Sue Fortin - The Dead Wife

The clinking of a spoon against a glass brought the chatter of the room to an end and all the guests turned to the front, where three men and a woman were standing – the Sinclairs.

‘Hello and welcome to Conmere Resort Centre,’ began one of the men. ‘It’s great to see so many of you here. My name’s Dominic Sinclair and this is my mother, Pru, and my brothers, Harry and Owen.’

Dominic was a natural speaker and came across as professional and charming. Steph tried to concentrate on what he was saying, but her mind kept drifting back to Sonia Lomas and her quest to find justice for her daughter. Steph looked at the Sinclairs – could one of them be a murderer, as Sonia had implied? Which one looked as if they could be capable of killing Elizabeth?

A round of applause from the other guests brought Steph back from her thoughts as Dominic invited everyone to enjoy the buffet and feel free to ask any questions as they mingled. The Sinclairs smiled at the guests, although Harry Sinclair’s contribution was rather more lacklustre than the rest of his family’s.

Steph finished her drink and exchanged the champagne flute for a bottle of sparkling water, making a show of examining the label as she surreptitiously kept an eye on her hosts. Pru was already engaged in conversation with one of the guests, standing slightly to one side, but her eyes every now and then scanned the room.

Dominic was holding court with a group of reporters; with his hands in his pockets, he looked at ease in their company, smiling and being particularly engaging, looking at the scale model of the resort in the centre of the room, identifying various points of interest. He was clearly in his element.

Aware that she should probably be speaking to at least one of the Sinclairs, Steph let her gaze seek out the remaining brothers. Owen was talking earnestly with two older men.

So that left Harry Sinclair – her person of interest. Not immediately seeing him, Steph casually wandered over to the centrepiece of the room, beside which Dominic was chatting. The model of the resort was under a glass case, labels showing the main attractions. The indoor swimming pool with jacuzzi, sauna and spa pool were at the heart of the park and fanning outwards were the other facilities with groups of lodges dotted around. It looked like a small town to Steph.

Something made her look up and on the far side of the room, standing almost in the shadows, was Harry Sinclair. They locked eyes for a moment. Steph’s heart bumped hard in her chest and, for a second, all she could hear was the pumping of blood in her ears at the power of his gaze. And then a beat later he broke the brief but intense moment, his eyes returning to his phone.

Steph exhaled a small but controlled breath as she continued to watch him and was pretty certain he was purposely making himself appear unavailable to speak to anyone. As soon as someone looked as if they were approaching him Harry would raise his phone to his ear and mouth an apology to the approaching guest, accompanied by a smile, before looking down as if in deep conversation. Steph witnessed him do this at least three times, and it was quite amusing to watch.

After deflecting a fourth approach with this ploy he looked up and, again, looked over at Steph, who gave a small shake of the head in admonishment. He offered a blank look in reply.

A small laugh escaped Steph’s mouth. This was too good an opportunity to miss. Milling her way through the guests, she headed straight for Harry Sinclair. As she neared him he looked up and put his phone towards his ear, with his by now well-practised don’t-bother-me look. Steph was undeterred and came to a halt in front of him.

‘That’s a ten for presentation, ten for technical ability and a nine for artistic impression.’

Slowly, Harry lowered the phone. ‘Only a nine for artistic impression? Where did I lose the point?’

‘Repetition, darling. Repetition,’ said Steph in a mock-showbiz voice. ‘You can’t pull the same stunt all the time – someone will get wise.’

‘Such an amateur mistake.’

‘I’d say.’ She leaned in conspiratorially. ‘However, your secret’s safe with me.’

‘Why do I get the feeling there’s a catch coming?’

‘Because I wouldn’t be doing my job as a travel reporter if there wasn’t.’

‘True. Fire away.’

‘Give me an exclusive on the resort and we’ll say no more.’

‘An exclusive? I’m not sure if I’ve anything exclusive to tell you.’

Steph knew she had to pace herself here and not get too carried away. ‘Oh, I don’t know, there must be power battles between three ambitious brothers such as yourselves. What really goes on in the boardroom?’

Harry gave a laugh, which Steph felt was forced. His eyes looked wary, although he tried to hide it. ‘You’ve come to the wrong place if you want any scandal.’ He paused and looked at Steph’s lanyard. ‘Ms Stephanie Durham.’

‘It’s Miss, just to clarify, and no one ever calls me Stephanie – it’s just Steph.’

‘Ah, fatal mistake,’ said Harry. ‘Never say you’re just someone – it’s so passive, which I suspect, with you, is a contradiction.’

‘Definitely not. Proactive, I’d say.’ Steph smiled broadly at him. He really did have the most sparkling eyes when he was joking. For a moment it hid the deep sadness that she sensed lay within. ‘If there’s no scandal, why don’t you give me a guided tour?’

‘There’s no scandal and there’s a guided tour in half an hour.’

Steph wasn’t giving up so easily. ‘What about if you show me your favourite part of the estate later? After I’ve been on the official guided tour?’

Something must have caught Harry’s attention. He looked over Steph’s shoulder and his expression darkened.

‘Shit,’ he muttered.

Steph turned to follow his gaze. ‘Shit,’ she heard herself echoing. Sonia Lomas was heading straight for them. What the hell was she doing here? Sonia had never mentioned to Steph that she was coming to the resort. How was this going to play out in front of Harry? She turned and looked for a reaction, but Harry’s gaze was fixed on his mother-in-law. Steph had a second to decide how to play this. She opted to say nothing and see how Sonia was going to react, but couldn’t help feeling irritated at the unexpected appearance. It could ruin everything.

Harry stepped forward. ‘Hello, Sonia,’ he said, his voice the epitome of professional politeness. ‘I didn’t know you were coming.’

‘I didn’t tell you, that’s why,’ replied Sonia. She looked at Steph and then back at Harry. ‘And who’s this? Your new girlfriend?’

Steph silently thanked Sonia for the coded message.

‘No. This is one of the guests.’

Steph held out her hand to Sonia. ‘Stephanie Durham. Vacation Staycation website and magazine. I’m here to cover the reopening of Conmere Resort Centre.’

Sonia shook Steph’s hand. ‘Sonia Lomas. My daughter was married to Harry.’

Steph feigned a thoughtful look, followed by what she hoped was one of realisation. ‘Oh, I see. Er … Elizabeth—’

Harry cut her off. ‘Nothing that needs discussing here.’ He turned to Sonia. ‘Would you like to go somewhere more private, where we can talk?’

Sonia raised her eyebrows. ‘No. I wouldn’t actually. I’m quite happy to talk right here.’

Steph looked from one to the other. She had no idea what Sonia’s game was. As far as Steph was concerned, she was supposed to be here to make discreet enquiries, but now Sonia had turned up it was clearly putting Harry on his guard. She felt she should excuse herself, but the professional side of her knew she should stay rooted to the spot to glean as much info as possible.