Chapter 24
TWENTY-FOUR
I follow Jarvis to the truck stop and park next to him. We go inside, and I tilt my head at the café. “You want coffee?”
“I guess so.”
I go and order two coffees and carry them to where Jarvis is sitting, staring at his hands.
“All right. Spill. No more avoiding me.”
He takes a sip of his drink and winces before nodding.
“I’m not sure if I ever told you, but before I got into TV acting, I was part of the theatre industry. I starred in a few musicals and built a minor name for myself.”
“No, you didn’t tell me,” I say. Even if the alternate version of you did.
“Anyway, a couple of them were directed by this guy who was pretty well known in the industry, but he also had a reputation for being sleazy.” He takes another sip of his coffee.
“I never saw anything untoward, but I heard rumours. Around the same time, I met Cam through a community centre in Shell Beach, and we became good friends. He introduced me to his sister, Nia, and it turned out she wanted to get into theatre too. She would always beg me to let her know if there were any auditions coming up that she could attend, and I eventually heard about one I thought she’d be well suited for.
The only problem was, it was going to be directed by the sleazy director.
I questioned at first whether I should recommend it, but in the end, I thought it would be okay since it wasn’t like she was going to be alone with him at the audition. ”
I feel my chest tightening. “But something happened?”
“Yeah. After the audition, he convinced her to go in his car with him, and they got in a huge car accident. Nia became a paraplegic, and the director was found to have a bunch of speed in his system. He ended up going to jail for a couple of years, and when he got out, he developed an even more serious drug habit and disappeared. I have no idea if he’s still alive.
Cam wasn’t able to track him down and hold him financially accountable, so he turned to me instead.
Because I knew what the guy was like, and I still introduced him to Nia. ”
“Wait. You can’t hold yourself responsible for trying to help someone. Sure, you knew the guy wasn’t perfect, but it’s not your fault they ended up in a car accident.”
“Would you feel the same if I introduced one of your friends to Harvey Weinstein?”
“I don’t know… it depends if you knew just how bad the guy was at the time.”
“Either way, Nia needs ongoing financial support for her care, and Cam can’t pay it on his own.
He contacts me every couple of months with the latest invoice, and in principle I don’t mind paying, but it’s a continual reminder of my bad judgment.
And when Cam gets like he did tonight, it’s a bit much.
I don’t know why he’s asking for triple the money this time. He’s never done that before.”
“Do you ever speak to Nia?”
“No. Cam said she doesn’t want to see me. Which is completely understandable.”
“That’s a horrible situation all round. But how much of Nia’s care are you actually paying for? It sounds like a lot.”
“I see it as a trade-off so I can keep acting. The money is good—which means I can set aside all my spare cash for her. It’s just my fate.”
“But clearly it’s a fate you’re not comfortable with since you wouldn’t open up to your wife about it.”
“I didn’t want to worry you or have you resent Cam or Nia. You’d have it hanging over your head as well, and I couldn’t do that to you. I know I caused you enough pain as it was.”
“At least I would have understood that situation. It was worse not knowing what was going on.”
“Well, now you know. So feel free to leave and go back to your life.”
“Could you make an arrangement with Cam to make one final payment—say, from the profits of the castle?”
“I don’t know. Cam is kind of twisted these days. He’d probably take the money and say he still needs more. He’s threatened to go the media and ruin my career several times, saying that he’ll use past payments to prove my guilt and make me an accomplice to the director.”
“That’s messed up.”
“I know. But I’m stuck now.”
“Cam said an anniversary is coming up?”
“Yeah, it was the 29th of April 1999. That’s when the accident happened.” He looks at his watch. “Which I suppose is tomorrow now.”
“I don’t know if I remember reading about it at the time?”
“I’m sure it was in the local news, but it was before the internet got big, so it was easier to miss stuff.”
Jarvis looks so sad and defeated that I can barely take it. Yes, he made a stupid decision to introduce Nia to the director, but he doesn’t deserve years of torment as a result.
He finishes drinking his coffee. “We should probably go. I worry you’ll be the next one to get in a car accident with it being so late.”
“I’m fine.” The coffee and finally hearing the truth have woken me up completely. “But yes, we should both get going.”
Jarvis comes over to stand in front of me. “I’m sorry again.”
He wraps his arms around me, and I respond, hugging him back. This is the first physical contact we’ve shared without secrets between us, and it feels different. Soft. And open.
He pulls away. “I’ll be in touch about what to do with the castle.”
“Okay.”
He leaves, and I take a moment to finish my drink and collect my handbag before going back to my car.
I think there’s something I’m going to have to do tomorrow.