Lipstick and Lies

by Viggiano, Debbie

  I straightened up. ‘I thought everything was rosy in the garden with the business.’

  ‘Oh the business is rosy all right. It’s the staff that aren’t.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ I asked.

  Jamie put down his knife and fork again. ‘Look Cassie. I know you don’t like me talking about Selina, but I need to get a few things off my chest.’

  I shifted in my chair. ‘Like what?’

  ‘Some grumbles. Well I can’t moan to Ethan can I? He’s my business partner and the majority shareholder. But his fiancée is really starting to be a burden with her unreliability. I told you that Selina’s not been herself recently. Up one minute, down the next. One day she’s in the office. Then you don’t see her for dust. Well she didn’t come in today. Ethan was very tight-lipped about it. Said Lena had car problems. Again.’ Jamie picked up his fork and speared a bunch of chips. ‘And that excuse didn’t ring true. Selina has just had her car fixed by the garage – what could be wrong with it? And if she really did have car problems, why didn’t she travel in with Ethan? Why the need to absent herself?’

  ‘Well perhaps they’d had a row.’ I reached for the salt pot on the table. Fiddled with it. ‘Why didn’t you ask Ethan the question?’

  ‘He wasn’t in the mood to answer questions. He’s not been himself either. Not for the last couple of days. Very preoccupied – mind elsewhere. Something’s wrong. Very wrong.’

  I nudged the salt pot around with my index finger. Took a deep breath.

  ‘I saw Selina this morning.’

  Jamie’s fork froze mid-air. ‘You saw Selina?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Do you mind elaborating?’

  ‘I was at Nell’s. Selina drove past.’

  ‘Let me get this straight.’ Jamie put his fork down again. ‘You were at Nell’s and just happened to be standing by a convenient window, when you saw Selina drive past in a car that Ethan told me is defunct?’

  ‘That’s about the gist of it,’ I nodded.

  Jamie stared at me. ‘And why would Selina be driving past Nell’s house?’

  ‘Well funnily enough I didn’t rush out and flag her down to ask. But I watched her. She parked outside Stevie’s house. And then she pulled out a bunch of keys and let herself in.’ I fiddled with the salt pot, this way and that, not liking myself for bending the truth. ‘Look Jamie, there’s a few things I need to tell you.’

  ‘Like what?’ Jamie stared at me.

  The salt pot fell over with a clatter making us both jump. I set it right and folded my hands in my lap. ‘I did try and tell you that I thought Selina and Stevie had started an affair, but you told me it was none of my business and that I had an obsession with the woman.’

  ‘Well she can hardly be having an affair with Stevie right now! The bloke’s done a disappearing act.’

  ‘Jamie you’re an ex-copper. You should be able to put two and two together. Ask yourself these questions: why is Selina absenting herself from work so frequently? Why did she drive to Stevie’s house this morning? Why is she in possession of a missing person’s house keys? And why is she letting herself into the missing person’s house?’

  ‘I don’t know Cassie. But before you put two and two together and come up with five, I’m going to give Harry a ring. He said he’d push things along regarding finding Stevie, and be in touch if there was anything to report. Well obviously Stevie’s not languishing in any hospitals, nor made any cash withdrawals from banks, otherwise Harry would have been in touch. So let me give him a call and see if his boys have come up with anything.’ Jamie pushed his dinner plate away and stood up.

  ‘Hang on a minute Jamie.’ I grabbed my husband’s hand. ‘Sit back down a minute. Finish your dinner. I have something else to tell you.’

  Jamie paused. He gave me a considering look. ‘Why do I get the feeling that I’m not going to like what you’re about to tell me.’

  I squirmed in my seat. Oh God. Perhaps I should backtrack. Before it was too late. But then again it was very likely Morag was at this moment bringing Matt up to date. And what if Matt ignored Morag’s wishes not to tell Jamie, and rang my husband to say their respective wives had been doing stupid things and consequently alerted a dangerous fruitcake to come after them? I took another deep breath. At this rate if I took too many I’d start hyperventilating.

  ‘I wasn’t in Nell’s house when I saw Selina drive into the cul-de-sac.’

  Jamie sat back down again, but his plate remained untouched. When he spoke his voice was dangerously quiet. ‘So where were you?’

  ‘In Stevie’s bedroom.’

  Jamie blinked. ‘Alone?’

  ‘With Morag.’

  My husband closed his eyes. I could see him struggling to maintain patience.

  ‘Why?’

  ‘To see if we could find any clues about Stevie’s whereabouts.’

  ‘I see. Well actually I don’t see. So let me get this straight. Even though I’ve been in touch with my old Superintendent about Stevie missing, and asked Harry to speed things along, for some reason my wife and her friend deem it necessary to pay their own visit. Tell me Cassie, were you both calling each other Cagney and Lacey again?’

  I ignored Jamie’s sarcasm. ‘You may mock, but I’ll tell you one thing our detective work threw up.’ I leant forward and crossed my arms on the table. ‘A bottle in Stevie’s bathroom cabinet. And not any old bottle,’ my eyes blazed triumphantly, ‘but one with a label on it. A label that read Gamma-Hydroxybutyric Acid. Known as GHB. Also known as the date rape drug.’

  ‘Cassie, before you leap to conclusions, GHB is regulated in most of Europe and used to treat a number of things – sleep problems, depression, also fibromyalgia symptoms. In short, anything from experiencing pain to having an irritable bowel. There might be any number of reasons why Stevie’s GP prescribed GHB for him.’

  ‘I don’t believe this!’ I slapped the table with the palm of my hand. ‘Why do you refuse to see what is so obvious to me?’

  ‘Cassie, right now nothing is obvious to me. You’ve told me that Selina had a bunch of keys to let herself into Stevie’s house, and that you and Morag were in Stevie’s bedroom. Leave Stevie’s medicine cabinet out of the equation for a minute. What happened when the three of you came face to face?’

  ‘Nothing. Because Selina didn’t see us.’

  Jamie took some deep breaths. Clearly it was now his turn to flirt with hyperventilation. ‘So why didn’t Selina see you?’

  ‘Because we hid. Morag climbed in the wardrobe and I wriggled under the bed.’

  Jamie rubbed the heels of his hands into his eyes. ‘Could you tell me why on earth you felt it necessary to hide, when you could have simply taken the option for straight talking? If it had been me I’d have asked Selina what the dickens she was doing letting herself into your ex-husband’s house.’

  ‘Oh no,’ I shook my head, ‘we couldn’t do that. Not after that Council business and losing our wigs and Morag nearly killing Victor who tipped off Selina who sussed out Morag’s car and checked out her number plate and found it on Nell’s driveway and–’

  Jamie held up both hands. ‘Enough!’ My husband scraped back his chair and stood up. Began pacing the kitchen. ‘Let’s go back to the bedroom bit. Morag’s in the wardrobe. You’re under the bed.’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And then Selina comes into the house?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And from your superior vantage point, what did you see?’

  ‘Her ankles. And they went into the en-suite shower room. But Morag filmed it all.’

  ‘Selina’s ankles?’

  ‘No! Selina removing the bottle of GHB of course.’

  Jamie ceased his pacing and turned to stare at me. ‘Selina took the bottle of GHB?’

  ‘Yes!’ I cried. ‘It’s what I’ve been trying to tell you all along. Morag and I think it’s hers. It was in the apartment too – bottles of the stuff on the kitchen table. Morag took a photogra
ph.’

  ‘You went to Ethan’s apartment?’

  ‘No! Morag and I paid a visit to Selina’s Blackheath apartment and–’

  The phone rang. There was a moment where both of us just stared at the handset all lit up on the kitchen worktop. I couldn’t see the caller number display from where I was sitting. My stomach contracted with nerves. Was it Matt? Calling to tell Jamie the full extent of what Morag and I had been up to?

  Jamie stared at the handset. ‘That’s Ethan’s number.’

  The knot in my stomach tightened. ‘Aren’t you going to answer it?’ I whispered.

  Jamie picked up the handset. ‘Ethan! Good evening.’

  There was a pause. I stared at my husband and tried to read his expression. I wondered what Ethan was saying. ‘I see,’ Jamie eventually said. ‘Is there anything I can do? Right. Don’t worry about work. No problem. Yes of course I’ll sort tomorrow out. It really couldn’t matter less. You see to Selina and look after yourself. Okay. Goodnight.’ Jamie put the handset back in its cradle and turned to face me.

  ‘Well?’ I asked.

  ‘Selina’s ill. Ethan doesn’t think she’ll be going to the ball tomorrow. And apparently he’s not feeling so fab himself. So it’s unlikely he’ll be going either. He’s not going to cancel his room at the hotel just in case, but it’s not looking promising.’ Jamie sat back down and stared at his cold omelette and tepid chips. ‘Somehow I get the feeling I’ve just been fed a load of bullshit.’ He looked up at me. ‘And I presume you know exactly what’s happening in Ethan’s household. Am I right?’

  ‘I’ve got a rough idea,’ I murmured.

  ‘Right Cassie.’ Jamie shoved his dinner plate to one side. ‘How about you tell me exactly what’s been going on. From the beginning please.’

  Chapter Thirty

  As anticipated, Jamie was furious that Morag and I had taken it upon ourselves to snoop around Selina’s Blackheath apartment.

  ‘It’s one thing to bump into Selina and Stevie shopping together and follow them out of curiosity Cassie,’ he’d raged, ‘but it’s quite another to take yourself off with Morag and poke around Selina’s apartment block. What if the pair of you had knocked over and killed that old boy?’

  Jamie had then tried getting hold of his old Superintendent, Harry, only to be told he was unavailable. Nobody would tell Jamie anything about the investigation or what progress, if any, had been made. It was as if a wall of silence had suddenly sprung up. Frustrated, Jamie had slammed the telephone back into the receiver muttering oaths about confidentiality, bureaucracy and red tape.

  ‘Are we still going to the ball?’ I’d asked timorously.

  Jamie had raked his hands through his hair. ‘For now, yes. You’ll have to drive yourself up to Oxfordshire. I’ve left a message for Harry to call me immediately if things break on the investigation. Until then we carry on as normal. Mum’s looking after the kids, and Ethan has told us to make free with his hotel room. I’ll square it with Mum for us to stay overnight. We might as well take advantage. Before my wife finds herself in Court for false impersonation, trespass and manslaughter.’

  We’d gone to bed not on a row exactly, but certainly things had been very strained. And now, Saturday morning, I had awoken to find Jamie’s side of the bed empty. I had no idea what time he’d taken himself off to James Powell and the bank.

  I stretched and turned over. The clock radio said a little after eight. The baby monitor emitted a few noises indicating Eddie was stirring. Seconds later a cry went up.

  I flung back the duvet and shivered. Gosh it was chilly. Wrapping my dressing gown around me, I crossed the landing to Eddie’s nursery. I could hear activity from the other children in their rooms. Moments later Livvy shot out of her bedroom.

  ‘I don’t have any clean jodhpurs,’ she wailed.

  ‘In the airing cupboard,’ I called after her. I picked Eddie up, sorted out a smelly nappy and then went downstairs to start on the breakfast. In the kitchen I found Edna had beaten me to it.

  ‘Good morning Cassandra dear,’ my mother-in-law chirruped. She was looking quite radiant. And there was no mistaking the spring in her step as she moved between fridge and hob, cracking eggs into one pan and frying a mountain of bread in another. From nowhere a wave of nausea hit me.

  ‘Hi Edna.’ I strapped Eddie into his highchair and set about mixing up some chocolate Ready Brek.

  ‘Will you be having a slice of fried bread?’ Edna asked.

  ‘Um, I’ll pass thanks.’ I popped the Ready Brek in the microwave and twiddled the dial. ‘So how was your meal with Arthur last night?’

  ‘Most enjoyable dear.’ Edna paused long enough in her frying to go slightly dewy eyed. ‘We visited that new Italian trattoria in Boxleigh. You and Jamie must try it. I had a tender sirloin steak with herb roast potatoes and cherry tomatoes. Absolutely delicious.’

  The thought of sitting down to an eight ounce jobbie, tender or otherwise, had me fluttering a hand over my mouth.

  ‘Jolly good,’ I mumbled. The microwave pinged. Removing Eddie’s Ready Brek, I gave it a quick stir and made sure it wasn’t too hot. ‘So how’s the boat restoration progressing?’ I snapped a plastic bib around Eddie’s neck and set about feeding him.

  ‘It’s coming along a treat dear.’ Edna slotted a stack of fried bread into the range to keep warm, and began plating up the fried eggs. ‘She’s now structurally sound, so we can move on to the cosmetic bit. This morning we’re prepping the underside of the boat ready for painting. This afternoon we’ll be taking ourselves off to sort out other bits and pieces. We also need to buy some anti-fouling paint.’

  ‘Anti-fouling paint?’ I repeated. ‘Whatever’s that?’ I let Eddie take the spoon from me and have a go at feeding himself. The spoon found his cheek and left a cereal trail before disappearing into his mouth. My son gave a chocolaty grin.

  ‘It’s a special paint to inhibit marine growth,’ Edna explained. ‘Meanwhile, Cassandra dear, I know you’ll want to get ready for the ball this afternoon. Eddie can take a ride with his nanny and Arthur. You’ll like that won’t you darling?’ Edna cooed at her grandson. ‘Nanny will make a fine workman out of you one day.’

  Eddie rewarded his grandmother with a gummy smile before picking up his bowl and sticking his face in it.

  ‘Well as long as he won’t be any trouble to you and Arthur, that would be absolutely fab.’ I gently prised the bowl out of Eddie’s curled fists and set about wiping his face clean. ‘Jamie suggested I meet him at the hotel about half five.’

  ‘I saw him very briefly before he left this morning. He put me in the picture about Selina and Ethan not being well. Never mind. It will do you both good to have a bit of a break on your own.’

  ‘That’s very thoughtful of you Edna,’ I smiled. Not for the first time I realised there were hidden advantages to a mother-in-law that never seemed to go home.

  Later, I ferried the children to the stables. Hugging them hard, I told them to be good for Nanny Edna while Jamie and I were away overnight. I then popped in on Morag for a very swift coffee. Blow-by-blow accounts were exchanged regarding our husbands’ respective reactions to our confessions.

  ‘Matt calmed down eventually,’ Morag said. ‘My husband thinks I need to get back to work. That I’m bored, and needing more mental stimulation.’

  ‘And how do you feel?’ I asked.

  Morag shrugged. ‘My maternity leave finishes in six weeks. I’ve been in touch with Hempel Braithwaite about doing a three day week. But we’ll see. They’re keen to get me back on the treadmill, preferably full time and with a partnership.’ She stared out the window of her large kitchen. Winter sunlight was pouring in, making it look a lot warmer outside than it actually was. ‘A couple of years ago I’d have jumped at it. But now–’ she trailed off.

  ‘Now the invisible umbilical cord is tugging,’ I smiled.

  ‘Not half,’ Morag sighed. ‘I can’t bear the thought of leaving Henry with a nanny while I g
o off to stress myself out over some commercial takeover. Having a baby was all I ever wanted. And relinquishing the daytime care of Henry to a person who isn’t even related to him, isn’t what I want. What if I missed his first step? Or his first proper word? You can’t press a rewind button – once it’s happened the moment has gone forever.’ She sighed and stared into the depths of her coffee. ‘Apart from anything else, I want another baby. A partnership isn’t going to mix well with anti-natal appointments.’

  ‘You’ve got a few more weeks to think about things. Anyway,’ I drained my cup and stood up, ‘I’d better be heading back. Edna has things to do, and she’s taking Eddie with her while I titivate.’

  ‘I’m surprised at Jamie going ahead with this function. I thought he’d want to be closer to home for the next twenty-four hours.’

  I grabbed Eddie’s holdall and stood up. ‘At the moment there’s no official news. Harry hasn’t responded to Jamie’s calls. The police refuse to comment on the investigation. All we have so far is Ethan ringing to say that Selina is unwell. Ethan was apparently very anxious about James Powell being looked after, and asked Jamie to take care of things today. Without any info from the police, Jamie can hardly refuse Ethan. So we’re just carrying on as normal until circumstances dictate otherwise.’

  ‘Well have a great time in Oxford.’ Morag walked me and Eddie to the door. ‘I know what I’d be doing tonight if I were in your shoes.’

  ‘Hmm. I don’t think there are any indoor equestrian centres near the hotel.’ I gave my friend a wry smile, before hugging her good-bye.

  On returning to Lilac Lodge, I transferred Eddie’s car seat from The Muck Truck to Edna’s Micra. Letting myself into the house, I cleared up a fur ball one of the cats had sicked up, and then gave Eddie some lunch. My earlier nausea had subsided, so I munched on toast while Eddie worked his way through a jar of Mr Heinz. Edna and Arthur appeared soon afterwards for a bite to eat, and then took Eddie off with them.

  Suddenly I was alone. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been in the house without somebody around. Even the cats had naffed off to chase mice. I found my mobile phone and gave Jamie a ring. Hopefully his time spent with James Powell today hadn’t been compromised by Ethan’s absence. However, upon connecting, my call went straight to voicemail.