Chapter 13
THIRTEEN
Once Lina is settled, I go into the kitchen, where I find Jack at the worktop. ‘I’m making some tea,’ he says, glancing towards me, ‘on the assumption she’s installed for a while.’
I nod, and steel myself to ask him what I need to. However confused Lina appears to be, I can’t just ignore what she said. ‘Were you having an affair when Natalia died?’ I get straight to the point.
‘Is that what she told you?’ He turns towards me, laughing in astonishment. Then he frowns, scanning my eyes carefully. ‘And do you believe her?’
‘Were you?’ I press him, because he hasn’t actually answered.
‘No, I was not,’ he states categorically.
‘But why would she say you were if—’
‘I don’t know.’ He sighs in frustration.
‘Jesus.’ He strides past me to pull mugs from the rack.
‘Okay,’ he says, crashing them noisily down, ‘since she’s turned up here, clearly determined to cause friction between us, and as you’ve actually chosen to listen to her despite the fact that she’s clearly unbalanced, I guess I have no choice but to—’
‘I hope I’m not intruding,’ Lina says, looming suddenly in the doorway. ‘My ears were burning.’ Gazing around, she wanders in. ‘It’s a beautiful house,’ she adds. ‘You’ve landed on your feet again, haven’t you, Jack?’
Jack’s jaw tenses. He doesn’t answer.
‘Was it your idea for him to move in here, my dear?’ She addresses me. ‘Or was it his?’
‘I…’ Feeling now utterly bewildered, I glance at Jack.
He blows out another expansive sigh and shakes his head.
‘It was my idea,’ I answer, my instinct to protect him.
He might have skeletons in his cupboard.
Neither of us can know everything about each other’s past. My marriage wasn’t perfect.
This woman might have had problems with her daughter’s choice of husband, meaning there’s bound to be some history between them, but to accuse him of killing her…
‘We didn’t make any decisions until we were sure Evie was comfortable with things, though. ’ I emphasise that fact.
‘Well of course she would say she was.’ She walks across to sit on one of the kitchen chairs, where she proceeds to take off her shoes.
And now I feel awful. The woman clearly is confused.
I shouldn’t be giving anything she says any credence.
‘Evie dotes on her father,’ Lina goes on.
‘But then Jack is very good at winning people’s affections. Aren’t you, Jack?’
Other than a small tic tugging at his cheek, Jack still doesn’t react. Instead he stares angrily at the ceiling.
‘Natalia fell for his charms. She was smitten from the moment she met him.’ Lina sighs with melancholic nostalgia. ‘I warned her he was moving too quickly, but she was so hot-headed, determined to be with him.’
‘I wonder why? Because she needed to get away from home, perhaps?’ Jack comments with a mixture of contempt and sarcasm. He’s acting differently, so unlike himself I’m growing wary.
Lina eyes him narrowly. ‘I expect his first wife was—’
‘That’s enough, Lina,’ he growls.
I look between them, stunned. I had no idea he’d been married before. Why would he not have mentioned something as important as that?
‘You need to leave,’ he tells her.
‘Not until I’ve spoken with my granddaughter. I want to know she’s all right.’ The woman looks away, then bends and begins massaging her swollen feet.
‘How long have you been seeing her?’ Jack demands.
‘For a while,’ she answers vaguely, ‘despite your best efforts to keep your whereabouts from me.’ She looks up at him, her eyes holding a challenge.
‘I did nothing of the sort,’ he refutes angrily. ‘Evie chose not to see you because she remembers how upset Natalia was whenever she saw you.’
‘I ran into her in the village,’ Lina continues, ignoring him. ‘I have to say, she was very pleased to see me. She wanted to talk about her mother, naturally. Possibly because her father has made it a taboo subject.’
Jack’s expression grows dark. ‘You need to go home, Lina,’ he repeats.
‘I have a heart disease, as you’ve gathered,’ Lina says, still talking to me. ‘It’s quite advanced, so I’m told, which is why it’s imperative I get to the bottom of what happened to my daughter.’
I’m utterly confused. I’m sure this woman is physically unwell and that she’s struggling with early dementia, but why this vendetta against Jack?
Was he unfaithful to Natalia? Is that why Lina intimated her daughter was pushed?
Did she mean psychologically? Or had she made herself actually believe it?
‘Evie and I have been meeting up for a while now.’ She looks back at him. ‘Naturally, she wanted to know all about her mother. You see, the fact is, she knows Natalia loved her, that she would never have left her at such a vulnerable age. She lived for her.’
‘And what about your daughter’s vulnerability, Lina?’ Jack asks, his face taut with anger. ‘If you want answers as to why she took her own life, ask yourself why she tried it before. How old was she when you turned your back on her?’
‘I did not turn my back on her,’ Lina denies tearfully. ‘She was hormonal, prone to exaggerate. Derek might not have been her biological father, but he was nothing but loving towards her. How was I supposed to believe—’
‘Get out!’ Jack yells.
She straightens up in her chair. ‘Why don’t you tell Kara the truth?
That you were the abusive man in Natalia’s life.
That she wanted to divorce you. That you were claiming she was mentally ill in order to gain sole custody of Evie.
It might have damaged your chances, mightn’t it, if your numerous affairs came to light? ’
‘There were no fucking affairs!’ Jack seethes.
‘I suppose you thought you would be home free, didn’t you, once they found her body.
That you would gain access to the money her biological father left her, some of which I gather provided a substantial deposit on your house,’ Lina goes on.
‘What about the bruises she often had? What about the broken arm that was a result of one of her many mysterious “falls”? Have you told your new girlfriend about—’
‘Jack, no!’ I shoot towards him as he strides across the kitchen. ‘Don’t,’ I warn him. ‘She’s not well.’
He breathes in hard, his jaw visibly clenching.
‘I’ll call her a taxi.’ I hold eye contact with him, willing him to calm down.
He takes another deep breath, the tension in his body diminishing a little. ‘It’s not true, Kara. Any of it,’ he says. ‘There were no affairs. I was never, ever violent towards Natalia. Please believe me.’
I study him, my head a whirl of confusion. I’m about to tell him to go upstairs, away from Lina, when a movement in my peripheral vision stops me. I snap my gaze to the doorway and my heart sinks as I realise Evie is standing there.
‘What’s going on?’ she asks, her shocked gaze travelling between us.