’
He shook his head. ‘You’re overreacting. No one got hurt.’
Sam had clearly heard enough. ‘Leave, now. Put your keys on the table and walk out of here this minute.’ She drew in a long shaking breath. ‘And if I ever hear your name or see your face again, I won’t be responsible for what happens next.’
Laurie pushed back his chair so fast it screeched across the floor. ‘You’ll be sorry once I’m gone. You don’t have the staff to cope without me.’
‘Believe me, we’ll manage,’ Nessie said. She held out a hand. ‘Keys.’
Reaching into his jeans, Laurie pulled the keys that opened the pub front door, the office and the cellar. ‘Take them,’ he said, tossing them onto the floor in disgust. ‘I’m sick of working here anyway.’
The heavy thud of his feet on the stairs receded and there was a hefty bang as he slammed the door at the bottom of the stairs. Then silence fell over the kitchen.
‘Well, that happened,’ Sam said weakly, after several long seconds had ticked by. She glanced first at Gabe, and then at Ruby. ‘How the hell did you know all that?’
Gabe shrugged. ‘It was a hunch at first. Some of the things he said didn’t quite add up. And once I started to explore the idea, I realised that there was really only one person who linked everything that had gone wrong.’
Ruby held up a hand. ‘You’ll remember I never accepted his stories about what a terrible father Andrew was – I knew the truth, no matter what Laurie said. So when I met those darling detectorists at the cider festivals, things began to fall into place.’
‘We went investigating,’ Gabe added. ‘Like Holmes and Watson.’
Ruby laughed. ‘I’ve always thought I’d make a rather good Jane Marple, actually.’ She patted her elegant red chignon. ‘If Miss Marple had style, obviously. And a toy boy.’
Sam slumped her head on the table for a moment, then looked up at Gabe and Ruby. ‘Thank you. I don’t quite know how you put it all together, but I’m really glad you did.’
‘No problem,’ Gabe said, and it seemed to Nessie that his eyes held a special gleam of pride as he basked in Sam�
�s praise. ‘I’m just pleased we finally confronted him.’
Still reeling from the revelation that Laurie was not their brother after all, Nessie glanced across at Sam. ‘I guess it’s just you and me again.’
‘I guess so,’ her sister replied. ‘Luckily, you’re all the family I need.’
‘Well if that isn’t rude, I don’t know what is,’ Ruby declared in mock outrage. ‘But if it helps, don’t think of it as losing a brother. Think of it as getting rid of an arsehole.’
Sam let out a shout of laughter and Nessie couldn’t stop herself from smiling a little, in spite of the sadness she felt. Beside her, Ruby sighed. ‘You know, for what it’s worth, I wish things had turned out differently – I wish we’d been wrong about Laurie, for your sakes.’
‘Me too,’ Nessie said.
‘I’m not,’ Sam cut in. ‘Good riddance, I say. Let’s celebrate the fact that our dynamic duo saved us before Laurie could swindle us out of the Star and Sixpence!’
Ruby beamed at Gabe. ‘Dynamic duo – I like it!’ She paused and made a restless gesture Nessie recognised. ‘You know, it’s at times like these that I wish I still drank. A gin and tonic would go down perfectly right now.’
To anyone else, it might have sounded like an innocuous comment but Nessie recognised it as a tiny cry for help in Ruby’s constant battle against alcohol. She reached across to press a grateful kiss on the older woman’s cheek. ‘I’ll join you for a celebratory virgin mojito if you like.’
‘Me too,’ Sam said, with a rueful glance at her swollen belly.
‘Sounds perfect,’ Gabe said, pushing himself off the kitchen counter and making for the door. ‘I’ll do the honours, shall I?’
‘Thank you, darling,’ Ruby said, flashing him a grateful smile. ‘And then we can toast our new business venture – Santiago and Cabernet Investigate! I think it’s got Netflix series written all over it.’
Nessie shook her head and laughed. ‘I’ll definitely drink to that!’
Chapter Nine
‘And you’re sure you’ll be okay?’ Nessie asked for the third time in as many minutes. ‘You’ve got the name and the number of the hotel?’
Last Words at the Star and Sixpence Page 7