The Dinner Party

by R. J. Parker

  ‘What’s wrong with you?’ But then Ted realized she was reacting to something behind him.

  ‘Rhys, no!’ Kathryn yelled.

  Ted heard something crunch against the back of his head but was unconscious before he struck the carpet.

  CHAPTER FIFTY

  Ted felt something solid against the back of his head and when he lifted it the pain surged in. He opened his eyes to darkness. Had he gone blind? There was a strong aroma of polish in his nostrils. Where the hell was he?

  As his senses returned, he realized he was lying on his back. He tried to rise but struck a solid edge with his eyebrows. Was he inside a box? His breathing accelerated and he shot his hands out in front of him, but they didn’t encounter any lid or barrier. But when he dropped them to his sides, they landed on something soft and cold. He gripped the object to his right, ran his fingers along its smooth contours. It was a leather shoe.

  Ted groped above him and found the edge he’d bumped into. He took hold of it and used it to push his body forward and lever himself up to a sitting position. He felt dizzy as the blood drained from his face and the wound on the back of his head pounded under tight skin. He touched it and flinched.

  He recalled the event that had preceded his waking up there. Where was Juliette? Ted waited for the wooziness to subside as his eyes became accustomed to the dark. To his right was a thin strip of light that seemed to be coming under the bottom of a door. Scrambling first to his knees and then shakily to his feet something metallic hanging over him butted his scalp as he straightened but he ignored the pain.

  He pushed on the door in front of him, but it was solid in the frame. His hand scrabbled down its smooth surface to the handle. He leaned against it, pulled on it. He was locked in.

  Voices, low and in another room somewhere.

  Ted held his breath and then put both his palms against the panel in front of him as he strained to listen. Why had he been confined like this? If he’d been attacked surely Juliette would have got him to a hospital. He attempted to hear the muted conversation, but the jangling circulation in his ears drowned the words.

  Should he stay silent? But what if Juliette was in danger? He reached into his back pocket for his phone, but it was empty. There was no way of knowing exactly how long he’d been unconscious.

  Ted banged on the door twice with his fist. ‘Open this door.’ His throat was dry and struggled to get the words out. He waited.

  The voices continued.

  ‘Open this door, now!’ He found enough volume the second time.

  The voices stopped.

  They’d heard, whoever they were. Ted kept upright by holding onto the door and waited.

  Footsteps approaching.

  Ted rapped again. ‘Get me out of here. Now!’ he demanded. But he felt on the verge of blacking out.

  A loud impact from the other side made him jump backwards from the panel.

  ‘Rhys!’ Kathryn’s voice.

  ‘Kathryn?’ Ted staggered back a little and fell against a soft wall behind him. Coats?

  ‘Just go! Cool off!’ she yelled.

  Footsteps and then a front door slammed.

  Ted lifted himself off the coats. ‘Kathryn?’

  ‘Yes. We’re unlocking the door. Are you calm?’

  ‘When wasn’t I calm?’ he answered and felt his legs wobble beneath him.

  A key turned in a lock and suddenly daylight flooded into his cell. He squinted against it and took in the two figures standing in the hallway before him. Juliette and Kathryn.

  Juliette came forward and put her hand under his right elbow. ‘It’s safe to come out now. We had to lock you in there for your protection. I’d better call an ambulance.’

  ‘No, I’m OK.’ Ted didn’t know for sure but his need to find out what was going on overrode everything else. He glanced down and realized he’d been lying in Kathryn and Rhys’s understairs cupboard, his head under the bottom step, shoes everywhere. He bent to pass through the doorway and cool air hit his warm face.

  Kathryn trotted to the window overlooking the drive and peered through. ‘He’s gone, left on foot. Better get Ted out of here before he comes back.’

  Ted freed himself from Juliette’s grip. ‘What the hell is happening? What did Rhys hit me with? A baseball bat?’

  ‘His fist.’ Juliette’s eyes shifted to where Kathryn was.

  ‘I’m sorry, Ted.’ Kathryn walked back to them. ‘It is all my fault.’

  ‘You already said that. Why did Rhys attack me?’

  ‘I was scared it would come out when Renton interviewed us. When we told him about the game we played for Evie.’

  Ted looked at Juliette. She was wearing a resigned expression.

  ‘What I wrote down. What Rhys burnt.’

  Ted could still feel the wound fizzing as the room spun.

  ‘Come and sit down.’ Juliette was supporting him again.

  Kathryn wiped stray strands of hair from her forehead. ‘I’m sorry, Ted, but I told Rhys we’d slept together.’

  CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

  Ted frowned and even that action tugged at the lump on the back of his head. ‘Why would you tell him that?’

  ‘Come on.’ Juliette guided him into the lounge.

  Ted allowed her to lead him there and was grateful to drop down onto the green leather couch. As she examined him, he closed his eyes and waited for the room to come to a standstill.

  ‘I think he’s got concussion.’ Juliette sat next to him. ‘Call an ambulance.’

  Ted opened his eyes and touched her hand. ‘No, just give me a moment.’ He blinked a few times, but the walls were still shifting.

  ‘Ted …’

  ‘Wait,’ he said firmly.

  ‘I’ll grab my first aid.’ Kathryn was about to head out of the door.

  Ted held up his palm. ‘I’m fine. Just tell me what this is about.’

  ‘Get the kit,’ Juliette ordered sternly.

  Kathryn disappeared to fetch it.

  ‘I’m sorry.’ Juliette kissed his hand gently and released it. ‘I should have told you. When you arrived we were in the middle of it: Kathryn had just told Rhys about her affair.’

  ‘With me?’ Ted hissed as he tried to rest his head against the couch. ‘How come I don’t know about it then?’

  ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘You’ve apologized already.’

  Kathryn was back. She handed a plastic white zip-up bag to Juliette and then seated herself in the green leather armchair opposite him. ‘This is on me. I’ve been seeing somebody else.’ She clenched one hand in the other. ‘For nearly two years.’

  That was a shock to Ted. Kathryn and Rhys always seemed so together. Even when they’d been writing down their secrets, he hadn’t suspected either was capable of infidelity.

  ‘I used to go out with Rhys’s brother, long before we were married. Then I met Rhys. But when my father died Rhys’s brother was a real comfort to me. And things … reverted to how they’d been.’

  Juliette produced some antiseptic from the bag and a piece of cotton wool.

  ‘Rhys and his brother have a long history. They’ve always fought. If I told Rhys who I’d really been seeing he would kill him. I mean actually kill him.’

  ‘So you told him it was me?’ Ted retorted incredulously.

  ‘I told him it was somebody he knew, so he kept pushing me. I chickened out. Knew what he would do to his brother if I told him the truth. So I lied and said you. Rhys respects you.’

  Ted snorted. ‘Not anymore.’ Before Juliette could apply it, Ted took the antiseptic-soaked cotton wool and lightly touched it to the back of his head. He sucked in air to stem the pain and then examined the swab. No blood, but it felt like there should have been. ‘You could have made something up when Renton questioned you. Nobody else knows what was in your envelope.’

  ‘Rhys had been getting increasingly suspicious. I’d been careless. It was a matter of time before he confronted me.’

  T
ed tried to recall the exchanges between Kathryn and Rhys the night they’d played the game.

  ‘It was a stupid thing to do but when Rhys has simmered down, I’ll tell him the truth.’

  ‘That’s what we should all be doing,’ Ted said flatly.

  Juliette took the swab from him and tipped some more antiseptic on it. ‘So if Renton wants to know what all of us wrote you will too?’

  Ted had walked into that. But he had to respond. ‘If it can explain what happened to Evie and Jakob …’

  Kathryn picked up on the atmosphere between them and was silent.

  ‘I really think you should let a doctor examine you.’ Juliette handed him back the cotton wool.

  ‘I’m OK.’ But the burn seemed more intense when he dabbed it again.

  ‘Rhys isn’t usually violent.’

  Ted looked askance at Kathryn. ‘“Usually”?’

  She rose. ‘You’d probably better finish doing that at home though. Our interview with Renton starts soon.’

  Juliette nodded. ‘Are you OK to stand?’

  Ted got to his feet but still felt punch-drunk. He regarded Kathryn. ‘Will you be OK?’

  ‘I think so.’ Kathryn glanced at her watch.

  ‘Are you going to wait for Rhys to come back?’ Ted asked.

  ‘No time. He needs a few hours anyway.’

  ‘Have you got the keys to his car?’ Juliette put the kit on the coffee table.

  ‘No. I think he’s got them with him.’ Kathryn nervously tugged at her sleeves.

  ‘Let us drop you there then,’ Ted offered.

  ‘Would you?’

  Ted felt better that they weren’t leaving her alone. He was badly shaken by Rhys’s attack, but more by the notion that he was capable of it. ‘So what are you going to say to Renton?’

  Kathryn took her house keys from a dish on the coffee table. ‘I’ll answer all his questions, but I’m not going to tell him anything he doesn’t need to know.’ She took his phone from the mantelpiece and handed it to him. ‘Sorry, I didn’t want you calling the police when Rhys tried to boot the cupboard door in.’

  ‘There was no reasoning with him.’ Juliette swallowed.

  ‘Can you phone Rhys? Maybe I should.’ He located his number.

  Kathryn exhaled. ‘You could try.’

  Ted called it and a ringtone started in another room.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

  Juliette and Kathryn were silent as the three of them left the house together. Kathryn pulled the front door closed as Ted scanned the street. No sign of Rhys.

  ‘Shall we go in your car?’

  Juliette was right. Her 500 was going to be tight for three of them. Ted pointed. ‘It’s parked down there.’

  Juliette aimed her key at her yellow Fiat, and it beeped twice as she locked it.

  But Ted hesitated. ‘Will it be safe on the drive?’

  Kathryn hooded her eyes. ‘He’s angry with me not Juliette. And he’s not a vandal.’

  ‘Not just angry with you,’ Ted reminded her.

  ‘I’ll talk to him.’ Her expression was grim. ‘When I get back, I’ll straighten it out.’

  Sounded to Ted like she was dreading that conversation more than the interview with Renton. He unlocked his car and slid into the driver’s seat. Juliette got in the front and Kathryn slumped in the back. They said nothing as he reversed and turned.

  Ted accelerated along the street and paused at the crossroads. Still no sign of Rhys. The sooner Kathryn spoke to him the better. He didn’t like the idea that he was nursing a completely unjustified resentment. Ted understood why Kathryn was reluctant to tell Rhys who she’d been seeing but why choose him? It didn’t seem plausible, but maybe Ted was the first name she thought of. He glanced at Kathryn in the mirror and she stared right through him. ‘Kathryn.’

  She didn’t respond.

  ‘Kathryn, are you OK?’

  She nodded weakly.

  He turned to Juliette. She swivelled her head to her friend.

  ‘Would you like me to wait at the station with you?’ Ted offered Kathryn. ‘What time do the girls come home?’

  Kathryn didn’t answer.

  ‘Kathryn?’ Juliette prompted. ‘Do you need to pick the girls up?’

  She snapped out of her trance and her eyes darted as she thought about it. ‘The minder brings them home at half four. I hope I’m back by then.’

  ‘And that Rhys has calmed down.’ Ted was angry that he’d been dragged into this situation. ‘Are you all right?’

  Juliette eventually realized he was talking to her. ‘Just shaken.’

  ‘I can drop you at the house if you don’t want to wait at the station. Then I can go back, pick Kathryn up and take her home.’

  ‘No, I’ll wait and come back with you both,’ Juliette insisted.

  ‘Failing that, we could involve the police.’ He studied Kathryn’s reaction in the mirror.

  ‘No,’ she said determinedly. ‘I need to work this out with Rhys.’

  They drove on for a few moments, Ted examining the pedestrians but not spying Rhys.

  ‘Why did you come to Kathryn’s?’ Juliette asked.

  Was he going to mention the visit from Zoe? That was why he’d got into the car. But when he thought of it his behaviour seemed ridiculous. He would tell Juliette about it but not now, not in front of Kathryn. ‘I had a call from Renton,’ he deflected. ‘He said there was Rohypnol, the date-rape drug, in Jakob’s system.’

  The two women silently absorbed this.

  ‘I told Connor and he came round.’ He had to quickly explain. ‘I tried to call you at the office to tell you, but Shawna said … well, you know.’ He felt a pang of guilt. That wasn’t strictly the order of things.

  Juliette was deep in thought.

  ‘Rohypnol?’ Kathryn repeated. ‘How could he have taken that?’

  ‘Or been given it.’ Ted watched her in the mirror.

  Kathryn shook her head.

  He kept watching her.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

  Kathryn got out of the car at the police station just before eleven.

  ‘We’ll wait for you here,’ Ted said as the cold wind blew in.

  She nodded and closed the door. Wrapping her dark teal cashmere shawl tighter around herself she set off unsteadily towards the main entrance, her normally neatly coiled hair rippling around her pale face.

  ‘So how much of that did you know before you went over this morning?’

  Juliette wound down the window. ‘I need some air.’

  Ted waited.

  ‘I didn’t know about her affair until today. She called me last night and said she wanted to see me because Renton wanted to interview her about the phone call Evie made to her that morning.’

  ‘And didn’t tell me.’

  ‘Kathryn knows how you feel about keeping stuff from the police. She didn’t want a hard time.’

  Ted wasn’t sure Kathryn was so easily intimidated by him, but another thought occurred to him. ‘Don’t you think it’s strange that Evie called Kathryn?’

  Juliette opened her mouth to reply but her eyes darted.

  ‘Evie and Kathryn aren’t that close. Were we called first?’

  ‘I … assumed so.’ Juliette bit her lip.

  ‘But you told Evie we were on our way. Why would she then call Kathryn as well?’

  Juliette blinked as she followed Ted’s train of thought.

  ‘Kathryn said Evie phoned her and that Rhys told her not to get involved. Was it only after that call that Evie rang us for help?’

  Juliette didn’t have an answer.

  ‘I suppose they’re five minutes closer. Isn’t it weird that Kathryn wouldn’t help Evie though? And why didn’t she mention it earlier? At least to us?’

  They both watched Kathryn climb the steps to the station and disappear through the entrance.

  Ted wondered exactly how much she would tell the detective about the dinner party. ‘Because she didn’t tell him upfr
ont will Renton now think she’s hiding something about the drugs in Jakob’s system?’

  Juliette inhaled slowly. ‘All I know is Kathryn was worried about what would come out when Renton interviewed them. Rhys already had suspicions about her affair and had been sniping at her since the trust game. She cracked and told him about it this morning and he’d already gone off on her when I arrived. He’d locked himself upstairs. Didn’t want to see her and she was pleading with him through the door.’

  ‘You should have left.’

  ‘I wanted to, but then Kathryn said she’d told Rhys she’d had the affair with you. Besides, I couldn’t not help her.’

  Kathryn didn’t help Evie when she needed it. But Ted kept that thought to himself. He undid his seatbelt. ‘So what happened after Rhys hit me?’

  Juliette shivered but didn’t wind the window up. ‘You collapsed and that stopped him in his tracks. Kathryn got him into the room next door, but he wouldn’t listen to reason – he wouldn’t believe she’d lied about having the affair with you. I was ringing the police, but she begged me not to. Took your phone and asked me to lock you in the understairs cupboard while she calmed him down. You were still semi-conscious.’ A tear rolled down her cheek. ‘I wanted to call an ambulance, but you said no and got to your feet.’

  Ted struggled to recall any moment between the blow and waking in the cupboard.

  ‘You were really dizzy, losing consciousness. I guided you to the cupboard; you sat on the floor and then slid down the wall. Rhys started yelling at Kathryn again. I locked the door so he couldn’t harm you. Then I went to the kitchen to tell them I was going to phone for an ambulance. That was when Rhys started kicking the door.’

  Ted knew the rest.

  ‘But you still haven’t said why you called at the house.’

  ‘Zoe came around.’ Ted realized it was going to sound foolish.

  Juliette frowned. ‘What for?’

  ‘Just being neighbourly, I suppose. It was unusual though. She was wearing make-up.’

  That took a few seconds to register with Juliette. ‘Make-up?’

  ‘Maybe I was being stupid, but it’s just I’ve never seen her like it.’