‘Make sure you keep to the shallow end, sweetie,’ Alice cautioned Isabella as the young girl splashed about in the pool.
An inflatable swan floated past Alice’s feet as she dangled them in the cool, refreshing water. It was probably warmer than it felt between her toes, but the climate inside the enclosure was stifling, with the sun beating in through the large glass windows that faced the main house. She would have got in and engaged more with Isabella but she couldn’t concentrate on anything except what she’d heard from behind the living room door.
Another secret, but what was it this time, and what did it have to do with Abdul, a man she barely knew?
Isabella climbed up the side of the pool and plonked herself down next to Alice. The anxiety and fear from earlier had been washed clear by the excitement of a private pool. Alice couldn’t blame her, as the pool had been the first thing she’d fallen in love with at the address.
‘Are you going to come in?’ Isabella chirped as water dripped down her long black hair, landing as droplets on her light brown skin.
Alice looked at her and in that moment could see Johnny’s face: the nose and dark eyes were definitely his, yet the skin tone, smile and mass of hair were Faye’s. It made Alice wonder what hers and Ben’s child might look like.
‘Maybe in a minute,’ she smiled. ‘You have fun. Don’t worry about me.’
It was all the reassurance the little girl needed. Pushing herself up, she tottered on the edge of the pool before jumping in, sending waves of water crashing against Alice’s legs, and splashes against her one-piece bathing costume.
Her ringing phone broke through the echo of the water, and she pulled it out of her waterproof bag. She didn’t recognize the number but knew the ‘+41’ dialling code was Switzerland, and that could mean only one thing.
‘Scott?’ she stammered into the phone.
‘Alice? Oh thank God,’ her stepbrother replied, sounding tired and frustrated. ‘I take it you’ve heard what’s happened?’
‘It’s been on the news. They said you were caught smuggling cocaine into the country. What the hell, Scott?’ She wanted to say something far sterner, but was conscious that Isabella would be able to overhear every word.
‘It’s not what you think.’
‘Not what I think? How is it then? They didn’t find drugs in your hand luggage?’
He was silent for a moment. ‘I can’t get into any of that right now; I don’t have long.’
‘What do you need?’ she asked after a moment.
‘Does Mum know yet? About what happened to me, I mean.’
‘She was the one who told me, Scott.’
‘Shit!’ he sighed, crestfallen.
‘What did you expect? You’re international news: a professional cyclist – someone tipped to make a splash at next year’s Tour de France – is arrested at the airport when his bag sets off a sniffer dog. I know you always longed for fame, but I doubt this is what you were hoping for.’
‘It wasn’t my fault. Okay? You need to tell her that.’
‘How is it not your fault?’
Another pause. ‘I can’t get into that on the phone. I don’t know who might be listening in.’
‘Well you’d better tell me something. She’s probably trying to remortgage the house as we speak to stump up money to post bail for you.’
‘Tell her that I’m sorry, and that I’ll explain everything when I get things sorted.’
‘What things? What are they going to do with you?’
‘I don’t know yet. I’ve kept my mouth shut so far.’
An inflatable beach ball splashed in the water near to Alice’s left leg, and Isabella sheepishly cut through the water and scooped it up with a shy smile. Alice forced a smile back.
‘Mum wants me to fly out and help you. She’s worried that you won’t be able to communicate because they’ll be speaking to you in French or German.’
‘There’s a translator here – she’s English but lives in Geneva. She’s been supporting me, translating their questions and responding on my behalf. I don’t need you to come out here.’
It was Alice’s turn to sigh. ‘What do you need me to do then?’
‘I was phoning to warn you: you’ll probably hear a lot about me over the coming days, but I want you to know that half of what you hear isn’t true. Okay?’
Alice frowned, confused. ‘Hear a lot about what, Scott? What have you done?’
‘I told you, I can’t go into that, but someone put those drugs in my bag.’
She scoffed. ‘You seriously expect me to believe that you didn’t know they were in there?’
‘No, that’s not what I’m saying. I knew, but … it wasn’t my idea.’
‘Scott, you’re not making any sense. If it wasn’t your idea, then whose idea …’ Her words trailed off as her mind connected the dots.
You need to sort this! If Alice finds out, we’re both toast.
It was like someone had turned on a light, and suddenly Dave’s nervousness became clear; the reason he’d been waiting for their return, and the reason he would only speak to Ben.
She scrunched her eyes tight, not wanting to know the answer, but compelled to ask anyway. ‘Oh God, tell me this has nothing to do with Ben.’
‘Ben? No, nothing. He doesn’t know, at least I don’t think he does. Whatever you do though, keep an eye on him, and keep him away from his mates.’
‘Dave is here now,’ she said quietly.
‘Now? What does he want? Did he mention me?’
‘I don’t know,’ she sighed. ‘He wanted to speak to Ben alone. What’s going on, Scott? Does this have anything to do with Bournemouth?’
Another pause. ‘What do you know about what happened in Bournemouth?’ He sounded so cold when he uttered the words that the hairs on the back of Alice’s neck rose.
‘The Kerry Valentine thing. Does this have anything to do with Kerry Valentine?’
‘No, nothing. Well, not exactly. I can’t go into that over the phone, but I will explain everything to you when I get back – if I get back.’
‘I overheard them talking about Abdul; does it have anything to do with Abdul?’
‘You and Ben should just get away, okay? Let everything blow over, and when it’s sorted I’ll reach out to you. Listen, they’re telling me I need to hang up. Apologize to Mum for me and tell her everything will be okay. Will you do that? I’m sorry, Alice. I’m so sor—’ the line disconnected before he could finish.
Alice returned the phone to the waterproof bag, nausea slowly bubbling in the pit of her stomach.
‘Are you going to come in and swim now?’ Isabella asked.
Alice looked down at those innocent eyes, yet to be scarred by the secrets adults tell to their friends, family and themselves. ‘Just give me a minute, sweetie,’ she said, pulling her legs out of the water and reaching for her towel.
It was a relief that Scott had said Ben had nothing to do with the cocaine, but that didn’t mean Dave wouldn’t convince him to become an accessory after the fact. She’d vowed to stand by Ben for better for worse, and if that meant kicking Dave out of their house, then she was ready to do it.
Straightening, she saw Ben and Dave emerge from the house. Both dressed head-to-toe in black, they moved swiftly to Dave’s car and climbed in, before pulling away with a screech of tyres and brake dust.