The Dinner Party

by R. J. Parker

  ‘Think she’s going to panic?’

  Ted was relieved that Connor had acknowledged that. ‘She feels guilty about playing the game.’

  ‘Don’t we all. It was a stupid thing to do, but perhaps we were just as stupid to keep it from the police.’

  Ted was glad Connor was thinking the same. ‘Renton wants to interview us all again.’

  Connor’s expression hardened. ‘Then we do what we agreed.’

  ‘But he’s probably not going to be satisfied until one of us owns up to spiking Jakob.’

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

  Connor gazed contemplatively into his coffee. ‘Did Jakob mention if they were going anywhere after dinner that night?’

  ‘You mean he could have been spiked on the way home?’

  ‘It’s possible.’ Connor glanced briefly over to the dining table. ‘We don’t really know what happened to them between one and four.’

  ‘The police have their home security footage of them getting back soon after they left here. Plus the guy driving their cab, Alex, came to the house yesterday.’

  Connor frowned. ‘The Lithuanian guy? I know Alex. We use him as well.’

  ‘He’s already spoken to Renton,’ Ted explained.

  ‘Why did he come here?’ Connor picked up his mug again.

  ‘He’s worried the police’ll look into his family’s documentation. Or lack of it.’

  ‘Odd that he would call at your door though.’

  ‘Said his boss was giving him a hard time because Renton was sniffing around the cab office. Probably doesn’t want anyone looking into his employment records. We had a visit from Jakob’s sister soon after.’

  ‘I didn’t know he had a sister.’

  ‘Much older, no-nonsense lady. He’s been talking about going home to visit his family as long as I’ve known him.’

  Connor lifted an eyebrow. ‘I never got the impression Evie was keen.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘She always found an excuse.’

  ‘It was a financial thing.’

  Connor raised his hands. ‘Look, you knew them better than me, but I think that one was going to run and run. I always felt Jakob wasn’t that cut up about it either.’

  ‘Jakob was desperate to visit.’

  ‘Or was he happy for Evie to present him with a reason not to? If he needed to so much, he would have gone years ago.’

  Ted wasn’t so sure. ‘His sister obviously had some problems with him when they were growing up. Sad that this was the thing that brought her over here.’

  Connor nodded. ‘So, earlier, when you said Jakob was the last friend you expected to top himself …’

  Ted knew he’d picked up on that. ‘The last time we had a drink, just the two of us …’ He wasn’t sure how to continue.

  Connor waved his hand. ‘I know, my head wasn’t in a good place then. Things are different now though.’

  ‘I was worried. Even discussed it with Juliette.’

  Connor rolled his eyes. ‘Don’t worry yourself, or Juliette, about me.’

  ‘So things are improving with you and Orla?’

  Connor briefly grimaced. ‘Improving probably isn’t the best word. You and Juliette have never interfered though, and I’m grateful for that. Evie was the one who …’ He cut himself off.

  ‘Her heart was always in the right place.’

  ‘I know, that’s why Orla and I put up with it. As if Evie and Jakob didn’t have their own problems.’

  Ted was curious. ‘Did you have any idea what Orla wrote and put in her envelope?’

  ‘Nope. And I’m certainly not going to tell her what I wrote.’

  There was a brief silence between them.

  Ted realized that Connor wasn’t tempted to share. Was he? No, he barely entrusted it to himself.

  ‘I’d better be getting off anyway. I don’t want Orla to be alone when she wakes up.’ Connor took a big slug of coffee. ‘Let me know if you hear anything.’

  ‘You should expect a call from Renton.’

  Connor seemed lost in thought as he headed for the hall.

  CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

  As soon as he’d waved Connor off on his motorbike, Ted closed the front door and took out his phone to ring Juliette. He got her message so tried her office number.

  ‘Environmental health,’ a familiar female voice answered.

  Ted recognized Juliette’s colleague. ‘Hi, Shawna, it’s Ted.’

  ‘Hey, Ted,’ she said warmly. ‘Haven’t spoken to you in a while.’

  ‘Is Juliette about?’

  Shawna paused, as if offended by his reluctance to chat. ‘She is but she’s in a meeting at the moment. Shall I tell her you called?’

  ‘Yes, please.’

  ‘Emergency?’

  ‘Not really. Can you just get her to ring me when she’s done?’ He felt guilty about not sharing Renton’s revelation with her, but she was busy and now he’d left a message. He hung up and realized how abrupt he’d been. He had no time to worry about it now though. He dialled Kathryn and Rhys’s number and his guilt intensified. When Juliette found out she’d know exactly what he’d done. Spoken to the others before her to make sure they were all going to be straight with Renton.

  Nobody picked up. Didn’t Juliette say Kathryn was staying home too? Ted cut the call and was about to try Rhys’s number when somebody knocked on the front door.

  He opened it and Zoe was standing on the step. She looked like she might be going out somewhere, as she had mascara applied to her eyelashes and wore a long red button-up coat.

  ‘Hi, Ted.’

  He immediately noticed the change in her usually stressed demeanour. ‘Hi.’ He was surprised to see her arms were empty, her hands in her pockets. ‘No, Pip?’

  ‘She’s sleeping. She’s been much better lately.’

  So she wasn’t going anywhere. She had subtle red lipstick on as well. Zoe was a pretty girl, mid-twenties and living in a house paid for by her wealthy ex-partner. They’d never met him, but Juliette had told Ted that Zoe was still recovering from postnatal depression. Outwardly she was always smiling and happy, but she had to be lonely. That was what had made Juliette enlist her to look after Georgie.

  ‘I saw you come back in the car this morning. Everything OK?’ Her brow wrinkled in concern.

  ‘Yes, I’m off today anyway.’

  ‘Juliette as well?’

  ‘No, she had to go in.’

  Zoe nodded, but it didn’t appear to be a revelation. ‘So you’re on the school run?’

  ‘I may as well be childminder today.’ Was she after more babysitting hours? Did she need the money? Not from what Juliette had told him.

  ‘Just a terrible business.’ She shook her head.

  ‘Yes.’

  She bit the side of her red lip. ‘Is there anything I can do?’ Her blue eyes dipped.

  You’re a conceited idiot, he told himself. She was just being neighbourly. But why was she made up in that way? ‘Thanks, but we’re fine.’ Juliette always invited her in, if only for ten minutes. He had to invite her in. But now he was getting a waft of her perfume and he’d never seen her look so glamorous. Maybe she would tell him why.

  She didn’t.

  He hovered for a few seconds. ‘I’m actually just on my way out,’ he lied. But it was all he could think of to justify not admitting her.

  Disappointment briefly registered on her face. ‘Oh, sorry to hold you up.’

  ‘No, it’s fine, have to run a few errands.’

  Her expression remained set, but something went out in her eyes. ‘Just let me know if you need anything.’

  ‘That’s really kind, Zoe.’ He grabbed his jacket from the hook for good measure.

  Zoe still didn’t leave.

  He shut the front door behind him and slipped the jacket on.

  She turned and walked with him down the path to the car. ‘Have you heard anything from the police?’

  Was she making conversation to cover u
p the awkwardness of the moment? ‘We’re just waiting to hear.’ How much had Juliette told her? Irrespective, he didn’t feel the need to get into a conversation with her.

  They reached the end of the path and Ted scrabbled in his pocket and prayed the car keys were there. They were.

  ‘I’ll catch you later then.’ She went through the gate before him and turned left to go into her own.

  ‘OK.’ Ted hung by the car and knew he’d have to get into it. He did so while Zoe walked up her path to the front door. It was going to look stupid if he didn’t start the engine.

  Zoe went through her blue door and shut it behind her.

  What if she watched him through the window? It was ridiculous but he turned the Corsa over and pulled out. Where would he go? Georgie didn’t need picking up from school for a good few hours yet. Ted accelerated to the end of the street and halted there.

  Why hadn’t he wanted to invite her in? He was sure Zoe wouldn’t try anything as inappropriate as he was imagining. It had probably been completely innocent, but her manner had been so much different.

  How long did he have to stay away before returning? Perhaps he would pick up some groceries. He was driving in that direction when he had another idea. Kathryn and Rhys were only five minutes away.

  He turned right and made for the crossroads. He’d only been there once but he was sure he could remember the house if not the exact number.

  But when Ted arrived in Dixon Street it was easy to identify their home, because Juliette’s yellow Fiat 500 was parked in their drive.

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  Ted squinted at the licence plate. It was definitely Juliette’s, next to Rhys’s red Lexus. He was about to pull into a space opposite the house but coasted to the end of the cul-de-sac and parked there. He switched off the engine but didn’t get out. There could be no explanation for her presence. She’d told him she was in a meeting from nine until eleven that morning. He glanced at his watch: 9.49. She knew he wasn’t a huge fan of Kathryn and Rhys, so wouldn’t expect him to call here.

  He took out his phone and rang her office again. ‘Hi, Shawna? It’s me again.’

  ‘Oh … Ted.’ She didn’t sound as friendly this time.

  ‘Sorry, I know Juliette’s in a meeting, but I just wondered if there’s going to be a break anytime soon so I can speak to her?’

  ‘Um …’ she paused. ‘I don’t think so. She’s in the thick of it at the moment.’

  ‘OK, that’s all I needed to know.’ Ted hung up.

  He wondered what to do next. Juliette had obviously set it all up before she left the office, if she’d ever been to the office. She’d been on the phone to Kathryn last night. Had this little meeting been planned then?

  Ted started the car again. He would go home and wait for her to get in. Part of him hoped that would be soon, that she would tell him exactly why she’d stopped off here. But it was too premeditated, and he didn’t want to see her sell the lie. He couldn’t wait until then.

  He switched off the engine and got out of the car. Closing and locking the door he walked to the house, passing the grass verges and trees that lined both sides of the street. The branches were bare, and the grubby silver sky made the surroundings even bleaker. He slowed as he reached the drive. What was he going to say? More importantly, what would Juliette say?

  He didn’t need to double-check it was her car as he strode up the slight incline of mossy tarmac. He paused outside the oak-veneer front door and considered that whatever happened next might change their relationship forever. He thought about their burnt secrets. Was Juliette the one with more to hide?

  He listened at the panel but couldn’t hear any voices. Was Rhys at home as well? Ted pressed the bulbous brass doorbell and stood back to wait. Nobody came to the door. Had Juliette gone somewhere with them?

  He jabbed the bell again; leaning nearer to the wood and hearing it faintly ring inside. If there was anyone in, they knew he was here. Maybe he’d been spotted approaching the house and they weren’t going to answer. Which was stupid because he’d seen Juliette’s car in the driveway. He rapped the knocker hard.

  Still no answer or movement.

  Ted stepped over the flowerbed onto the lawn and peered past the curtain into the front lounge. Empty, except for two wine glasses and a bottle on the coffee table in front of the TV.

  He crossed in front of the window and headed to the black-panelled side gate. Skirting two recycle bins, he pressed the clicker on the handle and pushed inside.

  He was in the tight passageway between their house and the next. He closed the gate quietly behind him and trod silently along the path until he reached the lawn at the rear. Only a few days earlier he’d been doing the same at Evie and Jakob’s.

  When he reached the decking, he gazed up the length of their long lawn. The grass was unkempt and there was a dilapidated trampoline at the far end with a pool of water in its middle. The kids would be at school today. A pungent smell from the black compost bin against the hedge drifted into his nostrils.

  Suddenly Ted felt like a trespasser. Had he missed something? But Juliette was deceiving him, and he had to find out why. Maybe Shawna had warned Juliette by now.

  Ted advanced onto the decking and carefully peered around the first window into a long kitchen. There was a coffee mug on the breakfast bar, but other than that, the room was immaculate. No sign of anyone.

  He crept past it until he was at the conservatory, which contained nothing but a hammock on a stand and a wooden crate of toys. Next to the frosted glass back door was a double window. Ted slunk to that and, keeping the rest of his body concealed by the wall, peered through the half-open plantation blinds.

  For a few moments he couldn’t see anything. There was no light on in the room. But as his eyes got accustomed to the gloom he could make out two people standing by the open door to the hallway. He cupped his hand around his eyebrows and tried to focus.

  It was Juliette. She had her back to him, but he knew it was her. Standing in front of her was Kathryn. They were clearly in the middle of a heated argument. Kathryn wore an old grey tracksuit as washed out as her pallor.

  He could just hear their voices through the triple glazing, but it was impossible to work out what they were saying. Juliette held her hands up and her head dipped as she castigated Kathryn.

  Kathryn remained impassive before her expression grew hostile. She spat something back at Juliette and wiped her palm over her face in exasperation.

  Then Kathryn’s eyes locked onto Ted.

  He could see her lips form his name.

  Juliette turned to look at him.

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  Juliette froze but said nothing, and Ted took a pace back from the window. He’d been spying, but Juliette was the one in the wrong. He remained where he was, and it seemed like a good few minutes before he heard a key turn in the back door. It opened inwards and Kathryn was standing there.

  She frowned. ‘What are you doing here, Ted?’

  But he wasn’t going to allow her to put him on the back foot. ‘I rang the doorbell and knocked loud enough.’

  ‘Sorry, we were in the middle of something.’

  ‘So I gather.’ Ted waited for her to elaborate but she just stood back.

  Ted entered the kitchen via the conservatory.

  ‘Go through to the lounge.’ Kathryn sealed the door.

  Ted felt uneasy as he walked into the room on his left. Juliette stood there, panic in her eyes. ‘I just spoke to Shawna. She said you were in the thick of it.’

  Juliette remained rigid. ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘Why all the lies?’ Ted’s face felt hot.

  ‘It’s my fault.’ Kathryn had followed him in.

  Ted kept his gaze on Juliette.

  ‘I asked her to come,’ Kathryn continued.

  Ted turned to her. ‘Why? And where’s Rhys?’

  ‘Upstairs,’ Kathryn answered. ‘He’s locked himself in the bedroom.’

 
‘What the hell for?’ Ted returned his attention to Juliette.

  Her face was blank.

  ‘Juliette, what’s been going on?’

  She still didn’t answer.

  A thump from overhead.

  Juliette’s eyes rolled briefly to the ceiling.

  ‘Shall I go and ask him myself?’

  ‘You’re probably the last person he wants to see.’

  When he fixed Kathryn again, she stood in front of the doorway to prevent him from passing. ‘Why?’

  ‘We should tell him the truth,’ Juliette interjected.

  Ted knew that this was no longer about Juliette wanting to hush up their involvement in Evie’s trust game.

  ‘You’re welcome to go up and see him … if you want your neck broken.’ But Kathryn remained blocking the doorway.

  ‘Why wouldn’t Rhys want to see me, Kathryn?’

  ‘I knew we’d get the call from the police; have to explain why we didn’t go to the house.’

  Ted realized what Kathryn was talking about. ‘Evie and Jakob’s?’

  Kathryn sighed. ‘Evie called us too, early that morning. Asked me to go over there. I wanted to but Rhys wouldn’t let me. Told me to let them sort it out between themselves. I know I should have gone. I said call me again if it gets out of hand, but it already had.’

  ‘Why didn’t you tell us?’

  ‘I could have done something, but I didn’t. I got a call late yesterday afternoon. Renton had accessed Evie’s and Jakob’s phone records and found the call to us. Wants to interview us this morning at eleven.’

  ‘Why not be honest and just say you thought the argument would fizzle out?’ Ted swivelled back to Juliette. ‘So is this the truth?’

  Juliette nodded once but was still tongue-tied.

  ‘I panicked. Asked Juliette to come here, Ted.’

  It still didn’t make any sense to him. ‘And why is Rhys so angry with me?’

  Juliette bit her lip and looked over his shoulder at Kathryn.

  ‘That’s my fault too,’ Kathryn said firmly.

  But Ted wanted to hear it from Juliette. ‘What aren’t you telling me?’ He took three steps towards Juliette and she recoiled as if he was going to strike her.