Emma lies on the sofa thinking about Alex and wonders how he is coping. She has always believed that her husband’s need to seek out other women stems from his disastrous relationship with his mother and, after he had been unfaithful the second time, they had discussed him getting some help. Alex had promised he would consider it, but somehow events had overtaken them and he had never done it.
When her youngest sister, Zoe, arrives from London, Emma is still on the sofa dozing.
‘Where is everybody?’ Zoe asks, sitting down beside her and giving her a careful hug.
‘Kate’s taking the dog for a walk and I’m not sure where Mum and Dad are.’
As she speaks, they hear a shriek from the kitchen and the sound of voices.
‘There you are. They must be giving Ben his tea.’
Zoe launches straight into an attack on Alex.
‘What the hell was Alex up to, and with Nicky Scott of all people? Hasn’t that bloody idiot learnt his lesson?’
‘It’s much worse than that, Zo. Alex is at the police station being questioned. Dad’s speaking to the lawyer now.’
‘What? I don’t believe it. They can’t think Alex murdered her – that’s crazy.’
‘I know – it’s completely crazy.’
Their father walks into the sitting room and kisses Zoe on the cheek. From the distracted look on his face, Emma senses that he is about to share some bad news.
‘Look, Em, you mustn’t get yourself in a state, but Knapton says that they’ve arrested Alex.’
Emma gasps and Tony goes on quickly.
‘Apparently, it’s perfectly normal and doesn’t necessarily mean anything. They just need more time to question him.’
‘Oh no, poor Alex – I can’t bear it. He doesn’t have anyone.’ Emma looks close to tears again.
Tony continues, ‘That’s not entirely true, darling, he does have friends. Apparently, he went round to Jerry Hammond’s after he left work this morning. Knapton thinks it would be a good idea to call Jerry to let him know the police might be contacting him.’
‘I’m sorry, Dad, I really can’t face ringing him,’ Emma says. ‘I just don’t want to talk to anyone at the moment.’
Zoe volunteers to do it and Emma sits on the sofa listening to the conversation which, towards the end, is punctuated by laughter and giggling.
‘Why did that take so long and why do you always have to flirt?’ Emma says crossly when Zoe emerges from the study.
‘I wasn’t flirting, I was being friendly. I couldn’t just tell him what was happening and hang up. There is such a thing as good manners.’
‘Hmm. Well, at least it’s done, I suppose,’ Emma says.
‘Come on, girls, enough of this. Why don’t we watch the news?’ Tony says, pouring Zoe a glass of wine and calling to his wife to join them.
Emma puts Ben down on the play mat at her feet before leaning back and resting her head on her mother’s shoulder. There is nothing much on the news and she is just thinking of getting up and going to the loo when Nicky Scott’s face suddenly flashes across the screen.
‘Sssh,’ she says urgently, although nobody is speaking.
The camera then zooms in on the front of a house with two men standing on the front steps. One of them is James Scott.
They watch in silence as a police officer reads a statement and then hands over to James.
‘Oh dear, what a miserable thing to have to do,’ Liz says once James has finished and the newsreader moves on to the next item.
As she speaks, the door opens and a muddy dog bounds into the room, causing Ben to squeal with delight.
‘Hi, Zo, when did you get here? Have I missed anything?’ Kate says taking in the domestic scene in front of her.
‘You only missed James Scott on the TV,’ says Zoe.
‘Oh damn, what was he doing?’
‘He was talking about Nicky and appealing for people to come forward with any information.’
‘Oh no, poor guy – how did he look?’
‘Pretty awful. But what he said was actually quite sweet.’
‘I can’t imagine James Scott being sweet under any circumstances,’ Kate says.
Emma stands up. ‘Oh, for God’s sake, you two. Does everything have to be a bloody joke? This is serious. Nicky Scott is dead.’
Emma storms upstairs in tears and lies on her bed, fuming about the insensitivity of her sisters. When she eventually comes back down, Ben has already been put to bed and her father is reading the newspaper on the sofa. She can hear clattering in the kitchen. Emma sits down next to her father, who puts his arm round her.
‘Okay now, sweetheart? Mum’s making pasta for supper. She found some tinned tomatoes and herbs in the cupboard and I dug up an onion from the garden. There wasn’t much in the fridge, apparently.’
‘I know, I’m sorry, I was planning to go shopping today. Listen, Dad, I know what you said earlier, but I’ve decided to go up to London with Zoe tomorrow morning. Please don’t try to talk me out of it. Alex needs me and we’ll just have to talk about all the rest later. Kate has already said she would be happy to look after Ben for a day or two.’
‘Of course, I won’t try to talk you out of it. If that’s what you’ve decided, I understand completely. But Zoe’s got to work tomorrow and I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to sit on your own in her flat worrying. Why don’t I come up with you?’
‘Oh, Dad, are you sure? That would be amazing,’ Emma says, giving her father a kiss. ‘What about Mum, though?’
‘Don’t worry about Mum. She’ll be fine. As far as she’s concerned, I am just an inconvenience who keeps her out of the garden.’
Emma laughs, knowing the exact opposite is true.