Jenna cast a glance to Luke, who was standing at her shoulder, before knocking at the door. It was solid red, with a brass knocker in the middle at head height. She’d examined the house and garden as she walked up the path, wondering how someone so young could have afforded a house like this.
Sandstone bay windows on either side of the entrance, and a loft conversion; a herringbone-patterned red-brick drive, and plenty of space in front of the house and down either side, planted with mature shrubs and trees.
She’d given a low whistle as she walked up the drive to the house. ‘Jeez, if this is in good nick you’re talking half a million.’
The door opened.
The woman Jenna knew as Hazel stood there, a half-smile working its way across her mouth, but her eyes were hard, challenging. Her hair was blonde, shoulder length and straightened to a gleam. She was wearing grey yoga pants and a navy hoodie, and Jenna wondered how she could ever have thought this woman was the same age as her.
‘Amanda Morrison?’ Jenna said. All the way over she’d been thinking about what to say when she saw ‘Hazel’ and settled for using the woman’s real name. She felt a massive sense of satisfaction as she did so. She wanted to pull off her mask like you might rip off a plaster.
A sharp light of recognition appeared in Amanda’s eyes, but she quickly recovered her equilibrium, as if she’d had advanced warning of their arrival. She stepped back, out of their way. ‘You’d better come in.’
Jenna paused to allow Luke to enter first, as if on some silent signal that he would be the better to meet any physical threat. But all that greeted them was a hallway with a plush, grey carpet that from the tramlines looked like it had recently been hoovered. To the side, an occasional table holding a small red bowl, edged in gilt, and a tall mirror, and she wondered about malice given a veneer of respectability. How many people, on how many streets just like this across the country, were hiding the poisoned apple of their heart with a throw blanket, a nice rug and some scatter cushions?
‘I’ve just put the kettle on,’ Amanda said. ‘Anyone fancy a brew?’
‘Really?’ Jenna replied, almost admiring the nonchalance of the young woman while wanting to slap the cheek out of her. ‘That’s where we are? Tea and coffee?’
‘Might as well be civilised about it,’ Amanda replied. ‘Let’s go through to the conservatory. You catch the winter sun there just lovely.’
‘Where’s Jamie?’ Luke asked.
Amanda ignored him and kept walking.
They entered a conservatory that had brick walls to waist height, patio doors facing them, and leaves resting on the glass roof. A three-piece bamboo suite and coffee table sat in the middle.
‘Haven’t got round to updating yet,’ Amanda said. ‘Been kinda busy.’
‘Give it a rest,’ Jenna said, feeling Luke stiffen at her side.
Amanda sat on an armchair, indicating the sofa to Jenna and Luke. He sat, but Jenna stayed standing. She could see he was studying Amanda’s face.
‘We did meet back then,’ Amanda said, also reading Luke’s expression. ‘Well, met is an exaggeration. Danny brought you round a few times, and you completely ignored me.’
Luke opened his mouth to reply, then closed it again as if deciding it wasn’t worth the effort.
‘I can’t believe you had me fooled about being in the same class at uni,’ Jenna said. ‘What are you, twenty-five, twenty six?’
‘Does it matter what age I am?’ Amanda sat back and crossed her legs. ‘What gave it away? Sandy and Jean?’ She saw Jenna’s reaction. ‘Damn. If only we’d left there five minutes earlier.’
‘If only you hadn’t turned into some vengeful monster,’ Jenna countered. ‘What did I ever do to you? I loved your brother.’ Jenna heard emotion in her voice, hated herself for it and cleared it from her throat with a cough.
‘You loved him until you didn’t.’
‘He was not an easy man to love.’
‘What, do you want sympathy?’
‘I can understand why you targeted me,’ Luke interrupted. ‘Well, I can’t, cos this is shit that crazy people do. But why go after Jenna? She had nothing to do with Danny’s death.’
Amanda didn’t react. It was as if Luke wasn’t there, hadn’t spoken. Her gaze was stuck on Jenna.
‘Look at you,’ she said, her eyes full of knowledge. ‘Little Miss Butter-Wouldn’t-Melt.’
Jenna’s stomach lurched. There was no doubt in her mind. Amanda knew, and the only person who could have told her was Danny. And seeing the shine in her eyes, Jenna was sure she was about to wield that fact like a sword. Better that she take that moment of surprise away from her.
‘Danny told you about the abortion?’ she asked, quickly glancing at Luke, ducking her head in apology.
‘What?’ Luke asked quietly. ‘A what? Why didn’t you tell me?’ His eyes were soft, his expression one of empathy.
‘I’m—’ she began,
‘She’s a whore,’ Amanda interrupted. ‘At least that’s how Danny described her when he told me.’
‘You were only a kid,’ Jenna said, trying to hide the sting she felt at Amanda’s words. ‘Why would he tell you something like that?’
‘Did it without even telling him first, eh? What kind of coward does that? Ran away with mummy to the hospital. God knows what sob story you told them.’
‘It … it was complicated,’ Jenna replied, struggling to find the right words.
‘God, how awful for you,’ Luke said, reaching for her hand.
Jenna tried gently to shrug it off. Now was not the time for sympathy. She had to harden herself and deal with this young woman. She and Luke could talk about the termination another time.
‘Complicated?’ Amanda asked. ‘That’s it? That’s your explanation for killing my brother’s child?’
‘I did what I had to do,’ Jenna replied, sitting up straight. ‘You weren’t there. You couldn’t possibly understand.’
‘My brother was ruined – ruined after that. Yeah, I was just a kid, but I was old enough to see that what happened messed him up.’ She narrowed her eyes. ‘I remember just before. He was in the kitchen with Mum on one of his rare visits. Dad was out,’ she added by way of explanation. ‘And he was telling Mum you were going to be the saving of him. That he’d changed his ways and all it took was the love of a good woman.’ Amanda sat forward in her chair as if to get closer to Jenna. ‘Can you imagine the betrayal he felt? The woman he thought was going to be his saviour goes and does that to him? How you can even stand under the weight of all of that is beyond me,’ Amanda sneered. ‘You are a vile human being—’
‘Enough,’ Luke interrupted. ‘Jenna did what she had to do, and that’s good enough for me. Your big brother was dangerous, Amanda. There was something in him that could be pretty bloody scary. And it sounds like Jenna woke up to that just in time. Perhaps we leave Jenna out of this. It’s me you really want.’
‘I couldn’t believe it when you two got together,’ Amanda said, completely ignoring Luke. ‘I mean, what are the chances?’
‘Regardless,’ Luke said. ‘Jenna was young, and in an impossible situation – realising that the man she was in love with, and who’d just made her pregnant, had a screw loose.’ He looked across at Jenna, and she read that he was keen to show her his understanding. ‘So, let’s leave her out of it, shall we?’ he repeated.
‘Nope,’ Amanda said, shaking her head.
Luke jumped to his feet. ‘You are nothing but a silly little girl, and Jamie’s a silly little boy. There’s nothing more here than a case of arrested development. You were both badly treated by your parents, they died, and you went on to even worse treatment by the people who were chosen to look after you. Trauma on trauma. Blah, blah.’ Jenna knew Luke well enough to know that he took the effects of trauma on the developing mind very seriously indeed. He was trying to rile her. ‘Well, time to grow up, little girl. Lots of people have a difficult start, and they go on to lead productive lives. You need to start taking responsibility. You got dealt a shitty hand. Move on.’
‘A shitty hand? You know nothing, Duncan Robertson.’ Amanda’s nostrils flared, and she leaned forward and smiled, but the light in her eyes didn’t change, didn’t hint at the thoughts behind the smile. Her right hand, though, tucked under her left, was clenched. Even as she tried to display a controlled façade her body was betraying her. Luke’s comments had got to her.
‘Everything was fine until she came along,’ Amanda said. ‘Danny was a great brother. The best. Then nothing. He stopped coming round. Never even phoned. And Mum laughed. My mother laughed at me. She laughed at my disappointment. What kind of mother does that? Then, when you dumped him and killed his baby, he was changed. Had no time for women, regardless of who they were. As far as he was concerned you had ruined that for him. At least he knew where he was with the guys, he said. Women were a different species, and he wouldn’t trust any of them ever again.’ Her lips were a tight, white line of barely supressed anger. ‘You ruined my brother, you witch. Happy?’
‘Oh, for God’s sake,’ Jenna said.
‘And you drove him back to the company of this arsehole. And we all know what happened next, don’t we?’
‘Danny was a grown man,’ Jenna said. ‘He made his own choices.’
‘And we all know what happened next, Duncan,’ Amanda repeated. ‘Or do we?’ Her focus was lasered on Luke.
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Jenna asked.
‘You were there, or have you forgotten, you daft bint? When Sandy told us about the time he passed Danny and Dunc.’ She continued to bore into Luke’s face. ‘On that road. Hours before the paramedics reported they were called. What happened, Duncan? What really happened?’
‘You know what happened. It’s a matter of public record.’
‘Public record, my backside. Even when I was a wee girl I knew the whole thing stank. You saw a chance to get control over Danny’s business empire and you tried to take it. It’s just a pity,’ she spat, ‘your ploy didn’t work out for you, and you landed in jail.’ Amanda looked over at Jenna. ‘Even she knows we never got to the truth.’
‘Business empire,’ Luke snorted. ‘Danny was a petty criminal with delusions.’
‘And what does that say about you?’ Amanda replied.
‘I’m not proud of who I was back then, and I’ve spent years trying to make amends.’
‘Thing is,’ Amanda said, ‘we’re not buying this new nice-guy version. I can still see your spots, Mr Leopard.’
‘When your view of the world is as distorted as yours, Amanda, it’s no wonder you can’t understand – can’t see when someone’s made a change to their life.’
‘Shall I get some Brasso out and give your halo a wee polish?’ Amanda sneered. ‘Bollocks. It’s all bollocks.’
‘Where’s Jamie?’ Luke asked, looking back into the house. ‘I assume he lives here with you?’
‘Tell you what,’ Amanda said, completely ignoring the question. ‘At this point in time you have nothing. You can’t go to the police, cos there’s nothing actionable. Computers and the internet are my business. There’s nothing there for the police to work with, believe me. So why don’t we make a deal? You tell me what really happened, and I back off.’
‘You know what happened,’ Luke replied.
‘Stop it,’ Amanda shouted. She was on her feet, face red. The change in her behaviour was so abrupt that Jenna dropped into a seat as if that might create some distance. ‘You killed him. It was never an accident.’ Her mouth was twisted in hate. ‘You got him tanked up, stayed sober yourself and then drove into that field. Probably after you unfastened his seatbelt. And then you waited just long enough to phone the ambulance so that people would think it was an accident. Tell me I’m right, and then you two can go back to your dreary little existence.’
Jenna could see Luke was studying Amanda’s face for subterfuge.
‘That’s a promise?’ Luke asked as he sat back down.
Jenna stared at Luke, mouth open in shock.
That suggested there was more to the events of the day Danny died. Did she want to know? Fascinated and repelled, she resisted the urge to press her hands over her ears and listened as Luke told his story.