The Wrong Woman by Jane Retzig

Author:Jane Retzig [Retzig, Jane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-01-11T22:00:00+00:00

Naz was drilling one of the guest room walls to re-hang a picture that had fallen down in the middle of the night. She had taken her shoes off and was standing, rather precariously, on the bed in her socks. Tracey, as usual, was directing operations.

‘D’ya think they’ll sue?’ yelled Naz over the screaming of the Black and Decker.

‘Dunno – they were talking about PTSD last I heard. Shame your ex isn’t still here. She could have made herself useful. Whitlass offered them an extra night free, but they went a bit hysterical at that point.’

‘Don’t blame ‘em. Bloody thing only just missed decapitating them....’ Naz, pretended she hadn’t flinched inside at the mention of Kate. ‘Your phone’s ringing, by the way!’

‘What?’

‘Your phone....’

‘Oh, yeah. Is it okay if I answer it?’ Saskia’s name was flashing on the screen.

‘Sure!’ Naz braced herself against the wall. She had a horrible feeling she was up against a metal girder, which, presumably was why the picture hook had never been secure enough in the first place. Metal girders were a hazard of the sixties construction of the place and a constant source of frustration for Naz. The walls were full of them.

‘Okay, back in a mo!’ Tracey snatched the phone off the bed and clicked the green button to answer, backing out of the room and into the corridor where she could actually hear Saskia.

‘Hi Sash!’ she said, clicking the door shut to trap the worst of the noise inside the room.

‘Big problem!’ said the receptionist. ‘Down! Now!’

Tracey sometimes felt like a dog being ordered about when Saskia was in full flow. There was something un-resistable about the way she delivered orders though. She obeyed instantly, abandoning Naz to any Health and Safety violations she might be committing and pelting downstairs into the lobby.

‘What’s going on?’ she asked breathlessly as she skidded to a halt by the desk.

‘Big problem!’ Saskia had one of the guests’ discarded tabloid newspaper open on the desk in front of her. She turned it round to show her, jabbing at the page for emphasis.

‘Oh fuck!’ said the Hospitality Manager.

‘Yes... fuck is right!!!!’

They both stared glumly at the sizeable headline halfway down page four.

‘Trauma Specialist Quizzed Over Client Death’

‘Was looking for horoscope,’ said Saskia with a sigh. ‘Found this.’

‘What the hell are we gonna do?’

‘Don’t know!’ Saskia glowered at the paper as if she could erase the offending headline by sheer force of will. ‘Think we have to tell her,’ she said eventually.

‘Okay. But if she nicks that van again I’m seriously gonna have to kill her.’

As if on cue Naz came careering into the lobby. ‘Just off to B&Q for some new drill bits’ she mouthed. ‘Bit of an accident with the last one!’

Tracey took a deep breath and smoothed out the paper. ‘We just need to show you something first,’ she said.

They watched Naz’s hand creep up to her mouth as she read the article. ‘Oh God,’ she groaned when she’d finished. ‘And I’ve been a total bitch about her.

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