Chapter 17 Robin #3
Sighing, I unhook him from my body and dive straight in.
“Cardinals secret involves Willow's sister. She doesn’t know who he is, but I think Corbin had planned for her to figure his secret out and connect the dots. It’s nothing bad,” I cringe, not knowing what to do with my hands because I don’t want to lie.
It kind of is bad and I shoot Cardy an apologetic smile, but he’s looking down at his feet.
“It’s not creepy bad I mean, not like that.
I think he wanted her to figure it out and once we left here, leak his secret to the press or something.
We found her secret—Wren I’m so sorry. She leaked your private information to the press, and photos for money. ”
I watch as his expression turns from confusion into anger, back to confusion before his eyes become dull of all light.
His jaw tenses and he physically shakes himself before looking fully composed.
I think it’s taking everything in him not to explode right now and none of us could blame him if he did want to confront her.
He must have trusted her to some degree and I could see the storm tearing him apart.
“You’re right. I do want to kill her.” He says calmly, which makes the tension in the conservatory rise.
Phin pulls him away from me and into a little hug, pouting whilst rubbing a palm over his friend's chest. “It’s alright Wrenny, nothing like pruning the weeds.”
We all frown at him.
“Pruning weeds? What the fuck does that mean?” Cardinal scowls, sipping more of his beer till he basically has dregs left in the bottom.
“You know, chopping the loose cord or whatever. She’s not a nice girl—here is a very nice girl.” He gestures to me, beaming like his logic makes perfect sense.
To my surprise, Cardinal lets out a low noise in his throat and points his bottle at Phoenix. “You know nothing about her. She’s not a cord or a weed—fucking whatever.” He shakes his palm open between them. “Should you be drinking on whatever medication you’ve been given?”
Phin waves him off. “Probably not, but hey—you only live once.”
I roll my eyes, but I don’t miss the sadness to his smile or the worried look Wren flashes at him. “Is any of that a possible motive? Having our dark secrets revealed makes us all suspects if that’s the case.”
Phin waggles his finger at him. “Unless he’s a very good actor and is playing us!”
Tutting, he pushes his finger out of his face. “I did nothing to your brother. I don’t know you all well, but why would I be helping Drew if I had?”
“Should we all be a little more sensitive—” I get cut off.
“If you didn’t do it, then your secret being revealed doesn’t have legs.
No one else would benefit from my brother's death other than your sister. Willow clearly doesn’t know who you are or she’d be telling the whole hotel what you did.
Aya could have found out about the secrets, realised that Corbin had written one for you and in the heat of passionate anger, bopped him on the head and did a runner.
” As Phin stands taller, proud of his idea, lots of things happen around me.
“Alright Marple! Bloody hell.” Wren scolds.
“Are you acusing my sister of fucking murder?” Cardinal clenches his jaw, whilst I place my hand firmly between them and shake my head.
“Well someone here did it.” Phin shrugs, before a large palm grabs the front of his shirt.
“My sister did not commit fucking murder!”
Wren tries to move my little frame from the circle but I clasp at the arm attached to my best friend's shirt and pull; removing it. “Right, enough of this! We don’t need to give them more of a reason to talk to us, so let’s go sit down. Phin, can I have a word please.”
Cardinal grabs another beer and stalks off back to the dining room, whilst Wren lingers for a moment like he’s considering staying to have his own conversation with him, but kisses the top of my head and heads inside.
Linking our arms together I move him deeper into the conservatory, scanning for any empty glasses he might have left before crossing my arms and facing him.
“Maybe you should lay off drinking right now. I know you might feel like you need it, but you’re not acting like yourself.” I’m worried that he’s going to dismiss my worry or wave me off, but instead he lets out a loud exhale and squeezes shoulder.
“I’m not drinking anything. Wren told me I should stop and I did, my mind hasn’t felt this clear in a long time.
The anxiety medication is helping to…numb things.
I don’t think I’d be able to breathe right now without it.
” He bites his bottom lip hard, his voice comes out hoarse.
“He was such an arsehole wasn’t he, but he was still my brother.
I just need to separate him from what's happened right now, then fix myself once it’s all over. ”
I’m incredibly unhappy that he’s relying heavily on prescriptions to function. “You know if you need anything, I’m your Frodo right? Be there for the journey in a heartbeat.” I uncross my arms to wipe a lone tear that escapes down his cheek.
“Frodo is nothing without his Samwise.”
“Damn fucking straight.” I answer, smiling as we embrace. I really do consider telling him about Merle's debt there and then, but something niggles at me to figure it out first. One of my closest friends would not have committed murder, but like both detectives had said, it had to be someone here.
“I am happy for you and Wren, you know. I mean, he's basically going to steal you away from me, but maybe it's not a bad thing.” Phin says out of left field, knocking my axis a little. He's smiling down at me, but I'm confused at the little sadness I see.
“Phin, he's not stealing me.”
“Who wants red? I went all the way down to the wine cellar for this bad boy, so please tell me you’re open to getting your wine on Rob.
” Lily’s voice carries from the dining room, cutting our conversation short, so we let each other go and head back into the house.
Before leaving I snatch up a glass of champagne from the table because I’m really not a red wine kind of girl.
RETURNING to the dining table, Lil closes the doors to the house one handed as she holds up a vintage red in victory.
With a slight sway in her hips she turns the volume dial on the record player up, her smile wobbly from a mix of too much alcohol and a floodgate of emotions she keeps flicking between.
Whilst Phoenix’s brain has told him to survive and distract, Lil is fighting through waves of either sadness, denial or outbursts of anger that seem to be getting worse the longer we stay in the hotel.
We still haven't spoken about our argument in the woods, she’d already spilled into hard denial by the time she was doing my makeup.
Me? I think I've totally checked out that my ex boyfriend is dead.
I can figure out whichever emotions I feel once we're all back living in reality.
Everyone is lounging around the dining table in small groups, and the last to join us is Starling, who must have gone back outside for another cigarette, because he smells of wet grass and has dark splatters along his shoulders.
From behind us he closes the bifold doors to outside, muttering about the stupid drapes getting in the way.
I drop into the saved seat next to Wren, so Phin strolls around the table and sits next to his sister at the far end of the table, patting her crossed knee and helping himself to the water jug.
She pouts, uncorking the wine bottle and starts to offer it around the table.
Mavis, who is next to her, takes a glass, Willow declines and Cardinal makes a meaningless grunt that she must take as a no.
Bran is sitting to the left of his brother on our side of the table and leaning forward, there’s a couple of empty seats.
I didn’t care for Goldie’s reappearance, I’d much rather both detectives called it a night and left us.
Jay wasn’t next to Bran as I had expected him to be, the larger than life drummer quiet as he spoke in a hushed tone with Merle.
His eyes flickered to his girlfriends across the table, who’s taking a large sip of her wine and complimenting the flavours.
“Wine Rob?” Lily asks, bending over the table to pour me a glass anyway without waiting for my reply.
She all but barges her brother out of the way to lean forward, Starling takes full advantage and checks out her ass.
The track changes and even its sweet melody can’t seem to dispense whatever tension builds in the room.
I thank her for the wine I didn’t want, her lip twitching at Wren’s non existent wine glass.
With a tight smile he raises his glass of water. “I don’t drink alcohol. But thanks anyway.”
Discarding the bottle onto the table without pouring herself a glass, she beams at Starling. “Isn’t this so fun having an actual detective here with us for dinner.”
He doesn’t look humble in the slightest as he sits forward, hands in his pockets still and shoots her a smirk. “Off duty.”
Wren scoffs. “Can you be? Someone was murdered in the hotel and you’re keeping us here, insinuating it was one of us.
Are you even legally allowed to chill with us?
” His arm lays on the back of my chair and my cheeks heat like they always do at his public claims on me.
I’m a little shocked by his blunt outburst, but when I see his gaze briefly flicker to Willow who watches him like a hawk, he’s probably compressing a lot of anger right now.
Despite seeing him connect his fist into Corbin’s face, I don’t see him being a man who is regularly violent.
I worry actually that he keeps a lot of his feelings in, taking on too much to help others and not himself.
A real case of white knight syndrome I don’t think he knows he’s battling.