Chapter 22
TWENTY-TWO
HAVEN
It’s time this family saw things from my point of view.
It’s time they heard the truth.
‘I really didn’t want to have to do this,’ I say as my boyfriend and his parents stare back at me. ‘I hoped there was another way. I hoped I was wrong. But I don’t think I am.’
I take a deep breath and begin.
‘When I was messaging Valerie, she told me her grandson was coming to visit her,’ I say. ‘She was talking about Scott.’
‘I know,’ Liane says. ‘I saw the message on her phone.’
Of course she did.
‘Well, then you’ll also know that Scott’s visit was the day Valerie died.’
‘And you think that means our son killed her?’ Frederik says, looking at me like I’m deluded, which is weird because he has always been so welcoming to me since I got here.
More than welcoming, in fact, and I think I know why.
I’m not blind. I’ve caught his eyes lingering on me a second or two longer than they should sometimes.
He’s attracted to me. That’s okay, he’s just a man and I’m just a woman, though there has been no suggestion he will do anything to take things further.
He loves his son and from what I can tell, he loves his wife too.
‘What I’m saying is, Valerie told me Scott was going to her house,’ I explain. ‘Then she died. Coincidence?’
‘She fell down the stairs,’ Liane repeats because she said this earlier in the conversation. ‘And I visited her that day too. I was the one who found her. Scott wasn’t there.’
‘But that doesn’t mean he hadn’t been,’ I say. ‘He could have left before you got there.’
‘Why would he push her?’ Joel asks me.
‘I don’t know, maybe because of the inheritance he knew he would get when she died. The same inheritance you told me about when we were on the plane home after we heard Valerie had died.’
I know Joel will recall the conversation we had at 38,000 feet in which he mentioned to me that his grandmother had told him several times over the years that, when she was gone, she would leave her family with a significant sum to help them all with whatever they chose to do in life.
‘I didn’t think much of it at the time,’ I go on before Liane interrupts me.
‘Really?’ she scoffs. ‘Your ears didn’t prick up at the sound of an inheritance coming Joel’s way, considering both of you had spent all your money travelling around Australia?’
‘No, not at all,’ I insist, and I’m telling the truth, not that Liane knows me well enough to know that. ‘I just wanted to make sure Joel was okay because he was really upset about his grandmother. But I started to think about it a lot more when I heard what Scott said at the wake.’
Liane goes quiet again.
‘When we got here, I was suspicious of Scott, having known he had been due to visit Valerie on the day she died,’ I say. ‘I got even more suspicious when I overheard him talking to someone at the wake about his mechanic business.’
‘What about it?’ Joel asks me, and if it feels weird to have my own boyfriend form part of this disbelieving audience, I remind myself it only makes sense that he would be unsure about this too, because this is his brother I am talking about.
‘I heard him say that business hadn’t been going great lately, but he had a feeling it was going to pick up soon,’ I say, which is the truth. That’s exactly what I heard Scott say to somebody who was asking him about his work at the wake.
‘Life as a mechanic is always up and down, Scott knows that better than anyone,’ Frederik says. ‘What has that got to do with anything?’
‘Because he was downplaying how bad things had really been,’ I say then.
‘How would you know that?’ Liane asks.
‘The same way you could have known if you had only looked,’ I say, which might sound a little harsh, but it is true. ‘You could have looked online at his business accounts. They are right there on Companies House, just like any other UK company that is legally required to publish their profits.’
Liane doesn’t respond to that, presumably because she knows what I have just said is right and it’s not my fault she never bothered to look.
But why would she? Unless she had good reason to and maybe she never did.
I didn’t either until I was worried Scott might have something to hide.
Like the famous saying goes, there’s no smoke without fire, and just because no one else in this family noticed the signs that something was wrong in Scott’s life, it doesn’t mean that I didn’t.
‘After hearing what he said at the wake, and also having been aware he had been due to visit Valerie on the day she died, the possibility occurred to me that he might have really needed some money for his business,’ I go on.
‘And that was confirmed when I saw his latest set of accounts online and how he had an outstanding loan that was overdue, as well as the fact that he had very little in savings in his company account. He was still operating, but he was in debt and it couldn’t last forever. ’
‘So from all that detective work, you think Scott killed his grandmother for her money,’ Frederik says, and the way he used ‘detective’ tells me that he thinks I’m just some silly person who has watched one too many crime shows.
‘I’m just saying that I thought it was possible,’ I reply. ‘You have to admit, it is rather convenient that he’s struggling to keep his business going and he suddenly inherits a large amount of money after his healthy grandma “falls” down the stairs. In one moment, his money issues have gone away.’
I use my fingers to add emphasis to the word ‘falls’, to show I’m not quite believing that Valerie did take a tumble of her own accord.
‘Scott wouldn’t hurt anyone,’ Joel says then, defending his big brother.
‘That’s what I had hoped,’ I say sadly. ‘Until he threatened me.’
‘He did what?’ Joel cries.
‘Is this another lie?’ Liane asks me, her eyes narrowed.
‘I’m not lying!’ I cry. ‘I’m telling the truth.’
‘No, you’re telling us a story that we have no way to verify because the person you are talking about is not here to give their side of it,’ Frederik says. ‘So I think we need to call Scott and get him here so he can defend himself against this nonsense.’
‘No, don’t call him!’ I cry, and in the process, gave away how wary I am of that man.
‘Because you know he’ll come here and destroy your fictitious story?’ Liane asks me.
‘No, because he’ll come here and threaten me like he already has been doing. You saw the message he just sent me. It’s not the first one he sent and he’s done more than message. He has threatened me to my face too.’
‘He’s done what?’ Joel cries. ‘When?’
‘After the wake, when he was here late and we had all been sat around drinking. Just before he got a taxi home, we were alone together. You were all in the kitchen and I asked him about his business. By this point, I had already checked online, so I knew he was in debt, but I wanted to see if he told me about it because I had a feeling he hadn’t told any of you about his struggle. Am I right?’
The whole family cannot say that I’m wrong there.
‘But as soon as I had asked him about it, he went on the defensive. Wanted to know why I was asking. I said I was just interested, but he seemed paranoid and told me it was none of my business. Then I asked him about the inheritance money and how I was sure it would come in useful. But he got very agitated. It could have just been because he had been drinking and it had been a stressful day with the funeral. Or it could have been because he had a guilty conscience and didn’t like somebody poking around at the truth. ’
‘Nonsense,’ Frederik decides. ‘Scott would not hurt anybody, least of all his grandmother.’
‘Unless he was desperate and drowning in debt,’ I say.
‘Otherwise, why get all defensive around me and tell me to stay away from this family? Because that’s what he did and that’s what he has continued to do.
I don’t know how he got my number, but he has it and he keeps telling me to leave, so he obviously knows I’m onto something. ’
‘Or he just doesn’t trust you,’ Liane says. ‘And he wouldn’t be the only one.’
‘I told you I didn’t want to have to do this,’ I say, defending myself. ‘But what am I supposed to do? Scott is the one threatening me and you’re all treating me like I’m the villain here.’
‘I’m not,’ Joel says, putting his arm around me, but in this moment, it feels more like a token gesture than anything more meaningful.
Now I feel incredibly alone in this house, even though I’m surrounded by people.
But of course I’m alone, because all these people are bonded by family while I am the outsider.
I’m the outsider who has just accused one member of their family of murder.
‘I think it would be best if you spent the night somewhere else,’ Liane says then, and when I look at Frederik, he appears to agree with his wife.
‘Fine, I’ll go,’ I say, conceding easily because I don’t have the energy to fight this anymore.
It already feels like I’ve been banging my head against a metaphorical brick wall trying to get them to take my concerns seriously, so better to quit while I’m behind rather than expend more energy on a lost cause.
‘You can’t leave,’ Joel says. ‘Where would you go?’
‘I don’t know,’ I reply honestly, but I continue moving towards the door.
‘Then I’m going with you,’ Joel says before his mother objects.
‘Think about this, son. Think about what she just said about your brother. Maybe it is best if she gives us all some space for a little while.’
Best for who? Me or them? But I don’t ask. I just go upstairs to collect what few belongings I have.
* * *
It doesn’t take me long to pack what little I have in this world into my backpack, and I guess I’m on the move again, just like my travelling times overseas. But unlike in Australia, I’m not moving on to another sunny shore for a spot of sightseeing. I’m stuck here, all alone.
I think about my brother and know he would help me, and even though Liane foolishly washed the note with his number on it, I had already saved it to my phone.
So I could call him. But I’ve needed him to bail me out of too many situations in the past, and he deserves a night off.
I’ll figure this out myself. I just don’t know how yet.
At least I don’t until I leave the bedroom with my bag and go back downstairs.
When I do, I see something that could help me.
So I take it without a moment’s hesitation, and just after I have, Joel appears.
He looks upset. Like he doesn’t know what to do. Lost. Just like me then, except he has a warm home to stay in with his family while I will be out there walking the cold streets by myself with no parents worrying about my wellbeing.
‘Haven, please. Just stop and let’s talk about this,’ he says, but the time for talking is over for tonight.
‘I’m sorry,’ I say as I walk past him and straight out of the door.
As I suspected, it is cold out here.
But I keep walking.
Anything is better than going back to where I just came from.