Naked Truths

by Karen Botha

  ‘And what about how you felt about Steph?’

  ‘Naturally sad too of course.’

  Her eyes laser through Mo and she sits in silence staring him out, she won’t be broken. Eventually Mo relents.

  ‘You speak of we when you answer my questions specifically aimed at you, why is that?’

  ‘I had no idea I was.’

  ‘Yes, is it something you all spoke about a lot; you and the rest of your family?’

  ‘It was an important part of our lives at that time. Yes we talked about it, but only as any other family would.’

  She’s not giving Mo a thing to work with. I’m running through my notes in the back room trying to find anything to pass on through his ear piece that will help him break her.

  Mo continues, ‘Do you love your son?’

  ‘Of course. No mother could ever sit here and say they don’t love their child.’

  ‘Would you decide what is best for your son?’

  She grins wryly, ‘As a child yes. I still have my moments, but they shout louder than me now.’

  Mo removes a printed still from the beige cardboard file that until this moment has been sitting untouched on the desk.

  ‘Is this you deciding what is best for your son, Mrs Harrington?’

  Nicely put! I halt my page shuffling and concentrate on the interview.

  She pulls the photograph nearer to her with the index finger of her right hand and studies it.

  Mo pushes her, ‘You can’t be shouted over if your son doesn’t know what you’re doing.’

  ‘I guess in a manner of speaking this is me deciding what is best for him. You can see, I’m rubbing her feet. I’d done some research online. Apparently if you rub the inside edges of the ball of the foot that is the heart. It may help. We were willing to try all alternatives at that point.’

  Mo isn’t giving up that easily. ‘This is a still shot Mrs Harrington. The video footage prior to the image you are looking at show you getting something out of a bag. What would that be?’

  ‘I have arthritis in my hands,’ she holds them up to demonstrate this as fact. They seem fine. ‘I’d also read online that in Thailand they use sticks to administer this type of treatment. I had a pencil.’

  Mo sighs. This woman has an answer to everything.

  ‘Would you like to hear what I believe, Mrs Harrington?’ Mo asks.

  ‘Not particularly but I’m sure you’re going to enlighten me.’

  ‘Indeed I am.’ He pauses for effect. ‘I believe you didn’t like the way your son was being treated. Steph was a danger to the family you hold so dear. She cheated on your youngest son, your eldest had a thing for her that threatened his marriage to a woman that from what I understand you approve of.’

  Mo takes in some air, ‘On top of all of this, Hugh, a child who has grown up in your home was also having an affair with Steph. Not only did this risk the happiness of Giles, it also risked breaking up the loving family of someone who you also considered your son.’ Mo lets his words sink in.

  Virginia sits dead still, meeting his eyes.

  ‘Steph becoming sick gave you the opportunity to deal with the one person who jeopardised the continuity of your family. The video shows you producing a concoction of Copper Two Sulphate out of your shopping bag and injecting it between the toes of your daughter-in-law.’ He jabs the screen-shot with his index finger. ‘You’ve been around some pretty bright scientists your entire life, you’d know this is the only substance that could kill her and be out of her system before she was discovered, therefore rendering it untraceable. You knew an onset of diarrhoea, bad as it may be, wouldn’t cause any untoward worry. You also knew the location of the cameras and were able to position yourself such that you could block what they could record.’ He leans back in his seat, satisfied.

  ‘Have you quite finished my dear?’ Virginia asks self-righteously.

  Mo’s eyes shift up, stunned. Normally after a barrage like this, people close up and start asking for lawyers.

  ‘May I speak now?’ She's undeterred by his silence.

  Mo remains quiet, but gesticulates towards her.

  ‘You are talking utter nonsense and furthermore, you have no proof whatsoever. That is why I am stuck in here listening to your allegations. If you had a shred of evidence on me, you’d have locked me up and thrown away the key.’

  She did it! If we were wrong, she would have said something along the lines of ‘there is no evidence’ not ‘you don’t have any’. Mo catches it too. He scrapes back his chair and stands.

  ‘I need to stretch my legs,’ he leaves the room. I watch Virginia relax against the seat back, the tension off. She’s alone.

  Mo bursts through the door. ‘Get your chap on this will you?’

  I’m momentarily confused, ‘Huh?’

  ‘Your computer chap.’

  ‘What, Jerome?’

  ‘Yes. See if he is able to enhance the tape so we can make out what she is doing.’

  ‘OK, but why Jerome, he’s more of a hacker?’

  ‘It will take too long to go through the official channels. He may have contacts if he can’t do it himself. This one is a flight risk. She’ll be off to wherever it was she came from if we’re not careful.’

  I pick up my phone. I have a missed call from Lucy.

  I return it after I’ve finished with Jerome. ‘How are things going? I heard you brought the formidable Virginia in?’ Lucy asks.

  ‘Yeah, she’s here. Strictly between you and me, she could be doing the archetypal don’t hurt my family thing.’

  ‘Oh really,’ her tone rises, unable to disguise her shock.

  ‘Yeah’ and we’re both quiet, contemplating how messed up this all is.

  ‘Maybe those murder books were hers?’

  ‘It is possible. We’re waiting to see if we can get some footage enhanced before we go any further so please, Mum’s the word.’

  ‘No, of course not, so you don’t think Giles had anything to do with this anymore then?’

  ‘Not really, but let’s wait until we're certain where the evidence leads. Why?’

  ‘Well, because I really miss him, but until I discover who he is, I can’t move things forward.’

  ‘I’m sorry for screwing up your life,’ I was convinced Giles was involved with this.

  ‘It’s OK. At least I know you’ve got my back and if he’s worth having, when all of this is over, he’ll understand. I just have to wait a bit longer I guess.’

  ‘I have to go,’ I announce as my phone pings a message. Jerome is here already.

  ‘You didn’t hang around,’ I smile as I turn my back on him and lead him through the miserable corridors.

  ‘Well, it sounded urgent so I got a cab, I can expense it to you anyway.’

  I groan. He doesn’t change. I show him into the specialist IT area and introduce him to the team. They’re a bit skeptical about him using their beloved apparatus so although it annoys me immensely I have to ask Steve to give the official OK.

  ‘Call me when you’re done.’ I leave him in his new playground. This equipment is the things dreams are made of for a self-confessed IT geek such as Jerome.

  LUCY

  I’ve been trying to call Giles for a few days. He hasn’t answered nor returned my calls. Panic is rising that I may have missed my opportunity - that my naivety has cost me my future. So, I’m sitting with my engine ticking over by the exit to his work's car park.

  His shift finishes in five minutes and then I will say how sorry I am. I'll tell him I was wrong to assume his previous behaviour would impact on us and our relationship. That I understand now that an entire life together is about give and take.

  Typically, it’s raining, its heavy pelts crackle against the metal surrounding me. I watch as best I can through the blades of clear glass cleared by frantic wipers. Cars start to leave the large gates, headlights on in the dim light. As they turn towards me to head out of the one way road, they send shards of dazzling l
ight across my rear-view mirror.

  I don’t see Giles until he passes and I get a clear vision of his number plate. I hastily follow. My intention was to meet him at the gate so we could sit in the privacy of his car, avoiding the relative publicity of his brother’s home. This will have to do. I’ll catch him when he parks up, before he goes inside.

  As we drive, I’m not too concerned about keeping up with him. I know where he is headed, anyway. My only concern is that he doesn't get inside the house before I accost him.

  But then, he turns off in the wrong direction. This certainly isn’t towards Wyndham's place.

  We drive a little more and end up in an estate. The roads wind an unnecessary path, pretending to be country lanes, but actually sitting on what is more than likely a decrepit landfill site. New build houses, posing as old.

  He pulls over and gets out of the car. Turning the collar of his jacket up around his ears to protect him from the weather, he runs and knocks on a dark green door. A female face peeps through the glass and the door swiftly opens. As soon as there is space, Giles pushes his way in.

  My entire body is shaking. My foot is still on the brake. It's pushing up so far, only my toes are momentarily preventing the car from moving before the ball reattaches. I’m acutely aware of this rhythm almost enjoying it’s momentary distraction from the confusion my brain is unravelling.

  My chest moves up and down so much so that the seat belt catches on the underside of my chin. It's rough. I move my attention to it, a reminder that life shifts and at a moment’s notice I can be vulnerable again. To truly love I must open myself up to that risk. No more hiding. I have to take control.

  I loosen the door handle, bracing myself for a storm of two parts; a mental and physical barrage. If something is going on in there, I need to hang around long enough for it to start so that I catch whatever is happening in full throw. Move too soon and I’ll never know.

  I sit and wait. I watch the minutes tick over. The illuminated backdrop to the rest of my life.

  When I eventually approach the same green door, my shaking has not yet ceased. I hear raised voices inside. I exhale deflating some tension as I hold off until they fall quiet. Then I wait some more before I knock.

  ‘Hello?’ The woman is fully clothed when she answers.

  I’m unsure of what to say now I’m here, I should really have used my time in the car to plan.

  ‘Can I help you?’ she continues.

  ‘Sorry, I’m here to see Giles,’ I try.

  ‘Giles doesn’t live here anymore.’

  ‘No, but he is here now.’ I’m thinking on my feet so the news that Giles used to live here makes a detour around the central processing section of my brain. It’s only when it is diverted back again that I manage to process this piece of information. The door is held widely open for me. I keep my mouth firmly shut.

  Giles is in the sitting room, standing by the window looking at my car.

  ‘Hi,’ I whisper and wave to him. I cringe, colour rushing up my neck to demonstrate my foolishness on my cheeks.

  ‘Hi,’ he replies as he crumples his brow. ‘What are you doing here, Lucy?’

  There’s a pause whilst I consider what I am actually doing here. This evening is entirely different from how I planned it.

  ‘We needed to talk in private,’ I turn to the doorway and direct my gaze at the woman hovering there. ‘I’ve had some time, and I didn’t want to go to Wyndham's with an audience so I waited for you at your work. With the rain I missed you when you pulled out so I had to follow you.’ I’m babbling. We both know it, but he doesn’t help.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ He tries not to spit out his words, tense that I don’t trust him.

  ‘Well, I’m wondering what you are doing here,’ I justify levelly. His face changes, eyes lighting as understanding registers.

  ‘Ah, OK. This is Julie.’ He points, she’s still standing in the doorway, not interested in the slightest about privacy. It makes sense now, Giles used to live here. This must be his old house.

  ‘Why are you visiting Julie after work, Giles?’

  ‘Because I have a few things of my own that I need to understand.’

  ‘OK, so why were you arguing when I arrived?’ Please let this be related to the case. Please let this not be about the here and now. Please let me not have missed the obvious.

  ‘Because, this little whore was giving it the whole, I want us to be together line, whilst all the time she was banging my brother.’

  A firework explodes in my chest. Fabulous! So it is related to their past. But I still have to ask, ‘Why are you concerned about that now though if it’s history?’

  Julie pipes up, ‘My point exactly.’

  ‘Because she rents this place for next to nothing from me because I felt so bad for letting her down.’ Giles roars his frustration overflowing. ‘She’s had years of living here for a peppercorn rent. And all because she made tears when I didn't want to give her marriage and kids. Yet, all the time she was off having multiple dalliances. She even took Wyndham line dancing for goodness sake - Wyndham of all people!’

  Julie is smiling slyly in the doorway. ‘Hey, they didn’t even realise he was a different guy. We used your name. There are advantages to you looking alike. When it all ended with Wyndham and I, that was the killer. He was way more exciting than you, I hoped we’d have a future, but he is stuck to his prissy wife. I was sad for a while, but there’s always a silver lining. When I threatened to tell all and blow his world apart, that’s when I started earning real money. I’ve done well out of the pair of you, free home and cash to spend. Can’t call me stupid.’

  I’m expecting Giles to erupt but he doesn’t. ‘I’ve been had, I’ll accept that. But really, Julie, you’re the fool. You need to be out by the weekend. I owe you nothing anymore.’

  He turns on his heel and leaves. There’s a moment where I’m standing in his old front room with Julie. I take a silent second to consider her. I don’t agree with what she did, but I have to admire her strength on a different moral level. Instead of saying this, I follow Giles out and into the cold wet night. He’s leaning over his car, his arms resting above the driver’s door, head down whilst he processes what he's learnt.

  I hover, ‘Are you OK?’

  He ignores me and continues standing exactly as he was. I edge closer and run my arm round his waist. His body softens at my touch and he turns. His face is wet, but the rain has stopped. I link my arms around his neck and pull him lower so I can kiss his tears, wrapping myself tightly into him, nestling into his chest. We stand for some time, just being. He kisses my head lightly and rests his chin there, holding me close.

  ‘I love you.’ I feel his breath ruffle my hair.

  I incline my face, wanting him to see into my soul, ‘I love you too.’

  ‘Get in the car,’ he instructs.

  Once inside he leans over and kisses me tenderly on the mouth. The slightest brush of his lips sends me spiralling back to a place I have missed. Heat rises between my legs, my stomach back-flips and I reach over to hold him closer. The central armrest gets in the way breaking us apart momentarily.

  He takes the opportunity to talk, ‘Before this goes any further, I need to fill you in. A lot has happened. Paula has certainly kicked up a storm.’

  ‘Yes, I’ve heard a bit about that,’ I smile.

  ‘Probably not the whole of it though, its a real mess, Wyndham was with Julie, you caught that tonight.’

  ‘Yeah, although Penelope thought he was having an affair with Steph.’

  ‘Oh, so you’ve been doing your own detective work then?’ he grins and my soul lifts as his eyes twinkle.

  ‘Well, not really, but I did find out some interesting snippets of gossip.’

  ‘Ah, well fill me in as I go. There’s a tape of Steph catching Wyndham mid act with Julie, which is a bit worrying because it gives both Wyndham and Julie motive. I’m assuming you didn’t know that?’

  ‘No,
I had no clue about that. Jennifer also suspected Hugh was with Steph, did you know that?’

  ‘No, but it would seem Hugh was having an affair with Steph for years. He seems to suppose it was OK from what I can gather. Apparently I should have realised what Steph was like and therefore expected it.’

  ‘Oh I see…’ I’m not sure what to say, it certainly does appear that Giles missed quite a bit, if I'm being impartial.

  ‘Hmm, anyway, Mum has got dragged into it now because she visited Steph and so had the opportunity to top her, apparently.’

  ‘Oh, no! Not Virginia?’ I keep it to myself that Paula told me she'd taken Virginia in for questioning.

  ‘Yes, the only person who hasn’t been pulled into this in some way is you,’ he hugs me into him struggling over the handbrake and I smell remnants of his aftershave on his clothing.

  ‘How have you been allowed to be involved with all of this? Mo said you were helping with enquiries?’

  Giles goes through how he found the discs, and the dilemma that had him call Paula in confidence.

  ‘The thing is though, I still don’t think it was worth it. We’re no nearer to the truth.’ He rests his forehead on his hands which hang off the steering wheel. He shakes it, ‘All I wanted was to move on from this when I met you,’ he groans.

  There’s a pause during which I deliberate whether this is my moment.

  ‘Can I ask you something?’ I mumble.

  ‘Of course,’ he replies as he lifts his head from its resting place.

  ‘What was that whole stalking business about?’

  He sighs. ‘I’m sorry. It was just I can't afford to waste energy or time on us if we had no chance of working.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ I’m not much enlightened.

  ‘Well, I obviously spent time with Steph expecting us to be together for the rest of our lives. Irrespective of the tragic reasons that didn’t work out, recovering from that pain meant I lost even more of my best years.’

  ‘OK…’ I’m starting to see.

  ‘So, I didn’t want to waste time with someone who seemed suitable on the surface, only to find out months into a relationship I was wrong.’