by D. S. Butler
I ordered the butternut squash risotto and garlic bread, and Janet opted for the sea bream. He gathered up our menus and left us to talk.
“To tell you the truth, Abbie, I think something besides her mother’s death has put the fear of God into Sienna. Obviously, I’d expect her to be emotionally distraught but… I’m sure she’s scared of something.”
“Steve?” I wondered aloud.
Janet shook her head. “That was my first thought, too, but apparently not. She said she’s happy to go back to Yew Tree House with Steve. Mum thought that was a bit much tonight so she’s taken Sienna back to her place.”
I had to agree with Marilyn. Even though I’d spoken to Steve earlier and he’d seemed rational and calm, I would have felt uncomfortable knowing Sienna was there with him on her own with no one to protect her.
“Did the police give you any other information? Do they know why Nicole was targeted?”
“Not really. Though they did say they think she was the intended victim. They are working on the assumption that it wasn’t a random attack. I’d assumed it was some sort of robbery gone wrong when I’d heard she’d been shot, but it seems that’s not the case. None of her personal belongings were taken. She still had cash in her purse and her rings were still on her fingers.”
“Did Sienna tell the police why she ran off?”
“She just said she was scared.”
“Did she tell them how she heard about Nicole’s death? I mean, nobody in the family saw her after Nicole was shot. She just disappeared.”
Janet tensed. She picked up her wine and took a sip. “That’s a good point. I don’t know how she found out. The police want to talk to her again tomorrow. We’ve agreed that she can be questioned at the station, so I’m going to go with her.”
I didn’t object. It wasn’t my place and besides, whatever I thought of Janet personally, I truly believed she wanted the best for Sienna and wouldn’t let her be railroaded in an interview.
I leaned forward and in a quiet voice said, “I saw Steve earlier.”
Janet, who was just taking another sip of her wine, spluttered. “What?”
“He was waiting for me in the lobby of my hotel when I got back,” I said quickly so she didn’t think I was sticking my nose in where it wasn’t wanted. “He came to see me.”
“What did he want?”
I shrugged. “Just to talk apparently. He thanked me for finding Sienna and apologised for his behaviour when I turned up at the house.”
“Did he seem…?” Janet looked at the ceiling as she searched for the right words. “Did he seem guilty to you?”
I wasn’t sure what guilt looked like. I’d watched his body language, looking for tell-tale signs that he was hiding something. But I was no expert.
“I don’t think so. He said somebody had tipped off the police and told them he was in New Mill Lane the day Nicole was shot, but the police checked out his alibi and proved he was in London. Somebody was just trying to make trouble, I suppose.”
Janet looked surprised. “I didn’t know that. I knew they’d taken the shotgun away, so I thought the gun was the reason they’d taken him in for questioning. I wonder who would have said something like that?”
I shook my head. “Steve said it was an anonymous tipoff.”
Janet’s eyes narrowed. “Some mean, busybody with nothing better to do. People like that should be charged with wasting police time.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
When our meals arrived, we paused our conversation.
“What will Sienna do now? Will she stay with your mother indefinitely?”
Janet speared a piece of salad with a fork. “I’m not sure. But we’ll decide what’s best.”
“What if Sienna decides she wants to go home to Yew Tree House?”
Janet looked up sharply. “To Steve?”
I nodded.
“She’s just a child.” Janet scowled. “She doesn’t know what’s best for her.”
I raised my eyebrows but said nothing.
Janet narrowed her eyes. “We are her family. And we’ll decide what’s best for her.”
Again, I didn’t respond. I didn’t want to argue with Janet and have this end up in a fight, but my refusal to engage only seemed to infuriate her further.
“I just want to see Sienna settled,” I said, eager to pour oil over troubled waters. I didn’t say I wanted to see Sienna happy because I thought it would be a long time before she would feel happy again. After what had happened, it was going to take time for her to come to terms with her loss.
Janet dropped her fork onto her plate and pointed at me with her index finger. “Don’t even think about it. You are not taking Sienna off to India or God knows where.”
I hadn’t even considered that. Not seriously anyway.
“I’d never take Sienna away from her family, Janet.”
“You wouldn’t be able to even if you wanted to. No court would allow it.”
“Calm down, Janet,” I said. “We are on the same side here. We both want what’s best for Sienna. I want to help you.”
Janet looked at me scornfully and pushed her plate away. She drained her wine glass and said, “I seem to have lost my appetite.”
With a sinking heart, I watched Janet throw her napkin on the table, set a twenty pound note beside her plate and send me one last wounded look before she got up and stalked out of the restaurant.
I shouldn’t have been surprised. I hadn’t had many conversations with Janet that hadn’t ended in an argument or disagreement. Usually Nicole had borne the brunt of Janet’s moods.
The worst part was, I was sure that Janet really did love Sienna and wanted to help her. But for some reason, she saw me as a threat.
Chapter Twenty
The next few days passed slowly. I guessed Janet must have said something to the other members of the family because I was suddenly persona non grata. I’d left messages for Marilyn and Steve, offering to help with the funeral. But Nicole’s mother had sent me a curt text message back refusing and Steve hadn’t responded.
I sent Sienna a few messages on Facebook and she was quick to respond, but when I suggested meeting up, she sent back a message explaining her grandmother wanted her to stay at home with the family until after the funeral. She signed off the message with an eye-roll emoji.
I’d had to phone the London office of the Trela Health Foundation and explain I was going to be absent a little longer. I’d originally expected to return to India after the funeral, but everything was still up in the air. Nicole’s murder was still unsolved, and I felt very out of the loop. At one point, I’d been tempted to phone Lizzie, the family liaison officer, and see if she’d give me an update. But then I changed my mind. If there had been a big development, surely even Janet wouldn’t be so cruel as to leave me in the dark.
I’d spoken to Rich and was pleased to hear he was getting on well with my replacement. My direct boss on the other hand, wasn’t happy with my extended leave. In the end, she said if there were any further delays in my plans, she’d offer a full-time position to my replacement, and when I was ready to go back to work, they’d have to see where they could fit me in.
I’d hoped the charity would be more sympathetic. It was a charity after all. But it seemed my boss had decided I’d spent a little bit too long on compassionate leave since I wasn’t directly related to Nicole. She didn’t have an answer when I pointed out I was using my own annual leave for this trip back to the UK.
The hotel I was staying in wasn’t exactly cheap, and if I had to stay in the UK much longer, I was in danger of losing my job. That meant I needed to move somewhere cheaper.
The day of the funeral came around quickly. The sky was a cloudless blue, and the air was warm and scented with cut grass as I walked across the hotel car park to get into my hire car.
That was another expense I was going to have to cut back on. The car was stiflingly hot, and I groaned as I got behind the wheel. I’d par
ked under the shade of a large oak tree but that didn’t seem to have helped at all.
Yesterday, I’d had to buy a black dress from a small boutique in Wokingham as I hadn’t brought anything suitable for a funeral with me. I was already regretting my choice. The outfit had looked smart and appropriately somber when I tried it on in the changing rooms, but today the dress felt too tight around my stomach and the man-made material was itchy.
I turned on the engine and pressed the air conditioning button, which sent jets of tepid air from the vents. I was very early so I waited for a couple of minutes for the car to cool down.
My head ached and my throat hurt with the effort of not crying, and I hadn’t even arrived at the church yet. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as I fastened my seatbelt.
The funeral was held at St James’s Church, close to Zack Ryan’s grandmother’s cottage. I parked just off Church Lane, slotting my car in between two other vehicles.
I fought the urge to run away and turned off the engine. The sadness of today was overwhelming. I got out of the car and squinted towards the church, shading my eyes from the sun. There were lots of people here and the mourners had gathered outside near the entrance. I walked slowly along the lane and then up the small path to join them. There was no sign of Nicole’s family yet, just groups of people I didn’t know. I stood awkwardly beside the entrance of the church, wishing my headache would go away.
I hadn’t been standing there long when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Turning, I saw Nigel. He was standing beside his wife, Julia, and there was no sign of the woman he’d been with at the hotel.
He wore a sheepish expression and gave me a goofy smile. “Hello, Abbie, we haven’t seen you in yonks,” he said, his eyes beseeching me to go along with his little charade.
I tried to summon a smile but I really didn’t feel like it today.
I greeted them both solemnly. “Nigel, Julia, how are you?”
Julia dabbed the corner of her eye with a tissue. “Finding it a bit tough to be honest. She was so young and it was such a brutal way to die.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Yes, it’s horrible.”
“You were so close. I can’t imagine how bad it must be for you.” Julia reached out and squeezed my arm.
I felt tears prick the corner of my eyes and quickly changed the subject. “How are the kids?”
“Oh, not bad. They’ve been playing me up recently, the little monkeys. Kids will be kids, I suppose.”
I tried to think of something else to say, to fill the awkward silence with mundane small talk, but I couldn’t. A moment ago, I’d been hoping for some company, so I didn’t look so conspicuous standing alone, but now I found myself wishing I was alone again. I didn’t want to make polite conversation today.
A long black car pulled up beside the church and a hush ran through the crowd of mourners. It wasn’t the hearse delivering Nicole’s body yet, though. It was the car for her family.
Steve got out, followed by Janet, Sienna and Marilyn. They must have overcome their fear of Steve being dangerous. Did they now believe Steve had nothing to do with Nicole’s murder?
There were whispers all around me. And I was sure I heard somebody say, “Isn't it always the husband?”
I turned sharply, and the people behind me broke eye contact and looked guiltily at the ground.
“Excuse me,” I said to Nigel and Julia then headed down the path to meet Steve and Sienna. I kissed Steve once on the cheek and squeezed his hand.
His face was tense, his features set in a stoic expression, but his eyes were glassy with unshed tears.
I moved past him to Sienna. She’d tied her tangle of coppery hair back from her pale face. She looked even more scared than the last time I’d seen her.
I pulled her in for a hug and felt her cling to me tightly for a moment. “Are you doing okay?” I whispered.
She managed a slight nod, and I kept my arm around her shoulders as I said hello to Marilyn and Janet who greeted me frostily.
Inside the church, I sat a couple of rows back from the family. It didn’t matter where I sat. I still got to say goodbye to Nicole and that was really all that counted.
No matter what Janet might think, I didn’t want to make this day any harder on her or her mother. So I gave them the privacy they needed to grieve on their own.
My heart was close to breaking through most of the service. Tears rolled down my cheeks when I heard Sienna sobbing in the front row as the pallbearers carried Nicole’s coffin into the church.
I tried to find comfort in the rector’s words, but it wasn’t easy.
After the funeral, people lingered at the church. The wake was being held at Yew Tree House, but I wasn’t sure I’d be welcome. I walked towards my car, intending to duck away early but Steve called out to me.
He apologised to the two women he’d been talking to and walked over to me, “Abbie, are you coming back to the house? Do you need a lift?”
“I have my car,” I said. “In fact, if there’s anyone who needs a ride, they can come with me.”
“Thank you. Could you give Mrs Partridge a lift? She hasn’t been able to drive since her stroke.”
“Sure. I’ll go and find her now.”
I headed off in search of Mrs Partridge. She used to be a teaching assistant at Finchampstead C of E school and was an integral part of the village. Everyone knew Mrs Partridge.
I didn’t see her immediately. It seemed nobody was in a hurry to get away from the church, which made it hard to spot people in the crowds.
I walked away from the church and down Church Lane, thinking perhaps she was chatting to someone she knew, when a familiar figure caught my eye.
Rob. And not just him, but Rob and his new wife.
I was tempted to blank him but that would be childish. Nicole’s death had put things in perspective. No one here was watching me or Rob. No one cared. Gossip had died down over the years. I tried to conjure up a friendly smile and hoped he’d just let me go past without striking up a conversation, but no such luck.
“Abbie! It’s good to see you. I’m sorry it’s under such tragic circumstances.”
“So how have you been?” I asked, determined to show I was past the emotional upset.
Rob smiled. “Pretty good. Business is going well.” Before he could say any more his new wife cut in. Her arm was looped around his waist possessively. “Yes,” she said. “Things are brilliant. We are so happy, aren’t we?”
I was about to comment that people who had to boast about how happy they were to others, were rarely truly content. But I imagined Nicole’s voice telling me to cool it. It almost felt as though she was standing next to me.
“Deep breaths, Abbie. Just let it wash over you. She isn’t worth the waste of breath. You’ve got more important things on your plate.”
My imaginary Nicole was right.
Over Rob’s shoulder, I could see Sienna talking to Jason Owens. As Rob’s wife began to witter on about the renovations on their new house, I tuned her out and studied the interaction between Sienna and Jason.
He was her teacher so it made sense that he’d offer condolences at her mother’s funeral, but there was something about their body language that struck me as odd.
Jason leaned forward, lowering his head, attempting to look Sienna directly in the eye, but Sienna stubbornly stared down at the floor.
It was probably just her way of dealing with the stress of today. But I couldn’t help feeling she wasn’t comfortable talking to Jason.
“What do you think?” Rob’s wife asked.
Damn. I had no idea why she’d asked me a question. What had she been talking about? I’d been too busy watching Sienna to pay any attention.
A flash of impatience passed over her face. “Rob always wanted a hot tub, but you didn’t like them. You really should try the new top of the range one we’ve just installed in our garden. It’s amazing, isn’t it darling?”
Rob had the decency t
o look embarrassed.
I didn’t remember ever talking about hot tubs with Rob. He shot me an apologetic glance.
“Perhaps I misremembered,” he said and I guessed what had happened.
I’d wager Rob was the one who didn’t want the hot tub. He’d probably tried to persuade his wife not to get one and my name must have come up somewhere in his argument. I couldn’t help thinking, if he’d been better at expressing his feelings, I wouldn’t have been left standing at the altar. We’d have split long before that happened.
“Excuse me, Abbie, could I have a quick word?”
I turned to see Toby Walsh, Steve’s business partner smiling apologetically at Rob and his wife as he put his hand on my elbow.
I cringed inwardly. Every time I saw Toby I couldn’t help thinking about Nicole’s terrible matchmaking attempt.
“Of course,” I said, letting him lead me away from Rob. “Is there something wrong?”
Toby smiled. His teeth looked unnaturally white against his tan. “I’m doing you a favour.”
I frowned in confusion. “A favour?”
He raised an eyebrow and leaned closer. “I was trying to rescue you from your ex.”
“Oh, was it that obvious?”
“Well, you were smiling through gritted teeth and clenching your fists. That was a dead giveaway.” He winked.
Finally, I smiled. “Well, thank you. It was a bit awkward. How did you know he was my ex?”
“Oh, Nicole gave me all the details on your love life when she was trying to fit us up.”
My skin was already flushed from the heat, but my cheeks burned at the memory of Nicole’s clumsy matchmaking. “I should have guessed.”
“Her heart was in the right place,” he said and shrugged. His hazel eyes fixed on mine. “I’d broken up with someone, too. It wasn’t the right time.”
I put my hand on his arm. “Toby, it was embarrassing enough at the time. Please don’t remind me of our blind date.”
Toby’s eyes widened and then he grinned. “Was it really that bad?”
“It was the definition of awkward.”
People were filing past us, making their way back to the cars parked along the lane. Everyone was wearing traditional black for the funeral, the very worst colour to wear in this heat.