A Messy Murder by Simon Brett

Author:Simon Brett [Brett, Simon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severn House
Published: 2024-05-10T00:00:00+00:00

TWELVE

It seemed only a matter of seconds and they were gone. I had offered to contribute to the bill, but Sydnee snapped, ‘It’s covered.’

Layla Valdez gave me and Fleur big hugs, saying it had been ‘wonderful’ to meet us.

Ben gave us equally enthusiastic hugs which felt meaningless. ‘Fab to see you, Mom,’ he said, on a giggle.

And that was it. The son I hadn’t seen for four months. I hadn’t had a single significant word with him. And the last thing I’d seen was him making fun of my mother.

‘If it’s covered,’ said Fleur slyly, ‘there’s nothing to stop us ordering another glass of wine.’

Normally, I would have turned down the suggestion. But I felt so shaken and hurt that I agreed.

‘Well, our Ben’s landed on his feet there, hasn’t he?’ said Fleur.

‘She seemed very nice,’ I said, unable to stop the words from sounding mean-spirited.

‘You see, Ellen darling, that’s all he’s needed. The right girlfriend – and suddenly all those mental health issues you worry about so much have just gone. Vanished.’

‘I hope you’re right.’

‘Of course I’m right. Layla is famous and the fact that she wants to be with Ben has solved all his confidence problems. I recognize what’s happening. Some of my boyfriends, way back, got an enormous charge of being seen out with me, with a famous actor.’

Just when I’m on the edge of feeling sympathetic towards Fleur, she says something like that and my attitude changes completely. ‘But none of those relationships survived, did they?’ I said with some edge.

‘They were finite,’ she said with affected melancholy. ‘By their very nature. Young love is a fragile flower. I was at the stage of my life when I was eager for experience, for excitement, for adventure.’ I wondered whether she was quoting from some play she’d been in. She often did. ‘I wasn’t mature enough to be faithful, back then.’

The question that formed in my mind was: Were you ever? But, shrewdly, in my mind was where I left it.

The waiter brought our refills.

‘When we’ve had these,’ said Fleur, ‘I’ll summon the car. We can have a nice chat on the way back to Chichester.’

‘Oh, I hadn’t told you,’ I responded. ‘I’m not going straight back. There’s something else I have to do in London.’

Fleur’s expression was tight with curiosity. But I didn’t tell her what I was going to do.

I hadn’t informed Jools even that I was going to be in London overnight, but she’d expressed the likelihood that she’d be staying in Worthing, so I reckoned she wouldn’t even be aware of my absence. I hadn’t asked any questions about who the attraction was in Worthing, but it seemed that she had been seeing a real person, rather than someone online. Promising news. It wasn’t a development in her social life that I worried about.

What had happened to cause her breakdown in the Herne Hill flat, on the other hand, was something I did worry about. A lot.

And, for the time being, I tried

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