The Back Road (8 page)

‘We’re sisters,’ Ellie said.

Mimi turned to Ellie.

‘But Patrick told me that’s why you got all the money, and she didn’t get any.’ Mimi was digging herself in deeper and Leo was trying to think of a way of letting her off lightly. But she hadn’t allowed for a slightly sozzled Fiona, who had come for yet another refill.

She leaned across in front of Leo and spoke to Mimi. ‘I rather think the details of this family’s finances and fortunes are their business, and theirs alone, don’t you?’

Oh God, thought Leo. Now the poor girl’s going to feel even more stupid.

‘I’m sorry, but Patrick tells me everything. I didn’t realise it was a sensitive subject.’

‘It’s okay,’ Leo said. ‘Take no notice of Fiona - she’s pissed.’

Ellie obviously decided that this had to be nipped in the bud before it got out of hand.

‘Well, right now I have some canapés to finish off. Everybody else will be here soon, so can I have some volunteers to help. Not you, Fee. You might splash something on that dress.’

12

The red Porsche pulled up on the cobbled drive outside Max and Ellie’s front door, and Gary turned to his wife.

‘Stop blubbering, Penny. For fuck’s sake. You’re going to make a complete fool out of me if you don’t shut up. Stop it now, or I’ll really give you something to cry about.’

‘I’m sorry, Gary,’ Penny said through her sobs. ‘It’s been a horrible day, and you seem so angry. I’ve only seen you for five minutes all day.’

‘I
am
fucking angry. I don’t just
seem
it. You whinge all the time about your day, your life. And I can’t cope with you on top of everything else that I have to deal with.’

Gary glanced in the rear view mirror, and saw an unfamiliar figure walking up the long drive.

‘Jesus. Now we’re going to have a bleeding audience.’

Gary leaned across and grabbed Penny by her upper arms and gave her a sharp shake. She gave a small yelp of pain.

‘Christ, woman - I’m not hurting you. Now, for the last time, sort yourself out. Blow your nose, put your sunglasses on, and behave like the lady you’re not. For once in your life.’

Gary threw open his car door, and jumped out, a big smile plastered on his face as the newcomer got closer. Walking round the back of the Porsche, he approached the man with his hand outstretched.

‘Hi. I’m Gary Bateman. I presume you’re here for dinner with Max and Ellie. Good to meet you.’

The two men shook hands.

‘Hello. Tom Douglas, the new neighbour. I only moved in myself recently, and Max was kind enough to come round and invite me tonight so I could meet some other people.’

‘Well, they’re very hospitable, and great neighbours. I should know. They lived next door to us for years before moving here.’

Gary started to fidget as he saw Tom glance towards Penny. When would she get out of the sodding car?

Just then, an old black Discovery swept into the drive, usefully distracting the attention from the passenger in the Porsche.

The familiar form of Sean Summers jumped out.

‘Hey, Gary. What are you doing here, mate? Is something going on?’

Gary laughed with relief. A small diversion to prevent Penny showing him up even more.

‘We’re all here for a party. Max and Ellie are having a bit of a housewarming, which means Ellie’s cooking - a treat not to be missed. This is their new neighbour, Tom. Tom, this is Sean - the guy who remodelled the whole house from the dismal place it used to be. You come to gate-crash, Sean?’

Sean looked uncomfortable for a moment. ‘Oh bugger. It’s a bit embarrassing turning up like this if they’ve got a party on. I’d better go. I brought round a spare set of keys that I’d been hanging on to, since I was passing anyway. Maybe you could give them to Ellie. Just let her know I was here, would you?’

Sean glanced towards the car. ‘What’s up with Penny - is she planning on staying in the car all night? Not that I blame her in that car. Since when did you have a Porsche, Gary? What’s happened to the Beemer?’

Gary’s irritation at Penny was growing by the minute. If she didn’t get out of that car soon, he was going to have to make some excuse to take her home and come back on his own. He’d bloody kill her.

‘I’ve got the car on trial. She’s a beaut, isn’t she? I’ve had her a few days. As for Penny, she had a sneezing fit on the way here. She can’t stop, and apparently it’s ruined her eye makeup, or something daft like that. I’ll go and see how she is.’

Before Gary could move, the front door of the house was flung open, and Max came out to greet them.

‘Good evening, gentlemen! What are you all doing hovering on the drive? Come in, and welcome to Willow Farm - unrecognisable, I think you’ll find.’ Max pointed to Sean. ‘And it’s all thanks to this man. Have you come to join us, Sean? You’d be very welcome. Do you want to go and get Bella?’

‘Sorry Max. I didn’t know you’d got something on tonight. I’ll get off, thanks. Bella’s not so good tonight, so she wouldn’t be able to come anyway.’

Gary was tempted to laugh. Of
course
Bella wouldn’t be able to come. She be totally wasted and out of it by now, no doubt.

‘Would she worry if you didn’t get back, do you think? Or you could phone her and see if she’s up for it if you like. Anyway, come on in, Sean, for goodness sake. Ellie will be delighted to see you.’

Sean appeared to hesitate, but not for long.

‘If you’re sure - that would be great, thanks. The kids are with my parents this weekend, and Bella will be asleep by now. If you’re positive it’s not going to be a problem?’

Gary was about to lose his cool completely if Penny didn’t get out of the car in the next ten seconds. He glanced over his shoulder to see that the neighbour - Tom, was it? had gone round to the passenger side and had opened the door. He was now crouching down talking to Penny. Jesus, he hoped the silly bitch maintained the sneezing story. What sort of an impression would this guy have of him, with a wife like that?

* * *

The kitchen was a hive of activity. As nobody appeared to want to move from the pre-dinner hubbub, Ellie had told Fiona to keep the men amused and Leo was laying out the canapés and preparing the asparagus and leek tarts to be popped under the grill for the glaze to brown. She hoped she was doing it right, but sincerely doubted it. Max had gone rushing off at the sound of the dull throb of an expensive car, and following the earlier hiccup with Mimi, things seem to have settled down.

Fiona had returned for yet more liquid refreshment when Max made his entry into the kitchen, along with not three, but four guests.

‘Ellie - one extra guest for dinner! Look who I found lurking on the doorstep bearing gifts.’ Max jangled a set of keys in the air, and placed them on the worktop.

As everyone turned to look at the new arrivals, Leo heard a sharp intake of air from somebody behind her. She turned her head quickly, but had no idea where it came from. Someone had received an unwelcome surprise, it would seem. This was getting more interesting by the minute.

Two faces Leo recognised were those of Gary and Penny Bateman, who handed Ellie a beautiful bunch of summer flowers. Penny seemed unable to meet Ellie’s eyes, but Gary was grinning with rather excessive heartiness, while unashamedly looking Mimi up and down, no doubt trying to understand what kind of woman could have enticed Pat away from Georgia.

But any discomfort was dispelled by the new neighbour, Tom. He had brought Ellie a Hotel Chocolat summer basket, which looked too good to eat. Almost. He gave Ellie a peck on the cheek and thanked her for her kind invitation, and then passed a bottle of wine to Max.

Unwrapping it slowly, Leo could see Max’s eyes open wide as he saw the bottle it contained.

‘Tom, this is amazing. We’re used to plonk, though, so anything would have done for us.’

‘My brother was a collector of fine wines. I inherited them along with everything else of his. So I now have a shed full of bottles like this. Please, just enjoy it.’

Tom gave a modest smile, clearly not wanting Max to make too much of his gift.

‘Well all I can say is, I hope your shed has a good lock on it then!’ Max responded. Leo was glad that he’d had the tact not to query the word ‘inherited’. There had been enough of that already for one night.

‘I’m a policeman. What do you think?’ Tom said with a laugh.

Now here was a man who seemed comfortable in his own skin, Leo thought. He appeared confident without being cocky, and she liked his casual style and easy laugh. His blue eyes turned to look around the room without any sign of self-consciousness. Not a pretty man - his nose was too big for that, and his jaw a bit too wide - but there was something reassuringly normal about him.

Introductions were made all round, and gradually Max managed to move most people out into the garden. Fiona had been reluctant to go, until Max told her to take her bloody shoes off and feel the grass between her toes. She appeared to think that was very funny, and had gone along with the idea, her usual aloofness giving way to an uncharacteristic giddiness. Mimi had become even quieter since the rest of the guests had arrived, and had retreated further into her shell, clinging to Patrick as if her life depended on it with her eyes downcast. It was almost as if she wanted everybody to forget that she was there. Leo could only assume that it was the champagne that was making everybody slightly unhinged.

She had stayed in the kitchen to help Ellie, who was gathering together extra cutlery and glasses, banging each item down on the worktop as she collected what she needed from the various cupboards.

‘I’m going to have to move everybody round a bit, to make space for one extra person. Can you put the last of the canapés onto plates when the oven pings and take them outside, please? It’s a good job I made a couple of extra tarts in case one fell apart. I’ll bloody kill Max. Why didn’t he just take the keys that Sean brought round and let him go home?’ Ellie stomped out of the room.

Leo frowned. Ellie had always been delighted to feed anybody at the drop of a hat. She hoped that having this smart new house wasn’t going to change her kind and generous sister into a Fiona clone.

As she waited for the oven to do its work, she walked over to the window to look out into the garden where Ellie’s guests were gathered. She could see that the builder guy looked a bit uncomfortable, but Max was doing his best to make him feel at home and Fiona was all over him like a rash.

Sean had what Leo would describe as a crumpled face, as if he was always either laughing or screwing his eyes up to look into the sun, and he had the strong physique of somebody used to carrying heavy weights, emphasised by his white T-shirt and black jeans. With his longish mid-brown hair and designer stubble, she could see that he might appeal to a lot of women.

Mimi was still clinging to Pat’s arm, but in spite of that Leo couldn’t help noticing that she seemed to be surreptitiously watching Gary’s every move. Totally unaware of her scrutiny, Gary had wandered away from the crowd to examine with great interest Ellie’s flower beds, but Mimi’s eyes barely left him. What was
that
all about? Gary was one of those people who might have the right arrangement of features, but somehow he failed to be in any way attractive in Leo’s view.

The oven timer sounded, forcing Leo to leave her contemplation of the strange behaviour of Ellie’s guests to do as she had been asked with the canapés. She was in the process of transferring them to plates when she sensed somebody behind her. Turning round, she saw Gary appear in the doorway, standing watching her, apparently holding something behind his back.

‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘I thought Ellie would be here.’

‘She’s in the dining room - she’ll be back in a minute. Do you want me to go and find her?’

‘No, it’s okay. I’ll go. I know where it is,’ he said, with a slightly arrogant laugh. ‘I should do. I approved the bloody plans.’

Leo hoped Gary wasn’t going to start griping about his ill-fated career in the planning department, as usual. At least the canapés provided her with an excuse to escape.

‘Okay. Tell Ellie to give me a shout if there’s anything else I can do, would you?’

Gary sidled around Leo, keeping his hands behind his back.
Odder and odder
, she thought as she picked up the tray of food and made her way to the door.

13

The starters had gone down well, and there was plenty of buzz around the table, but Ellie had refused all offers of help to serve up the second course. She’d needed to escape. She was trying. God knows, she was doing her best. But her throat was almost closed with tension, and her jaw ached from maintaining a fixed grin. She had a feeling that her life was out of control. When she’d planned this dinner, she had expected it to be a joyful occasion, but it wasn’t.

Working on autopilot, she took the plates for the next course from the cupboard, and walked over to the fridge to take out the sea bass, already prepared for cooking. Opening the door, she stopped dead and stared into the fridge.

Sitting next to the plate of fish was a single yellow rose.

She could feel her body start to shake.
He’s been in here - alone
. She spun round, her eyes exploring every corner of the kitchen in case he was still there, hovering in the shadows. When had he done this? And why had she ever told him how much she loved yellow roses?

He wants me to know he’s watching me, she thought. But I already know that - he never lets me forget. How
can
I forget?

With one swift movement, she grasped the rose by its thorny stem and threw it in the waste bin. She placed both hands on the worktop and leant hard against them, trying to calm her shaking. Noticing blood pulsing from her thumb, she grabbed a piece of kitchen roll, and wrapped it tightly round the wound.

Then she saw her mobile sitting there. She needed some support, and there was only one person she could talk to. Grabbing the phone, she switched it on.

Six missed calls. All from the same person earlier this evening. She shouldn’t have ignored him. But what was he
thinking
, calling her here when Max was around. She should have answered and told him again to leave her alone. She’d thought he would get the message if she ignored him.

Stabbing her finger hard on the screen, she deleted the calls, and quickly started to write a text. Hearing a slight sound behind her, she turned round with a guilty start.

‘Ellie, are you okay? I came to see if I could help at all.’ She wondered how long Mimi had been standing there, and felt uncomfortable as she met her inscrutable gaze. She put her phone down quickly. The text could wait.

‘Sorry, Mimi. I caught my finger on something and wanted it to stop bleeding. It wouldn’t do to drip blood on the fish and I didn’t think it would matter much if the next course was delayed.’

‘I’m sure everybody will be fine for a while,’ Mimi said. ‘Thanks for introducing me to your friends. It’s good to meet more of Patrick’s circle. Maybe when we get a bigger place after his divorce we can invite everybody round to us.’

Ellie nearly choked at the word ‘divorce’ and wondered if Pat knew that he was getting one. She was damn sure Georgia didn’t.

‘Do you mind if I ask you about your friends? It’s just that you all seem to know each other so well, and I feel a bit out of it if you know what I mean.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Ellie said. ‘That’s not intentional. What do you want to know?’

Ellie knew she sounded abrupt, but she couldn’t help it. She had to try harder, though – for Pat’s sake.

‘Fiona and Charles - they seem a bit different to the rest of you.’

Ellie nearly smiled at that.

‘Charles is a very wealthy investment banker. He works in London and he met Fiona when she was living there. She used to go to school with me, and then she left the village and we lost touch. She’s only been back a few years. Don’t worry about not knowing anybody, though. Tom knows nobody at all, and at least you’ve met me and Max before. You’re not the only newcomer.’

‘What about the other couple - Gary and Penny I think you said they were called.’

‘Gary’s head of planning for the local council – they used to be our neighbours before we moved here. You may have seen him in the pub, actually – although I’m not sure which one he goes to these days.’

‘I don’t remember him, but I get to meet a lot of people that way. My future husband for one,’ Mimi said with a tinkling laugh that Ellie couldn’t echo. ‘And of course, people come in from the school all the time. Max has been in a few times recently with that PE teacher he seems so fond of.’

You little cow, Ellie thought. And I was trying to be nice to you.

She’d only met Mimi three times, and this was the second time she’d mentioned the gorgeous Alannah, and Max’s relationship with her.

Well, whatever was going on, Ellie wasn’t going to rise to the bait now.

‘Yes, Max has mentioned that they’ve been in. Now look, Mimi, I need to get on with the next course, so if you don’t mind spreading the plates out, I’ll have the fish done in a few minutes. Do you think you could take the cling film off the chillies and ginger, and all those other bits, please? I’m going to grab my wine glass from the table.’

And I might just throw it in your face, she couldn’t help thinking.

* * *

As Ellie went out, Mimi started to do as she had been asked. There was no way she was giving them any more reasons to think she was a waste of space. They already thought Patrick was mental, and they didn’t try very hard to hide it. She knew she was a good actress, although occasionally she couldn’t stop the odd flush to her skin and neck. But these people were all so self-satisfied in their perfect little worlds, and she was struggling to keep a smile on her face.

She was going to keep Patrick, though, whatever they thought. Maybe causing a bit of disruption in the Ellie and Max household might distract them for long enough to forget about her and stop interfering. They may have invited her tonight, but she knew they were wishing Georgia was here instead. How did they think that made her feel?

She savagely tore the cling film off the highly organised individual dishes that Ellie had laid out with the ingredients to accompany the fish, screwing it up into a tight ball.

She despised them all - but one more than the rest.

Lifting the lid of the bin, she was about to hurl the ball of cling film in when she saw something that caused her frustration to be replaced by curiosity. A perfect single yellow rose lay on top of the rubbish. Strange. Why would Ellie have thrown it away?

As she turned back to the worktop, she caught sight of a mobile phone, and remembered that Ellie had been typing a text message when she’d interrupted her.

Mimi peeped around the opening into the dining room, and could see that Ellie was talking to Charles. She couldn’t help noticing that Patrick had left the room too. Her mouth tightened into a thin line.

Turning her back to the door, she picked up Ellie’s phone and touched the screen. And there was the message - incomplete, but complete enough. She narrowed her eyes at its content. So
that’s
why the rose was in the bin. An unwanted gift. And she knew exactly where it had come from.

Mimi’s skin prickled with the heat of anger when she saw who Ellie had been texting. She quickly typed a text of her own, pressed send, then erased the evidence.

At that moment she heard the message tone of her own phone, buried in her handbag on the kitchen table. She hadn’t thought she would be needing it tonight. She walked over and checked the screen, already knowing what it would say.