Chapter 14 #2
For a moment back there, I had been tempted to ask if I could join them on the excursion. After all, I would like to see the place where Samir was found. But, despite his apology, I didn’t really want to spend any more time with Lewis. I would go on my own at some point.
A little later, my phone pinged with a text. To my great surprise I saw it was from Susan, the local cop.
That podcaster is called Emma Fox. I didn’t like her attitude.
I laughed, wondering if Susan liked anyone’s attitude. The text was followed by a shared contact, with Emma’s phone number and email address. So I’d been right. Susan did care about what had happened to Samir. Perhaps this was her indirect, unofficial way of giving me her blessing to investigate.
I tapped out an email to Emma Fox, telling her I’d like to have a chat and asking when would be a good time.
As soon as I’d sent it, Holly came into the kitchen.
‘What are you up to?’
I told her about Emma Fox and then about Lewis’s plan to take Jasmine to the caves. She seemed shocked. ‘And she agreed?’
‘Yeah. She seemed excited.’
‘Huh. Well, I bet when Dad comes back he’ll dissuade her. What is Lewis thinking?’
‘Why, is it dangerous?’
‘It can be.’
‘Really?’
She screwed up her face, like she had a headache. ‘I’ll tell you another time. Last night was awkward, right? I think Miranda might have a drinking problem. I should ask Dad to talk to her about it.’
‘Why don’t you talk to her?’
‘Because Miranda has never listened to me. I’m the baby. She doesn’t listen to Lewis either, because she thinks he’s an idiot.’
‘She was sick a little while ago. She’s pretending she doesn’t remember anything about her outburst.’
‘Probably for the best.’
I was surprised by her response. ‘I didn’t think this family swept difficulties under the carpet.’
‘What on earth made you think that? We’re the masters of it. Sweeping things under the carpet is our speciality.’
‘What kind of things?’
She shook her head like she didn’t want to talk about it.
‘Are you okay?’ I asked. She seemed even more tense than Jasmine had when I’d first come downstairs. I attempted to put my hands on her shoulders, but she shook me off.
‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I’m still recovering from last night. And I’m embarrassed you had to witness all of that.’ She pinched the bridge of her nose between forefinger and thumb. ‘Sometimes they make me feel like I’m drowning.’
‘We could go home. Or go to Edinburgh, find a hotel.’
‘You know I can’t do that.’
I wanted to ask her about the thing Lewis had said.
All the truths we could have told. I wanted to tell her about the overheard conversation, too.
But at that moment, Miranda came into the room.
She had a little more colour in her cheeks now, but she was obviously unhappy again, holding her phone in her hand and waving it at Holly.
‘Zack just texted me. He and dad will be home late this afternoon. They haven’t managed to “bag” anything yet.’
‘Maybe they should have taken Avril with them,’ I said.
Miranda grunted.
Then Jasmine appeared, with Lewis behind her. She was dressed in outdoor gear: walking boots, waterproof trousers, beanie hat and gloves, plus a big orange North Face jacket with a furry hood.
Miranda and Holly stared at her, mouths agape. I had expected Miranda to apologize to Jasmine, but it was clear from her expression that that was no longer going to happen.
‘What the hell are you wearing?’ Miranda demanded.
Lewis answered for her. ‘Yes, it’s Mum’s old stuff. I found it in a box in the basement. It fits Jasmine perfectly, don’t you think?’
Holly, sitting at the kitchen table beside me, had her hands on either side of her face like the figure in that Scream painting. She had gone white. Miranda, who was standing, made a moaning noise.
‘This is getting worse and worse,’ she said. Then, to my surprise, she marched up to Jasmine and grabbed the front of the coat. ‘Take it off.’
Shocked, Jasmine stepped back, almost into Lewis’s arms. Miranda pursued her, her voice an octave higher than normal. ‘You can’t wear that. It was my mum’s, not yours. Lewis, what the fuck were you thinking?’
She tried to get hold of the zip on the front of the coat, but Lewis moved around Jasmine, who had frozen, and grasped Miranda’s upper arms, pushing her back. Holly had jumped to her feet, too, but, like me, she didn’t know what to do or how to intervene.
Miranda was close to hyperventilating. ‘You are not our mother. You are Not. Our. Mother!’
Jasmine, a few feet away from Miranda, who fought to escape Lewis’s grip, unzipped the coat and threw it on to the sofa. She had already taken off the gloves and now pulled off the hat.
‘The boots, too!’ Miranda almost screeched it.
Jasmine crouched and pulled off the boots, casting them aside and getting to her feet.
She stood there in her socks, dressed in her jeans and sweater.
She hugged herself, trembling, while Miranda broke free from Lewis and scooped up the coat, clutching it to her chest and burying her nose in the furry hood, inhaling any traces of her mother’s scent that might still linger there.
‘What the fuck?’ Lewis said to Miranda.
‘What do you mean, what the fuck? You’re the one who gave her Mum’s clothes. How dare you!’
‘We need to talk,’ Jasmine interrupted. Her voice was remarkably calm. ‘All of us. Before Charles gets back. There are things you need to hear.’
‘What things?’ Holly asked.
‘Not here. I want to have this conversation somewhere public, where I’ll be safe.’
‘Safe? You don’t really think we’ll try to hurt you, do you?’
‘Miranda literally just attacked me.’
‘Oh, for goodness’ sake, don’t exaggerate,’ Miranda snapped. ‘If I’d meant to attack you, you’d know it.’
‘Okay,’ I said, realizing it was time to step in. ‘I think we all need to chill out.’
‘Fuck off, Patrick,’ Miranda said.
‘Yeah, fuck off, Pat,’ added Lewis.
Holly moved to my side. ‘Don’t talk to him like that.’ Her voice shook and went high-pitched, before she paused and inhaled several deep breaths. ‘Jasmine, what is it you need to talk to us about?’
‘I told you, I want to do it in a public place. There are some things I need you to know.’
Miranda tried to speak again, but Holly shushed her. ‘It’s nearly lunchtime. Why don’t we go to the pub? We can all be civilized, right? Right?’
Nobody responded to that. But nobody disagreed with the plan either.
I was still taking in what had just happened.
Had Lewis done it deliberately, to provoke Miranda?
I couldn’t get a handle on his motivations.
He professed to like Jasmine, to be the welcoming sibling, but he kept doing things that he must have known would send Miranda off the deep end.
He’s sly, I realized. You can’t trust him.
Jasmine left the room first. As she turned her back on Miranda, I swear I saw Miranda’s eyes go to the block of knives on the counter, as if she was considering plunging the biggest, sharpest knife into Jasmine’s back.