Watching a flock of greenfinches in the stone birdbath through the patio doors, Gloria sipped her tea and smiled.
Len loved watching the birds during the little spare time he had. How she would do anything for one more day sitting here with him. Even an hour. Just to remind him how much she loved him. How much she’d always loved him and that she’d love him until her last breath – and beyond.
But she couldn’t. It was over. Len was gone.
She dabbed at the fresh tears on her cheeks. Her grief had shifted – moving from raw pain and utter shock at Len’s unexpected death into the long, hollow void of the rest of time without him.
The funeral had been a closing point and in a way it was comforting because although hard, unbearably so, now she could begin reminiscing about the wonderful life they’d shared. The life Len had made better than she could ever have imagined.
The immense turnout at the service and wake showed there were huge numbers of people who felt he’d enriched their lives, too.
Taking solace from this, Gloria placed her cup of tea on the small table to the side of her armchair and smiled wistfully, watching the birds outside once more.
Startled by the sudden ringing of the telephone, she got up. It was probably Sam. She called a couple of times each day to check how things were.
Gloria picked up the receiver. ‘Sam? Oh, hello, Judith.’
‘I’m sorry to call, what with it being the day after Len’s funeral, but I didn’t know what else to do.’
Gloria frowned, the worry and strain in Judith’s voice evident. ‘It’s not a problem. Whatever is the matter?’ There was a pause. ‘Judith?’
Judith’s voice cracked. ‘It might sound an odd question and I know you had countless other things on your mind, but you didn’t happen to see Gary – my youngest – at all last night, did you?’ She faltered. ‘You didn’t notice anything strange?’
‘Strange?’ Gloria frowned. ‘No, I can’t say I did. The only time I really saw him was when he was standing with you. I left before the end. I’m sorry, I should have come and said goodbye, but it was all getting a bit much.’
‘No, no, I completely understand. It was silly of me to bother you,’ Judith apologised. ‘I’ll let you get on. I’m sorry to have disturbed you.’
‘Wait, Judith,’ Gloria said hastily. ‘Has something happened?’
‘Well, that’s just it. I don’t know, but I’ve got this feeling. Gary didn’t come back last night and no one can get in contact with him.’
‘Is he with a girlfriend or a friend or…’
‘No, Gary doesn’t get involved,’ Judith said. ‘But this is out of character and you remember what I told you the other day about these… these rumours?’
Gloria’s heart sank. ‘That can’t be anything to do with it, can it? How could it be?’ She heard Judith sniff, obviously crying. The woman was clearly worried.
‘Things have got even more strained between the boys. Andrew and Neil especially,’ Judith said sadly. ‘In front of me they pretend everything’s fine, but I’m their mother and I can tell when things aren’t right.’ She paused. ‘I can tell by their body language there’s still a lot of bad feeling. They were even having digs at each other last night. Gary walked off in the end, as did Andrew and Neil. The whole lot of them dispersed and no one’s seen Gary since.’
Gloria remained silent, choosing her words carefully. ‘You think Gary’s had enough of the accusations and gone off for a while? Is that what you’re saying?’
Judith hesitated, scared to speak her worries out loud in case it made them come true. ‘I – I don’t know. Maybe. Or another fight? Or worse…’
‘Worse?’ Gloria cried. What was Judith saying? ‘You don’t think…’
‘Gary’s a sensitive boy – not like the others. I – I’m worried it’s all got too much and that he might… might have ended it…’
Gloria gasped. ‘Oh my God! You don’t really think that could be a possibility, do you?’ Perspiration formed between her breasts. ‘He wouldn’t… wouldn’t… would he?’
Judith began sobbing. ‘I just don’t know…’
Gloria’s guilt weighed heavily. If that young man was so distressed to kill himself because of those untrue rumours, then she’d never forgive herself. She could have put an end to this. She still could.
She needed to think. ‘Try not to worry,’ Gloria soothed, hoping her reassurance meant something. ‘I’m sure he’ll turn up. In the meantime, I’ll call Samantha. She’d have been there until the last person left, so I’m sure she’d have noticed anything unusual, or perhaps saw where Gary went.’
‘Thank you, Gloria,’ Judith sniffed. ‘Again, I’m sorry to have bothered you.’
‘Don’t even think about that. I’ll call Sam now.’
Replacing the receiver, Gloria sank back into the armchair and put her head in her hands.
Sam’s mind was still swirling from what had happened last night, not paying much attention to what her mother was saying down the end of the telephone line.
How could any of this be? She was a graphic designer, for God’s sake, not… not this!
But she wasn’t a graphic designer any more…
Last night had shown in screamingly fluorescent lettering flashing within her brain that she was well and truly involved in something utterly different to what she was used to. Something completely alien. And something she had to get used to quickly because there was no room for error.
And when Seb’s mouth crashed onto hers, without ceremony – without anything, apart from him taking the opportunity to help himself to what he’d wanted at that precise moment, the utter confidence and power in the way he’d held her, the feel of his lips…
It might have only been short-lived before she’d pushed him away in anger at the sheer audacity, but her body had reacted otherwise. She’d wanted his mouth on hers… Wanted him…
Even after finding his brother’s body, she’d felt it as she’d unbuttoned his shirt. That raw attraction…
Whether she liked it or not, it was there, screaming in her ear.
But Seb Stoker was an aggressive, over-confident, brash…
Sam’s thoughts paused as her mother’s voice filtered into her brain and her stomach lurched, listening to the question that had been asked. She bit her lip, glad her expression was not visible down the telephone line.
‘No, I didn’t see Gary Stoker. Although, after you left, I did go down to my office for a short while. I needed to take a breather.’ Sam paused, concern bubbling at the worry detectable in her mother’s voice. ‘Why do you ask?’
Sam listened carefully as her mother explained why Judith had called. Apprehension churned. Why was Judith so worried? Had she known something was on the cards? Did she know what had happened? ‘Sorry, Mum, I didn’t notice, but Gary’s a grown man. I’m sure he’ll turn up.’
As her mother changed the subject, remarking how well yesterday had gone, Sam was relieved to finally put the phone down. She hated having to lie.
She rested her chin in her hands. As much as her mother had hidden it, she’d heard the worry, almost panic in her mother’s voice and her nerves jangled. Why was her mother so concerned about Gary Stoker or Judith’s worry? As far as she knew, her mother and Judith weren’t good friends.
To anyone else, panicking over a grown man who couldn’t be located a few hours later wouldn’t overly be a cause for alarm and would be shrugged off, so why were they so worried? But they would be very worried if they knew what had happened. What she knew had happened and what she’d helped to conceal…
Icy tendrils prickled. Did Judith or her mother know something she didn’t? Something Seb didn’t?
Sam had said Gary would turn up eventually… Wasn’t that the usual thing to say in such circumstances? But she hoped to hell he didn’t, for everyone’s sake. She didn’t even know what Seb had done with the body or where it had been taken.
Sam fanned her face with a clammy hand. Well, that was it now, wasn’t it? She was an accessory. She may not have had a hand in killing the man, but she had helped conceal the body, so had therefore assisted in concealing a major crime.
Sam stared at the phone, now silent in its cradle. The urge to ring Seb was strong. For all she knew, he might have been pulled over – the body of his brother found in the back of the van belonging to the Orchid – to her. He could even be locked up in a police cell at this very minute…
And then it was only a matter of time before the police came for her…
She couldn’t call Seb. That would be stupid. She’d have to wait and hope he got in contact soon. Very soon.
If she was lying for him, and she was, then he needed to bring her up to speed.
Sam’s lips set in a thin line. They had done the right thing though, which was one consolation. It would destroy Mal and Judith Stoker to discover at such a fraught time that their youngest had been murdered. Not that there would ever be a good time to discover that, but any time would be better than the present.
A mixture of butterflies and dread churned in her stomach, a heavy knot pushing against the constant fluttering. Could John really be behind this, like Seb believed?
Seeing Andrew Stoker’s inconsolable reaction when learning what the tarpaulin contained had at least showed Seb that he could cross his brothers off the suspect list. And although nothing had been said, Sam knew he was mightily relieved about that.
She scraped her hair from her face. With less than an hour’s sleep, she knew she looked dishevelled, but there were worse things that could happen: like her cousin being behind all of the things Seb believed. Those motives were things she didn’t want to think about, let alone acknowledge.
In her opinion, Seb’s reasoning verged on clutching at straws; more along the lines of laying the blame at someone’s feet, rather than no one at all.
She shuddered. Aside from this, nothing changed that John was at the Aurora last night. Andrew and Neil had seen him with their own eyes. And if all of them had been there, then who had killed Gary?
She knew her father had previously sent John to the Aurora to dig on who was behind the place in relation to the threats, but he’d been adamant there was nothing of interest there. If that was the case, what had made him leave her father’s wake to go back there again last night?
Sam frowned. It couldn’t have been John who’d killed Gary, unless he’d done it before leaving the wake. But either way, Seb could be right. None of this meant that John wasn’t behind it.
Sam gulped at the glass of water on her desk. She was going round in circles. None of it made sense. None of it at all.
Her nerves were shot. Even walking down the corridor to her office this morning, she’d felt ridiculously uncomfortable. She didn’t think she’d feel comfortable walking down there ever again.
Fear churned. What if the murderer had been looking for her? That map had disappeared from her desk, so had Gary merely been in the way?
Blood pounded in Sam’s veins. She had to stop this. She was a bag of nerves. She was being ridiculous and paranoid and there was no room for that.
Jumping with the sudden knock of her office door, Sam shivered. ‘Who is it?’
Seeing the door handle being tried, she scrambled to her feet, her hand reaching for the letter opener on her desk.
‘It’s me. Liam!’
Putting the letter opener down, Sam hurried towards the door, unlocking it.
Liam stepped into the office and looked around. ‘Why did you lock the door?’
Sam’s initial relief at seeing Liam evaporated. ‘Just habit,’ she said, moving back to her desk.
Liam stared at Sam curiously. ‘You don’t usually lock the door.’
‘I do now,’ Sam snapped, eyeing him pointedly. ‘I got sick of people deciding to keep walking in here. People wouldn’t have dreamt of doing that to my father.’ She sat back down and looked at Liam with impatience. ‘What is it you want?’
Liam frowned. ‘What is it I want? I came to see how you are! You bit my head off last night and then when I next saw you, you were in such a daze I couldn’t get any sense out of you. I’m worried about you. Is that so bad?’
Sam inhaled slowly. She couldn’t remember seeing Liam again after Seb and Andrew left last night. Her head had been all over the place. She had to keep control. ‘Yesterday was hard, Liam. I’m sorry if I was out of sorts with you. It all got a bit much by the end. I was just glad when it was all over.’
Placated, Liam sat down opposite Sam and smiled. ‘As long as you’re okay.’
Sam nodded, but she wasn’t okay. Far from it. And Liam scrutinising her made it a thousand times worse. She stared at the pile of waiting paperwork, hoping he’d take the hint. ‘Is there anything else? I’ve got lots to do and…’
‘You disappeared for ages last night.’ Liam looked at Sam questioningly.
Sam glanced up. ‘Disappeared?’
‘Yes, after you bit my head off at the top of the stairs, you rushed off down this way and I didn’t see you again until the end.’ Would she tell him the truth or not?
Sam sighed, irritated. ‘Like I said, I needed some space. I shouldn’t have to justify every single thing I do!’
‘No one’s asked you to, it’s just that I heard you were down here with Seb Stoker…’
Sam’s heart lurched. ‘Who told you that?’ Who had seen her go into the office? And who knew Seb was already in there? Had they seen Gary’s body being removed?
Her heart pounded. Had the person who’d killed Gary been lurking around watching? Was whoever the person who had told Liam this the murderer? ‘I asked, who told you that?’ she repeated, her voice high-pitched.
Liam raised his hands. ‘Whoa! What’s got into you?’
‘I want to know who said that!’ Sam cried, her pulse racing.
‘Only the barman! I asked if he’d seen you and he said he thought you must be with Seb Stoker, being as he’d seen him go down that way earlier, that’s all!’ Liam lied.
Relief poured through Sam. She wiped her hand across her face, not caring if she smudged her lipstick.
Liam watched Sam’s reaction carefully. He hadn’t been entirely truthful. With his own eyes from his position at the end of the corridor last night, he’d seen Stoker answer this office door to another one of his brothers. Plus he’d heard Sam’s voice too. She’d been in here with him.
If only he’d been closer, he’d have had a better view and been able to properly hear what they were discussing. They’d been discussing something – and something major, by the tone of their voices. He’d also been sure he’d heard the brother utter Maynard’s name…
It was unfortunate he’d been unable to hang around, but he’d have been spotted. As much as he didn’t like to admit it, he didn’t know whether Sam’s presence would have been enough to keep him safe.
After all these years, she was hiding things from him. And he didn’t like it. ‘Is something going on between you two?’ Liam asked, his eyes accusing. ‘Between you and Stoker?’
Sam sat bolt upright. ‘What bloody right do you or anyone have to question where I am, who I’m with or what I do?’ she yelled. ‘Don’t ever question me like that again. I’m in charge of this place. Not you!’
‘Christ, Sam!’ Liam shook his head. ‘What’s happened to you?’
‘Just get out and leave me the fuck alone!’ Sam yelled.
Liam stared silently at Sam. He knew what had happened to her. Seb Stoker had happened to her. And now it looked like not only was she turning against him, but also turning on her cousin. John was trying his upmost to help Sam run this place, yet she was scheming with the Stokers? And if he wasn’t mistaken, scheming with them about John.
If something didn’t happen very soon to change that, then both he and John would lose their place.
Standing up, Liam stormed towards the door, turning to Sam in disgust. ‘You’ve changed, Sam. And I don’t like it.’
After Liam stepped through the door, Sam slammed it behind him and leant up against the cool wood, her heart crashing in her chest.
Yes, she had changed. She realised that. But she had to look at things in a completely different perspective now – one that she’d never thought herself capable of, but she had no choice. Not now. Not if she wanted this business to work.
And she did want it to work. Both for her mother’s sake as well as her father’s.
She had to find out for definite who was behind her father’s death. There was no room for reasonable excuses any longer. She had to find out what and who was behind all of these problems before she or another one of her family became a statistic – like Gary.
And she couldn’t do that if she continued thinking the way she used to.