Gone guest, p.22
Gone Guest, page 22
Then she pointed at the photo of the black leather shoe resting in a tuft of grass, adding, “And now that we’ve proved this was planted, I want to know where its owner scuttled off to exactly.”
Chapter 24 ~ Birth Stories
Back at the vintage clothing store, confusion reigned. They were all sitting forward, eyes on Alicia, most of them squinting.
“Are you saying you think the twins are really Ronnie’s?” said Claire. “That she sneakily had them at her sisters and then pretended they were Lizzie’s?”
“No, silly,” said Alicia as several of them exhaled and sat back. “Not the twins. Just Sebastian.”
Now they were all forward again, and Perry was officially scoffing. “Honey, I may be just a bloke, but even I know that twins come from the same womb.”
“But are they twins?” she shot back. “Really? Where’s the proof of that?” She began to click her fingers as it clicked into place in her head. “Bethany insinuated as much. Maybe she was giving us a clue, and that’s why Peg didn’t want you questioning her in case she let it slip. I mean, there would have been some luck in all this, very good timing, not to mention an extremely generous sister…”
“What are you going on about?” Lynette asked, cutting her short.
“The twins! Remember the photos? They’re nothing alike, could pass for cousins easily. What if Ronnie was secretly pregnant when she went to stay at her sister’s place? And Lizzie was also pregnant but with one child. What if Ronnie had her baby there—unbeknownst to everyone except Lizzie, of course—and then left the baby with her sister and returned to be with Bert? Maybe Bert didn’t even know about the child.”
“He’d have to be a complete fool,” said Claire. “He was married to her, Alicia. How could he not tell? And what about Lizzie’s husband? Wouldn’t he say something?”
“Actually, this makes sense,” said Perry. “Peg said Lizzie was a single mum; the twins’ father bailed before they were born.”
“There you go,” said Alicia. “And it wouldn’t be the first secret pregnancy in the world. Do the maths: Ronnie would’ve been about seven months pregnant at that stage. But she’s tall, it’s a first pregnancy, they don’t pop as much apparently. She could have got away with it and nobody would be any the wiser. Both sisters give birth around the same time, and then they pass them off as twins.”
“If that’s true,” said Lynette, “then Lizzie really was the most generous sister in the world because there’s no way I’d do that for you, ’Lis.”
“Love you too, Lynny,” Alicia shot back.
She laughed. “I’m just saying, why would Lizzie agree to that? Nah, sorry, it’s way too loopy. Feel free to scoff away, Perry.”
Perry wasn’t scoffing, but Missy was still unconvinced. “Why would Ronnie even do it?” she asked. “She was married to Bert. Why pretend she wasn’t having his child?”
“Because it wasn’t his child!” said Perry, grinning at Alicia. “He couldn’t have children, so if Ronnie said she was up the duff, he would have known about the affair. This kind of, sort of makes sense… Ronnie has an affair, falls pregnant, then has to hide the pregnancy and the baby, to hide the affair.”
“Exactly,” said Alicia. “Ronnie had to get rid of the baby if she wanted her marriage to survive.”
“So are we saying it’s Hugh’s baby?” asked Lynette. “Because if you believe this theory, then it has to be Hugh’s. He was the one person Sebastian went to with his ‘big secret’. Plus”—a glance at Perry now—“didn’t Peg say she saw Hugh visiting Ronnie at her sister’s place soon after the births?”
Perry looked ready to scoff again. “That doesn’t automatically make it Hugh. And it’s certainly not proof of parentage. If it were, honey, I’d be up for maintenance by half my friends. I love visiting their brood.”
“Yes, but you’re not an overworked company executive,” she shot back.
“Still…”
“No, Lynette’s quite right,” said Claire, “and Queenie would confirm it. My Simon’s pretty good, all things considered, but most CEOs are far too busy for their own wives and children. They certainly don’t pop in to visit their boss’s estranged wife and their boss’s estranged wife’s sister’s children.”
“Well, now that you put it like that,” said Perry, chuckling.
“Sebastian does look a little like Hugh, at least in the photos,” added Alicia. “He’s tall, like Hugh, similar colouring, both very handsome men. Ooooh, it’s all clicking into place!”
She smiled. It was the first time she’d felt happy in days.
“Hang on though,” said Missy. “Even if this is all true… and I love this theory, I really do. But what does it mean for the murders? I mean, I get that it’s a very big secret, but why would you kill over it? Bert’s long gone. It can’t hurt Ronnie’s marriage now.”
“Ah, but it could hurt Hugh’s,” said Lynette. “This puts him right back in the frame. Sebastian’s researching the family tree, discovers the truth about his real parents, confronts Hugh, and Hugh knows he needs to shut him up or it really will be the death of his marriage.”
“So he’s prepared to kill his own son to save his wife some embarrassment?” Missy looked and sounded sceptical, clearly the only one in the group not quite buying this theory.
Lynette shrugged and glanced at Alicia. “People do crazy things to keep their secrets secret, don’t they, Alicia? Hmmm? Is there anything you’d like to tell the group?”
Alicia gasped at her then, and Perry’s eyes narrowed. He was about to enquire further when he noticed the time. He leapt to his feet.
“Blimey, it’s almost nine! We’d better get to work if we want to keep our jobs.”
“So what do we do now?” asked Claire as she walked them to the front door and flipped the sign to Open.
“We need to get together tonight and ask Ronnie directly,” suggested Alicia. “Go straight to the source.”
“There is another source,” said Lynette. “Takes two to tango, right?”
~
Hugh McMertle might have been an overworked company executive, but he certainly didn’t show it, happily agreeing to Lynette’s unexpected visit at Westera Holding’s head office in the heart of Sydney’s central business district. Nor did he look like a man who was still in the dogbox.
Sporting a crisply ironed dress shirt, striped school tie, and dark, custom-made suit, his white hair freshly combed back, his expression was friendly as Lynette was shown into his office.
“Thanks for stopping by,” he said, like she was doing him the favour. “Any news?”
Lynette took the plush chair in front of his desk. “Still no word on Sebastian, and we’re hoping Ronnie will bust Seamus out this arvo but haven’t heard from her yet.”
“No…” He glanced at his screen and then towards the receptionist who was still loitering. “Can I offer you a tea, coffee? Something soft to drink?” Lynette shook her head, so he told the assistant, “Put my ten o’clock on hold and tell Bassich I’ll call him later.” Then he leaned back in his chair and said, “So how can I help?”
Lynette smiled. He must really love Ronnie, the way he was shifting things around for her. Because Lynette was under no illusion he was doing it for her or the book club.
They’d been against the idea of Lynette interrogating Hugh alone, but what choice did they have? They all had work to get to (Lynette didn’t clock on until noon), and she needed to scratch an itch.
So she launched straight in. “I’m here to ask about your son.”
Hugh casually plucked a teacup from its saucer on his desk. “William? He’s working in Dubai. What’s he got to do with all this?”
“Not William,” Lynette said quickly. “I’m talking about your other son. Sebastian.”
Hugh nearly choked on his tea. He dropped the cup back to its saucer and pulled out a handkerchief, dabbing at his mouth and then his tie. “My goodness, where did that come from?”
“Rumour and innuendo. I’m just here to do some fact-checking. I’d ask Ronnie, but she’s otherwise occupied, so I’m asking you.”
Hugh sat back, releasing his top shirt button, loosening his tie a little. “I can’t understand why you’d think—”
“Sebastian came to you with his big secret. Just you, Hugh. Nobody else. There has to be a reason for that. Was it because he found out that you’re his real father, his biological father? Was he giving you a chance to fess up before he broke the news in his speech?”
Hugh stared at her dumbfounded and said nothing.
Lynette sat forward. “We know you and Ronnie had an affair.” Actually, they didn’t really know that, but Peg had virtually confirmed it, and she was tired of all the time wasting. “All we want to know is, did Ronnie get pregnant by you?”
“Oh, that’s all you want to know?” He shook his head, then glanced across to the door as though checking it was closed. Releasing a long sigh, he said, “Look, I can tell you don’t trust me, and I’m sorry about that. That really was innocent, that moment with Bethany. In the cabana.”
“Sure it was. What happened after you followed your wife into the house?”
He seemed confused again and said, “Nothing. We weren’t in the house for long. Hannah grabbed her coat from the foyer and went out to the car, was trying to leave, but I had the keys. I didn’t want her driving while she was upset. I tried to talk her around. I do love my wife, you know.”
Lynette waved a hand dismissively. “None of my business.”
“But this is?”
“If it concerns Ronnie and the murders, then yes. She asked us to explore every angle, so that’s what I’m doing.”
He nodded and sat back. Nodded again like he’d decided something. “There was a moment of madness between Ronnie and me. I think I can safely speak for Ronnie when I say it didn’t mean anything to her, not really. She’ll tell you as much herself. We were both looking for something… but it didn’t last long, and it certainly didn’t end in a child, or not that I knew of.”
“So why did you visit her and the babies?”
“Excuse me?”
Lynette repeated what Peg had told them about spotting Hugh at Lizzie’s house around the time the twins were born.
He cricked his neck, loosened his tie a little more. “She’s got a good memory that woman. I wasn’t there for Lizzie or the twins. I was there for Hannah and Bert. I wanted to remind Ronnie of our obligations to our spouses, that was all. Although Hannah soon worked it out.” His face clouded over. “But Bert didn’t know, I was sure of that, and I didn’t want to ruin his life.”
“Ruin your career you mean,” she said. “And Ronnie’s ticket to ride with the rich hubby.”
He frowned. “If you really believe that, then you don’t know her at all. It has never been about money for Ronnie. Why do you think she keeps giving it away?”
“So why would she go back to Bert then?”
“Because deep down, she loved him. Not me. She thought she wanted an ordinary life, thought she could find it with me. But I knew she’d get bored, and that’s what I went to tell her that day. I was letting her off the hook and, yes, trying to salvage my marriage in the process. William was two by then, and we had a daughter on the way. I couldn’t do it to Hannah. I couldn’t ruin her life.”
“But what about a young boy’s life?”
He frowned harder. “Sebastian is not my son. I am sure of that.”
“Except you aren’t, are you?” Lynette glanced back towards the closed door. Decided to be bold. “Maybe you didn’t know for sure, but maybe you had a hunch that’s what Sebastian was exploring. Maybe you were worried and had to shut him up.”
An unexpected smile flickered across Hugh’s lips. “Are you seriously suggesting I had something to do with all this?”
“Can’t blame a girl for wondering.”
“I did not know about any baby,” he said again, more firmly.
“Maybe not, but did you worry about it? Perhaps your wife could forgive a brief fling but a love child? That would be harder to forgive. Seems like a motive to me.”
Hugh sat forward; he was not smiling now. His own eyes glided to the door, then back. “Okay, I didn’t want to say this, not without speaking to Ronnie first, but I can see I need to set you straight, and so I will go against my better judgement and correct the record.”
He laced his hands in front of him and took a deep breath, like he was about to make a presentation. “Sebastian came to me with these same questions about six weeks back. Like you, he’d heard some tittle-tattle and was trying to sort fact from fiction, but he didn’t want to hurt anybody in the process. I’ll tell you what I told him—none of it matters, none at all. Whether I was his father or not, it would change nothing, at least not for me. My wife is often cranky with me, Lynette, and rightly so. But she is not going to leave me over a thirty-five-year-old love child. We’ve been through a lot more than that, I can assure you. That’s why I told him, go, get the DNA test, find out for yourself.”
“Hang on, Sebastian did a DNA test?” Lynette’s memory began to jolt. Something Missy had mentioned earlier, over breakfast…
Hugh was shrugging. “I gave him a DNA sample, so I assume so. He couldn’t use Ronnie’s—they’re already related—and I didn’t want him asking William. I hoped that would be the end of it.”
“And what were the results?” she asked with bated breath.
He shook his head firmly. “No idea. I asked him at the party but he insisted on speaking with Ronnie first. That’s when he told me everything was okay, that he had good news, news that would change everything. I told you all this.”
“But what did that mean?”
“I have no idea,” he replied. “Sadly. Because, as we all know, somebody attacked him before he had a chance to reveal the DNA results. You need to find out who wanted to shut him up, Lynette. But I can assure you, it wasn’t me.”
Chapter 25 ~ Not So Bubbly Now
It was supposed to be a happy reunion, a celebration of sorts.
It was now six o’clock on Monday evening, and Ronnie had texted them all with the good news—bail had finally been approved for Seamus and he was on his way out. Would they like to join her in Balmain to welcome him home?
Yes, they would!
And so the club all fronted up, smiles of relief in place, but Ronnie did not look at all celebratory. After greeting them in a frankly sombre fashion, not a bottle of champagne in sight, she waited until they were seated in what she called her drawing room—a light, elegantly decorated space with shabby-chic sofas, soaring bookshelves, lush indoor plants and a baby grand piano with two Siamese cats fast asleep on top—before her expression turned fierce and she rounded upon them.
Or, more specifically, upon Lynette.
“How dare you run off half-cocked and interrupt Hugh at work, making such outlandish accusations!” she barked, causing the cats to start.
They sprang from the piano and slunk out of the room as Ronnie turned her bite on the rest of them. “It’s bad enough that I have endured the Westeras’ gossip for decades, but for you—my book club friends—to not only buy into that nonsense but to start spreading it yourself… It’s… It’s infuriating.”
“I’m sorry, Ronnie,” said Lynette, “but—”
“But we should have checked with you first,” broke in Claire, giving her a pointed look.
“But you did ask us to explore all angles,” added Lynette, firmly. “And you have been very preoccupied.”
“I was saving my nephew! And how is all this scuttlebutt helping Seamus, or Sebastian for that matter?”
“So he really isn’t your kid?” asked Lynette, always slow with contrition.
The others glared at her now as Ronnie shook her head furiously.
“Sebastian is most certainly not my child,” she told them. “I think that’s something I might have mentioned, don’t you?”
“You didn’t mention your affair with Hugh,” Lynette murmured, almost as an aside.
“Because it’s none of your damn business, Lynette. It lasted all of five minutes and has nothing to do with any of this. But I certainly didn’t have his child. I’ve never even been pregnant. I told you all this. Why wouldn’t you just believe me?”
“We’re so, so sorry,” said Alicia, trying hard to broker peace. “But you have to understand, we did all of it from a place of love, Ronnie. We were trying to help.”
“No, no,” she said, one finger up, wagging. “I think that detective is quite correct. This murder business has gone to your heads. You’re grasping at straws, looking for angles that don’t exist. Fabricating angles, in fact. Creating your own damn fireworks!”
Alicia recoiled at that, looking like she’d been slapped, but Perry wasn’t having it.
“That’s a bit unfair, Ronnie. I agree we got carried away, but in our defence, you haven’t always played it straight with us.”
“I beg your pardon?” Ronnie blinked at him, astonished.
“Perry,” warned Claire.
“I’m sorry, but that’s the truth. Remember that book club weekend up at Lyle’s Lodge? The first case we investigated together. You lied to us then, Ronnie.”
She gasped. Blinked. Gasped again. “I lied to protect you.”
“Okay, so who’s to say you aren’t lying to protect someone else this time? Plus Lynette’s right. You should have told us about you and Hugh. That was useful information; could’ve saved us valuable time. Time we could have spent exploring other better angles.”
Ronnie stared at him aghast again, then her expression unexpectedly softened, and she dropped into a chair at last, whipping off her spectacles and closing her eyes. The others all swapped concerned looks, Claire’s with a good dollop of recrimination.
Eventually Ronnie opened her eyes and the fire seemed to be doused. When she spoke, her tone was more subdued. “I guess you have a point. I really was trying to protect you, that weekend at Lyle’s, but I didn’t know you well then and didn’t realise you didn’t need protecting.” She popped her glasses back on. “And yes, okay, I probably should have mentioned that dalliance with Hugh, but it has nothing to do with this, I can assure you.”
