Chapter 15
15
‘Are you OK?’ Rosie asked, taking Deedee’s shaking hand in hers and giving it a squeeze. ‘I can stay with you if you like?’
‘Thanks, darling. And to be honest, I’m not sure how I feel.’
Rosie enveloped her in a hug. Deedee rubbed the heels of her hands on Rosie’s back, grateful for the moment of comfort. ‘That woman was here one moment and gone the next. If you hadn’t overheard the conversation, then I could well believe that I might have imagined it. She was just so evasive… it was bizarre,’ Deedee said vaguely as she pulled back from Rosie.
‘Here, let’s sit down.’ Rosie led Deedee over to the driftwood log where they sat on it together, side by side. ‘Take a chunk. For the shock!’ Rosie instructed, pulling a bar of chocolate out of her bag and handing it to Deedee. ‘Or I have something stronger if you prefer?’ And after rummaging in her bag some more, Rosie produced a small gold hip flask. ‘Whiskey! A wedding planner essential, always prepared for every eventuality, emergencies included.’ She waggled the flask in the air. ‘And you look like you’ve had a shock, Deedee.’
‘I have, a bit… not that the woman was in any way scary, more that it was odd the way she was so nervous and then said it was “personal”, when I asked why she had come to see Joe. But she gave nothing away, not even a vague “Oh, we were old friends” or whatever you might say if you didn’t want the other person to know,’ Deedee paused, still processing it all. ‘Thanks for this though, the chocolate is doing the trick… but I need to keep a clear head,’ she added, waving away the whiskey with the sugar hit already kicking in to soothe her jangled nerves. Rosie slotted the flask back inside her bag and turned her head sideways to look at Deedee.
‘So did anything else happen? Did the woman say anything more?’ Rosie creased her forehead. ‘How strange that she ran off.’
‘It was, Rosie, really strange. She just appeared and asked for Joe… but then looked very sheepish indeed. But she also said there isn’t usually someone here which makes me think she’s been here before, and more than once perhaps.’
‘Hmm, it does sound that way. And you definitely didn’t recognise her?’
‘Nope. Although I did for a moment wonder if I had seen her before… you know, in the street or a shop perhaps. She looked faintly familiar.’
A short silence followed as the two women sat side by side each processing what this could mean. Rosie spoke first.
‘How did she say it… that it was personal ? Was there any, um… you know, defensiveness?’ Rosie’s voice trailed off, but Deedee instantly knew what her friend was implying.
‘Do you think she got spooked when I said I was Joe’s wife?’ Deedee’s mind was working overtime now. ‘Oh God, do you think she was a lover? A mistress? She did seem nervous, scared even, like she didn’t want me to know.’ Deedee let out a long breath and stood up off the log to pace around on the sand.
‘No, no… Oh, Deedee, that’s not what I was saying.’ Rosie stood up too and came to stand opposite Deedee.
‘Then what were you saying?’ Deedee snapped, instantly hating that she had. ‘Darling, I’m so sorry, I… it’s just spooked me that’s all. One minute I’m here feeling wonderful and relaxed, happy and content to have this beautiful gift,’ she gestured to the beach house, ‘and then the woman arrives asking for Joe and I’m immediately back in the dark place. I thought I was going to have to tell her he’s died and that’s hard, even now after four years.’ Deedee shuddered. ‘Joe knew I liked surprises but maybe this is already proving to be one surprise too many.’
‘Oh, Deedee, I’m sure it’s not. And I’m sorry… I need to engage my brain before I speak. She could have been anyone, an old friend, a neighbour, a colleague… who knows?’ Rosie tried, but the seed of doubt was already planted in Deedee’s head.
‘Surely, if she had just been a friend, an old neighbour, a colleague then she would have known he had died if that was the case… everyone who had ever known him came to the memorial service in Los Angeles. Joe was a popular man, loved by lots and they all came to pay their respects, even his friends and business associates in London made the trip.’
‘And if she was a mistress then she would have known too!’ Anthony suddenly appeared, puffing to catch his breath before bending over with his hands on his thighs. ‘Come on, Dee… Joe would never have done that. He was a good guy, remember!’
‘Sorry, we heard you talking as we came back over the dunes,’ Gina explained, fanning a hand in front of her flushed face. ‘And I agree with Anthony, and from what I saw of Joe in the film yesterday it was clear he adored you. Please don’t let your mind wander and make two plus two come to five million or whatever.’
‘Ah, I know you’re all right… ignore me, I’m being an old fool,’ Deedee said, glancing around at her friends, ‘but thank you for going after the woman… I’m sure if it’s important she will come back another day at some point. She did say that she had been here before, and there is usually nobody here, making it sound like she’s a frequent visitor…’
Deedee wandered back over to the log, and despite her best efforts, her thoughts still meandered, making up all kinds of dark scenarios, as she pretended to be paying attention to Gina and Anthony telling how they sped over the dunes like sprinters on speed, convinced the woman must have had a car on the shingle road over on the other side where the harbour is, as she vanished too quickly for them to catch up. Gina and Anthony had then taken a quick look around the harbour just in case they could spot a blonde woman running or even driving along but there was nobody around, just a few sailboats bobbing in the waves and a group of teens skateboarding over mini speed bumps on the towpaths.
Deedee tried to recall specifics of the woman’s appearance and wished she had paid more attention. After seeing Joe on the screen yesterday, she had been convinced more than ever that he loved her with all his heart and would never have betrayed her, but he was only human, and he was charismatic and handsome, and women loved him. Could something have happened in a moment of madness, a one-night stand? They were together for a very long time and marriages go through ups and downs, although she and Joe had always been good at talking through issues and coming back together if they’d had spells of feeling as though they were drifting apart. And there had been times when it had been that way, with their respective pressures of work, Joe travelling to support clients on whatever movie they were starring in, and she couldn’t always go with him and so had immersed herself in the travel agency. They had always been independent, never relying on each other, both having fully-formed lives before they met. She had been forty-six when they married, with her own home and business. Joe too. But who knows? She found herself sifting over the past, looking for clues of infidelity she might have missed, but nothing sprung to mind. Of course, they hadn’t lived in each other’s pockets or bared every part of their souls to each other, and that had helped to keep the magic alive, keep things fresh, as it had been exciting learning new things about each other over the years. But if there had been another woman, why would she turn up here at the beach house, and how did she even know about it? Joe did say that he bought the house before he got the diagnosis; maybe he had used it as a bolthole a few times. And who knows how he was really feeling when faced with his own mortality? He hadn’t liked talking about dying so those conversations had been minimal. But he hadn’t said anything at all about filming the codicil, and in Deedee’s mind that was huge, a pretty big deal – so what else could he have kept from her? Maybe he wanted to throw caution to the wind and enjoy the thrill of an illicit affair? A frisson to make him feel energised and alive while he still had the time, and physical health too, before it was too late. Deedee sighed, suddenly feeling very weary and weighted down. By now, she had convinced herself it could have happened.
Forcing herself back into the moment, she let out a long breath in an attempt to shake off the destructive thoughts that were like popcorn kernels, popping and multiplying more and more inside her head, until it was crammed full, leaving no room for rationality.
‘And you definitely didn’t see her?’ Deedee suddenly checked, knowing they would have said right away if they had, and not just gone through a detailed explanation of what they had found over the other side of the dunes. But she needed to say or do something instead of sitting and stewing and surmising on things she may never know the truth of. She walked over to Rosie. ‘Can I take a swig of that whiskey after all, please?’
‘Sure.’ Rosie obliged and Deedee was grateful when the liquid hit the back of her throat and a warm feeling raced into her blood stream bringing a renewed feeling of fortitude.
‘Sorry, angel, definitely no sign of her.’ Anthony shook his head. ‘Oh, but we did find this caught on one of those thistle beach plants that grow as tall as triffids at the top of the dunes. And I saw her momentarily stop to yank the pocket of her trousers away when it got caught, so perhaps it belongs to her, could have fallen out of her pocket…’
‘Oh, what is it?’ Deedee asked and then thought, ‘But then why didn’t you call out for her to stop, if you were that close to her?’
‘I did, but with the sound of the waves and the wind, maybe she didn’t hear me,’ Anthony shrugged.
‘Sorry,’ Deedee said, ‘I shouldn’t be interrogating you in this way… and I do appreciate you running off like that. I should have gone myself. Can’t believe I just froze.’ Deedee shook her head.
‘You were in shock,’ Anthony said, handing Deedee a small piece of card with a red- and-black cartoon picture of a cow’s head on one side but it was torn so there was no clue as to what it related to other than part of a phone number. ‘It looks like it could be a restaurant perhaps, a diner or a steak place maybe,’ he suggested. ‘There’s a name on the back.’ Deedee turned the card over and saw Lara handwritten in pencil.
‘What do you think this means?’ Deedee asked, voicing her thoughts aloud.
‘I think it means another road trip back to the city as that part of the number right there…’ Anthony paused to tap the card, ‘…is a Brooklyn area code!’
‘And she did have a Brooklyn accent,’ Deedee said, ‘like yours, Anthony.’
‘So we just need to find a restaurant or diner in Brooklyn with a cartoon cow’s head logo and ask if they know anyone called Lara,’ Rosie said, instantly pulling out her giant notepad and flipping it open, seemingly keen to set up a new project page. ‘I’ll draw up a list and we can visit them all until we find the mystery woman called Lara.’
‘Well, there you go,’ Anthony said, lifting his arms out wide like he was auditioning for the starring role in a remake of Colombo. ‘Case cracked… not like this is a ver y tenuous link at all and like there’s only a tonne of restaurants and diners in New York!’ The three women stared at him. ‘And the parking for every single one of them will be diabolical, that’s for sure!’
‘Well, in that case we will just have to figure something out – split up maybe and each of us take a chunk of the list to go and visit – because Deedee is our friend, and we need to find out who this woman is and why she comes here to Joe’s beach house. And more importantly, why did she run away without giving any kind of explanation whatsoever? And this piece of card is all we have right now!’ Rosie stated in a full-on flourish of efficiency as she whipped out her fluffy pom-pom-topped pen poised to plan yet another unexpected development to Deedee’s birthday trip.