Friday, 20 April 2035 （cont.） #2
They flashed up some stock pictures of me as a baby, a toddler, and now a teenager, which he’d taken from last year’s school play – The Sound of Music – and I’d played Maria.
My mouth was wide open in song and I had a bowl haircut.
It was the same pic they used in the local paper. It did not look good.
‘Holy shit, there’s you!’ said River, kicking his feet in delight.
‘Yeah, there’s me,’ I muttered.
Guy handed his phone to Rhiannon so she could see copies of the pictures for herself. ‘How do you feel looking at your daughter, Rhiannon?’ Her pause grew longer and longer as she stared. And then suddenly, smiled and handed back his phone, staring at him.
‘Was your mother a drinker, Guy?’ she asked.
Guy’s eyes widened. ‘I beg your pardon?’
‘You have strabismus. A slight eye misalignment. Can be indicative of a preggo mother who hit the bottle like Titanic hit that iceberg.’
‘Uhh, n-n-not to my knowledge.’ Majors blushed all up his neck, in a major way. ‘You didn’t answer my question.’
She sat forwards in her chair. ‘I don’t have to, do I?’ Ew, that face again.
‘No, but we are having a frank conversation and you’ve already spoken about your killings. Why’s it so hard to talk about Ivy, your little girl?’
She sat back in her chair.
‘Have you had any more children since Ivy? There was a rumour you had a son in Thailand before you killed your husband, Rafael? Why did he have to die? He was your soulmate, the love of your life.’
‘It’s all been reported previously. Why are you raking over old coals?’
‘We haven’t heard your side of the story before, that’s why. And that’s why we’re here, after all. This is your time.’
‘Rafael cheated on me. I caught him having an Anne Frank on his phone with some tart we’d gone to in Ko Samui. I waited till he got home, bashed his head in with a brick, stole a boat, dumped his body in the ocean. Fin.’
‘How did that feel?’
‘Wonderful. Ecstatic. Joy itself.’
‘You killed the love of your life. That must have hurt a lot, didn’t it?’
‘Once somebody crosses me, Guy, I’m not very forgiving, no. It didn’t cause me any pain and you’re not getting any tears out of me tonight, you useless sack of journalistic shit.’
River practically wet himself with adoration and sat up cross-legged to get his face closer to my TV screen. ‘God, she is awesome!’
I said nothing. Rhiannon had a twinkle in her eye. She was up to something. I don’t know how I knew but I knew.
Ad break.
They’d barely been back for a second when Guy opened his mouth to ask Rhiannon a new question but Rhiannon butted in first.
‘Wrong feels right sometimes, doesn’t it, Guy? You like doing wrong things sometimes, don’t you?’
‘I’ve never killed anyone.’
‘I expect you’ve murdered a few careers in your time. Murdered a few people’s enjoyment of watching the telly. I remember seeing you on Up at the Crack where you called me, what was it, a “depraved, evil maniac, who needs burying in a lead-lined box.”’
‘I don’t remember saying that.’
‘You also called me an “abomination” on The One Show I think it was – and there was that article in the Daily Mail where you called me “Ripperella” and advocated that women deserved to be put down if they fought back.’
‘I wouldn’t have said that, Rhiannon, now let’s not tell lies.’
‘Lies? You’re one to talk about lies, Guy. Does the third wife know about you paying for sex with schoolboys?’
Major’s mouth fell open like a trap door. River’s mouth fell open like a trap door. My mouth fell open like a trap door.
Rhiannon continued. ‘I have it on very good authority that you’re a happily married man, third time lucky, but none of them have dicks so it’s just not sticking, is it, Guy?’
Both River and I gasped. If I strained my ear, I might have heard half the nation gasping too. It was a mic drop moment.
‘I don’t think this is …’ Guy looked off stage for a cut to another ad break but the camera stayed on. His face – his FACE! He was turning redder by the second. Now it was my turn not to blink. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Rhiannon had the receipts, all of them.
‘Paying schoolboys for sex – tut tut tut. See, I have connections in here – Bad Seeds who’ll do anything for me – and they get information when I need it. Information on pervos so I know what’s what in the outside world. Who needs teaching a lesson and who’s been a good little boy for Santa.’
‘You are beyond sick, Rhiannon, these allegations are entirely fabricated and I am not going to entertain this line of questioning.’
‘Cos you can’t deny it, that’s why.’ She was doing that evil face again. ‘And if you took me to court to make me take it back, you’d have to prove you didn’t whereas I can prove you did. And you know I can prove you did.’
‘Well, I do deny it, most vociferously. And I’m not playing your game.’
‘Don’t get me wrong – I have been known to go “gay for the stay” at times.
I don’t go down on them, because I could never stand the taste of fish at the best of times, but they go down on me.
It’s all right; I’m used to it now. Had so many asking, it was just like, “Oh, all right then, eat me out if you must.” They see it as a privilege.
Cos of me being Qween of the World in here and all that.
And yet ironically, you’re the one having sex illegally.
Well, no, it’s not sex with children, is it, Guy?
It’s … what’s that word? Oh yeah – rape. ’
‘He’s not even denying it anymore!’ cried River.
Rhiannon leaned in just as Majors leaned back. ‘Who was the one who did work experience with your production company? Got your Starbucks for you. Peeled your tangerines. Filled your carafe.’
‘Rhiannon, this is not about—’
‘—how old was he when he started working for you? Fourteen, max?’
I spat out a mouthful of smoothie on the carpet. River applauded.
‘This interview is about you and your moral compass.’ Guy was clearly angry now – red face, spittle flecks flying. ‘YOU have done far worse things than me. You have no right to decide who gets to live and who gets to die. To play Lord High Executioner with people’s lives … do you?’
Rhiannon stared at him, unblinking. ‘You just said the exact same thing in three different ways.’ She wasn’t getting angry – just making a point. It didn’t even look like her heart was beating. Guy’s was. It looked like his pulse was going to ping! out of his neck any minute.
‘We do not compare,’ he said, shuffling his papers.
‘You’re lecturing me on my moral compass when you’re the one raping kids?’ said Rhiannon. ‘When your compass is the one pointing True Cunt.’
The swear word was enough to cut straight to the ad break.
‘Jesus Christ,’ said River, breathless and glancing at me with his mouth wide open. ‘She’s really got him on the ropes.’
‘I can’t believe they’re letting this go out live. They must have known she’d swear. She swears all through the books.’
‘It’s after nine so I guess anything goes.’
When I came back from the bathroom, the show had already restarted and Guy was pressing Rhiannon again on her childhood and where her behaviour started to worsen – the Priory Gardens massacre.
‘Do you remember anything about the attack?’
‘Yes.’
‘Do you think that’s what contributed to your killing urge?’
‘Yes.’
‘What about the little dog at Priory Gardens who sat beside you while you waited for the police? Is that why you love animals?’
‘Probably.’
‘Did you enjoy watching your grandfather drown?’
‘Yes.’
Majors tried every trick up his sleeve to make her cry during the interview – nothing worked; not pictures of her mum, her dad, her as a child with Seren in a pool on holiday. How Seren died. But there was nothing – they went to another ad break.
My phone had been ringing – a withheld number.
I didn’t answer it at first and let it ring out while I continued watching the verbal sparring between Majors and Rhiannon.
But it rang again, and then again, and so I made my excuses and went out onto the landing.
The TV was on downstairs – the Aussies were watching the interview too, quietly.
‘Hello?’ I said.
The line took a few moments to connect. ‘Ivy? It’s Rafael.’
‘Oh my God … Is that really you?’
‘Yeah! Holy shit, Ivy, it’s so good to hear your voice at last. I’ve wanted to meet you for such a long time. How are you doing? I was so sorry to hear about your mom. Your adoptive mom …’
‘Hang on – could you prove it’s you? I get a lot of cranks.’
‘Um … well, I guess you could go on FaceTime and we could see each other. You wanna do that? As long as you’re on your own. I’m kinda in hiding.’
‘Rhiannon told me. Okay. Go to FaceTime.’
So we hung up, and he called me back, this time on FaceTime and within seconds, the picture warped and there he was – Rafael, sitting in an empty restaurant; the sun blazed in through the windows.
‘Hey, Ivy.’ He smiled.
I walked into Mum’s empty bedroom, flicked the light on and closed the door, sitting with my back against the fitted wardrobe. A warmth spread throughout my body. ‘Hi. Where are you?’
‘In our restaurant. We’re having some decorating done at the moment so we’re closed for a couple days.’
‘Business is good?’ I said, unable to think of what to say.
‘Yeah, real good. We want to get this done quickly so we’re back up and running … Do you wanna say hi to your brother?’
My breath caught in my throat. ‘He’s there?’
‘Yeah, he’s here. Wait a sec …’
I heard him call out, ‘Leo! Leo! Ven aquí, ?quieres hablar con tu hermana?’
Your sister, he had said. Do you want to talk to your sister? My chest ached as a little face appeared next to his dad – basically a miniature Rafael with black hair, deep brown eyes and a smile. He even had the same eyebrows.
‘Hey, Ivy!’ said the smiling boy. ‘How are you?’
I smiled, my eyes filling with tears. ‘Yeah, I’m really good,’ I said, swallowing my emotion. ‘It’s so nice to see you.’
‘You too! I can’t believe it! I told Gus Hererra off, you’d be proud of me!’