Chapter Seventy
Bill walked into the Harrington home to the kids eating their dinner. Flammkuchen and chopped veg with a bratwurst on the side for Harry.
‘Hi kids,’ he said benignly.
‘Daddy!’ Bella smiled.
‘Hi Papa,’ Harry said, more flatly.
Lexy was leaning against the kitchen worktop, arms folded, hovering over her children as if she were a prison warden, except her gaze was elsewhere.
‘Everything OK?’ Bill asked, as he put his attaché case on the sofa. ‘Where’s Emme?’
‘She had to go out …’ Harry said with an unnerved look.
Lexy turned away, towards the corridor and the bedrooms.
‘Everything alright?’ Bill asked again, puzzled.
‘Yes,’ Lexy replied frostily.
Bill loosened his tie.
‘Do you know how long Emme’s going to be? I thought you and I could go out for dinner,’ Bill said, leaning in to kiss his wife on the cheek, but she flinched.
‘Can we have pudding?’ Bella asked.
Lexy looked at them, flustered for a second.
‘Get an ice cream, you can have it in your rooms.’
‘Yes!’ they both cheered.
‘But clear your plates first.’
Bill looked at the scene. Something was obviously wrong. Lexy could barely look at him. The atmosphere in the chalet was tenser than ever.
Harry and Bella negotiated over which flavour ice cream to have and happily went off to eat in their rooms, back with their tablets. Bill kicked his shoes off and put them in the cupboard.
‘When’s Emme back?’ he asked again. ‘I was thinking we could try 1865 tonight, Dirk Detzer said it’s –’
‘I don’t want to go out for dinner,’ Lexy cut him off.
‘I thought after our disastrous anniversary meal last week, we should try again.’
Lexy turned to him sharply.
‘What was wrong with our anniversary meal?’
Bill looked at his wife agog.
‘Anyway, my hunches were right.’
‘About Emme being sexy?’ he joked.
‘Bill!’ Lexy scolded. ‘I was right about her not being a good nanny.’ She put her hands to her temples.
‘What the hell’s going on, Lex?’
Lexy couldn’t tell Bill what Emme had really said, so she dug deep and shuddered.
‘I think Emme has Münchausen by proxy. I think she’s trying to poison the children.’