Thirty-one #2
‘Let’s go over this again,’ Ru said, breaking the tension as his eyes danced round the room, falling on each person in turn. ‘Lots of expensive wine is missing, and somehow, miraculously , all the evidence points to Fi?’
‘Yes,’ Fiona replied, her voice strained. ‘But I didn’t do it.’
‘Of course not,’ her mother said. ‘All the evidence has been planted; we just need to work out who did that.’
Ivy flinched, and Fiona’s mother turned towards her sister, brows furrowing. ‘Ivy, surely you don’t believe this nonsense?’ Her mother’s words were as much an accusation as a question.
‘Ivy, it’s okay,’ said Fiona, surprised she was taking the lead on this point, not Ru. Her mother was pursuing a dead end. Kim wasn’t the thief. Fiona smiled at her aunt. ‘We know about Kim; you don’t need to protect her anymore’
Ivy glanced down, shifting uncomfortably. ‘Ivy, what are you hiding?’ demanded Fiona’s mother.
‘She’s protecting the person who Ru and I think planted that bottle of Krug and then stuck the sticky note on it the next morning.’ explained Fiona.
‘Why would you do that Ivy?’ asked Fiona’s mother.
‘I know nothing about the Krug,’ said Ivy.
‘But you know something ... I know when my sister is hiding a secret. Are you protecting this Kim woman?’
‘No. I am not protecting Kim.’
‘Not . . . not . . .’ stammered Fiona.
Fingering the cross round her neck, Ivy swallowed, then spoke slowly. ‘It’s not that simple. You don’t understand.’
‘Oh, I think we do,’ Fiona’s mother replied. ‘What I don’t understand is why you won’t tell us who you think is behind this. Out with it!’
Fiona felt a prickle of resentment. She had always trusted Ivy, relied on her in ways she hadn’t her own parents.
Now, that trust felt tenuous, stretched thin by Ivy’s choice to withhold a vital clue that might reveal the identity of the thief, when they might have only hours before the police came to arrest Fiona.
Ivy’s gaze darted Fiona’s way. ‘I ... It’s complicated. ’
Fiona’s mother folded her arms, her eyes narrowing further. ‘Complicated or not, it’s my daughter they’re accusing. We need to get to the truth, and we need to get there soon, before this charade—’
Ru’s hand tightened around Fiona’s, his voice cutting her mother off. ‘Something’s been bothering me. Last night I was running through that suspect list again ...’
The room quieted. Fiona looked at him gratefully, feeling a wave of reassurance.
Her mother reached over, touching Fiona’s shoulder gently. ‘Whatever it takes, we’ll prove you’re innocent. If they try and arrest you, we’ll hire the best lawyer.’
Fiona swallowed, emotion clogging in her throat. She met her mother’s gaze, sensing the support radiate from her.
Ru gave her hand a final, reassuring squeeze. Then he winked at her. ‘Let’s stop badgering Ivy. I think I know who took that wine and how we can prove it.’
‘Who? How? Tell me!’ Fiona cried.
‘By stealing the evidence,’ said Ru.
She recoiled, glancing at her parents to check their reaction. ‘Stealing? What if we’re caught?’ asked Fiona.
‘Hang on a minute,’ said her father sitting bolt upright in his chair.
‘Proving Fiona’s innocence should not involve committing a crime,’ said her mother.
‘But if the evidence is hidden, what choice do we have?’ asked Ru.
Fiona rose, nervous but smiling. ‘Let’s do this – sometimes you’ve gotta’ take a gamble on life.’ She wondered if she’d imitated an Aussie accent. If she had, Fiona hoped everyone would assume it was her parents she was mimicking.
‘This isn’t us,’ her mother said, shaking her head. ‘We don’t break the law. But ... you’re innocent. We must find the real culprit, even if it means bending the rules.’
Ivy’s brow furrowed. ‘I don’t like this. Theft is theft, no matter the reason. It’s wrong.’
Ru rose, a grim look on his face. ‘Either Ivy commits a sin and breaks her vow, or we commit a crime. I know which one I’m more comfortable with.’
Fiona’s mother glared at her sister, then her father rose and spoke. ‘We are law-abiding citizens. But we are also parents, and that comes first.’
‘So, are we doing this?’ Fiona asked, still stunned but determined.
Ru grimaced. ‘Sorry, not us ... just you.’
‘What?’
He gave her a reassuring look. ‘Everything’s going to be fine,’ he said, and for the first time in a while, Fiona truly believed it.
Ru’s text arrived at 8 p.m. ‘Coast’s clear.
You’ve got an hour. Good luck.’ He signed it with a beating heart that made her own flutter.
Wearing a black beanie hat pulled over her ears and one of Ru’s jumpers, which reached her thighs, Fiona bolted out of his flat.
Her father was right behind her, his long strides matching her pace despite his age.
When a last minute attack of nerves had struck Fiona that afternoon and she asked him to help, he had smiled and replied, ‘let’s do this! ’
Together they jogged down the hill, past the pub and onto the narrow path beneath the harbour wall.
Fiona’s breath came in quick clouds, the wind tugging at her clothes and pulling at her conscience.
To clear her name, she was about to commit a crime.
If caught, it would provide more evidence implicating her in the wine theft.
It would also damage her father’s reputation.
That last thought made her heart clench.
Under the faint light of the moon, they moved swiftly, the stillness of the night broken only by the sound of their footsteps and the distant crash of dark waves against the harbour wall.
Her father undid his thick woollen coat and pushed his glasses – which must have slipped down his nose while he was running – back into place, then scanned the surroundings with a professor’s meticulous eye.
It was tough to imagine her academic dad prowling around, but he had spent the afternoon playing the amateur detective, studying the building, noting every entry point and assessing every potential risk.
Her former employer’s flat loomed above her, a shadow against the night sky.
Ru believed it held the evidence they needed, but getting inside and back out again without being seen was a daunting prospect.
Every step felt leaden, and although he wasn’t admitting it, Fiona sensed her father’s nervous energy.
This was unfamiliar territory for them both.
‘Keep an eye on that back door,’ he murmured, his voice steady but low.
The pair crouched in the pub’s car park, waiting for the signal Ru and her father had agreed. Suddenly, the back door opened. Fiona took a sharp breath but felt a steadying hand on her shoulder. ‘Wait,’ hissed her father.
Josh emerged, a crate of empty bottles rattling in his arms. Fiona exhaled slowly.
For what seemed like hours, she and her father stood hunched over in the shadows, listening to the waves rumble and roar around them.
For a second time, the back door opened, letting out a triangle of light.
This time, no one emerged. She started forward, only for her father’s hand to catch her arm. ‘Wait. Patience. Count to ten.’
She left the counting to her father – she lost track after reaching three. He released her arm, then whispered, ‘Ready?’
Fiona nodded, her pulse quickening. Together, they moved forward silently, like shadows in the night.