Sue Fortin - The Dead Wife

‘I’d sooner we didn’t,’ said Harry, and then he turned to Steph. ‘Would you mind excusing us?’

‘Oh, yes, of course,’ said Steph, although it was the last thing she wanted to do.

‘Why don’t you stay?’ said Sonia. ‘I’d prefer to have someone else here.’

Harry leaned closer to Sonia and said something in low tones that Steph couldn’t make out above the buzz of the room. Sonia listened for a moment, her face hardening before she took a step back. ‘Please, Sonia,’ said Harry. ‘Not here. Not today.’

‘What? Are you worried I’m going to cause a scene? I don’t suppose you want me to start reminding everyone about what happened here two years ago, do you?’

Steph looked at Sonia, who swayed on her feet, and she and Harry simultaneously put a hand out to keep the older woman from stumbling. It was then Steph got the whiff of alcohol from Sonia’s breath.

‘Get off me,’ said Sonia, her voice rising enough to make the guests nearby turn around. There were tears in her eyes. ‘Don’t you care, Harry? Don’t you care what happened to your wife?’

Before Harry could answer Dominic appeared, his manner rather more abrupt than his brother’s. Steph could see the anger blazing in his blue eyes. ‘What the fuck is she doing here?’ Dominic hissed and then, noticing Steph, made a clear effort to regain his composure. ‘Mrs Lomas, this afternoon is strictly for the press. I’m afraid you can’t stay.’

‘That’s what you think,’ said Sonia.

Dominic turned his head and wrinkled up his nose. ‘Jesus. You’re drunk,’ he said. ‘Honestly, Harry, you need to get her out of here before I call Security.’

‘Go easy,’ said Harry, eyeing his brother. ‘I don’t think we need Security.’

Dominic looked at Steph. ‘And don’t even think about reporting this,’ he said. ‘You do what you’re here for. OK?’

Steph was rather taken aback at Dominic’s aggression. She was about to pull him up for it, but Harry spoke first.

‘No need for that.’ He turned to Steph. ‘Apologies; my brother didn’t mean to sound so rude. Did you, Dom?’

Dominic took a moment to collect himself. ‘No. Sorry. Very sorry. Please, let me get you a drink while Harry sees to his mother-in-law.’

Steph was pretty sure Dominic was anything other than sorry, but she accepted his apology all the same. However, she wasn’t about to be bought off with a drink. Fortunately, Sonia started up again.

‘Look, you two, don’t try to silence me like you did my daughter. I’m not scared of either of you. Any of you.’

‘No one wants you to be scared,’ reassured Harry. ‘Let’s talk about this – somewhere else. Please, Sonia.’

Steph watched Harry put a hand on her arm and offer a sympathetic smile. He seemed genuinely concerned about Sonia. He had a kind and calming way about him. Hardly the reaction of someone who might have murdered his wife.

‘Don’t touch me,’ snapped Sonia, clearly not ready to accept the olive branch.

Steph moved towards Sonia. ‘Why don’t you come outside with me?’ She smiled warmly at the other woman. ‘There’s no need to cause a big fuss here. If you want to be taken seriously, there are better ways to do it.’ She willed Sonia to agree to come with her.

‘I don’t know if that’s a good idea,’ said Dominic.

‘It bloody well is if you want me to leave quietly, and just because I’m going it doesn’t mean you’ve heard the last of me,’ said Sonia. She linked her arm through Steph’s. ‘I’d like to leave now. With you. No one else.’ Sonia looked defiantly at the older Sinclair brother.

‘Just get her out of here,’ said Dominic, glancing around the room. ‘Quietly. There’s a room directly across the hall. She can sober up in there. I’ll get someone to bring in some coffee.’

‘Thank you,’ said Sonia as she staggered slightly on the turn and allowed Steph to lead her towards the door.

Steph glanced over her shoulder at Harry, whose eyes she was sure had tracked them the whole way across the room. She could see the brothers muttering to each other and then Harry give a slight nod in her direction.

Across the hall and in the sitting room, Steph sat Sonia down on the sofa. ‘What are you doing here?’ she whispered. ‘I thought you were going to leave this to me.’

‘I changed my mind,’ said Sonia. She flopped back on the sofa and closed her eyes. ‘I’m not drunk, by the way.’

‘I’m not so sure about that.’

‘I’ve had a couple of drinks, but that’s all. A bit of Dutch courage.’

‘I still don’t understand what you’re doing here though.’ Steph was anxious to find out but Sonia was being vague. ‘Look, if you want me to investigate your daughter’s death, you’ve got to let me do it. You can’t come gatecrashing. All that’s going to do is put the Sinclairs on edge. I don’t need them getting suspicious and giving them any clue that I might be working with you.’ Sonia’s eyes remained closed. ‘Do you even understand what I’m saying?’

Sonia opened her eyes and looked at Steph. ‘Truth be told, it was a spur-of-the-moment decision. I don’t really know what I was hoping to achieve. I thought maybe I could cause a bit of a stir and get people talking about Elizabeth again.’

‘You need to leave it to me,’ said Steph. She could see the pain in Sonia’s eyes and a surge of sympathy welled up in Steph’s chest. ‘Please, let me find out things my way. If you go for a full-on attack, they are only going to close ranks. I need to win their confidence, not put them on their guard.’

Before Sonia could answer, the door opened and Harry walked in carrying a tray with two cups of coffee on it. ‘Thought you might like one too,’ he said to Steph.

‘Thanks.’ Steph looked at Sonia, whose eyes were once again closed. She could only assume Sonia was acting but she decided to play along with her for now.

‘How is she?’ Harry placed the tray on the side table and looked down at his mother-in-law.

Steph shrugged. ‘Sleeping it off, I guess.’

Harry let out a long sigh. ‘She never used to drink but I think what happened to Elizabeth has pushed her over the edge.’

‘It’s hardly surprising.’

‘You obviously know about what happened to my wife?’

‘Yes, and I’m sorry for your loss. I researched your family prior to coming here.’

‘Well, looks like you’ve got yourself a nice, juicy story. One for the gutter press. Get a couple of photos and you can probably make yourself a few pounds.’

Steph inwardly winced at the remark. Despite how accurate it may be, the way Harry said it made it sound callous and uncaring and she found herself challenging his assumption. ‘What makes you so sure I’m going to run a story on this?’

‘I thought that’s what all journalists did.’

‘We’re not all hacks. Some of us have integrity and, technically speaking, I’m here for PR and advertising, not scandal,’ said Steph, inwardly blanching at her contradiction. She, of course, had a hidden agenda but she wasn’t going to let Harry know that. She ignored the voice of conscience in the back of her mind.

Harry gave her a sideways look. ‘I’ll happily be proved wrong,’ he said.

Sonia let out a small groan and opened her eyes. Steph admired her acting ability as she took a moment to focus and take in her surroundings. Her gaze rested on the cup of coffee. ‘I suppose that’s for me.’

Harry passed her the cup. ‘Black, no sugar and a splash of cold water. Just as you like it.’

Steph noted that Harry still remembered how Sonia liked her coffee and realised that he was more thoughtful than she would have expected.

‘Thank you.’ Sonia sipped at the warm liquid.