‘Oh, hi darling.’ I started to leave a message. ‘Um, I hope you’re not having too many problems without Ethan being with you and, well, I’m going to get ready now. I’m looking forward to seeing you later. Love you.’
I disconnected the call and headed off for the shower. Fifteen minutes later I blew my hair dry, but decided to do my make-up at the hotel. I chucked everything required into an overnight bag along with my mobile phone, and made sure my expensive evening dress and a soft pashmina were zipped safely into a protective cover.
Grabbing a coat, I took everything downstairs. I lay the dress over the banister. Leaving my bag and coat by the bottom stair, I did a final security check. Peering into each room, I ensured no windows were left on the crack, that the ovens and hobs were off in the kitchen, and the back door was locked. Everything was as it should be. The house was so quiet it was almost eerie.
Suddenly the doorbell drilled into the silence making me jump. Oh no. I hoped it wasn’t the Born Again brigade. I really wasn’t up for debating what would have happened had Adam and Eve not eaten the forbidden fruit. Picking up my car keys, I went to answer the door. No doubt there would be a little apple dumpling of a lady standing on the doorstep, holding a bible and inviting me to find God. But as I released the catch, the breath whooshed out of me. For there on the doorstep, in all her malevolent glory, was Selina.
Chapter Thirty One
It was probably only a nano-second that I stood, framed in my own doorway, with my mouth hanging open. But the brevity of the moment, for me, stretched into a lifetime. Several questions crashed through my brain, the most pressing being: why wasn’t Selina in an interrogation room with Humpty and Olive? Selina was the first to speak.
‘Hello Cass.’ She smiled, showing a row of even white teeth. I was reminded of Lucifer the cat in Walt Disney’s Cinderella, beaming at Jaq the mouse before tormenting him. ‘You look quite bemused to see me.’
I re-arranged my gaping mouth into a hasty smile. ‘Selina! Well yes, actually I’m exceedingly surprised.’ Exceedingly? Steady Cass. Don’t overdo it with the astonishment. This wasn’t a Mr Kipling commercial. ‘Ethan telephoned Jamie last night to say you weren’t at all well. We understood Ethan wasn’t feeling fab either. And that neither of you would be attending the ball.’
Selina rolled her eyes and made a dismissive gesture with her hands. ‘Trust my darling Ethan to make a mountain out of a molehill. Honestly Cass, it was nothing. One of those annoying little bugs that lower your equilibrium for two or three hours, before leaving you wondering what it was all about. Certainly nothing a good night’s sleep couldn’t put right.’
‘Great,’ I nodded, but my mind was whirling. ‘So Ethan went into work this morning?’
‘Eventually. He didn’t want poor Jamie coping with that horrendous James Powell all on his own.’ Selina rolled her eyes again. ‘Boy, does that man want his pound of flesh.’
‘Yes,’ I agreed. ‘So–’
‘But never mind James Powell and banks and security and heaven knows what!’ Selina bared her teeth again. ‘Let’s get ourselves off to Oxford. I see you haven’t put your make-up on yet.’
‘Well I–’
‘Ethan wants the four of us to have champagne cocktails together before heading off to the ball. So there really isn’t a moment to lose if you need the luxury of time to dolly up.’
‘Oh, right. Well I’ll just do a final sweep of the house before locking up.’
‘Okay. I’ll pop your stuff in my car. Hurry up.’ Selina pushed her way into the hall and picked up my overnight bag and coat. Spotting my dress over the banister, she flung it carelessly over one arm. She noticed my horrified expression. ‘Don’t worry,’ she assured. ‘I’ll fold it flat and put it in the boot with mine.’
Selina headed off down the driveway to her car. I had an urgent, overwhelming need to speak to Jamie. I decided to try his number one more time before leaving the house. Disappearing into the study, I picked up the handset on the desk and quickly tapped out Jamie’s number. But once more the voicemail kicked in. Damn and blast my husband for not picking up!
‘Hi Jamie. Me again. Look, Selina’s here. She is apparently fit and well, but presumably you know that, because Ethan is now with you? I can’t say I’m happy about this Jamie. I really don’t have a good vibe, and–’
A shadow fell across the study door. I looked up and blanched. Hell’s bells. How much had she heard?
‘Come on Cass.’ Selina tapped her wristwatch.
I disconnected the call. ‘I’ll just double check the back door is locked.’ I walked into the kitchen. Selina promptly followed me.
‘Did you just speak to Jamie?’
I pulled down the back door’s handle. It held fast. ‘No. It was his voicemail. Why?’
‘Just wondered. Let’s go then.’ Selina trailed me out of the kitchen and back through the hall.
‘I need to put the alarm on,’ I said. ‘I’ll be right behind you.’
Selina said something I didn’t quite catch. I watched her walk out the front door and towards the Mazda MX-5. Clearly the business about her second lot of car trouble had been a pack of lies. Either that or she frequented a garage with the quickest mechanics in history. A chill went down my spine, which was nothing to do with the cold winter air filtering into the hallway. I went to the cupboard under the stairs where the burglar alarm was housed and tapped in the security code. Shutting the front door after me, I scampered across the drive to Selina’s car. Moments later I was seated, most reluctantly, in the passenger seat.
‘Buckle up Cass,’ Selina started the engine. ‘The seatbelt is a bit stubborn. Here, let me help you.’ She leant across the handbrake and yanked at the strap. The belt flowed into her hands before something caused it to resist. ‘Breathe in,’ Selina instructed. God, how embarrassing. The wretched thing hardly stretched across my abdomen. Surely I wasn’t that fat! Selina hauled on the strap until it skimmed my tummy and then quickly snapped the buckle home.
‘It’s awfully tight,’ I ventured, and gave it a little tug.
Selina shrugged. ‘It will probably loosen up in a while.’
Ramming the gear into first, she shot forward so quickly the sensor on the electric gates didn’t have enough time to let us off the driveway. Selina hit the brakes so hard I lurched forward. The seatbelt tightened to the point where the simple act of breathing was almost a challenge. I pressed the release button. But nothing happened.
‘Um, the seatbelt seems to have jammed and–’
The words died on my lips as the gates rolled back and Selina once again hit the accelerator. I found my neck whipping backwards. We shot along the unmade up lane, bouncing uncomfortably over the potholes. At the end of the private road, the Mazda swerved out onto Lavender Common and roared off. I clung on to the edge of my seat. Clearly Selina was a bit of a girl racer. But then again, anybody driving a sports car was hardly going to emulate my style of nervous driving.
The Mazda roared towards the M25. As it powered along the slip road to join the motorway, I began to wonder what Selina was playing at. There was fast and there was, well, faster. And her speed was definitely out of my comfort zone. I glanced at my chauffeur and felt a frisson of alarm. She was staring through the windscreen looking strangely elated. Her eyes flicked sideways and snagged on mine.
‘Are you sitting comfortably Cass?’
‘Well actually, no.’ I tried releasing the seatbelt again but it was having none of it. ‘This belt is really cutting into me.’
‘Good.’
‘Sorry?’
‘You heard.’ The Mazda sailed past a lorry hogging the middle lane. ‘Oh how I’ve waited for this moment Cass! And at last it’s come. I have you right where I want you.’
For a moment I tried to kid myself we were at cross-purposes. That her words had simply come out wrong. ‘Lovely,’ I smiled brightly. ‘I’ve been looking forward to this opportunity of girly bonding. Having a nice chat and wotnot!’
‘Oh we’re going to have a chat all right Cass.’ Selina’s tone clarified there was no misunderstanding. Her voice was filled with loathing. ‘We’re going to chat all the way to Oxford. So what shall we chat about eh?’ There was a pause before she thumped the centre of the steering wheel. I jumped at the sound of the horn blaring. An ancient Renault that dared to be in the outside lane at seventy-two miles per hour, winked its left indicator and made the transition to the middle lane. ‘I know! Let’s talk about me overhearing a voicemail meant for somebody else. A message where you referred to me as a bitch and a basket case.’
I clung on to the sides of my seat as the Mazda whooshed along. Right. Clearly it was cards on the table time and pointless pretending otherwise.
‘Look Selina. Can we just leave the past in the past?’ I was amazed at how steady my voice sounded. Inwardly I was cacking myself.
‘I think not.’ She pursed her lips. ‘There are times where I might have been a bit of a bitch Cass, but I’m not a basket case. Understand?’
Was she kidding? After everything she did to Jamie and me last year? I felt my face flush with anger. ‘That’s your opinion,’ I shrugged – not easy in the stranglehold of the seatbelt. Suddenly I was seeing stars as the back of her hand connected with my temple.
‘DO NOT FUCKING DISRESPECT ME!’ she screamed.
Something warm was trickling down my face. I put up a hand and touched my cheek. When I took my fingers away they were covered in sticky blood. Selina’s massive engagement ring had split skin.
‘So Cass,’ Selina took a deep breath and calmed herself. ‘Now that we’ve cleared that little matter up, let’s cut the crap and be honest with each other.’
I took a deep breath. ‘Okay. Where’s Stevie?’
Selina let out a high-pitched squeal of laughter. ‘Excellent! Now we’re both talking the same language. Stevie is a bit tied up at the moment,’ she sniggered. ‘Literally. Get my drift?’
Suddenly my mouth was devoid of saliva and I had a horrible urge to throw up. A detached part of me wondered if it were possible to projectile vomit over her face, blind her with puke and wrestle the steering wheel from her hands. We were now right up the backside of a Mini. The speedometer said eighty miles per hour.
‘Is Stevie alive?’ I croaked.
‘For now.’
‘What – are you going to kill him?’
Selina smirked. ‘A man committing suicide is nothing to do with me.’
I cleared my throat. ‘And how is that going to happen? Would it be in conjunction with Gamma-Hydroxybutyric Acid by any chance?’
Selina laughed. ‘Aha! Methinks you sussed out your drink was spiked at the OXO Tower! That was such fun to watch. Did you also realise I’d tampered with your food too when you came to dinner at Ethan’s apartment?’
‘I suspected,’ I said through gritted teeth. ‘What special ingredient did you use that night?’
‘Nothing fancy. Just a tasteless liquid laxative bought from the local health shop and drizzled over your food. Call it my naughty sense of humour,’ Selina chortled. ‘But regarding the GHB, forgive me for using you as a guinea pig. I wanted to test it out prior to giving it to Stevie. In time I’ll overdose him. But not until I’ve killed you first.’
I felt the hair stand up on my head. Selina uttered her last sentence so matter-of-factly I felt as though I were caught up in some frightful movie. The thought of dying didn’t bother me as such. But the timing most certainly did. To leave this world right now was simply not on. I had children. Two of whom had already lost their biological mother. I wasn’t going to let them lose a second mother.
‘If you want me dead, why didn’t you kill me at the OXO Tower?’
‘Couldn’t,’ Selina sighed. ‘A post mortem would have revealed the cause of death. That would never have done. So when the time comes for you to die – which will be in about an hour or so – it will look like an accident.’
‘W-What do you mean?’ I stuttered. ‘Are you going to cause a car crash?’
‘Sort of,’ Selina nodded.
‘Then surely you risk dying too!’ I cried.
‘No,’ Selina shook her head with supreme confidence. ‘I’ve checked out the spot where it’s going to happen. And I have a crafty plan,’ she promptly convulsed.
I waited for her mirth to subside. ‘Would you mind sharing?’
‘Of course. Wilsham Road. It’s in Abingdon – a lovely part of Oxford. There’s a very pretty stretch of road right by the Thames – and not a safety barrier or set of railings in sight. So that’s where the car is going to end up. In the river. With you in it. Trapped, due to a dodgy seatbelt. You will drown.’
I began to frantically press the seatbelt release button. Nothing happened. The strap was so tight I couldn’t even wiggle my way out of it.
‘Selina you can’t just career off a road. There will be questions by the police – an investigation!’
‘Of course. And I’ll say how very sorry I was Officer – I should have known better being an ex-copper myself. But reflexes are reflexes. And when that damned cat ran out from nowhere, I found myself automatically throwing the wheel to the right and – SPLASH!’ Selina shrieked with laughter.
‘So why won’t you be drowning?’ I quavered.
‘Because I will wind the window down, let the sinking car fill with water, and then simply swim out of the window. It is possible to survive these things Cass, provided you don’t panic. And you’re not wearing a seatbelt!’ Selina gave another screech of amusement.
I stared out of the window as we overtook a Tesco truck. Calm Cass. Keep calm. You have an hour to talk yourself out of this situation.
‘Look Selina. Can we start all over again? I apologise for calling you a bitch and a basket case. There’s time to stop this. We can put things right.’
‘I don’t want to put things right.’ Selina blared her horn at the Mini that was still resolutely hogging the outside lane. ‘As far as I’m concerned, everything is going just swimmingly. Oh I say - swimmingly! Ah ha ha ha!’
‘Look, I know you don’t care for me, but–’
‘Oh that’s an understatement Cass.’ The laughter stopped abruptly. ‘Make no mistake about it. I absolutely detest you.’
‘Fine. You detest me. So why implicate Stevie?’
‘Because I need him out of the equation.’
‘But why?’ I cried. ‘Just what the heck is this all about?’
‘What’s it all about? WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?’ she screeched. Some spittle flew from her mouth and dotted across the steering wheel. ‘In a nutshell Cass, it’s all about wanting what you’ve got.’
‘But I’m not with Stevie anymore!’
‘Funnily enough,’ Selina said through clenched teeth, ‘I’d worked that out for myself. And I’m hardly surprised you divorced Stevie. The man is a total letch. Very good between the sheets mind you. But definitely not husband material, and certainly not for me. Oh no. The husband I want Cass, is the one you’re married to right now.’
Well what a surprise. ‘Selina, Jamie is married to me. He loves me.’
‘Don’t kid yourself Cass. That man is deeply unhappy.’
‘Now you listen to me–’ My head momentarily buzzed as Selina lashed out a second time. ‘If you do that again,’ I said hoarsely, ‘I’ll–’
‘Shut up BITCH,’ Selina spat. ‘You’re not doing anything other than sitting there and listening to me. And you might as well give up trying to get that seatbelt to release, because it isn’t going to happen. My car hasn’t been with a regular mechanic, know what I mean?’ she gave a high pitched laugh. ‘Now, where was I? Oh yes. Jamie. I was absolutely devastated when he left the police force. Bereft. And then I heard he was going into partnership with a man called Ethan Fareham. So I asked around – a few questions here and there. Did a bit of digging. And I succeeded in finding Ethan – and set my cap at him. It was so easy. Like taking candy from a baby. A whirlwind romance, an engage
ment, plus a new job. And da-daaaa,’ she made a sound like a fanfare of trumpets, ‘suddenly I was seeing Jamie again. Bliss! And now it’s just a short hop, skip and a jump to being back by his side. You see Cass, Jamie might have been enthralled by you in the beginning, but he’s not anymore. Since you had Eddie and let yourself go, he’s been miserable as sin.’
‘He’s told you all this has he?’ I mumbled.
‘Jamie doesn’t need to Cass. His face is an open book. I’ve seen the way he looks at me. With so much longing,’ her voice softened, ‘and regret.’
‘So why doesn’t he leave me?’
‘Because he’s an honourable man Cass. Too honourable. So I’m taking charge of the situation. I’m going to bump you off and give the grieving widower – grieving out of guilt you understand, not because he actually misses you – a shoulder to cry on. And once he’s in my arms, he’ll never want to leave.’
‘Right,’ I nodded. ‘But I still don’t understand why you have to bump Stevie off too Selina.’
‘God you really are thick Cass,’ Selina tutted theatrically. ‘Stevie is the father of your twins, yes?’
‘It’s his name on their birth certificates,’ I confirmed. Where was this conversation going?
‘And if Stevie is dead – and you’re dead too don’t forget – then legally, who is your twins’ next of kin?’ Selina prompted.
I didn’t have any other living relatives. My blood ran cold. ‘Jamie,’ I whispered.
‘Correct!’ Selina crowed. ‘So I’ll have not just your husband, but your kids too!’
I lunged for her. ‘OVER MY DEAD BODY!’ I screamed. The too tight seatbelt held me back but my right arm managed to grab a chunk of her hair. I pulled hard, almost yanking her head off her neck.
The knife appeared from nowhere. Instantly I recoiled, tucking myself into the curves of the passenger door as much as was physically possible.
Lipstick and Lies Page 30
