The Dinner Party

by R. J. Parker

  ‘That’s room service. I need to eat.’

  It was a cold, functional announcement but Ted guessed that was how she approached everything. He was relieved though. ‘I’m here all day, if you want me to call you back.’

  ‘This is a little impersonal. I’d like to come over to talk to you face to face, if that would be OK?’

  He registered she used the same phrase as her brother. ‘Uh … sure.’ Suddenly it was the last thing he wanted. ‘If you think that’s necessary.’

  ‘I have to get out of this hotel room. What are you doing later?’

  ‘Today?’ He just about kept the alarm from his voice. ‘I’m having lunch with my family.’

  ‘What time will you be finished?’

  How could he say no? ‘Probably after four.’

  ‘Give me your address. ‘I’ve got a hire car so I’ll aim to make it over by then.’

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  The doorbell rang at quarter to four.

  Georgie turned from where he sat cross-legged in front of the TV to Ted and Juliette who were sitting on the couch. ‘I’ll go!’

  ‘Hold fire.’ Ted rose. ‘It’s for me.’

  Juliette stood too. ‘Stay here, we won’t be long.’

  She wanted to speak to Brit Olsen as well and Ted was glad of the support.

  Georgie returned his attention to SpongeBob.

  He knew they were keeping something from him, and Ted made a note to listen out for his presence in the hall while they talked. He closed the lounge’s door behind them. ‘I’ll let her in,’ Ted said.

  Juliette went into the front lounge to wait.

  When Ted opened the door, he was surprised to find a tall, slim man in a bottle green tracksuit standing outside. ‘Alex?’ Ted said.

  It was the Lithuanian taxi driver from Greenaway Cabs, the one that had picked up Evie and Jakob.

  Alex was in his mid-forties and had a thick mop of dark hair that was normally neatly gelled but today was in disarray. His bloodshot eyes and pained expression suggested he hadn’t slept. ‘Sorry to knock on your door on a Sunday, Mr Middleton.’

  ‘That’s OK.’ He could see Alex’s white Audi taxi parked at the gate. He’d been picked up in it several times, and Alex was a very chatty driver. He had two teenage boys and always asked after Georgie.

  ‘I had a visit from the police last night.’

  ‘So you heard about Mr and Mrs Eriksson?’

  Alex bowed his head respectfully. ‘They were your friends?’

  ‘Yes. I think you might have driven them before.’ With Jakob’s habit of needing a last-minute cab after drinking too much wine, the chances were high.

  Alex shook his head once. ‘No. I’d not met either of them before.’

  Ted registered how categorical Alex was. ‘Is everything all right?’

  ‘Yes,’ Alex answered nervously. ‘I just wondered if they’ll need to speak to me again.’

  ‘I’ve no idea. I think they’re interviewing everyone,’ Ted placated.

  ‘Mr Copshaw wasn’t very pleased with me.’ Alex clasped his hands tight.

  That was the guy who ran Greenaway. Now Ted realized why Alex was so agitated.

  ‘He said he doesn’t need police harassing drivers.’

  ‘I understand.’ Ted turned to find Juliette had arrived behind him.

  ‘Hi Alex.’

  Alex smiled broadly for her benefit but seemed to be even more flustered.

  Ted addressed Juliette. ‘Alex just wanted a private word.’

  Juliette immediately picked up on the tension. ‘Sure. Say hi to those boys.’

  He grinned.

  Juliette stepped away, but Ted guessed she was lingering behind the door.

  Alex’s smile evaporated. ‘I’ve told the police all I know. Some of my family’s documentation is … not in order. Do you think they will come to the rank again?’

  ‘I can’t say for sure.’

  ‘I had nothing to tell them. He asked me what they were talking about on the ride to Ibbotson, but I didn’t hear anything.’

  ‘In that case, I shouldn’t think so.’

  But Alex’s forehead wrinkled further. ‘I can’t tell them anything more.’

  ‘Then you don’t have to worry. I’m sorry about all of this.’

  ‘I’m just thinking of my family.’

  ‘I understand, but if you’ve told the police everything you remember …’

  Alex nodded harshly. ‘Yes. I have nothing more to say to them.’ He checked himself for raising his voice. ‘I’m sorry, I have come here bothering you when you’re grieving.’

  ‘Don’t worry. I wish I could reassure you, but I get the impression Detective Renton has a much more solid lead.’

  Alex frowned.

  ‘Some security camera footage of another person going into their house.’

  Alex’s expression didn’t shift.

  ‘I’m sure they’re trying to find them now. If they do call on you again, just give them the details of your other pickups that night.’

  Alex considered that for a few moments. ‘Yes. Thank you.’ He nodded again. ‘Sorry, I won’t disturb you any longer.’ He quickly turned and marched down the path to his car.

  Ted closed the door. ‘Poor guy …’

  But Juliette’s face was impassive. ‘He must have been worried sick to come knocking on the door.’

  ‘He’s just concerned for his livelihood.’ But Ted could see Juliette wasn’t convinced.

  She looked briefly back to the closed lounge door. ‘Could that have been Alex on the clip?’ she whispered.

  ‘Alex?’ he scoffed but could see Juliette was serious. ‘If Renton’s spoken to him, he must be satisfied he’s got nothing to do with it.’

  ‘Maybe we should ask Renton when we speak to him next.’

  ‘Alex wouldn’t attack people there was a record of him taking home.’

  ‘You don’t know him.’ Juliette kept her voice low.

  ‘He’s picked me up from the station a few times.’

  ‘Exactly.’

  ‘He’s a family man, that’s why he came here.’

  ‘That’s what he said to you anyway. We should definitely tell Renton about this.’

  ‘But that’ll guarantee Renton will want to speak to him again.’

  Juliette bit her lip. ‘Better he knows. If Alex is innocent, they’ll soon be able to clear it up.’

  Ted indicated Georgie, who had popped his head out of the lounge door.

  ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘Back in front of the TV,’ Ted said firmly. ‘We’ll be there now.’

  Georgie obeyed.

  Alex’s car started up outside and he drove off at speed.

  Maybe they should tell Renton. But Ted couldn’t help acknowledging that Juliette hadn’t been as conscientious about passing other information to the detective.

  CHAPTER FORTY

  Brit Olsen arrived dead on four o’clock and didn’t speak when Ted opened the door. She was slender, a lot older than he expected, and looked nothing like Jakob. Her squinting eyes had tired lines around them that put her in her late forties. Her grey hair was styled into a layered pixie cut and dyed a subtle lilac colour. She wore a long tan raincoat and had a matching handbag over her shoulder.

  ‘Come in.’

  As she entered, he closed the door behind her and gestured to the front lounge where Juliette was seated.

  She rose from the armchair in front of the mantelpiece to greet her. ‘Mrs Olsen.’

  ‘Call me Brit.’ She extended her hand.

  Juliette shook it. ‘So sorry we’re meeting under these circumstances.’

  Brit looked analytically around the lounge.

  ‘Can I get you a coffee?’ Ted offered. His opportunity to shake her hand had obviously passed.

  ‘Just had one.’ Brit unfastened the top two buttons of her coat but didn’t remove it.

  ‘Please.’ Juliette gestured her to sit on the leather
couch.

  She sat, back perfectly straight, and crossed her leg. She clasped her knee at the top of her patent brown leather boot.

  Ted dropped into the second armchair and broke the awkward silence. ‘How long are you staying in the UK?’

  She seemed irked by the question and shrugged. ‘As long as it takes.’

  ‘Let us know if there’s any way we can help.’ Juliette settled back in her armchair.

  Brit shifted her focus to Juliette and her features softened. ‘That’s very kind. I may well need to pick your brains for the funeral arrangements.’

  It only struck Ted then how difficult a process that would be. Who would attend? With such a question mark over everything how many would want to pay their respects to Jakob?

  ‘Maybe I could ask you to compile a list of people who might want to come.’ Brit shook her head and opened her handbag. She took out a packet of tissues. ‘Excuse me …’

  ‘That’s quite all right.’ Juliette assured her. ‘It’s been a horrible few days. We’re all in a state.’

  Brit gripped the packet of tissues tightly and the plastic crackled in her palm. ‘Hard to know where to start; it was the last news I expected to receive.’

  Ted noticed there were no tears yet. She retained her officious composure. ‘We’re all … struggling with this.’

  Brit swung her pale-blue eyes to him. ‘So when you spoke to him, there was nothing he said that gave you the impression he was about to do something so drastic?’

  ‘No, but he really wasn’t himself. I tried to persuade him to give himself up but he—’

  ‘Assaulted you.’ Brit eyed his mouth.

  Ted resisted sucking in his lip. ‘It’s not as bad as it looks. I was more surprised than hurt. It was so unlike Jakob.’

  ‘Hmm,’ Brit responded, as if she knew otherwise.

  Juliette picked up on it. ‘Has Jakob been aggressive in the past?’

  ‘All siblings fight. I was lucky that I was much older than Jakob when we were growing up. He was a hyperactive child and sometimes my parents struggled to control him.’ She took in their apprehensive expressions. ‘But that was a long time ago.’

  ‘How often was Jakob in touch with you?’ Ted had to ask.

  ‘He used to phone me fairly regularly. I have a very busy life though. Two teenagers and a job that leaves me little time to spend with them.’ She cleared her throat. ‘It’s fair to say I lost touch with Jakob. I have to admit, he was always the one to make contact. But whenever he did, I knew I was getting the laundered version of everything.’

  ‘Laundered?’ Juliette repeated.

  ‘I think Jakob, because of my achievements, felt he needed to compete. I don’t know whether he felt inferior, but we could never have a real conversation about anything.’

  Ted couldn’t detect any conceit in the statement. It was her cold diagnosis of the facts.

  ‘He would just go out of his way to assure me that everything in his world was perfect. Even when Evie was having her treatment, I couldn’t draw him to talk about what they were really going through. When he found out that they couldn’t have children because of him, he just dismissed it as he did all the other negatives in his life.’

  Ted swapped a brief glance with Juliette. Neither of them had ever been told that. Evie and Jakob had refused to discuss their reasons for not having a family.

  ‘He said he was going to come home to visit. That went on for a long time. I was just as much at fault though.’

  ‘I certainly know how genuinely frustrated he was by that,’ Ted felt compelled to say. ‘He and Evie were always talking about it and then having to put it off another year.’

  ‘I don’t think their teaching jobs ever allowed them much leeway,’ Juliette added.

  Brit nodded. ‘I offered him the money, last year, when Evie was ill. I suspected it was the wrong thing for me to do though. And I didn’t do it graciously. I just became tired of having the same conversation. He was affronted, said he was capable of paying his own way.’

  That was something else Jakob had never divulged to Ted. ‘He turned it down?’

  ‘No, he took it, but he never came to visit. Probably used it to pay for Evie’s private treatment and that’s completely understandable.’ She sighed. ‘But he probably saw it as a personal failure.’

  Again Ted and Juliette made eye contact. Evie never had any private treatment.

  ‘So when was the last time you spoke with Jakob?’ Juliette asked.

  ‘Two weeks ago. He contacted me when Evie went into remission and then he had gone quiet for a good few months. I thought it was because of the money. But he called me up all excited because he was going to surprise Evie by arranging to renew their vows.’

  Ted and Juliette were speechless.

  ‘He’d sounded genuinely happy, not the forced version I was used to. He said that after all they’d been through, he wanted them to have a fresh start.’

  ‘So, two weeks ago?’ Ted frowned.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Which day?’

  ‘Saturday. In the evening.’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  Brit frowned back at his persistence. ‘Positive.’

  Hadn’t Juliette told him that that was when Jakob had made his suicide attempt?

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  ‘I didn’t care about the money. I was just glad things were looking up for him. He’d been through a lot and I still feel guilty that I hadn’t been more supportive. But it had been a taxing time for me. My eldest has been having some issues with drug dependence.’ Brit swallowed hard. ‘Something we’re taking a day at a time.’ She paused, briefly closed her eyes and inhaled. ‘None of which you need to know.’

  Ted recalled the story she’d readily told him about her husband giving her a black eye. ‘I’m sorry to hear that.’ It wasn’t the first glib cliché he’d offered up to her.

  ‘So … as far as you were concerned, Jakob seemed happy when you spoke to him?’ Juliette asked, mystified.

  ‘We were probably talking for half an hour. I was going to the theatre, but I’m sure he would have chatted longer.’

  It didn’t sound like the actions of a man contemplating imminent suicide. Ted looked across at Juliette and her obvious confusion.

  ‘Like I said to your husband though, Jakob never really allowed people to get very close. I never met his wife, so maybe you have a better insight into their relationship. It was clear from his phone calls that he loved her, but it would be improper of me to attempt to defend him.’

  Ted understood, particularly as Brit obviously had her own experience of domestic violence.

  Brit continued. ‘It’s hard to accept that, after all they went through, it should end this way though. But maybe the trauma of her treatment had put undue pressure on them both. People deal with things in different ways and I’m sure Jakob would never have confronted his own feelings about it.’

  She was right, but Ted still couldn’t accept that Jakob had just gone crazy, no matter what had acted as a touch paper. His behaviour really hadn’t been that much of a concern when he’d got in the cab after Evie’s game. ‘We’re still hoping that Renton will find the person who called at the house.’

  ‘Did you know many of Jakob’s other friends?’ Brit sniffed and put away the packet of tissues, her demeanour businesslike again.

  ‘No,’ Ted responded. ‘He never spoke to me about them, although we did wonder if the figure in the clip was someone that Jakob or Evie might have called.’

  Brit straightened again. ‘Detective Renton has told me that they’re going to access the records of both their phones. If either of them did summon them there, they’ll have a number. What about his work colleagues?’

  ‘I don’t think either of them socialized with their fellow teachers,’ Juliette replied. ‘They had enough of the politics during school hours.’

  ‘So they met at the school?’

  Ted nodded. ‘St Ballantine’s. They both lov
ed teaching the kids there.’

  ‘What about Evie’s friends?’ Brit pressed.

  Juliette answered. ‘She was the same as Jakob. Had little social life outside of school. They preferred each other’s company, but we’d get together for dinner once in a while.’

  ‘You weren’t close to Evie then?’

  Juliette opened her mouth to answer but hesitated. ‘Yes, I was, used to see her often. But she withdrew when she was having her treatment. Didn’t want visitors, didn’t want to see anyone, and I understood that.’

  Brit turned that over for a few moments. ‘But recently you only saw her at these dinner parties.’

  ‘Yes.’ Juliette didn’t look at Ted. ‘We’d talk a lot on the phone though,’ she added.

  ‘And she didn’t give you any inkling that there was anything wrong with Jakob?’

  Ted watched Juliette shift slightly in her chair.

  ‘No.’

  Why didn’t she tell Brit about Jakob’s suicide attempt?

  ‘What about the other people at the dinner party?’ Brit took out her hire car keys and fastened the catch on her handbag. ‘Would they want to come to Jakob’s funeral?’

  Juliette stiffened. ‘I don’t know … I mean, I could find out.’

  Brit held up her hand. ‘Sorry, I don’t want to put you in an awkward position. You have my number, so please let them know they can contact me.’

  Juliette bit her lip. ‘I will do.’

  Brit fixed Ted with a stare. ‘You’re right. This unknown visitor is probably the only person who can tell us what went on. If that doesn’t happen though, it may just be me at the funeral.’

  There was an awkward silence, but Ted was reluctant to make a promise he might not keep. What if it was proved that Jakob did kill Evie? But it was looking less and less likely. Would he still go?

  Brit stood and slung her handbag on her shoulder. ‘I’ve taken up enough of your time.’

  ‘Not at all.’ But Juliette was on her feet.

  ‘I’ll keep you informed re the arrangements, but Detective Renton says he doesn’t know how long the autopsy results will take.’ Brit looked down at the coffee table and then realized her car keys were in her hand. ‘Sorry, too much to juggle. I can see myself out.’