The Dinner Party

by R. J. Parker

  ‘Do you?’ He studied the others and then focused on Ted.

  Ted nodded.

  ‘So nobody has any idea about what may have sparked such aggression between the two of them last night?’

  ‘No,’ Connor answered immediately. ‘And I really don’t understand why you’re interrogating us like this.’

  ‘I’ve got men searching for Mr Eriksson, but while that’s happening, I’m just trying to understand his frame of mind when he left here. So Mr and Mrs Eriksson’s marriage had recovered, and they were happy again.’

  ‘As happy as they could be.’ Connor shrugged.

  ‘What does that mean?’ Renton came to the table and sat down.

  Ted knew that everyone was thinking the same thing: Renton was seated in Evie’s chair, the one they’d all avoided.

  ‘They’re married; I’m saying happiness is relative,’ Connor said sardonically.

  ‘Connor,’ Orla warned. ‘You’re not helping.’

  Renton didn’t appear amused. He interlinked his stubby, hairy fingers on the tabletop. ‘Did they often go to Nine Beeches?’ He looked up at Ted.

  ‘Not that I know of. It’s just the forest that borders their neighbourhood. I suppose Jakob ended up there after he left their house.’

  ‘I’ve sent a car over. He didn’t say how long he was in there?’

  ‘He told me he didn’t know how he got there.’ Ted recalled how flipped out he’d been. Had it really been an act?

  ‘Anywhere else you think he’d go?’

  ‘If he’s innocent, he would’ve already given himself up.’ Kathryn took a tissue from her sleeve.

  ‘Where did he work?’

  ‘St Ballantine’s Primary. Same place as Evie.’ Juliette rubbed her eyes.

  ‘Surely he wouldn’t go to his school,’ said Connor.

  ‘It’ll be empty today.’ Ted realized with some relief.

  ‘Might be a reason for him to go. I’d better post someone there.’ Renton signalled his colleague.

  Detective Sergeant Patterson started making the call and strode into the hall.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  ‘Thanks for the offer of the coffee.’ Renton pulled his black hunting hat on and took stock of the faces around the table. ‘I’ll leave you in peace now, but I may want to talk to each of you again.’ His gaze lingered on Juliette. ‘We’ll let ourselves out.’ He gestured to his colleague and they thumped towards the front door.

  Juliette took a pace after them. ‘You’ll let us know as soon as you find Jakob?’

  ‘Of course. If he tries to make contact with anyone here, you let me know immediately.’ He raised his eyebrows at Ted.

  ‘We will,’ Juliette answered for him.

  Connor waited for the door to click shut behind them, before he addressed Ted. ‘What did he say to you in there?’

  ‘Balled me out for not telling him about meeting Jakob.’

  ‘You didn’t tell him about Evie’s game?’ Orla sounded fearful.

  ‘No.’

  ‘Sounds like he’s more interested in charging us with drug possession.’ Kathryn shook her head.

  ‘That’s because I told him Jakob was out of it.’

  Connor folded his arms. ‘He really enjoyed making us all uncomfortable, didn’t he?’

  ‘D’you think we’ll see him again?’ Orla seemed to dread the idea.

  Connor puffed his cheeks. ‘Depends on what Jakob says.’

  ‘And what if he says it was all down to Evie’s party game? We still haven’t told him about it,’ Ted reminded them all.

  ‘He was too busy making insinuations to give us a chance.’ Kathryn dabbed at her nose with a fresh tissue.

  But Ted knew it was an excuse. ‘If he wants detailed statements about the evening, we tell him. Agreed?’

  ‘It was Evie’s idea,’ Kathryn said, nettled.

  ‘Which is why none of us should have a problem with it.’

  ‘OK, if he comes back to us again we tell him.’ Juliette barely restrained her temper.

  ‘It’s the right thing to do.’ Ted locked eyes with her. He could feel the discomfort of the others.

  Juliette nodded, her enmity wavering.

  Connor broke the atmosphere. ‘Ted’s right, we have to get it into perspective. We’ve done nothing wrong. We’re all just feeling a bit … dislocated by what’s happened.’

  The doorbell rang and everyone’s focus shifted to the hall.

  ‘Probably Rhys,’ Kathryn said, unsure.

  Ted got up, strode to the front door and recognized Rhys’s outline outside the glass. He opened it.

  Rhys regarded Ted’s injury and sucked air in through his lips. ‘Nasty.’

  ‘I’m fine.’

  ‘Any news?’ He was out of breath. ‘I just saw the police car.’ But Rhys didn’t step in.

  ‘No sign of Jakob.’ He registered that the portion of face visible above Rhys’s beard was flushed bright red.

  ‘How was he when you saw him?’

  Ted beckoned him inside.

  ‘Can’t. Girls are in the car.’

  ‘Said he couldn’t remember anything about what happened.’

  ‘Nothing?’ Rhys said incredulously.

  ‘He was manic. I tried to get him to come with me to the police and that’s when he turned on me. Are you all right?’

  Rhys gulped and wet his lips. ‘Fine. Just wanted to get back here as soon as I could and find out what happened.’

  ‘I’ll fill you in.’ Kathryn had appeared beside Ted. ‘We’ll leave you in peace, Ted. Phone us if you have any news.’ She slipped past him, pulling her teal cashmere shawl on.

  ‘Take care,’ Rhys said. ‘Speak soon.’ He held Ted’s eye for a moment and then followed his wife down the path.

  Ted turned when he heard more footsteps. Orla and Connor were tugging their coats off the banister in the hallway.

  ‘We’ll be on our way as well. Orla’s not feeling too good.’ Connor wound his scarf around his neck.

  Juliette was with them. ‘You probably need some rest.’

  Ted wondered if Orla would be taking her super-strength pills to help her sleep. He was sure they’d all be struggling with that though.

  They said goodbye and Orla shuffled past without a word. She looked so pale and fragile and Connor put his arm around her waist as she walked unsteadily down the path. Ted felt Juliette’s hand on his shoulder as she joined him to watch them go.

  None of them looked back as they headed to their cars.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Neither of them said anything until they’d walked back into the dining room.

  ‘I’ll load the dishwasher.’ Juliette headed towards the kitchen area.

  ‘Hang on a minute. Are you OK?’

  ‘Of course not. But what else can we do?’

  ‘Ever since we drove to Evie and Jakob’s …’

  She regarded him with strained mystification.

  ‘You’re acting as if … you’re behaving strangely.’

  Her expression hardened. ‘And how am I meant to be behaving?’

  ‘All we did was throw a dinner party. Evie wanted to play that game and we all went along with it, some more willingly than others.’

  ‘You mean I was more willing than you.’

  ‘No, that’s not important.’

  ‘But you just made that distinction. That leaves you less to blame than me. Is that why you’re so comfortable telling the police about it?’

  ‘The most important thing is telling the truth.’

  Juliette breathed in and paused as if considering something. ‘OK, I’ll be honest.’ The hostility was back in her voice. ‘I’d rather Renton didn’t know because I feel terrible that we might have contributed to what happened. Can you understand that?’

  ‘Yes, but I think, if it’s out in the open, we’ll all feel better about it.’

  ‘Well, you may get your wish. If we’re all interrogated again, we’ve agreed we’ll tell. T
hen your conscience will be clear, clearer than mine.’

  ‘It did change the atmosphere around the table.’

  ‘And us?’

  ‘Us as well.’

  ‘So, you need to know what I wrote down, is that it?’

  ‘No.’ Ted responded too quickly.

  ‘Because you don’t want to tell me what was written on yours.’

  ‘I will, if that’s important.’ But Ted realized that would be the price of getting the answer he needed. And could their day withstand any more trauma?

  ‘No, what’s important right now is that Evie is dead, and her husband is responsible.’

  ‘I’m sorry.’ He knew he needed to step back.

  ‘These conversations are not for today. Maybe sometime soon we can talk about you keeping your meeting with Jakob a secret from me too.’

  ‘He told me not to. Otherwise I wouldn’t have had a chance to talk him into going to the police with me.’

  Juliette shook her head for him to stop.

  ‘I thought I was doing the right thing.’

  Juliette opened her mouth but bit her lip.

  Ted could see the distress deep in her eyes. They’d both been through a lot in the past six hours.

  ‘Can we please just wait to see what happens when they find Jakob?’

  He nodded. ‘Yes. Of course. I’m sure that won’t be long.’ Did their relief really hinge on the arrest of their friend?

  ‘Let’s get tidied up in the meantime. Then we have to discuss what to tell Georgie.’

  ‘OK.’ He knew this was her usual coping mechanism, a list of jobs to do. He’d seen it go into overdrive when her father died.

  He helped her load the remaining glasses and plates into the dishwasher and noticed she’d already cleaned the ashtray in the sink. It was lying pristine on the draining board.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  When the phone awoke Ted his bedside clock said it was 5.27. He scrabbled for the handset in the dark and quickly answered.

  ‘Mr Middleton?’

  Renton’s voice slid the events of the last day heavily into his stomach. ‘Yes?’ He sat up and waited to feel Juliette stir beside him. ‘What is it?’ He swung his legs off the bed.

  ‘Are you OK to talk?’ Renton had obviously picked up on his cracked voice.

  What a dumb thing to say so early in the morning. But then Ted realized he was still fully clothed, and the curtains were open. It was dark outside, but it was only half five on Saturday afternoon. He’d tried to catch up on some sleep and had been out for less than an hour.

  ‘We’ve found Mr Eriksson.’

  ‘You have?’ Relief slowed his heart. ‘Is he OK?’

  ‘I’m afraid it’s bad news.’

  Ted held his breath and waited for Renton to continue.

  ‘It looks like suicide.’

  ‘What?’ his mouth asked while his brain grappled with the news.

  ‘An officer found him hanging from a tree in Nine Beeches.’

  Ted shook his head. ‘When?’ It was a pointless question.

  ‘Just over an hour ago.’

  Ted squinted at the empty bed beside him. Juliette had told him to get some rest, while she spent some time with Georgie in his room before they both spoke to him about his Auntie Evie. Her death hadn’t even sunk in. What would they tell their son now?

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Renton said, stilted, like he was reading from a script.

  Ted hardly heard him. He was already contemplating what the news meant. His friend was dead. An intelligent, generous man he’d known for over a decade was hanging lifelessly from a tree. Inevitable questions crowded in: what would have happened if he hadn’t let him go? What if he’d tried harder to restrain him?

  ‘Mr Middleton?’

  Ted suddenly felt freezing. ‘I’m here.’

  ‘I realize this is a shock, but I need a definite answer.’

  Ted waited for him to elaborate, but he didn’t. What was he talking about?

  ‘In the absence of his wife identifying the body we need someone else to confirm that it’s him.’

  Having only had seconds to digest this horrible news he was being asked to … He tried to think of other people who might have been closer to Jakob.

  ‘You mentioned he doesn’t have any family here.’

  ‘No.’ A dizzying nausea fizzed through his scalp.

  ‘Obviously, if we had to, we could try to contact one of his fellow teachers at the school.’

  But Ted had heard all about the petty politics that went on there, and Jakob had little good to say about his colleagues.

  ‘Maybe you have a number for someone you think is more appropriate.’

  There wasn’t, and Renton knew it. Besides, Ted wasn’t comfortable with passing this along. He was the last person to see him alive, but more importantly, he was his friend. Even though every cell of him didn’t want to see Jakob in a morgue, he had to do it.

  ‘Mr Middleton?’

  ‘When do you need me to come down there?’ Ted heard himself say.

  ‘What are your plans now?’

  Now? Ted swallowed a hard ball of nothing. He’d scarcely woken up.

  ‘His body will be transported to County Hall in Chelmsford by seven tonight.’

  Chelmsford? That was about eighteen miles away. He tried to focus on the details and not to think of Jakob as the body in question.

  ‘That should give you time.’

  Time? Ted was still lost for words.

  ‘I’d be very grateful, Mr Middleton.’ But there wasn’t a trace of gratitude in his voice.

  ‘I’ll be there at seven.’ Ted cut the call and remained where he was, listening to the silent house. He wanted to stay hunkered in the darkness. Not add worse news to what Juliette and Georgie were already dealing with. He breathed in a few times, listened to the blood throbbing in his temples and then went slowly to the door.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Ted was glad of the satnav as he negotiated his blue Corsa through Chelmsford’s high street and into Victoria Road. How was he meant to feel about identifying his friend? Whether or not it was an accident, Jakob had killed Evie and changed from the person he’d known for so long into the stranger he’d met in the park.

  He had to remind himself what time of day it was. The city was busy with people going out for the evening. Laughing, joking, looking forward to a drink and a meal and briefly forgetting life’s worries, as he had been the night before.

  ‘At the roundabout take the third exit,’ the robotic female voice advised him.

  He obeyed. Ted had to get back home as soon as possible. When he’d gone downstairs to break the news he’d found Juliette and Georgie on the couch watching something on Netflix. She’d been staring through the TV with her hand stroking his head. He’d called her out of the room and taken her into the front lounge. He hadn’t wanted to tell her in the kitchen, where the dining table was.

  Ted couldn’t recall her facial reaction. They’d said hardly anything to each other, partly because they didn’t want Georgie overhearing them. She was horrified that he had to identify the body. But she’d taken as long as he had to realize that there was nobody else.

  Now they both had to work out a way to explain what had happened and they had only tomorrow to sit Georgie down. Doubtless it would be in the news by the time he went back to school, so it had to come from them.

  Ted pulled into the County Hall forecourt and found only a handful of vehicles there. He switched off the engine but didn’t move from the driving seat. It was just gone five to seven. The quicker he went in the quicker he could be away, but he was sure he’d be coming out a different person. Until Evie he’d only ever seen one dead person in his life and that was his grandmother at her open-casket funeral. But she’d been ninety-eight, and the embalmer had made her look content with the years she’d had. Jakob was his age, thirty-five, and he couldn’t imagine how distressed he’d been as he’d choked and jerked on a rope as he’d died
alone in Nine Beeches.

  He got out of the car and counted the six steps as he climbed them to the main entrance. Pushing the stiff door, he was relieved to find Renton waiting for him.

  He stood up from the coffee machine and indicated the small brown cup in his hand. ‘Can I get you one?’

  Ted shook his head.

  Renton nodded, sensing how tense he was. ‘OK, let’s get this done.’

  Sound echoed off the empty corridor walls, as Renton led him to the rear of the building and then down a flight of steps, through some double doors and into a wall of pungent septic aroma.

  ‘If you’d just wait here.’

  After Renton exited through another set of doors, Ted examined the anteroom he was standing in. It was vacant except for a row of four orange plastic chairs against the mint green wall in front of him. He turned and his stomach shuddered at what was behind him. The top half of the wall was glass and beyond the pane was a table with a bagged body on it.

  The dark-blue plastic had a sticker with a serial number attached to the body’s waist. He anticipated the swing door behind it opening but there was no sign of movement.

  That was Jakob lying there. Ted absently sucked at the lump on his lip. It had barely started to heal from that morning, but the fist that had caused it was now cold and zipped away.

  He waited for what felt like minutes. Was Renton doing this on purpose? Eventually the door opened and a woman in her thirties entered, wearing a plastic green apron and with her dark hair tied in a ponytail. She didn’t look at him but approached the table and very deliberately unzipped the top of the bag with her surgically gloved fingers.

  As soon as Jakob’s face was exposed Ted felt his insides begin to shrivel. The whole head was dark purple, the protruding eyes wide, almost as if the pressure around his neck had pushed the lids permanently open. But there was no expression. It was empty; dead flesh no longer occupied by the man he’d known.

  Ted registered the woman was waiting for his response. He briefly met her eye and nodded. Then nodded again so she would be in no doubt and could zip away the face.

  She did and then slowly left the room.

  Ted turned away and Renton entered a few moments later.