Claudia wasn’t sure how she was meant to react to this latest turn of events. Should she pretend to be relieved that no one close to home was going to be held to account for the fire?
‘Do you think Phillipa and Robert will want to spend more time in Sedgefield now?’
Justin didn’t look up from the newspaper spread out on the breakfast table. He had been reading out snippets of the Courier’s take on the public inquiry to Claudia, pausing now and again to agree with its sentiment. The investigation appeared to be fair in his view, even if the findings weren’t necessarily what had been expected.
‘Judging by her statement, I can’t imagine they’ve changed their minds.’
‘Phillipa’s issued a statement? What does it say?’ Claudia wanted to grab the paper off him. She didn’t need someone serving up the news in bite-size chunks. She was perfectly capable of reading it herself.
‘Basically, it says that although her name had been cleared, her conscience hasn’t. “I feel personally responsible for the twelve victims and will do so until my dying day. I welcome the report and hope that it will help families find closure, but it brings me no comfort.” Quite an admission.’
‘That won’t do anything to mend her reputation.’
Something in her tone made Justin look up. A touch of glee?
‘It’s a real shame,’ Claudia added, for clarity.
And it was a shame in some respects. When Justin had first introduced Claudia to Phillipa, she had been awe-struck. Phillipa had a presence. People looked up to her and followed her lead. If she considered you someone to be noticed, you were noticed by everyone, or else you were ignored. Claudia’s phone number had never been high up on anyone’s list, but that was then. Her phone hadn’t stopped ringing in the last couple of months. Was it so wrong of Claudia not to want to be pushed back into obscurity?
‘No response yet from Declan Gallagher’s family,’ Justin continued, ‘but I imagine they’ll be relieved. It must have been truly awful having to deal with the speculation and not have him there to defend himself. We need to make sure they know our charity is there to support them too.’
My charity, Claudia wanted to remind him, and she was already looking after Declan’s family thank you very much. The hardship fund would be launched very soon, but Karin had given Claudia the impression she couldn’t wait. Claudia had transferred money from her personal account. Not all of her secrets were bad.
‘We’ll do all we can,’ she agreed.
Appearing satisfied, Justin resumed reading the newspaper, leaving his wife to fret. She had just reached the point where she had stopped waiting for Leanne to make her move, and now she had to worry about Phillipa’s potential resurgence. Claudia tried not to huff as she picked up her mobile and slipped into the sitting room to make a call. If Justin couldn’t give her the reassurance she needed, she would try someone else.
Bryony must have heard the news by now, but when Claudia tried to call her, she didn’t answer. Was she too busy stalking Phillipa? There would inevitably be a long line of Sedgefield’s finest offering to build bridges and, knowing Bryony, she would push her way to the front of the queue. How long would it take for her to entice Phillipa back to the spa, just like the old times? Would she offer insider knowledge on Claudia as a bargaining chip? Would they laugh at her attempts to dethrone the queen of good causes?
Claudia told herself she was being paranoid. Whatever Phillipa and her minion were up to, it didn’t change the fact that Claudia remained in a position of power. The outcome of the public inquiry hadn’t changed that. Or had it?